About to wall off my DC and compressor - framing questions

[Glen Blanchard]

In one corner of my shop I have a small "room" measuring 8'6" x 4' that was framed without a door (so it is open to the rest of the shop). In this area I have my Oneida cyclone and my air compressor. There is an 8'3" tall x 6' wide framed opening. I'd like to frame a door into this opening and wall it off to limit the noise from the compressor and DC, sheet-rock it, texture it and paint it. The problem is I have almost no experience with doing any of this other than the painting. I have done some due diligence regarding proper framing and hanging a pre-hung (solid core) door. I still have a few questions though.



What is the easiest way to secure the 2x4 (is it called a footer?) to the floor?
I have read that the framing for the door should be 2" wider than the door itself as well as 2" higher than the door's height. Is that supposed to be 2" on each side, and thus 4" total? IOW, for a 30" x 6'10" pre-hung door, what dimensions should the framing for it be?
I plan on using a solid core door and insulating the stud space to limit sound transmission. Any other ideas that I should know beforehand to further restrict the noise?


Thanks.

[Michael W. Clark]

Glen,
I make door openings 2" larger than the nominal door size. For example, a 30" door would have a 32" wide framed opening. I thought the height was usually 80", so you would have an 82" tall framed opening? However, since you are doing only one door and doing it yourself, I would suggest buying the door first, then checking the dimensions before framing. Usually, the doors will have a rough opening specified. The 2" extra width allows for the door jamb and some extra for shimming. Your door trim will cover the gap between the wall and door jamb. If you don't install the wall covering first, make sure you allow for it when installing the door. Good Luck.
Mike

[Ron Natalie]

Powder activated fasteners are the easiest way. You can use a masonry bit and a tapcon if you don't like firearms.

[Mac McQuinn]

Keep in mind the air compressor puts out a bit of heat when running continuously and also needs a air supply........
Mac

[Mike Henderson]

Since you will have your dust collector (DC) in the closet, you'll need to have a vent out of the room. The DC moves a lot of air so you'll need a decent size grill or other opening to allow it to vent.

Mike

[Glen Blanchard]

Thanks guys. That leads to a few questions.

1. I usually run my DC for probably no more than 15 min at any given stretch. Then I'll typically get involved in a non-power tool operation for a while (perhaps another 15 min). The cycle then repeats. Still need a vent under those conditions?

2. If so, should it vent into the shop? Would that not negate the noise suppression to a great extent?

3. I assume the reason to have it vent is to equilabrate the air pressure between the shop and the closet, no?

[phil harold]

Since you will have your dust collector (DC) in the closet, you'll need to have a vent out of the room. The DC moves a lot of air so you'll need a decent size grill or other opening to allow it to vent.

MikeIf have a vent noise will transmit unless you build a double wall with a muffler design to reduce the sound waves...

[Paul Wunder]

Here's a hopefully useful video on soundproofing and venting a cyclone from Ed Morgano at Clearvue Cyclones. He used rockwool insulation slabs and vented back into the room. He achieved a 10db noise reduction

http://www.clearvuecyclones.com/content/7-video-central

[phil harold]

Here's a hopefully useful video on soundproofing and venting a cyclone from Ed Morgano at Clearvue Cyclones. He used rockwool insulation slabs and vented back into the room. He achieved a 10db noise reduction

http://www.clearvuecyclones.com/content/7-video-centralif he had that return insulated and vented at the top (use the stud bay to back up to the top) he would get better noise reduction

more ideas and discusion for you
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?162225-Folded-plenum-to-tame-cyclone-noise

[Chris Damm]

You definitly need a vent! I recently moved my DC to a storeroom next to my shop and hadn't gotten around to installing the vent. I was using the DC and my wife was trying to get something out of the storeroom. She couldn't open the door (in swing) so she knocked on the door (out swing) to my shop. I went to open it and with the DC running I couldn't open the door. I installed the vent right then.

[Michael W. Clark]

Thanks guys. That leads to a few questions.

1. I usually run my DC for probably no more than 15 min at any given stretch. Then I'll typically get involved in a non-power tool operation for a while (perhaps another 15 min). The cycle then repeats. Still need a vent under those conditions?

2. If so, should it vent into the shop? Would that not negate the noise suppression to a great extent?

3. I assume the reason to have it vent is to equilabrate the air pressure between the shop and the closet, no?

Glen, It won't take long for the pressure difference to stabalize between the small room and shop, so, yes in 15 minutes you would see a pressure difference between the shop and small room. The magnitude of that pressure difference is going to depend on how well your room is sealed. It would be under positive pressure relative to the shop. Is it possible to vent the room through the roof of it? If so, how about framing an opening and placing some replaceable filters or insulation in the opening. This would give you another layer of filtration (and unfortunately more filters to change) plus direct the sound away from you. If the sound bounces off the ceiling, you may need to add some insulation/batting tot he ceiling to deaden it. The motor and fan do account for most of the noise, but unfortunatly some of this is transmitted throuhg the outlet duct.

Mike

[Jim Neeley]

If your room is 8'x8'x8', it contains about 500 cubic feet of air. If the room were tightly sealed, a 1,000 cfm dust collector would "stall" due to back-pressure within seconds of startup.