To spike or not to spike, that, is the question.

stehno... thanks much.

If I read ya right... then ONLY coupling works best? W8ith componnets too? hmmmm.

My concern remains the (IMO) inordinate weight being thrust onto about 3.5 sq ft. of flooring... so my choice is to aid or increase that surface area to 4sq ft by adding the one inch of plywood resting atop the carpeting.

THEN spike to that material. I get it that the added foundation supportive measures actually will become something of a barrier to drainage right off, but as things settle in I believe the added footprint will be helpful, or that is the aim.

Either some blunt spikes are now needed or the use of 'coins' under the cones is necessary. the sheer weight of the filled rack will start drilling it's way downward.

My previous shelving unit had no mass. None. As I added to it's weight things began to improve some... yet I chose to contain rather than drain with that one.

We'll see about doing the opposite now with this sky scraper unit.

Blindjim, yes, in my experience there is only one correct way to control or manage resonance energy.

Based on the few picture you have of your system it appears that your home was built in the late 80s or early 90s and it also would seem that your sub-flooring system is pert-near identical to perhaps 85% of the rest of North America.

In other words, you should have no concerns whatsover about weight concentration in a small area. Pounds per square inch it should not much different than a women wearing high-heels.

You should keep in mind the whole concept of creating a mechanical conduit with no breaks. Your carpeting and pad create a disconnect so you want your spikes, cones, or points to break through that to make contact with the sub-flooring system.

If you install a piece of plywood for support, your sub-flooring system does not benefit because your sub-flooring system probably already consists of 3/4" plywood but more importantly you would be creating another layer of disconnect between the plywood sheet, the carpet, and carpet pad.

Again, if you install blunt points, coins, or coupling disks you will create yet another laywer of disconnect. We're talking sub-flooring underneath your carpet and pad. Where nobody will ever see the tiny dimples created.

As you can see coupling is rather straight forward and really is an all or nothing endeavor. but more importantly, it is replacing an old outdated mindset of a methodology that never really worked except on paper with a new mindset for a methodology that does work.

-IMO

Thanks Stehno

Just as a FYI… the homes’ design may be a vintage one but it was constructed in Jan 2004…. Move in was Feb 2004.

Flooring is 5/8 tongue in groove over 16” OC joists. All the trusses and studs are also 16” OC.

The hasty posted pics are not where the gear resides. There was simply more room to shoot. It all rests on the other side of that wall in my office. Only myself and the transducers & sub reside in that room.

I get what you are saying. Absolutely. My concern is the 5/8 flooring being drilled into by four pointy spikes with 400+ lbs behind them.

Past that fact, I’m good.

So then, this idea comes to mind, “What sort/type of spike would you recommend for that amount of weight & flooring that you have used with some success?”

The “WHATEVER SPIKES” need to be 3/8 in 16 TPI, as that is the application here..

One last note… each level of the Sound Anchors rack has on the front and rear cross members, two thin but compliant discs/pads about the size of a quarter or so… thus four pads are ‘buffering’ – supporting, each component shelf.

won’t these “pads’ hamper that drainage notion some or altogether?