laying hardwood on rubber covered concrete floor??

Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 7:59 pm

I am starting a new studio build (5500 sq. ft). My last project (www.iswstudios.com ) was finished in 2004.

My question is - this build will be on the 2nd floor of a commercial building. Ground floor is block construction. Second floor (us) is concrete floor with frame (stucco) exterior walls. The concrete floor of this space (used to be a fitness club) is covered by a very dense rubber material about 1/4 to 3/8 thick. Might this rubber be suitable to lay ply over top of ?

I want to use real 3/4 hardwood flooring on all the accoustic rooms - 2 control rooms, 2 vocal booths, drum room and 20 X 30 live room. I had planned on putting down 2 layers of 3/4 t&g ply on the concret and nailing the hardwood to that. I don't really want to float the floors, with maybe the exception being the drum room (12X 16).

My main concern is both accoustical sound quality and sound insulation throughout our premises (we also have a media/ad agency on site) and sound insulation for our down stairs neighbors.

As always - thanks in advance.

Posted: Mon Feb 12, 2007 1:01 pm

Without knowing exactly how your building is built, it's nearly impossible to know how much flanking/leakage will get to the lower floor - construction-wise, I don't see a reason why what you suggest won't work.

But before you jump into it, I would at LEAST recommend that you set up a temporary 8x8 foot section upstairs using the materials (or at least similar) that you intend, and set up a drum kit - then, take a SLM downstairs and have a heavy-footed drummer beat the crap out of the kit while you check levels. I'd be surprised if you get away without floating a HEAVY drum riser that's well-damped.

No mention of engineering specs, so I don't know what the load rating of your floor is - that will take an engineer reading your blueprints/build specs to know just what you can add to the upper floor without death and mayhem following.

Also, the dimensions you gave above lead me to believe you're thinking like a Carpenter (full size panels for ease of build) instead of a musician (room ratio's chosen for best modal response) - are these dimensions already cast in stone, or were those just rough numbers for discussion?

Really liked your website, very professional looking and no typo's, that's more rare than you may think... Steve

Posted: Mon Feb 12, 2007 8:26 pm

mcguin wrote:

I am starting a new studio build (5500 sq. ft). My last project (www.iswstudios.com ) was finished in 2004.

My question is - this build will be on the 2nd floor of a commercial building. Ground floor is block construction. Second floor (us) is concrete floor with frame (stucco) exterior walls. The concrete floor of this space (used to be a fitness club) is covered by a very dense rubber material about 1/4 to 3/8 thick. Might this rubber be suitable to lay ply over top of ?

I want to use real 3/4 hardwood flooring on all the accoustic rooms - 2 control rooms, 2 vocal booths, drum room and 20 X 30 live room. I had planned on putting down 2 layers of 3/4 t&g ply on the concret and nailing the hardwood to that. I don't really want to float the floors, with maybe the exception being the drum room (12X 16).

My main concern is both accoustical sound quality and sound insulation throughout our premises (we also have a media/ad agency on site) and sound insulation for our down stairs neighbors.

As always - thanks in advance.

THe mats i looked at in 4x6 3/4" rubber were very dense and heavy. They weighed about 90lbs each and IMO would be your best bet for subduing that flanking noise. However, be careful as mentioned, that the added weight will not collapse your floor!

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