Building Studio from Scratch in Backyard: Need help

wjn94

New member
Hello All,

I am new to the forums so hi!

I have been doing my own research on building soundproofed and acoustically treated rooms, but I just want to confirm what people are telling me. In addition, I have never built a room myself before and was wondering if I could have some advice from what some people who have might have done differently so I can avoid those problems in the future. We just purchased a house with a big backyard and I want to build my studio as a new room from the ground up, which will of course be in the backyard. I will refer to the outer room as the outside room, and the studio room as the inside room.

Questions:

1. I know that I have to build a room within a room, but the inside studio room must be "floating" and not connected to the outside room unless by neoprene rubber or some type of buffer between the two rooms. Is this correct?
1a. If so, is there something I should use besides neoprene rubber?

2. What are the advantages, and how do I take advantage of those advantages, of building an entire studio room from scratch?

3. I see some people use R13 fiberglass on the outside room and Roxul on the inside room. Should I follow this or should I use Roxul all the way around on both inside and outside rooms?

4. I see some people use concrete blocks for the inside room, but others use sheetrock for the walls. I assume that concrete blocks and sheetrock will reflect sound, but I am not entirely sure. Is there a different material I should use as walls for the inside room?
4a. Also, should I have a wall of sheetrock in between the outside room and the inside room or should I just leave that open so that the fiber glass and roxul have no wall between them if I chose to do fiberglass outside and roxul inside.

5. I am not sure what people are doing for the floor, so what are your suggestions? What should be my foundation? How do I acoustically treat the floors? Is there a thick mat I should use or some type of foam? Does all of this lay on top of even more insulation?

6. How big should I make the room if I am focused on only vocals? I am not recording bands and I do not play any instruments yet, so I am primarily focused on making an airtight studio for mixing, mastering, and recording vocals. What is the height and area for an ideal environment to record vocals? (need some professional engineering advice here)

7. What type of roof is ideal for such a project? Should I go with the cone shaped (sorry, don’t know the correct term here) or should I go with just a flat roof? Which one is better for recording?

8. What kind of windows do professional recording studios use so that you can see the performer, but you both cannot hear each other through the glass?

9. How much do you think this project will cost? Of course it depends, but what range have you experienced?

10. Are there any suggestions as to what I should avoid or what I should be careful of before beginning this project? Any constructive advice would help!
 
From the sheer volume of your questions, you need to get a professional studio designer involved. Or do a ton of reading and consult with a local building contractor. Is your budget over $20,000? It'll need to be at least that for a small studio room - building costs in the US now are about $50/square foot average, so double that (+) for a 'room within a room' and all the special materials/treatment needed.
 
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Hop on amazon.com and buy a copy of "Home recording studio: build it like the pros" by Gervais. That book will address almost all of your questions, and will give you a pretty solid foundation of knowledge on the subject.
 
There are many things to be avoided, and some to be sought out. i.e. square rooms, low ceilings (not so good)...and hardwood floors (you want them)
It is a monumental task you have undertaken. It may be monumentally expensive. If you're planning a single room, you might reconsider soundproof unless you need it for some noise statute.

Firstly, I second the book Tadpui recommended. Even in doing my small room in the house without iso it was invaluable. Read it and get a firm grip on what you're going to be doing.
Then, as Mike said, contact a pro. We have two or three here. JHBrandt (user name) does this stuff for a living. LINK to see what he has been doing. Also, Ethan Winer is one of the country's top acoustic engineers (also on the board). LINK They can't promote themselves here, but I recommend their knowledge in your endeavor. If you are budgeting for a sound isolated room, you can certainly get some consulting time with one or the other or both.
 
Hop on amazon.com and buy a copy of "Home recording studio: build it like the pros" by Gervais. That book will address almost all of your questions, and will give you a pretty solid foundation of knowledge on the subject.

+1

This book will not only answer several of your questions, it will provide suggested designs for building.
 
Get the book.

I spent over 20k on my existing room. Framing, insulation, sheet rock, electrical and acoustic treatment. (I still need a bit more treatment.) But I had a general contractor do it.

One thing I wish I'd done is add computer networking jacks on all the walls.

Good luck and keep us posted, we love seeing pictures of the process.
 
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