AAC good studio building material?

[darkwater]

No, we're not talking mp4s here. Aerated Autoclaved Concrete. It's green, cuts down on building time, and has an STC rating of 50-60. What do you expert builder/designers think of this stuff? Check out this site:

http://www.aacstructures.com/sound.php

[darkwater]

stike

[darkwater]

[Mr. Man]

The more appropriate question I think is "can the sound benefits outweigh the cost of using AAC concrete?" It doesn't seem outrageously more efficient than regular concrete to tempt me.

[Mr. Man]

It's one thing to point at your rack and say to your client "Looky here" It's another thing to point to the wall and say "this is special concrete." How many of you guys would actually say that?
Actually, I would. But I'd do it to see if I could get a laugh.

[darkwater]

ok...... anyone else?

[darkwater]

Pretty sure I'm gonna do it this way. The material is totally dead sounding, without any treatment. High STC rating, no insulated inner wall required, LIGHTER weight than regular cinder block, non flammable, non corrosive, impenetrable to pests, sculptable, and it mixes your tracks for you.

[yarrick19]

Originally Posted by darkwater

Pretty sure I'm gonna do it this way. The material is totally dead sounding, without any treatment. High STC rating, no insulated inner wall required, LIGHTER weight than regular cinder block, non flammable, non corrosive, impenetrable to pests, sculptable, and it mixes your tracks for you.

Let us know how it works!

[Kiwiburger]

Ordinary concrete is cheap - I don't see any advantage in this stuff. The whole concept of aerating concrete to make it lighter is directly opposite to what you want for soundproofing. For stopping sound vibrations - mass is king.

I made my studio out of 8" concrete blocks, pumped solid with concrete. Concrete floor and concrete slab roof - airtight, solid concrete everywhere except for planned openings.

Doing it again? I could make it better and cheaper ..

There is a technique for building strong, fast, cheap, bomb-proof structures that was used in WWII to make bomb shelters and gun emplacements etc. Basically, you make a mould out of wood and just pour the concrete in. But they did it in layers, so you can re-use the wooden moulding as you go upwards. The end result looks a little ugly - you can see the distinct layers that have been poured, and it can be a little raggedy too. But - for a recording studio, some randomness is excellent. Think of adobe style buildings or straw bale buildings - there is a beauty in some randomness. Avoiding straight parallel walls is perfect for a studio.

Pouring in layers means you can quality-control the job to avoid bubbles or cavities in the concrete which would defeat the purpose. (Hmm - aerated concrete, not good ...)

If I had enough real estate and money, I would build a shell within a shell, with seperate roofs. Big enough to walk around inside the gap, with access for utilities.

It's hard to beat the low cost of poured concrete.

Doing it again - I would build a faraday cage into the steel mesh structure (just some chicken wire, soldered together should work).

[darkwater]

I think you need to do a bit more research on this material. It is WAY more sealing than regular concrete and is not that expensive. In fact the cost saved in unnecessary construction is enough to null the extra expense in material. This has been used in Europe for 70 years.

Read all about it. THEN bag on it!

[Subversounds]

Just to revive this thread...

I've found that solid AAC is good as solid brick regarding STC (Sound Transmission Coefficient - 125 to 4khz).

A solid brick with regular cement goes with 50-55 STC. A solid AAC with cement goes 50-60 STC.

A good way to do extra sound proof is too do a double wall with 1 inch between them, the first wall (from the sound origin) should be the AAC one and the second one with solid brick.


An btw: here in Brazil they cost a little less then the regular solid brick, but they are lighter, and need less cement per square, and can be build faster (less cost in labor).

[Subversounds]

First photo preview of double wall AAC wall of my studio.



its kind blurry but you can get a clue.