My new studio! Finally some pics

[rushfan33]

We bought this rundown house (as you can see in the pics) in April of 2003. My wife saw ghetto, I saw "Fuck yeah, there's my studio"! So I had to promise her that if we got the house, I would fix it up quickly!

Since I don't have any family out here, I've had to do this alone and fuckin' A I'm tired. The exterior is just about completed so now I can finally have some studio time.

Here's the pics:
RF

As you can tell, the house was as pink as pink could get. It was covered with ivy and trees. There were a total of 27 trees that I had to remove. For that part I had help.

[rushfan33]

Here's #2 of the studio.
The trees were thorny, and to remove them sucked. I've never seen ivy with roots 3" thick until I removed these.

[rushfan33]

Here's the structure without all those trees. The roof shingles were original 1947 and had to be replaced. Who paints a house pink?

[rushfan33]

Next we see some progress. The plants were starting to grow and the studio was beginning to take shape. My wife was thrilled by this transformation. Maybe she'll let me increase my musical budget now?

[rushfan33]

Here we are 5 months later. I've gained 20 pounds from all the beer, my back is killing me, and if I shovel one more piece of dirt, I will throw up!

I built a shed where all the power tools, tools, bikes and extra things can go. I'm now in the process of moving everything over. Once that's done, the space is mine! I'll be submitting my plans to you guys for your thoughts in the near future.

This pic was taken this morning.

[Dethska]

That's some NICE work! It looks really good. I can't wait to see what you do to the inside!

[rushfan33]

Oops.... forgot the image.... Here you go!

[Michael Jones]

Very Cool Rush!!!
You did a great job on the exterior.

So, let me see if I got this right:
You've been working on the exterior alone, since April of this year?

I don't feel so bad now.

Great Job!!
Keep us all posted on the rest of the transformation.

[MikeA]

You should be proud and your wife should be as well! Looks...

Homey!

[Michael Jones]

What are the dimensions?
About 12'x20' ?

[rushfan33]

Originally posted by Michael Jones
What are the dimensions?
About 12'x20' ?

Good eye MJ It's exactly 20' x 13'6".

Not the largest but it's a studio nonetheless. The good thing is that behind me is piece of land about 75x30 that used to belong to this house. The previous owner was an elderly widow and couldn't keep up with the maintenance so she sold it to someone that was going to develop the land. That was over ten years ago. There's a chance that the person might sell the land back to us, which would mean we could add on and make it much larger.

The problem is that out here in the bay area, real estate is very expensive and for a plot of land like that it could cost around $100,000. If that's the case, I'm toast!
My fingers are crossed big time.

Thanks for the replies and encouragement!
RF

[COOLCAT]

I hope you setup a business ID you can right a lot of that work off in taxes$$$

still got a few months....actually i think you can back tax for a few years, but i ain't a CPA

[Michael Jones]

20'x13'-6" is a decent size.

I asked about the size because my mind was already planning out your space.

So now tell us where you want to go and what you plan to do with it, and let's get some ideas and plans kickin' 'round here!

[rushfan33]

Originally posted by Michael Jones
20'x13'-6" is a decent size.

I asked about the size because my mind was already planning out your space.

I can use all the help I can get in the planning arena! I have tons of ideas in my head but none have clicked yet. I'm really torn between the 2 room vs. 1 room thing. I like the idea of two rooms but I'm not sure if I have the space. I'd have to reduce the control room size to accommodate a decent size tracking room. Also, I have a great view of the hills from the back of the garage, which I'm hoping to have the mixer. If I put the control room on that side, the drums will be closer to adjacent houses. Decisions decisions. I'll post ideas as soon as I get some on paper.
RF

[FattMusiek]

Very subtle and cozy, I like it.

[Michael Jones]

Originally posted by rushfan33
I can use all the help I can get in the planning arena! I have tons of ideas in my head but none have clicked yet. I'm really torn between the 2 room vs. 1 room thing. I like the idea of two rooms but I'm not sure if I have the space. I'd have to reduce the control room size to accommodate a decent size tracking room. Also, I have a great view of the hills from the back of the garage, which I'm hoping to have the mixer. If I put the control room on that side, the drums will be closer to adjacent houses. Decisions decisions. I'll post ideas as soon as I get some on paper.
RF

I think you could fit 2 rooms nicely into that space, and it'd end up being SO much more usable for you.

So let me see if I understand:
The "backside" of the studio offers a tremendous view!?

The "backside" is NOT what we see in the pics; in fact, the double doors in the photo, on the 13'-6" side is what we'll call the "front", and its closest to the neighbors?

Oh yeah, and how high are the ceilings?
How far over is the white door from the back corner?
How wide is that door?

How wide are the double doors?
How far over are they from the front corner?

where is the rear window located?

