How to mount Wood Planks in a studio?

[Rokas108]

Hello

Some of you may have seen my previus post where I got a place to build my first studio. There is one wall which was initially planned to have a wood finish. The materials are already there and the surface is prepped for the finish.

The plan was to have the planks go over the frames in a horizontal way. The frames would lift up the planks from the concrete wall about 2.5cm. Each frame has a 70cm space between and goes all the way up to the ceiling which is about 250 cm. The planks them selves are 1cm thick.

I was thinking I could complete this work since everything is there but I am also thinking that the way I mount them is really important otherwise there is a chance to create a helmoltz resonator. I would like to hear your opinion on what would be the best way to prevent this? Maybe this is not a good option at all?

The rest of the walls will have tiles on them so they don't have this issue.

Here are some pictures of the wall:

This is the wall it self


This is the thickness of the frame.


These are the planks that I am planing to use.


Sorry I am not sure how the IMG tag works - with Imgur you just add .jpg at the end of the link - JP

[Drew Stephenson]

You're currently linking to the imgur page, you need to link to the individual images. Right click on the image and copy link (or whatever your browser equivalent is).

[Hugh Robjohns]

I haven't followed the design & build thread, but my alarm bells are ringing because the emphasis appears to be on visual aesthetics rather than acoustic requirements.

Wood is great, aesthetically, and can sound good too if implemented well... but you need an acoustic plan for the room as a whole.

You mention the planks are spaced from the wall slightly, but there's an opportunity there to build in some effective trapping. Has that been considered?

You mention tiles on the other walls. Are you aiming to create a reverb chamber? What will be present in the form of bass trapping and for broadband absorption/diffusion to control the room acoustics.

[Rokas108]

Hey Hugh

Currently it's just a blank room which is underground. In addition the place itself is located in forest, so sound isolation is not a big issue. Since the tiles were already in place before I got the room I decided to finish up the final wall before figuring out what acustic treatment I need. After this I will think how to treat it acoustically. The reason I am asking the question about planks is because I dont want to create more problems that I will need to treat later on.

I will try to reupload the pictures to show the situation better.

[Rokas108]

You're currently linking to the imgur page, you need to link to the individual images. Right click on the image and copy link (or whatever your browser equivalent is).

Thanks I will try to repload them correctly

[Hugh Robjohns]

Currently it's just a blank room which is underground. In edition the place it self is located in forest, so sound isolation is not a big issue.

I wasn't thinking about sound isolation, but of the acoustics within the room either for recording, or monitoring, or both.

Since the tiles were already in place before I got the room I decided to finish up the final wall before figuring out what acoustic treatment I need.

I think it might be wise to consider the acoustic treatment before fitting the wooden wall since it may well be that you can hide useful and effective treatment behind and within that wall now, rather than have to modify it or cover it with treatment later.

For example. Instead of a 25mm gap, if you could extend that to 50mm or more and fill the void with mineral wool (etc), you would have a large area of effective bass trapping. Spacing the planks apart slightly would allow LF sound entry without affecting the visual aesthetics negatively....

All I'm suggesting is that considering the end goal, acoustically, before building is likely to be more cost-effective and deliver better results.

The tiled surfaces are a whole other problem....

[Drew Stephenson]

The tiled surfaces are a whole other problem....

I think we'll call that the live end!

[Rokas108]

Thanks Hugh

I might try to do the bass traps like you said. Not sure how much I will be able to raise the frames but I might as well try. After I will put mineral wool in them like you said and then cover them with the planks. I am just not sure if the wool has to be connected to the planks them selves?

As for the tiles, the space it self is quite large so I will be able to use quite big panels to cover the necessary parts of tiles with acoustic treatment

[Drew Stephenson]

Not sure how much I will be able to raise the frames but I might as well try.

Just bolt another baton onto the existing ones to make them double (or more) deep. The deeper the better.

After I will put mineral wool in them like you said and then cover them with the planks. I am just not sure if the wool has to be connected to the planks them selves?

You're then going to lightly pack these gaps between batons with mineral wool before covering the space with the planks you have. Ideally you want the planks lightly compressing the rockwool - enough to absorb any resonance but not enough for it to act as a sprung surface.
Just remember Hugh's comment about spacing the planks apart as the sound will need to enter the trap.

But I'm going to go back to my comment on the other thread about getting hold of that book and spending a bit of time on reading before you go any further.

[Rokas108]

Cool thanks Drew, I actually ordered the book so I am waiting for it to arrive

[Drew Stephenson]

Good stuff, it's definitely worth holding off doing anything definite until you've had chance to give it a good read and then plan the whole thing properly.
With sound treatment (as opposed to sound proofing) there's not much that you can do that can't be undone, but as Hugh says, better to get it right from the start.