Small Studio Construction - Need a few opions

ENIGMACODE

ENIGMACODE

New member
Small Studio Construction - Need a few opinions :)

Hello ....... anybody got a minute to check this out?

In considering construction techniques for this project, I welcome all comments. All that I suggest when examining the project, and the limited area of approx. 176 sq. feet, is that you please consider the fact that this is only a hobby. A (multi-purpose) studio to be built within the small basement of a 2-bedroom row home.

I’ve researched some construction options regarding acoustical materials the walls:

Insulation panels (as opposed to Auralex panels), for the walls:
http://www.knauffiberglass.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=prd.dspProdDetail&ID=21

OR - Simply cover the walls with fiberglass, then cover the fiberglass with fabric?

OR - Another alternative to Auralex - Go to an HVAC supply house and get 4x8 sheets of "ductboard" insulation. (Compressed Fiberglas that's backed w/foil) Go to a larger fabric store and get some nice, color-coordinated material. Then wrap the ductboard in the material, screw it to the wall.

OR - ArmCom Distributing (952-926-2177).
'Nubbie Tile' also called 'Nubbie Board'. It
comes in most any size you need but is stocked as 2'x4' and
4'x8' panels. Made by Armstrong Ceiling Products - it's
more exensive than drywall but?

AND - I do realize that the application of Bass Traps in small areas could be more critical than in larger areas…

Here are some rough sketches that also pose several questions:

http://locationstudio.net/layout-1.jpg < Main overview

http://locationstudio.net/layout-3.jpg < Parting wall

http://locationstudio.net/layout-2.jpg < Wall opposite parting wall

http://locationstudio.net/layout-4.jpg < Interior Studio Wall

Thank you all for your contributions!

Best Regards
Michael Fraticelli
rocknroll@ucwphilly.rr.com
:cool:
 
Last edited:
Interesting challenge, though I'm not entirely sure what exactly you're trying to accomplish.

If this studio is to be built in a basement, are you more concerned about acoustic reflections or isolation?

I would imagine that if you were in a basement and you were trying to keep the sound in, the one place that you would absolutely want to increase the density of the wall would be the ceiling, after all wouldn't all the walls and floor already be surrounded by... earth? For this same reason it seems illogical to build a floating floor in that room - generally the reason to build a floating floor is because the concrete on the floor is coupled with the concrete outside - which is why a common alternate (or additional) solution to a floating floor is to cut the slab around the perimeter of the room, but if you're already underground... I suppose you could get really anal about it and say 'the concrete could resonate sub-bass frequencies within the room' but really, don't get that anal about a hobby studio. The thing that is most likely to annoy you down there are reflections:

As far as reflections go, anything with a hard surface isn't going to help much - even if it is going to provide some acoustic isolation, so I would advise against the Knauf boards for this purpose - also it doesn't perform as well as 2" 703 (see below) although it looks as though it would be easier to install. I would also advise against regular fiberglass - I tried using R38 at first and not only is it a pain in the ass to work with, it doesn't perform that well. As far as ductboard type insulation wrapped in fabric? If you were going to go that route, I would suggest instead using the Owens and Corning 703 type mineral fiber insulation (which is actually cheaper and performs better than Auralex's mineral fiber insulation). This is the type of material you might want to consider installing on the ceiling, since it also helps with sound transmission fairly well. Just be forewarned: it sucks to work with this stuff - wear a face mask and gloves, and be prepared to cough this stuff up for hours afterwards anyway. It is for this reason that I decided not to use this on the outside of my walls (even covered in fabric) even though some other studios do. It works wonders on the inside of the walls though - my live room effectively contains about 120 decibels down to 250hz... but that's drifting off into the topic of sound isolation.

If you have an aversion to Auralex, you can hang some sound absorbant fire blankets on the walls for the reflections, and that will help. Make sure that you use fireproof materials (no carpet padding or egg crates) or risk at best the wrath of the fire marshall, or at worst - a fiery death. There are a lot of good fundamentals to learn at www.acoustics101.com though - that might answer some of your other questions. One other thing to keep in mind about reflection absorbant material - the contours in the foam are there for a reason. You get more 'surface area' with which to absorb the reflections that way.

