John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum

Hi,
The fire officer has visited my studio which is still under construction 2.5 yrs on and has stipulated that the exit door in the drum room which leads into my beautiful garden has to be a single door, can't be a double door as i have used in the other rooms in the studio. So, in an effort to keep him happy I want to build one of rod's super doors. However, I would like to use glass in the doors construction so as to allow some natural light into the room and to watch my flowers bloom as i'm playing the drums.

Questions
1. Do I go with two panes of glass as one would do in constructing a studio window

2. Should I use just 1 really thick pane

Any help will be much appreciated

Thanks
hally

Looks like the forum is being spammed...

I'm not an expert but for my build I had some 2nd hand heavy hospital fire doors that have a reinforced glass viewing, to the studio side I have added a sheet of MDF with a cut out for some 12mm laminated glass to be added when I get round to it,
You can see them here viewtopic.php?f=2&t=15407&start=90

My sons band are now using this small room to practice in so probably around 110 decibels

I haven't tested with a sound level meter as have asked someone I know if I can borrow one from there works but I am already very happy with the build.

i suppose its all going to depend on the amount of isolation you are looking for in your situation,

Glas is just another material. Only fancy about it is that it's transparent

What I'm trying to say is that the materials used to make a door should compliment each other. A super heavy door with a thin piece of glass does not work.
Well, since glass is about three times as heavy as, for example, MDF is. you can place a 1/2 inch thick piece of glass into a 1,5 inch thick MDF door.

clear?

Thanks Ro,

I understand the concepts regarding using glass in soundproof structures. What I am trying to determine is weather or not to use 1 very thick pane of glass in the super door or to use two panes seperated by a sealed air space approx 2". The two panes of glass wud match the density of the window which is also installed in the drum room, inner leaf pane of window is 3/4" and outter leaf pane 1/2"...
I will upload a drawing of my plan when I get home later...

Thanks for the input

regards
hally

Here is my idea for the construction of the door


Front view of the proposed door (from inside the room)


The view from the exterior/ garden


Here is a 3d detailed section of the proposed door


Any input on this design and if it is likely to maintain the isolation achieved with the room within a room structure already built...

thanks hally

Hally, use one thick piece...the decoupling is not there so using two pieces only complicates the process.

Trying to build a door, of this type weight, gonna be hard to do just to keep it on the hinges much less to keep it from sagging and dragging at the threshold.

_________________
Brien Holcombe
_____________________________________________
Sound: You can't stop it, you can only try to contain it.

... just following the thread ... but one question ...

Why so much glass ?? meaning, above the head, and nearly down to the ankles.

Unless there is some great view out there .... however, a single sheet of glass that size
might have issue of stability in the frame [?!?].

Also, no possible way to acoustically treat the door. I my studio, the door has no glass
in it, which is great, because I was able to hang a 2'x4' broadband absorber off of it.

Again, not fully seeing your particulars, I was just wondering [out loud]

[Also ... still trying to learn from everyones build] !!

Sincerely.

Hally, read my initial reply. It says "it's just another material". What I mean with that is that you don't need to treat it any different than the other material used to make the door. So, if you door is a single leaf (as it is), add a single pain of glass with equal (or more) mass than the wood used. Use laminated glass for example.

I was thinking the same thing... and also thinking of the large dollar signs that such a large piece of thick glass implies... Unless you really need that much light, I think I'd go with a rather smaller piece of glass, in just the part of the door where you really need to see out/in.


- Stuart -

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I want this studio to amaze people. "That'll do" doesn't amaze people.

A sheet like that, say 12mm, will cost about 150 euro round here. It's worth it!

Wow! You guys get it cheap! A piece of glass that big (say around 70 cm x 1.7m) would cost 2 to 4 times that here in Santiago, even for ordinary window glass, and much, much more for proper laminated glass. Lucky you!

- Stuart -

_________________
I want this studio to amaze people. "That'll do" doesn't amaze people.

thanks for the replies, i think i have got it...

A single piece of glass whois mass/ density is eaqual to or more than that of the wooden part of the door structure...

I will do a build diary of my build to illustrate the process...

thanks again for the help

regards hally

PS, to save me doing the math which i hate, how thick should the glass be?
The door consists of 3mm oak veneer, 45mm firedoor with chip/ particle board core, 1 layer of 18mm mdf and a 2nd layer of 18mm mdf...

Hi again,

I had a read of rods book again and came across a small paragraph in the door construction chapter...



He talks about a single door construction and specifies two panes of glass with an 1.2" air gap which is similar to my design above...now i am not dismissing the suggestions I have recieved already or trying to undermine anyone but my thinking is to go with smaller panes of glass, say 1/2 the size of said design, encase the glass edges in neoprene to decouple from door structure, inside pane of glass 3/4" and outside pane 1/2". My air gap will be approx 2"...

I am going for max isolation here, my walls have lots of mass, outer leaf solid concrete block, inner leaf is 18mm mdf and 2 layers of 15mm PB. The weak link in the room is the outer leaf ceiling which is beefed up and composed of 2 x 18mm MDF and 2 x PB...

Any more thoughts on my design

thanks hally

I agree Hally, that is the way to go...as long as the door frame/hinges can support the door, and the door proper can support the glass and the weight of the door...it can get ugly is all I am saying

_________________
Brien Holcombe
_____________________________________________
Sound: You can't stop it, you can only try to contain it.