Building a Booth (Need Help)

[P Stew]

alright, so im recording my rap vocals in my room...so i've decided to make a booth in the corner of my room....just wondering....what i should make the outside of?....just wood?...was thinking bout using old doors.....i really need help....i know ima be getting alot of Auralex for the inside... i just need some help with the outside.... i have just under 4 feet by 4 feet for booth room...

so if someone can help me out....

cause i dont wanna spend lik 2 thousand for one...

[pandamonk]

What do you need it to be, sound insulated, or just a place that is dead? If you've not got the Auralex, dont get it. Buy 2" rigid fiberglass and cover it with material(you can get it cheap buying curtains, or bed sheets, if you can't buy it cheap normally, i know i can't). For the structure, if you want it to be sound insulated then two layers of plasterboard(drywall). If sound insulation doesn't matter then have one layer of drywall. And for a door, 2 thick pieces of MDF screwed together, with rubber seals all round and a handle. For good a sound insulated booth, you will want to float the floor. take a look at attatched pictures. If you don't need it to be too insulated, take away the outer layer of drywall. I don't know how much this will all cost, but it shouldn't be too much. Ohh and before i forget, caulk any gaps, eg between drywall sheets.

Drywall
2x2 wood
particle board
carpet
rigid fiberglass
material
caulk
a light

Also you will need to breathe, and be able to feed cables in and out, that's the tricky part, i'll leave that too someone more experienced.

[LemonTree]

Hey Panda, I don't mean to piss on your fire or anything mate...but maybe have a look at John Sayers site before handing out advice on studio construction. That's not exactly a great booth design


John Sayers Productions

The way you have that drywall then air then more drywall on wooden studs is actualy less effective than just a double layer of different thickness drywall on the inside. 4"x2" studs with the rigid on the inside covered in material, a 2 " gap then the double layered drywall would be a much better design. All your walls are parallel, that's a big no no!, and as for breathing.....well it's just a vocal booth, no equipment = no heat so it'll be cool (pun intended).

enjoy the link

[wx3]

How come the universal puncuation for rappers is always (...)?

[LemonTree]

rappers? LMFAO!

you couldn't be more wrong mate.....I dot....when I'm thinking....of what to say.....next

[pandamonk]

Rick keeps saying that a double layer of drywall only cuts around 6dB, but with an airgap it made much better, i don't know, i may have been misinformed. Also, i didn't think that parallel walls would be much of an issue in a "dead" vocal booth.

[Innovations]

Wow is there some misinformation going on here. To start with we aren't really sure what they guy is looking to get from his booth. Isolation, absorbtion or both.

The best Isolation is with a mass-cushion-mass system which except for the details the plan is not far from. it needs a lot more details around the door.

And no need for ventillation because there is no heat because there is no equipment? Uh, how about the heat of the PERSON inside this sealed insulated box, not to mention the fact that I suspect that the person actually needs, you know, oxygen!

[punkin]

I...don't...really...care...for...rapp...I...just... ... I...can't...explain...it. I'm...a...rocker...at...heart...(...).

[LemonTree]

Originally Posted by Innovations

And no need for ventillation because there is no heat because there is no equipment? Uh, how about the heat of the PERSON inside this sealed insulated box, not to mention the fact that I suspect that the person actually needs, you know, oxygen!

In a homerecording world not everyone has the space or the money for an HVAC system. It's a vocal booth...you go in and do a vocal and come out again....no chance of dying from oxygen starvation. Did you ever see the film Apollo 13?

You know some people take this place far too seriously. Chances are in most cases if you build a HOME studio you're gonna be recording yourself, friends and family. When you outgrow that and make some money after confirming it's your goal in life it's time to think about HVAC.

Just lighten up a little

[LemonTree]

Originally Posted by pandamonk

Rick keeps saying that a double layer of drywall only cuts around 6dB, but with an airgap it made much better, i don't know, i may have been misinformed. Also, i didn't think that parallel walls would be much of an issue in a "dead" vocal booth.

Hey panda, check out the john sayers link. Anyone who is anyone in the studio building forum has used that site along with SAE as fundimental guidelines.

Good luck with the shed

[pandamonk]

Originally Posted by LemonTree

Hey panda, check out the john sayers link. Anyone who is anyone in the studio building forum has used that site along with SAE as fundimental guidelines.

Good luck with the shed

Read through SAE a load of times.

[pandamonk]

Originally Posted by Innovations

Wow is there some misinformation going on here. To start with we aren't really sure what they guy is looking to get from his booth. Isolation, absorbtion or both.

The best Isolation is with a mass-cushion-mass system which except for the details the plan is not far from. it needs a lot more details around the door.

And no need for ventillation because there is no heat because there is no equipment? Uh, how about the heat of the PERSON inside this sealed insulated box, not to mention the fact that I suspect that the person actually needs, you know, oxygen!

Between to two layers of drywall, will you be wanting insulation? And yes, i knew about the door, wasn't totally sure about it.

[pandamonk]

Reading SAE again, I should really read this more often. But also, this is just a vocal booth, will you need that much isolation?

[pandamonk]

Ohh, forgot to mention in the plan that the floating floor is/should be on neoprene pads, or some kind of rubber sheet (R10)

[pandamonk]

On sae it says that a single layer staggered stud wall like the one in the plan has a STC rating:
No Insulation 42(more than a standard brick wall)
With Insulation 48
(common base)
and a double has:
No Insulation 50
With Insulation 54

which doesn't seem like a HUGE difference when it's only for vocals, especially when there is a budget. This will not have a "common base" it'll have a floating floor. Also, what if you have different thicknesses of plasterboard on my plan?

[pandamonk]

Ok been thinking about ventilation and have come up this a plan. What about having a vent at the bottom of the outer layer of plasterboard, and have a vent at the top of the inner layer. Having insulation better the 2 layers to absorb the sound, and having fabric behind the vents so as to not allow any insulation fibers into the room, but still allow the air in/out? (check out attached pic)

[pandamonk]

Would this door be ok?

[pandamonk]

Idea for cabling, would this work/be the best idea? Ohh i have such an over-active imagination, lol