Good morning everyone!
Quick question. I want to build a room within an existing cellar in my basement. This cellar has a very low ceiling, of about 1.95m. I want to put up the walls with some relatively thick, water-resistant MDF I've found that is 3cm thick. Is there any way I can put these walls up without needing a studded framing? The walls and ceiling of the existing cellar are concrete. Would "L" type connectors be enough?
New information regarding some of the comments posted:
I am aware 3cm MDF is very heavy. That is actually one of the main reasons for using this material for the walls. The room in question that will be built is to be used as a music recording studio, and the denser the walls the better the sound attenuation properties of the room (generally).
Regarding the dimensions, the room is roughly 7 meters long by 2.5m wide, with the aforementioned 1.95m ceiling. The actual MDF boards will be around 190cm long x 66cm wide in order to fit them into the space (have to maneuver through a tight space to get to this room). The relationship to the existing walls is that there will be a separation between the MDF walls and the existing ones of about 10cm more or less.
Thanks!
Best Answer
There are many ways to build what you're proposing, but the one that jumped to mind first is akin to a panel/frame assembly.
Start with a post (~1.5"x3.5"/ ~38mm x 88mm, or larger), firmly attached to the floor and ceiling. This could be a bracket that wraps around the post, it could be a bolt at one end that mates with a hole, or it could be a couple of L brackets. At the doorway, make sure the posts are extra solid.
Butt a panel of mdf to the post and secure it as drawn. Caulking/sealant in the gaps will probably help reduce sound transmission. Set the next post plumb/ in line and repeat.
Depending on the gaps at the floor and ceiling, you'd probably want either a foam weatherstripping or caulking/sealant and possibly a strip of timber (~3/4"/18mm) on both sides to make it look finished.
Note, the fancy version of the post is a little harder to make airtight and more bothersome both in terms of milling and assembly. It is a little cleaner looking, though.