One good thing to do would be to take your amps or stereo system down to your basemet, and blast it really really loud - this should help to identify any potential problems that need solutions - i.e. where exactly is the sound escaping, are there reflection problems, etc...

But just from looking at your diagrams, yes you will need bass traps for a space that small, re: layout 3 - it is a good idea to leave empty space (dead air) between the outer wall and the inner wall, assuming that the space is airtight. You don't necessarily need drywall on the back side of the wall and in fact I would advise against it if you are going to put your mineral insulation inside the walls.

My walls in my live room are like this: existing wall w/ blown in cellulose insulation, dead air pocket, metal studs w/ 4" 703 mineral fiber in-between, resillient channel with drywall, sheetblock, drywall, 4" auralex studiofoam wedges on top - it works pretty well... of course, my studio isn't a hobby. ;)

I hope this helps
 
One more observation. I know this is a ROUGH layout. But do yourself a favor. Do a precision layout to SCALE. Just one look at the first layout, and I see a door at the front side of house leading into studio., Compared to scale of distance given across both dimensions of the room, when it comes time to build, your door will be MUCH bigger. That translates into NOT FITTING your layout. I've seen more than one person get in trouble when it came time to build by assuming things, and not considering TRUE scale. My .02
fitZ:)
 
Constructing a simple multi-purpose studio

RICK FITZPATRICK

"Just one look at the first layout, and I see a door at the front side of house leading into studio"

Rick - thanx for your reply - no need to worry about rough drawings or anything like that ....... I'm a licensed building Inspector (employed for 29 years) by the City Of Phiadelphia - actually I'd like to get you guys to help me in regard to getting right down to the heart of some things .... :)

dmGremlin
"If this studio is to be built in a basement, are you more concerned about acoustic reflections or isolation?"
Probably more about REFLECTION

"the one place that you would absolutely want to increase the density of the wall would be the ceiling"
Yes - I'll definitely treat the cieling

"I would also advise against regular fiberglass - I tried using R38 at first and not only is it a pain in the ass to work with, it doesn't perform that well. As far as ductboard type insulation wrapped in fabric? If you were going to go that route, I would suggest instead using the Owens and Corning 703 type mineral fiber insulation (which is actually cheaper and performs better than Auralex's mineral fiber insulation)"

dmGremlin - Auralex is Great Stuff - just trying to save a little money - Getting right down to it, Yes I need to find an EFFECTIVE (cheaper) method of sound dampening the INTERIOR - and it seems you may have provided a good possibility ie:
"Owens and Corning 703 type mineral fiber insulation"

I'd love for you to expand a little in regard to HOW you attached the Corning 703 to the Interior drywall surface, and HOW your fabric was attached to the insulation? As I understand it, this will be CHEAPER than buying Aurelex Wedges - and it works just FINE - yes? I'll need to be prepared to use a SUFFICIENT respirator ..... by the way, if I go this way, is it STILL neccessary to install a double layer of drywall if I'm gonna cover it with Corning 703?

"yes you will need bass traps for a space that small"
UNDERSTOOD

Let me RECAP:
In regard to the crude layout diagrams above, please understand that Pressure Treated RUNNER'S have ALREADY been attached to the floor - 3/4" Plywood subfloor will be NEXT - PLENTY OF GLUE RIGHT?

Would LOVE for you guys to jump right in here ....... :)

Let's keep this going ........:)

Thanx so much!
Best Regards
Michael Fraticelli
rocknroll@ucwphilly.rr.com
 
Last edited:
If you are planning on using the whole room as a single room (ie. no isolation booth separate from a control room, etc.), then you need to be concerned with your parallel walls. Are you intending to permanently wall in the area where the garage door is at? If so, I would consider making that the wall where my monitors would be located, facing back toward the wider section at the bottom of your diagram. I don't know what kind of monitors you are using, but I would consider some type of soffit system for mounting the speakers (for more information go to http://www.johnlsayers.com/ and follow the link to the Recording Studio Manual). This will have the added benefit of providing a surface area that is not parallel to the back wall.

