Basement studio Ideas (with Pics!)

[Kjv1993]

Hello, I am building a studio in this small room in my basement and was wondering what kind of ideas you guys have as far as walls, celing and flooring. As you can see it is very rough, but can be fixed up.

My main sound problem is creeking/footsteps/buzzing from the fridge, all which is from upstairs.

For this I was going to use insulation. But which would be better: 2 layers of pink fiberglass or one layer of cotton insulation?
I was then going to use 2 layers of drywall under the insulation. Instead of directly screwing the drywall to the joice, i was going to use a layer of rubber mat inbetween to kill vibrations.

Would this combination cut off most of the upstairs noise so it is suitable for recording?

As far as flooring I was going to put wood laminate on the half where my desk would be and carpet where my guitar/amp/vocal setup would be.

And for walls I have no clue what I am doing.

Right now my money is more concerned with killing upstairs noise and not treating internal noise. That will be done later.
Thanks

 

[Jeff_D]

Those joists don't look very deep. What are they 2x8's?
I'd probably put rockwool in the joist spaces then do resilient channels perpendicular to the joists and screw a couple layers of drywall to the resilient channels... assuming you can confirm the joists will carry the weight...
I think footsteps are going to be your biggest problem as far as external noise goes. Is the kitchen right above you?

 

[Jeff_D]

Also, I'd get a firm grip on your leaking walls before I put any kind of flooring down. Maybe "Drylock" paint will work (or maybe not). In the meantime, area rug for the floor and just paint the walls, then spend money on acoustic treatments.

 

[Kjv1993]

Yes they are 2x8. The only thing is no one around my area sells rockwool, so it is out of my price range bc of shipping cost. but wouldnt rubber inbetween the drywall be the same as the isolation clips, cause thats basicly what they are. Im not being cheap I just dont have very much money for this piticular project. (I am 16 BTW)
and yes, the kitchen is right above.
But what if i put perfectly cut pieces of drywall inbetween the joices, plaster the remaining cracks, put 2 layers of pink insulation under that, then put the double drywall (with the rubber screwed inbetween) to finish it off? Kinda like the diagram I just spent 20 mins on lol.

 

[dekutree64]

Drywall is pretty heavy, and kitchens usually have some pretty heavy appliances in them so I'd be a little worried about putting that much weight on the joists. One layer of drywall would probably be fine though.

Are you sure nobody within driving distance sells rockwool or rigid fiberglass? From the "where to buy" thread, http://www.spi-co.com looks like a good source, and has a lot of stores (assuming you're at least in USA). That's where I'll be going when I get to the point that I need it.

I was plotting to build a studio in a very similar looking place in my basement, but I'll probably end up just using a room upstairs and living with some street noise, for fear of mildew growing on my instruments if I leave them down there.

Are you going to be building walls around the area? One idea I was thinking for mine was to build a ceiling on top of the walls, fully separated from the existing ceiling/upstairs floor. The joists of the new ceiling could sit in the gaps between the other ones, so it wouldn't lower the ceiling height much (although it would be more expensive)

 

[dodgeaspen]

Regular insulation will do very little for you. I'm with Jeff_D about the walls. You should get a power conditioner to help with unwanted interference.

 

[joel77]

I'm sure you don't really want to spend your money on it, but I'd replace the old single strand electrical wiring before you close up the floor joists. That stuff with insulation packed around it is prime fire starter!

Best of luck!

Joel

 

[suprstar]

Drywall is pretty heavy...

...assuming you can confirm the joists will carry the weight...

That's worth repeating.. Esp. for 2x8 joists. Check dead load limits for 2x8's for the room's span. And remember the floor and appliances above count against that limit too. You'll be adding something like 8 lbs/sq ft, give or take depending on the drywall thickness.

