The problem with basement builds is damp.
The problem with soundproofed builds is ventilation.
So why not combine the two and have one super problem that I have to solve!
Well, that's just what I did. In this week's post, we'll focus on the damp proofing side of things, but bear in mind that adequate ventilation was planned to keep a decent flow of fresh air coming into the studio.
The first step was to check for trouble areas in the basement. As I mentioned earlier, the basement didn't feel particularly damp, but as I was going to be installing some expensive electrical equipment down there, I wanted to make sure any additional moisture was at a minimum. To do this, I taped a small amount of transparent plastic sheeting to each of the walls, left for a couple of days, then checked to see if any condensation had formed on the inside or outside of the plastic.
Three of the four walls were fine, however, the wall connected to the outside had a small build-up of condensation on the inside of the plastic, meaning moisture was coming in through this wall! This obviously needed to be dealt with. For this wall, I used 50mm XPS foam board, and for the remaining walls, I used a thinner sheet of Celotex for piece of mind. These were all attached to the walls using adhesive and joins sealed with moisture barrier tape.
Celotex going up on the internal walls.
As you can see, I was working on multiple stages at once, hence the Rockwall and plasterboard currently scattered over the floor.
At this stage, I also needed to make sure that any gaps to the outside were sealed, so the only air coming in and out of the basement was through the ventilation system. I got a bit enthusiastic with the acoustic expanding foam, making sure I'd sealed up any windows to the outside.
Next, I installed the 50mm XPS foam on the outside wall. Filled any excess gaps with foam and sealed with tape.
Soon the entire room was covered in insulation, after much measurement and cutting to get into all the awkward shapes and uneven corners. You can see remnants scattered all over the floor... trying to keep it tidy!
Next week we start framing the internal structure!
Frank Leonard Walker