Referencing back to post #64...
DoorsI’ve settled on the “John Brandt” seals design – I’ve cut the slots for the angle iron in the frame before installing it. My doors for the live room will be ~70mm wider than standard here so I need to add some width.
My door construction plan is to:
• Get the live room door frame in square and plumb (done!) - then add the extra stop bulk and the bank vault stops in situ;
• Widen the door and mortise in the bottom seal before hanging the door; and
• Then hang the widened door and beef up the mass in situ
Re Glenn’s last post, I will assess whether I need seals on the doors as well once I get the closer on and jamb side seals in and tested.
In terms of
sway bracing – my engineer has specified 2 elements:
1. A bracing frame that sits directly above the wall frame and runs across from the C25024 beam in the centre of the structure to the C25024 beam on the outside and bolts into the top plate of the wall frame. It is further tied to the first steel ceiling rafter using short LVL plates; and
2. Stiffening the door frame by placing 90mm x 140mm LVL columns either side of the door frame and a 200 x 45mm lintel between them
I’ve also strengthened the door frame by putting a 70 x 35mm “border’ around the part of the frame that extends out from the timber wall framing. This will beef up the frame to carry the door load and help with sealing the door jamb/frame gap. The 2nd layer of the outer leaf will butt up against the blue timber and I can then add an architrave over the join.
The doors will weigh just under 70kgs – I’m using heavy duty hinges (6) – 3 at the top, 2 in the middle and one at the bottom. My door closers are commercial ones rated to 120kgs with adjustable spring strength.
Thanks to Stuart for his article on high isolation doors, Jennifer for documenting her experience beefing up her studio door and frame and Glenn for his helpful hints.
Vapour barrierI’ve done a fair bit of research on this as climatic conditions in Australia are vastly different from those most of you experience and we live in a very mild part of the country. (The most focussed and concise research I found is linked here
https://www.abcb.gov.au/resource/handbook/condensation-buildings-handbook). While there is consideration given here to wall/roof water vapour transfer management, the only mandatory vapour barrier requirements relate to concrete slabs.
In fact, builders here are cautioned against placing vapour barriers on one side of an air gap as
1. The issues faced here in the majority of the country are much less problematic than in colder northern hemisphere climates and
2. The “problem side” swings from one side of the gap to the other depending on seasons. So a vapour barrier on one side may in fact create problems in the “off season”.
The preferred approach is to design cladding and walls to limit air gap temperature variations.
Armed with this, my engineer specified (and I’ve implemented) a permeable vapour wrap between the outer frame and the outer cladding. That, combined with the insulation I placed between the outer drywall skin (suggested by Glenn and Stuart to help dampen any vibration of the outer cladding), should provide a significant reduction in temperature variability at the surface of the outer skin. In addition, I’ve painted the inside of the outer wall as this reduces the diffusion of water vapour through the material.
This solution is considered more robust than a “one side” vapour barrier given the climatic conditions I face.
Next up - HVAC design …