Building Home Studio

bloeff

New member
Hi all,

Newbie here. Thanks for having me! I am currently converting a mobile home :facepalm: (I know) bedroom into a recording studio. I am a singer only and have no plans to record anything but vocals. If I need instrumentals in the future I will simply create MIDI files.

My first step was to take my plan to several builders and engineers to see if the project was feasible in terms of live and dead loads. One man was kind enough to print an engineering sheet showing that the plan will exceed all building codes. Since I've never done anything like this before, I'm going a step further and installing support pillars under the outriggers under the mobile home - just for my peace of mind!

The dimensions of the room are 13' x 13' x 87" high. At this point the room is down to studs, insulation, and subfloor. I'm planning on putting up 2 layers of 1/2" drywall with GG in between all around the perimeter of the room. Next, I'm going to build a room within a room with 25 guage steel stud framing with the base and top plates 3" in. First of a multitude of questions - I've read 1" to 3" - any reason to choose anything particular in that range? I'm planning on leaving the outside of the inner room unfinished and finishing the inside of the inner room with 2 layers of 1/2" drywall with GG in between and filling the gap with insulation - or whatever you recommend. I haven't seen that configuration online. I think it qualifies as decoupled. Will this result in a decent STC rated room or do I need to finish the outside of the inner room?

Before I build the inner walls, I'm planning on nailing 2x4's on top plates at opposite ends of the room to act as ceiling rim joists, and running sistered 2x4's across the 13' span with intermittent cross bracing and a 16" span between joists. There will be no connection to the existing ceiling. I've only consulted one builder on this and he thought it could support the load of two layers of 1/2 drywall. Wisdom is in a multitude of counsels, so I'm certainly leaving this open to more input. Any engineer-minded feel free to jump in here! ;)

Also here anyone can chime in on suggested flooring. :)

I know this room is far from perfect in terms of acoustics - especially the low ceiling and raised floor. I really don't have any option to tear out the existing ceiling and trying to go up higher. :(

I don't know if it's appropriate to ask acoustic questions here, but is there any hope of getting a decent sound for my vocals. I'm planning on having my workstation (monitor, keyboard, mouse, and speakers) in the room and isolating the PC in another room. Will I run into acoustical problems with this setup? Should I attempt to move the control room into another room?

Sorry this is so long winded. I did as much research as I could before I consulted you guys. Thanks for your patience and replies! :thumbs up:
 
Is your concern outside noise getting in, or your singing (inside noise) getting out?

Where are you going to do your mixing? A square room is not good for acoustic due to standing waves, a rectangular one would be better, but you're already dealing with a small space. read the sticky thread here about small room acoustics.

How are you decoupling the inside walls from the flooring?

What is 'GG'?
 
Thanks for your reply! My main concern is keeping outside noise from getting in. I'll be doing my mixing in the inner room. As you stated, I'm severely limited in space. I could partition off an area to hold the PC. That might open up the possibility of some kind of irregularly shaped room. Would you recommend that? Good question on floor decoupling. I haven't really researched that too much. What would you recommend? GG refers to Green Glue - a damping compound.
 
Just my opinion, but I think you're going to an awful lot of work (and expense) for what will probably give you mediocre results, at best.

Is outside noise that bad where you are?

I can tell you that I live on a busy road (and its a corner, so I can hear side traffic, too.) When I'm recording with a mic, I seldom get any 'road noise' being picked up by the mic. I keep the low-cut filter on as it doesn't affect vocal or acoustic guitar recording at all, but cuts out the rumble. In the summer, I'll need to shut all the windows and turn off the room A/C (yes, it can get hot, so I plan accordingly). If a particularly loud truck or motorcycle comes by during a take, I just keep recording, but then do another take (I always do multiple takes anyway and comp when needed). The kitchen fridge in the next room (which is about 18 years old) is noisy, too - but if I set up a bass trap behind the mic (the null of the mic anyway) that is 'looking' towards that direction, it doesn't get picked up. When I'm tracking, I'll move the ticking clock from the wall into the other room, and even unplug the noisy filter on the fish tank in the living room.

Your room is too small to make into an ideal-dimensioned room (say 9'x13', which is getting too small anyway). Your best bet is to build or buy a bunch of rockwool bass traps, make superchunks for the corners, and use a few of the bass traps as movable gobos to block some of the reflections in the room when recording vocals. Had you even thought about ventilation - heat & a/c in this 'room within a room'? You could easily spend as much as your whole mobile home is worth to make an ideally isolated room.
 
Thanks so much for your feedback! I'm just trying to get as close to a studio sound as I can get. Obviously, isolation is part of that and of course room treatment. Others have said with proper treatment I can get good results. I've ordered Rod Gervais Build it Like the Pros book. That, along with opinions like yours, will strongly influence how I proceed.

Thanks again,
Bruce
P.S. I have thought about ventilation and done a little research. I'll see what Rod says, but you're right, it's going to be a real pain!
 
"Studio sound" doesn't really mean anything. You want an Abbey Road studio sound? You need a BIG room. You want Nashville pro studio sound? Take a look at the pictures of those multi-dimensioned rooms with nice wood surfaces and plenty of sound absorption materials.
In a small room, you work with what you've got - like most of the people here. A 'room within a room' is used for isolation - keeping sound in AND out - not for getting a particular sound.
 
^agree^

In fact, I'd spend some of the cash you were going to spend on increased security (maybe a Rottweiler) for your mobile home.
 
Well, the problem my limited perception is catching is this: If you spend $15-20K on isolating a room within a room, ventilation via the normal noiseless slots, double soundproofed doors, double pane sound isolating windows, etc., why not dump that into a separate space? For the money you're talking about spending, you could buy a 12x20 shed for less than $3000 and have quite the budget for pulling off the rest...AND have a bigger space. Of course this assumes you have some space to work with land-wise...
 
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