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Need advice and/or other ideas on partitioning off office space.
Hi all! I'm pretty certain I'm going to be getting a new job soon that will be remote. We have a one year old, and my wife is a teacher, so they will be home during the summer as well as the last part of the day during the school year. Because of this, we're trying to brainstorm ideas on closing off my office space during the day, for just a bit more quiet while I work. Our current setup is a big circle, with my living room and kitchen on the top and bottom, and my office space being on one side. The first opening into my office space is a large 72" opening into the living room (mirrored on the other side of the living room). The other opening is a man door opening into the kitchen. The man door into the kitchen is obviously an easy fix, as I'll just install a solid core door. The big opening has been... more difficult. We love having these large openings and keeping the "circle of fun" as my wife calls it, and we already are chasing our son around and around the house. So framing in the opening really doesn't appeal to us, except as a last resort. French doors wouldn't work great when open because of the wall layout, plus they're expensive. I don't think pocket doors would work either, plus would require more drywall and framing work than I care to do (and again, the whole project would be pretty expensive all told). Here's my current plan: I want to buy this hardware from Johnson Hardware. I want to build 4 panels out of 2" x 4" and 1/2" drywall, and texture and paint it all so when it's closed it looks like the wall in the living room just keeps going (or maybe I'll make it look more like paneling, but in any case, the final look isn't important). Inside each panel, I was planning on doing some spray foam to help seal them/damper sounds. The idea is that during my work day, I could close those panels, and easily open them up at the end of the day. Some thoughts on this plan: I know this wouldn't make anything totally sound-proof by any means. I feel like I have realistic expectations on what I'd get out of this plan. I just need something to help dampen the normal music of life while I work. I could do all of this for sub $250, which is a big plus. At the top of the opening where the track hardware would be, and the one side where the first panel pivots, there will be a gap that I feel is going to ruin any of the sound dampening I'd get from the panels. There will also be a small gap between the panels because of the hinges (3/32"). Was thinking maybe I could put some rubber sealing around the offending areas? Am I right about how much sound would get through those gaps? Was thinking about putting some MLV inside the panels as well to help give it some extra soundproofing, but I have a hard time wrapping my brain around acoustics and how MLV works exactly. Would hanging it inside the panel and then spraying foam over it completely ruin it's blocking properties? Would I be better off doing just one or the other? I am totally open to other ideas, but I really feel like I've thought of just about every possibility. Walking a bit of a tightrope between not wanting to spend too much money, while also needing a somewhat substantial solution. Any help or discussion is appreciated! submitted by /u/7Inches-11Bitches [link] [comments]
Hi all! I'm pretty certain I'm going to be getting a new job soon that will be remote. We have a one year old, and my wife is a teacher, so they will be home during the summer as well as the last part of the day during the school year. Because of this, we're trying to brainstorm ideas on closing off my office space during the day, for just a bit more quiet while I work.
Our current setup is a big circle, with my living room and kitchen on the top and bottom, and my office space being on one side. The first opening into my office space is a large 72" opening into the living room (mirrored on the other side of the living room). The other opening is a man door opening into the kitchen.
The man door into the kitchen is obviously an easy fix, as I'll just install a solid core door. The big opening has been... more difficult. We love having these large openings and keeping the "circle of fun" as my wife calls it, and we already are chasing our son around and around the house. So framing in the opening really doesn't appeal to us, except as a last resort. French doors wouldn't work great when open because of the wall layout, plus they're expensive. I don't think pocket doors would work either, plus would require more drywall and framing work than I care to do (and again, the whole project would be pretty expensive all told).
Here's my current plan: I want to buy this hardware from Johnson Hardware. I want to build 4 panels out of 2" x 4" and 1/2" drywall, and texture and paint it all so when it's closed it looks like the wall in the living room just keeps going (or maybe I'll make it look more like paneling, but in any case, the final look isn't important). Inside each panel, I was planning on doing some spray foam to help seal them/damper sounds. The idea is that during my work day, I could close those panels, and easily open them up at the end of the day.
Some thoughts on this plan:
I know this wouldn't make anything totally sound-proof by any means. I feel like I have realistic expectations on what I'd get out of this plan. I just need something to help dampen the normal music of life while I work.
I could do all of this for sub $250, which is a big plus.
At the top of the opening where the track hardware would be, and the one side where the first panel pivots, there will be a gap that I feel is going to ruin any of the sound dampening I'd get from the panels. There will also be a small gap between the panels because of the hinges (3/32"). Was thinking maybe I could put some rubber sealing around the offending areas? Am I right about how much sound would get through those gaps?
Was thinking about putting some MLV inside the panels as well to help give it some extra soundproofing, but I have a hard time wrapping my brain around acoustics and how MLV works exactly. Would hanging it inside the panel and then spraying foam over it completely ruin it's blocking properties? Would I be better off doing just one or the other?
I am totally open to other ideas, but I really feel like I've thought of just about every possibility. Walking a bit of a tightrope between not wanting to spend too much money, while also needing a somewhat substantial solution.
Any help or discussion is appreciated!
[link] [comments]