For the side walls, a lot of people would recommend some type or splayed wall (something like 12 degrees seems to be a psuedo-standard) but with your width of 8 feet or so, it would probably make more sense to incorporate some slat resonators (again, find that in the Recording Studio Manual). These will help break up the sidewall effect.

For other acoustic treatment, the OC 703 is the most highly recommended material to use which gives the most bang for the buck. I'm not sure if the "ductboard" insulation is the same thing or not, but it might offer similar acoustic dampening characteristics. From the above link, if you go into the Recording Studio Design forum, there is a wealth of information on materials and alternatives that should be available most anywhere. For my studio, I found that I was able to get the treatment I needed by using a certain type of ceiling tile I picked up at Home Depot (this tile is made of 1/2" rigid fiberglass and has a white finished surface on one side; the finish peals off easily and you're left with a piece of rigid fiberglass).

You can easily construct corner bass traps for practically nothing. I made mine by installing 2x4's about 2 ft from the corner, installing angled 2x4's between the upright boards, sealing the wall/floor/ceiling/ board joints with silicon caulking, stuffing the corner cavity with R19 instulation in several layers, then attaching a piece of 1/8" paneling to the room side, and finally sealing everything again with caulk. It works great.

That's enough for now, I suppose. Sounds like a lot of fun. My space is only 8x8 or so, and I'm ready to add on a vocal booth for some isolation, but I'll probably have to wait until the kids go to college before my wife will give me permission to do that one.

Cheers,
Darryl.....
 
Constructing a simple One Room Studio

Hey Darryl.....
THANX FOR YOUR REPLY!

"you need to be concerned with your parallel walls"
Well my freind I've read a LOT about this (from John Sayers too) I don't think I can devote much time or effort on it - you see I may sell this house 5 years from now - so I unless I know that the situation is gonna make it IMPOSSIBLE to get a good tight sound for rehearsing or occasional recording, I'd like to keep the room a little more marketable - Wall Treatments shouldn't hurt resale too much ...... know what I mean?

I've got a few questions for you in regard to WALL Treatment:
"For other acoustic treatment, the OC 703 is the most highly recommended material to use which gives the most bang for the buck"

Darryl - Did you install this material on your walls?
You mentioned that:
"I found that I was able to get the treatment I needed by using a certain type of ceiling tile I picked up at Home Depot (this tile is made of 1/2" rigid fiberglass and has a white finished surface on one side; the finish peals off easily and you're left with a piece of rigid fiberglass).

Darryl - so then where you use what type of material?
On your Cielings and on your Walls?

I thought I'd buy some Aurelex Wedge Panels for the Cieling
(just on the cieling) - save a little money ........
OR ......perhaps I can use those tiles that you bought on the cieling?
BUT - Is accoustical Value any good?

"the finish peals off easily and you're left with a piece of rigid fiberglass)."
Can you be more explanatory? Photos?

"You can easily construct corner bass traps for practically nothing)"
YEAH MAN THAT'S THE TICKET!

Get back to me ...... :0
Thanx

Best Regards
Michael Fraticelli
rocknroll@ucwphilly.rr.com
 
I didn't use any 703 in my studio, but from what I understand, the stuff I did use is equivalent to half thickness 703 (ie. it is rigid fiberglass but is only 1/2" thick instead of 1" thick). I had picked up a box of Auralex foam at a Mars Music store that was going out of business for next to nothing, so when I added the fiberglass tiles it was to tame a few problems that I didn't have enough of the Auralex stuff to do. In retrospect, it would have been more cost effective to have forgotten about the Auralex stuff (even at the bargain price) and just used the tiles.

For me, right now I only have the tiles temporarily installed. I have 2 1/2 walls covered from desktop height up (the tiles are just tacked to the walls), a piece directly above the mix position, and some loose pieces that I clamp onto my shelves behind me. Eventually I'll install them permanently with some type of fabric covering (insulation yellow is pretty ugly).

I bought a box of these tiles for about $35 and am only using about 2/3 of the box (to give you a rough idea of the cost).

I couldn't think of it earlier, but the 1/8" plywood I used for my bass trap was actually luan (like the wood on cheap interior wood doors). I think the whole bass trap cost less than $20 to construct, including the insulation and luan.

Anyway, have fun.
Darryl.....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top