Are these dimensions, and the 13'-6"x20' dimensions, inside or outside?

[Michael Jones]

Just a quick thought....:

[rushfan33]

Holy shit MJ! That looks great! Here are the answers to your questions. I very much appreciate your input. I've posted some pics of the inside for you. Thanks again,
RF

"So let me see if I understand:
The "backside" of the studio offers a tremendous view!?"

The view is of the hills with the historic "Niles" written on the hillside. I grew up looking at it from a distance and it means a lot that I now live right underneath it. I'll post a pic. The pic does not do it justice...especially in the spring time, it looks beautiful!

"The "backside" is NOT what we see in the pics; in fact, the double doors in the photo, on the 13'-6" side is what we'll call the "front", and its closest to the neighbors?"

You're correct about the neighbors. The door that you see in the pic is actually a single large door that I'll have to rebuild. I wqas thinking of doing the double door thing. Either way, I have to make it appear as if it is fully functional. Code prohibits not having a covered space for your vehicle.

"Oh yeah, and how high are the ceilings?"

From the concrete to the bottom of the crossbeam, it's 8'4".

"How far over is the white door from the back corner?"

The small white door is 7' from the back wall. If I can help it, I'd like to be able to keep that door there as the hardscape on the outside is custom to that door as you can see in the pics.

"How wide is that door?"

It's a 36" steel door which I'm sure I'll have to change to a solid core door.

"How wide are the double doors?"

The large door in the front is 8' wide exactly.

"How far over are they from the front corner?"

The door ends are 25" from either side.

"where is the rear window located?"

Right in the center of the back wall. It's only about 24"x30". I'd like to have one that's at least 48"x48". If I can, I'd also like to get one that's tinted a little to avoid people from looking in at night.

"Are these dimensions, and the 13'-6"x20' dimensions, inside or outside?"

The dimensions of 13-6x20 are the outside dimensions. All others are inside.

[rushfan33]

Here's the view! It looks a lot farther away than it really is.

[rushfan33]

This is the inards of the garage/studio. It's a little hard to tell what's going on in there but just in cae, here it is.

[jimmyguitar]

Hey, Rush !! Nice work, my friend. Nice to see somebody knows what the hay they're doing. I just moved from Southern to Northern California and had to downsize my studio from about 35x14 to 14x12, but it all works out. Didn't need as much space as I thought I did. All works out well. Good luck with the studio. Hope to see finished project pictures when you're done.

Jimmy

[rushfan33]

Jimmy,
What part of Cal are you in now?

[rushfan33]

Michael,

I've been looking at your design and kinda picturing it while I'm standing in the garage! Everytime I go in there to do this, it looks smaller and smaller. I'm really stuck now between having a two room with an isolation booth studio. I keep thinking if I had a large room with a nice ISO booth for vocals and guitar/bass cabs, it might work a little better for. In my heart of hearts, I WANT a two room studio with and ISO booth but the limited space is what's keeping my minds undecided.

I love your idea with the mic booth and all that.... I didn't actually consider that in my initial ideas. I'm trying to think of a design where I can put the mic cabinet almost into the wall and use a slot resonator as a cabinet door face to maximize space.

Also I wanted to put this idea out to see what people think of it....

I was at Home Depot and seen that the drywall comes in 12' lengths. would it be beneficial sound wise to put the innermost layer of 12' drywall verticle to form this ----> ( type of shape? I could use the first 6 or 7' of the drywall in a perfectly straigt verticle position and the rest I could bend into the ceiling to form a rounded design at the top.

Any thoughts or concern about doing this?
Thanks,
RF

[Giganova]

awesome work, rush, and what a tremendous view!!

Michael's studio plan is awesome, too. If you needed a larger control room, maybe you don't need a separate booth and use the 'live room' for tracking vocals?

Keep us posted!

[rushfan33]

Originally posted by Giganova
awesome work, rush, and what a tremendous view!!

Michael's studio plan is awesome, too. If you needed a larger control room, maybe you don't need a separate booth and use the 'live room' for tracking vocals?

Keep us posted!

Thanks Giganova....
The reason for being so indecisive about the rooms is stemming from the fact that I'm a drummer first, a recordist second! I've been playing drums for over 20 years and I know how drums can sound in very small rooms. I've also been recording for awhile and I understand the importance of having a good size control room. Then I have the question of "do I wanna see the hills while I'm playing drums, or while I'm mixing?" Oyvay!!

I found out that where the light post is in the picture I posted, they're going to build a roundhouse for trains. That's gonna be cool when it's done. I've never even seen a roundhouse before.
I think I'd rather have the view for mixing at this point! That'll make more sense anyway as far as isolation for drums.
I have about 2 more weekends of house stuff and then it's studio studio studio.

I'm really thinking about this rounded walls idea with 12' sheetrock. That could be very cool!
RF