Why use resilient channel

Gypsum board should be applied with long dimension at right angles to resilient channels and end joints staggered. It is best to attach boards with mm 1-in.

Type S screws spaced mm 12 in. Joints between boards should be centered over the resilient channels, or be midway between channels with joints floated and backed with sections of channels. To install resilient channels on wood- or metal-framed walls, one should attach resilient channels with the attachment flange down—except at floor level, where it should face up—and at right angles to the wall studs.

A strip of gypsum panel can sometimes be used at the base of a partition in lieu of the first inverted resilient channel, and should be installed at a maximum of mm 24 in. Type W screws, rather than nails. For steel stud walls, it is important to position resilient channel at right angles to steel studs, space it mm 24 in.

Type S pan head screws driven through holes in the channel mounting flange. Channels should be fastened to studs at each intersection, with the slotted hole directly over a framing member. Gypsum board should be applied perpendicular to studs, with long dimension parallel to resilient channels.

Boards should be attached with mm 1-in. Joints between boards should be centered over the resilient channels. Where soffits are constructed, they must not support the ceiling, as this will cause the resilient channel to fail.

Soffits should be independent elements that are suspended with resilient channel. Cabinets mounted on resilient channel walls cannot be attached through to the studs, but rather must be mounted using toggle bolts to the wallboard alone.

In office, education, and residential construction, using resilient channel in critical-rated assemblies has become a standard for efficient use of materials and labor. Selecting a channel with good test data and installation instructions can allow building professionals to achieve the performance criteria for any project.

Bill Stewart holds an undergraduate architectural degree from the University of Maryland at College Park, and a graduate degree in engineering acoustics from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey. Stewart is on the 2.

He can be reached at bill ssaacoustics. Below is a list of most common design and installation failures. While Resilient Channel can provide adequate options with careful Construction Administration and avoiding the pitfalls below, it provides its STC improvement only by decoupling the drywall from studs beneath. Mass Loaded Vinyl , on the other hand, increases STCs by decoupling the drywall from the studs with a thin, flexible layer, but also adding mass to the wall, which further improves the STC by as much as additional layers of gypsum.

In some stiff walls single wood stud , a combination of approaches may make sense. The 1 benefit of Resilient Channel is the ability to decouple structure-borne noise at a reasonable cost.

This is an effective approach on wood stud or high-mass walls with a high stiffness index. However, a significant amount of commercial construction is completed with gauge or gauge steel studs, which already do an adequate job decoupling noise due to their intrinsic flexibility.

The building assembly is overloaded with drywall. If an extra layer or more of drywall is added by the subcontractor that is above the specified assembly, the final structure weight on the resilient channel can cause the wall to touch the floor, causing a short circuit in the assembly build, subsequently creating a poorly sound insulated assembly.

Due to its weakness in strength and higher level of flexibility the single leg resilient channel compared to The first single leg resilient channel that gives us most lab test results actually no longer exists.

In USG stopped manufacturing the resilient channel that makes up most of the lab test results today that we see. Most of these results are based on sound tests conducted over 10 years ago on diverse assemblies. Resilient channel that is excessively rigid, or have holes with the incorrect dimensions or profiles, have the consequences of decreased STC ratings.

A fastener is placed inaccurately or the wrong sized fastener is used. If a fastener unintentionally makes contact with a framing member at the time of the installation of the drywall to the resilient channel, it will create a short circuited assembly and will essentially create a poorly sound insulated assembly.

Typically when attaching drywall to the resilient channels the assembly is designed to use 1-inch screws, but often installers use longer drywall screws because of ease of installation and to save time.

This is the undoing, and essentially what short circuits the resilient channel assembly. The longer screws usually are long enough to pass through the drywall, through the resilient channel and into the framing member.