Just what you've all been waiting for! More updates on the soundproofing of the basement band room! This was much harder than I thought it would be, but then pretty much every single thing I've done on this house has been harder than I thought it would be, with the exception of getting free furniture from collegiate chum SeanM.
Beyond the sheer weight of the panels, we had lots of pipes of varying importance to contend with. There are two big pipes for the radiator running through the room, as well as some gas lines and electrical conduits. But the real drag for me was just getting the screws to go into the metal hat channel.
Drywall is super easy to drill through, too easy in many cases, but the hat channel we were attaching it to was difficult to get started. Of course, once the screw has pierced the metal, it zipped into it, often too quickly to keep from ramming the screw all the way through the drywall, negating its effectiveness completely. I started predrilling holes to aid in this regard, and I ended up breaking two of them in the ceiling. I've gotta remember to get some higher-quality
drill bits.
Eventually, the screws went in and seem to be holding. There was a major foul-up on my part, as my painstaking calculations were rent asunder because for some reason I kept thinking the drywall panels were 4.5' instead of only 4'. Ugh, I kick myself every time I think of this. I don't know where I went astray but I screwed it up. We had to move one of the tracks in closer, leaving a significant gap on one side of the room. But I think we'll be able to work around this when we put up the walls. In soundproofing, you can't have the ceiling and wall touch, you're supposed to leave 1/4" and fill the gap with acoustical caulk. I am counting on my ability to make that work when we get to the point. But first we have to put another layer of sheetrock on the ceiling.
Yesterday I put joint compound and tape on all the seams. I didn't try to be neat since this layer will be completely covered by another layer of 5/8" drywall. I need to decide how to cut the sheetrock for this layer, I am thinking I should cut it into smaller pieces to make it easier to work with. I wish office drones got spring break like the college kids do, I could use some serious time off to work on this project. And of course, there aren't even any holidays between now and Memorial Day. That sucks!
