I finally got my building permit! The contractor (a very good friend of mine) convinced me to go with stick construction instead of metal because of the additional cost. I was also told that heavier gauge metal studs are no better in sound insulation than standard wood studs. Not sure if there is much truth to that. Currently, our exterior walls will consist of 5/8" QuietRock (model 525) drywall on 2 x 4 wood studs, 1/2" plywood w/waterproof membrane (Tyvek or similar) and standard fiberglass insulation in between. Attached to the exterior plywood are 1 x 4 wood furring strips and I plan to attach 1/4" thick 4 x 8 foot HardiPanels to the wood furring strips. The HardiPanels will not be placed butt to each other but will rather have a space of approx 5/8". This is to create a "grid" pattern to the exterior wall. My goal is to build a modern, minimalist home. So essentially, (from the outside in) I have 1/4" HardiPanel concrete board, 1/2" plywood sheet, 2 x 4 stud and 5/8" QuietRock on one wall. Would anyone have any idea what the STC rating of such an assembly would be? I've been told by a local dealer of QuietRock that I should look into the "triple leaf" effect and that spacing the HardiPanel away from the plywood could cause the STC rating of the wall assembly to drop as a result of this phenomena. My reasoning would be that placing the 1/4" HardiPanel 3/4" away from the plywood would increase the STC rating since we are adding a third but very small airgap. Keep in mind, however, that the HardiPanel assembly is not completely sealed and air/sound tight because I am spacing each panel away from each other by roughly 5/8". The other options I was looking at was going with 2 sheets of standard 5/8" drywall and GreenGlue between. I have heard that this assembly would reduce low frequency penetration into the home much better than one sheet of QuietRock 525. Is this true? And another facade option would be to go with stucco so instead of a 1/4" sheet of HardiPanel and 5/8" "air space", I would have densglass, a cementitious coat and the stucco coat on top. I'm not sure if this would provide a better STC than spacing 1/4" HardiPanel away from the plywood but I'm assuming it would. If anyone can chime in on this I'd really appreciate it. For the windows, I am looking closely at Migard's Quietline product. I may just use these windows for the bedroom windows (because of cost) and other windows in the home where people are not so sensitive to noise would likely be a standard double pane windows with thicker laminated (one pane) panes of glass (to achieve at least a 35 STC). Is this a good idea? And is it true that vinyl windows are a better sound insulator than aluminum? Everyone I talked to here says that vinyl is superior to aluminum for soundproofing but I've found some information online to the contrary. My concern with the vinyl is that it is only available in white and an off-white "tan" color, both of which won't match the modern exterior of my building. What would my options be if I went with vinyl but didn't want those frame colors? Regarding flooring, the building is 3 stories high (garage at bottom, kitchen/living second and bedrooms third) I am looking at standard TJI for the floor between the bedroom and kitchen/living area but standard 12" joists for the kitchen/living floor (garage below) and the roof (nobody above). I'm trying to achieve the best "STC per buck". The QuietRock product is NOT cheap - about $60 per 4 x 8 sheet. I'm willing to incorporate other sound proofing techniques/materials as long as the price is reasonable. Heavier insulation may be one of those options. Any advice is much appreciated!

I went to Ferguson, Sophie. All but one brand of vanities they carry is imported. And that brand's aesthetic was very "country." Kohler is making their vanities in Kentucky, but they are quite expensive. Please don't think we are lazy...some of us may have explored other options that were outside of our budgets. Looking at your profile, it says your typical project goes up to $100k (or am I missing a few zeros?). That just isn't plausible for some and I'm sure you know this. I buy mostly American made furniture, but even some of the major brands are sending production to Asia. Plenty of companies have High Point showrooms, but are getting their goods off container ships. Since you are a pro, I'm sure you know this as well.

My apologies, I refer to rafters as trusses. The trusses are all engineered, I meant the rafter construction and walls were all site fabricated. Thanks, that name sounds familiar. We already have an inspector hired specifically because I did not like the plumbing etc showing daylight. We hired them about .. actually I think 2 weeks ago. There is nothing that looks out of the sorts enough to stop them at this point. The issues I have are things that need better support on one end, but that is a pretty easy fix at any point. The major areas are already supported, actually more than most homes I have seen / had experience with. My concern was, had anyone else seen the sort of framing like this. That answer would be a "no" lol. The pictures I showed are the areas I went through last night. One had already been resolved with a new beam being placed and support being placed above that to the end of the beam they needed support for. The second one was being done today the same way. What they did was bring in what appears to be a 4x6 manufactured beam, similar to the large beams they used for longer spans, and they placed it across multiple walls and supports. Then they brought up a 2-ply stud to support the end of the rafter beam, 2 wrapping it and 1 underneath, all nailed together. Pretty solid work. I told them I wanted the same thing done with the 3rd and they agreed it needed it, so those 'strange' supports, according to them, were temporary and not permanent. The last piece I wanted reinforced was the center beam. I am having them bring up a 3-ply load-bearing support all the way down to the slab to replace that one support. That should be in later today. BTW, if I sound defensive of them, I am not. I am totally with all of you. I love the input and I totally appreciate the help and guidance. Frankly, as I stated to them, the likelihood of me ever getting on that roof or the likelihood of a real "load" on that roof may be small, but the point is, I want to sleep well in the home and I cannot do so if it is not as safe as possible and so no matter what an engineer says, I want extra reinforcements on certain things, THEN.. we will let the inspectors tell them where else they need to add stuff. The bottom line is, they are willing and glad to add any changes I want. That makes it easier. They are not balking at anything I am asking for and welcome (or at least say they do.. heh), the inspector, so we will see what the inspector says. To their credit, they even found a couple things I missed, nothing structural, but it is good to see they are looking at all of it. I'll keep you all updated. Oh, one other note. I let them know.. "you fix concrete with concrete.. you fix wood with wood.. you do NOT "seal" things with anything other than what was meant to be there in the first place. You CAN come back and add an extra sealant.. but you do not make up aspects with a different material". I had a builder in the past that tried to tell me the crack going all the way up my brick fireplace (outside) was going to be "caulked".. I was like, "you fix a masonry issue with CAULK? Tell ya what, go get the engineer to sign off on that in writing and we will see what the manufacturer of the brick and fireplace says"... they came back and redid the entire fireplace.. lol. I have zero problem holding people's feet to the fire. This was step 1 of getting the issues resolved. Prior to sheetrock, the entire house will be safe and secure. R

I had the first window company visit the house yesterday. He referred to my existing “single strength” windows as “$3.00 windows” and said the installation was awful, it’s no wonder I hear so much outdoor noise. He feels the basic glass option from Marvin, with proper installation, will make a noticeable difference but based on my comments would recommend their sound reducing option. The second company I’m meeting with later this week was recommended to me by the local architectural rep from Marvin. Unfortunately, I’m already not feeling solid about this company. The salesman didn’t follow up with me during our first interaction and when I mentioned it, he placed blame on the Marvin rep. Also, when I told him I would be comparing him against other companies he started with the scare tactics about most local companies don’t have certified installers. Seems like a fast talker to me, which put me off. Will have more details about the windows later this week.