And rubber isn't light either. I assume you plan on screwing the drywall to the joists thru the rubber, obviously you cant screw it to the rubber itself.. So I dont think that'll help much, the sound will transmit thru the screws into the joists anyway. I tried something similar with a vertical wall and couldn't even tell the difference.

 

[Kjv1993]

Thank You all for your replies. But to clear things up ill explain all of your concerns.
First off about the wire, that white wire is brand new and that other little wire is just there its not connected to anything and I actually took it down today.
As far a weight, my dad is a professional carpender and hes helping me with this whole thing and he calculated weight not to be an issue.
As for the walls, we are waterproofing them with drylok and then studding the wall and putting drywall around it.
And power interfeirence isnt an issue at all, just floorboard creeking and fridge hum.

 

[Jeff_D]

we are waterproofing them with drylok and then studding the wall and putting drywall around it.

Wait a couple months after you do the Drylock to make sure it worked. That stuff doesnt always work like the commercial shows. I speak from experience ...

Other than looks, there isnt a whole lot of benefit to dry-walling your studio walls.

If you're on a tight budget, I'd do the drylock (I think you can get the paint store to color it just like any other paint, or if not, I'm sure you can paint over it with a colored paint), then spend your stud-and-drywall money on acoustic treatment or gear...

 

[Kjv1993]

well i talked it over w. my dad and were just going to use cheap "wood" wall paneling nailed to a 2x4 at the floor and nailed to a frame we'll make around the celing.

 

[Kjv1993]

Oh and instead of using 2 layers of pink insulation I am going to use 1 layer of R-30 which is the thickest insulation the store has. And the packaging says "for thermal and sound treatment" so idk if it is more designed for sound or if they just say that but I thought 1 layer of thick stuff would be more efficent then 2 layers of thinner stuff.
Correct me if Im wrong.

 

[pandamonk]

Oh and instead of using 2 layers of pink insulation I am going to use 1 layer of R-30 which is the thickest insulation the store has. And the packaging says "for thermal and sound treatment" so idk if it is more designed for sound or if they just say that but I thought 1 layer of thick stuff would be more efficent then 2 layers of thinner stuff.
Correct me if Im wrong.

One layer of thinner stuff should probably be sufficient...

 

[Kjv1993]

*UPDATE*
No school today so I spent the morning scraping off all the paint that bubbled from moisture. Then swept it off and found a can of drylock left over from one of my dad's jobs and re painted the walls.

BEFORE

AFTER

 

[Kjv1993]

Not much new going on just started putting up the first layer of drywall but a new question came up for me:
I want to put a drum kit in here to record live drums.
But about how many Sq feet would I need for a basic 5pc drum set? Im not sure if there would be room haha.

 

[marshall409]

My basement studio's very similar. Paint those walls, dont waste money on framing or cheap panelling.


Adam

 

[scott free]

Nice work! Can't wait to see how it all turns out for you!
Scott.

 

[Kjv1993]

Its been a while, Ive been busy. But I have been making progress on my studio. I had all the wiring finished up in the joists, insulated, and put up the first layer of drywall.

Insulation:

First Layer of Drywall:

^Now Here is the Problem:^
This is all the pipes for the water and gas that go out to my garage. They can't be permanently sealed because they will need to be accessed in the future. The plan is to just frame around them for now.

I have done hours of research and talked to a few people and I found the best and cheapest way to soundproof this room. After we put up the second layer of 5/8th drywall on the ceiling, we'll seal the edges with acoustic caulk. My dad is then gonna help me frame the walls and a new independent ceiling to make a "room inside a room". After that we will put one layer of drywall up and if it is pretty quiet we will just finish with putting up a second layer. But if its still noisy, we'll put green glue in between those layers. What does everyone think?

 

[suprstar]

Making progress, congrats! Frame around the pipes and put a door there, turn it into a little utility closet.

 

[Kjv1993]

Making progress, congrats! Frame around the pipes and put a door there, turn it into a little utility closet.

I never thought of that. Would it affect the soundproofing though?