Hi /diy/, ESL from south america and I was wondering if you could help me.My house has a shitty, badly built, barely insulated wooden guest house in the backyard, and I want to insulate it thermically and acoustically. The interior walls are mostly made of hardboard, with plywood in a few places. Frames are made of timber and filled with polystyrene for insulation.I am thinking of replacing the polystyrene with rock wool, and the hardboard and plywood with drywall in the exterior-facing walls, mostly because it's cheap and google says drywall is a better acoustic insulator. However, judging by the videos I've watched on yt, drywall seems difficult to work with: I'd have to use plaster for finishes, I'm not really skilled and I don't care about looks. Meanwhile, I could just nail the plywood to the frames and call it a day.I was also thinking of adding metallic studs in a few places, but while these are cheaper than structural timber, they also seem to be pretty complicated to with with, because of their thermal expansion. I'd also have to insulate them with some plastic tape, which in the end makes them more expensive than timber.Questions:- is it true that drywall is better acoustic insulator? Do I really need to use plaster with it? What if I just slap the plywood on top of the drywall to avoid having to use plaster?- do metallic studs need to be insulated acoustically? Beyond the plastic tape, do I need to use plastic nails or something to avoid the noise? How the fuck do you attach the drywalls to metallic studs?(continues)
>>2973088(cont.)The house has had termites for many years (though not the terribly destructive type you guys have in the US), so I also plan on wetting all the wooden surfaces (timber, plywood, hardboard, maybe even the paper in the drywall) with a mix of borates, with the added benefit of making everything fire-proof (see https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=92568.0, https://sawmillcreek.org/threads/home-made-bora-care-timbor.233066/ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heCV7zlvhi8 if you want o know how this stuff is made).Can you suggest some alternative materials that cover all the bases (thermal+acoustic insulation, fire-proof, not vulnerable to termites, and relatively cheap)?My plan is as follows:- undo some of the internal hardboard/plywood siding,- apply borates mix to all surfaces, as well as to the siding that was just removed,- let it dry for a couple of days,- slap a few small pieces of drywall,- add the rock wool batts,- slap the drywall boards,- maybe add the plywood on top.Is this a good plan? Am I missing something?
