room dimensions

zekthedeadcow

New member
I am building an outdoor "iso shed" :) and am trying to come up with dimensions for it...

Acoustics101.com suggests "5’x6’ and have a ceiling 9’ high"

however I need to fit a large drumset inside. could I tilt this room on it's side so it's 5'x9' and 6' tall? But then 6' tall is too short for many people to do vocals.

The only restriction is that I'm building it so it can be disassembled and loaded on a flatbed trailer as I will be moving twice in the next few years so I'm willing to have the dimensions go up to around 15' to get a decient axial mode.

what "large bedroom" size dimensions would have a decient frequency response... I will be applying treatment anyway... I just don't want the treatment to be overwhelming :)
 
5x6x9 is not too bad, but inside dim's of 7x8x10 is better, and you can put any dim any way you want - it's still the same modal response, which in this case is as good as you'll get a small room.

It's also big enough for drums, although you might want to allow more on one end for a slat resonator with variable depth - takes some of the flutter echo out, keeps the "sheen" on the cymbals, and, with another bass trap incorporated in whichever corner you can spare, would help tame the kick and low tom leakage.

Here is one thread where one of these resonators is discussed nearly to death...

http://www.recording.org/cgi-local/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=5;t=000309

Remember, the good modal response I mentioned above is based on these being the INSIDE dimensions, so the outside would be 8' wide, which is the legal width for a trailer. If you split the shed into two pieces lengthwise, you could make it 13x7x9 inside, which, figuring 6" walls would make the total outside dims 14x8x10h, which would break down into two halves 7x8x10' tall, and HEAVY if you use mass for soundproofing (don't know any other way) The modal response of this size is still very good -

If you dedicated 2 feet of one end for a combination bass trap/slat resonator (bass trap on bottom) and varied the depth of the traps from (say) 12" to 32", you could tune the slats for specific low mids and the bass trap would work for lows, still leaving you with 7 x 11 feet average inside, and only two pairs of parallel surfaces to deal with.

I don't have the time right now to calculate what all this would weigh, even in two halves - all I can say is, I hope you have a friend with a fork lift or crane -

If you have mor $bux than brawn, here's another idea - these guys make booths that are up to 8-1/2 x 15-1/2, they take down into manageable pallets of parts, and can be put together by two guys in less than half a day - like I said though, $$$$ - also, I don't think they're outdoor rated so you'd have to come up with a "skin" of some kind, not sure what would work there.

http://www.whisperroom.com/WEB_specs/td102144E.htm

This is an 8.5 x 12 size, with "enhanced" isolation - OK, sit down - you sitting? From whisper room's site -

MDL 102144 E ( 8.5 ft x 12 ft ) Door window, lights(2), cable passages(8),
foam sheets(13), ventilation units(4),
Isolation Enhancement Package $15,400

Sooo, since that doesn't include the outdoor "skin", have you considered just buying a small travel trailer and gutting it, adding an under-floor filled with rockwool, furring out the walls and adding Resilient Channel/2 layers of sheet rock, and just dragging the whole thing with you when you leave?

Seriously, might be worth a look when you consider that each HALF of the room I described above will probably weigh around 1500 pounds, assuming 1" of MDF for flooring, 2x4 framing, double sheet rock everywhere inside, 5/8" plywood siding outside, and strong enough framing to be movable, and NOT including whatever framing, etc, for traps/absorbers. Just a rough estimate based on an in-head calc of materials/weights, probably forgot something...

Not to be flip, but have you considered just renting a space? Might be simpler and cheaper... Steve
 
heh, thanks.

My thought process was more along the line of "how big"...and with that answered can now turn more to "how" :)

...and "how" is a good question... thats what designing plans is for...and that is what I'm still doing... and probably will be doing for a few months :)

I still have to figure out how the ventalation systems work...anybody? :)

It being managable is a concern and when it comes to moving it I figure each wall section will weigh as much as a cast iron bathtub...which I have moved up flights of stairs before ... a little redneck engineering goes a long way. You'd be suprised how much you can move with a wheeled cart, a "come along" pully, and a tree.

I think I can do it...I just hope I don't get a darwin award in the process :)


That travel trailer is actually a good idea as right now I am doing mostly location recording as I can't get enough "loud time" where I am... I'll have to check on that...as it would probably be cheaper too...

thanks
 
Actually, I wouln't be surprised at the value of "Redneck Engineering" at all - besides the tools you mentioned, I've added 6-foot pry bars, a Harbor Freight winch, a full-size Case backhoe (used, but functional), custom forks for the bucket, built a 6" bucket for the hoe (narrow ditches, factory buckets aren't availiable less than 12", and mine will only dig 4' deep without the bucket curl linkage widening the ditch)

If you get into longer wall sections than you can handle, look at the whisperroom link again - you could do shorter wall sections, and clamp them together with foam-padded inner and outer boards, held together with T-nuts, fender washers and long bolts - I think you could build something similar to their booth with weatherproof outside covering and the modular approach.

Their vent kits are just a duct that's been reversed a couple of times, with absorbent at the switchbacks and a low noise squirrelcage fan. Squirrel cages are MUCH quieter than normal, axial fans for the same flow. If you blow IN to one of these baffled ducts, you'll get the air circulation you need and keep a slight positive pressure on the room, so when you open the door it doesn't suck all the dust/cat hair/leaves/dog turds that are within 4 feet of the door, INTO the room...

I did this type of duct for a darkroom in a bedroom once, only without the absorbent - worked great, got the air I needed without the light I didn't need...

If you're thinking of going mobile, depending on your budget you might start with one of those "high cube" vans - no trailer to try and back up, good square corners for construction, easy to furr out and add a couple layers of drywall, good suspension for all the weight, good lockable doors (they come with a walk-in rear door instead of the roll-up, might be better for this) And, if you get it quiet enough you could probably get one of those small quiet Honda generators so you could park out in the woods and blast to your heart's content... Steve
 
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