Thread: Basement workshop lining and fitout

Originally Posted by numbat

I was thinking of painting the bondeck ceiling white –
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><!--[endif]--> I understand the electrical fittings such as fluoro lights and roof mounted power points can be fitted into the ridges of the bondeck using some special fittings. I was planning to run other electrical services as surface mount.

<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><!--[endif]--> In relation to the floor – I could always buy some rubber matting.

<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><!--[endif]--> Does anyone have any advice/suggestions/comments.

<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><!--[endif]--> Cheers

If it is genuine Bondek Lysaght make a PVC infil strip to fit into the grooves and you could run your electrical cables in the grooves under the infil strips.

My guess is that it will be quite noisy and echoeee in this state (even once I have built some wooden cabinets).
My thoughts were to line the walls in acoustic plasterboard directly onto the brick.

I would have thought that the acoustic plasterboard would be very dence to prevent sound transmission through the wall ..... this could possibly make your "echhoeee" state even worse. I would think that you need to absorb the sound waves rather than to assist their travel.

Gyprock® Perforated Plasterboard
Gyprock® Perforated Plasterboard has been specifically developed for use in ceilings where additional sound absorption is required. It is a machine made sheet composed of a gypsum core encased in a heavy-duty linerboard and incorporates CD technology. Long edges are recessed to assist in producing a smooth, even and continuous surface once jointed. Gyprock® Perforated Plasterboard has perforations which total 8.2% of the sheet area.
Walls and ceilings in high traffic areas such as libraries and shopping centres.


Gyprock Soundchek™
Gyprock SOUNDCHEK™ has been designed to provide increased acoustic resistance in wall and ceiling systems. Gyprock® Soundchek ™ is machine made sheet composed of a high-density gypsum core encased in a heavy-duty linerboard. Long edges are recessed to assist in producing a smooth, even and continuous surface once jointed. Gyprock Soundchek™ is manufactured to AS2588 – ‘Gypsum Plasterboard’. The face liner is coloured yellow.
10 & 13mm board with increased acoustic properties for walls and ceilings

Because your walls are partly below ground fixing plasterboard directly to the brick wall IMO is not a good idea.

Unless your wall is completely waterproofed you will get dampness coming through that part of the wall that is a retaining wall unless it is double brick with a space between them. The tarring on the outside wall will deteriorate over time and might not be effective enough.

Our laundry that is next to the workshop had a single brick wall that was partly a retaining wall and it always got wet in there during the winter untill I dug out the part behind it for the workshop extension.

I would built a stud partition wall against the brick wall, with a gap of 50mm between the bricks and the stud wall and fill in between the studs with fibreglass battens and then line them with your plaster or chipboard. Make sure that the gap is left intact to allow moisture to evaporate.


Peter.

Originally Posted by Numbat

They seem to have put a wooden floor over the concrete floor.

The main reason a timber floor is its the best for your back and legs, stand/work on concrete for a day then try it on a wooden floor with a bit of bounce... big difference in lower back/leg pain at the end of the day.

good thinking numbat - I'm beginning to think along the same lines. I've just bought a new house but I won't move in for about 6-9 months. But it has a great underhouse workshop (SWMBO callls it a garage) that is entirely concrete.

I'm worried about the noise getting into the house and I was thinking of an additional layer of plasterboard cladding as an extra insulation barrier. The floor also worries me - concrete is hard but easy to maintain (ie do nothing). I was going to get one of those rubber mats for near my workbench (I think a new house deserves a new bench). Lights are flouros all around - but I might need a few more. Garage light is pretty poor.

I wasn't planning on painting but maybe its a good idea. I sure could use more space - even if it only looked bigger. Perhaps I need to make it look smaller so that SWMBO will feel sorry for me and let me evict the other car too...

Trav

Thanks for the replies so far guys - I will address them all in due course.

Stinky - thanks for the stuff from the gyprock web site - looking at this http://www.gyprock.com.au/technical/..._Soundchek.pdf technical information sheet - it seems to get the full accoustic properties requires the use of not only the plasterboard BUT also Bradford R2.0 SoundScreen Batts. I wonder how effective just the gyprock direct to the brick would be?

Trav - how often do you have your workshop is a bare stripped state? Take the opportunity to paint the damn thing in white - costs about $100 in paint and some time. Will probably make the lighting much more effective and give you a more pleasant environment to work in.

Barry - I would guess the bondeck is the real deal - its about 25 years old - the existing bit - and will clarify with the builder what the new bit will be. So can the infill panels be purchased from Lysaughts only or elsewhere?

Cheers

Sturdee,

I had a talk with the builder construction as can be seen partially in the photos is triple brick. There is a low outer wall that will have mud placed on it to form a 45 degree bevel to the second wall. These walls will be painted with an tar based epoxy then wrapped with a special external liner below ground. Backfilled with bluemetal to allow the ag drain to work. There will be a third inner wall built (with a spacing) to the current height of the second wall - which is to just above ground level - this wall is yet to be built.

So should be quite waterproof.

BTW unlike your workshop this will have a 2.5 metre ceiling height (2.1 m under the beam). I would be hitting the ceiling in your workshop .

Cheers

In answer to your question

Plywood is used extensively in construction in the usa and also here in NZ. Here its primary roll is as a bracing.

In the USA the use of 19mm ply (usually) serves several functions. Bracing,thermal barrier (yup it snows like the devil in the US), sound barrier (a very efficent noise reducer), as well as looking clean and neat, it also supplies you with an endless area to hang cupboards, and anything else you want.

I have been in several wood lined workshops and from memory none of them had much in the way of reflected noise. The wood is quite an efficient absorber of sound, more so the softer plys. Combined with a insulating fluff the exterior noise output is very low.

I have mdf walls on part of my shop and fibrolite on the rest. I would love to panel it with ply but the cost is to great at the moment.

Originally Posted by numbat

BTW unlike your workshop this will have a 2.5 metre ceiling height (2.1 m under the beam). I would be hitting the ceiling in your workshop .

All that height for a little numbat. What a waste of space.


Peter.

Originally Posted by Trav

The floor also worries me - concrete is hard but easy to maintain (ie do nothing). I was going to get one of those rubber mats for near my workbench

Concrete is hard, no doubt, but don't do nothing. Seal it at least with bondcrete or paving paint, you will be absolutely astonished at the difference it makes to the level of dust.

If you can possibly afford it, use an industrial epoxy coating.

Rubber mats are ok, but wearing rubber soled shoes does the same over the whole area not just near the bench; Joggers or thongs will do the trick equally, although if you really want to do the safety trip, steel caps with rubber soles are also OK.

You do get used to the hard surface quite quickly, even barefoot, but planes and chisels sometimes don't I understand.

Cheers,

P

Hi ya numbat,

I lined the walls of my shed with 17mm ply & put in some insulation at the same time. The walls were lined to; 1, keep the shed cooler in the Brisbane climate & 2, so I could hang heavy cabinets from the walls.

I also put in 10 double GPO's @ 10amp & 3 @ 15amp. What I find now is I need to run at least 3 more 15amp circuits.
Put in as many 15amp circuits as you can!!!

As to flooring, timber floord are kinder to your legs & feet as well as dropped tools.

Don't begin to think that any for of plaster board on its own will present "significant" insulation for sound or heat. If you want any sort of significant insulation you need an air gap preferably filled with some sort of absorbent material.
Claims concerning some "super acoustic plaster" should be looked at carefully. The improvement over standard board will only be a couple of dB at best, check the specs carefully.
Don't be confused with acoustic properties transmission (what goe thru) and reflection (what bounces off) are two completely different matters.
Any hard dense surface will have similar reflective properties, the harder, denser,& smoother it is the more sound it will reflect and the more high frequencies it will reflect.
If you want to absorb sound and reduce the amount of sound bouncing round in your shop you need to intruduce something soft & thick ( sorry blonds do absorb sound but too many can be problem with the misus).

with a concrete floor moisture will be a problem, cold will be a problem.
cheers

Originally Posted by bitingmidge

You do get used to the hard surface quite quickly, even barefoot, but planes and chisels sometimes don't I understand.

Or spoke shaves as I recently found out the hard way. :eek:


Peter.