advise wanted: studio contruction on a shoestring budget

[girvan]

Hi,
I have an older garage I want to modify to be a studio. I have a budget of about $1000 CAN right now. The space is roughly 20X12 and I figured on having a tracking/control room with a window kind of space.

The only walls are the exterior walls. They are timber framed with boards. No insulation. The ceiling is the same and 8 feet high. The floor is slab concrete.

What can I do with a $1000 to begin this. I would like to eventually have good sounding rooms but 4 now I would like to do what I can and continue as the funds become available. It is a project studio I am setting up. Not a commercial studio. Although in time I want to have as-pro-as-I-can-get rooms.
thanks, i hope I am clear. Once I clear out the space I can post a few pics.

I've been to John's site and it's awesome however I feel a bit overwhelmed by it right now and thought this post might give me a bit of clear cut direction.
thanks again.
scott.

 

[girvan]

more info and a bit of a bump

The space is 20'x13'x7.5'

For those not wanting to do the $ conversion I have roughly 500 pounds or $650 US.

I can get rough 2x4 studs dirt cheap. I have enough 1/4" panelling to cover the walls (if it would be any good). Drywall is about $8 for an 8' x 4' sheet. And I can get some glass for free from family renovations.

Just doing a quick calc I have ruffly 950sq' of wall and ceiling area. (including the mid wall split to be added) So for 1/2" 4'x8' drywall it would take 30 sheets and at $8 each thats $240. Not so bad. 5/8" would be a bit more and then to double it. anyhow.

Anyone have any ideas to help out a Canuck.
thanks.

 

[knightfly]

For that small a room, you might be better off making one bigger room of the whole area. I just checked out your dimensions on an acoustical spreadsheet, and the modal response and Bonello distributions all look good if you allow for two layers of 1/2" sheet rock on Resilient Channel (RC) on each exterior wall and the ceiling. If you could make temporary use of a closet elsewhere in the house for vocals/acoustic guitar, your entire area would make a decent sized control room. The ceilings are low, but not un-workable.

I would save the 1/4" paneling for some poly-cylindrical diffusors across the rear of the room, build some absorbers from 1x4 or 1x6 and spun fiberglas insulation covered with some inexpensive open-weave cloth for the sides of the room (to minimize flutter echoes) and check out the SAE site for bass trap ideas. You want the front of the room as absorbent as you can get it - 4" Auralex foam would be nice, but will kill the rest of your budget. Maybe more of the 6" spinglas in 1x6 frames behind the mixer desk - If you use this, put the paper side toward the wall or remove it entirely. Cover the outside with the same cloth.

Save some of your budget for lots of Butyl caulk - seal EVERYTHING ! The goal is a room so tight you could suck down the walls if you put a vacuum cleaner hose in thru a sealed hole. To this end, you need to also put the second layer of sheet rock on at right angles to the first, so there is no coincidence of cracks, and STILL caulk all the seams between layers. Don't use too long a screws to attach the first layer, or they will go right thru the RC and touch the studs. Not good. When attaching the sheet rock, rest it on pieces of 3/8" scrap wood so it doesn't touch the floor - then, once both layers are on the RC, pull the scraps out from under the rock and caulk thoroughly with Butyl caulk. this stuff, if you can find it, is more flexible and longer lasting (Hearsay) than the 50-year guaranteed silicone variety.

Doors - you can make heavy doors out of MDF, or particleboard, covered with glued veneer if you like - at the least, use exterior solid-core ones with good thresholds. If you use a standard exterior threshold, caulk the entire extrusion with Butyl or Silicone before you install it. Thin aluminum transmits sound too well otherwise. John's site covers a lot of the techniques you will need for building, just don't try to absorb it all at once; you already know the feeling that can cause.

gotta run for now, hope this was some help... Steve

 

[girvan]

>

Thanks knightfly for your help. The garage is actually not connected to my house and is 20' wide by 26' feet long. I should maybe consider using more of it. The only thing is that we need storage for regular garage stuff too. (time for a yard sale)

I would really like to get a tracking and control room out of it. I want to be able to track live drums for sure. There are a lot of garage bands around that would like to have a demo recorded.

I will look into the products you mentioned and see what they cost here. It's a great start for me. thanks.

I have a queen size mattress and a couch/love seat at my disposal too. Maybe basstraps 4 now until I can buy some good stuff. I have 8 huge tubes of acoustical sealant left over from a recent reno. Not sure if its Butyl though.

thanks and hope to discuss this more later.
scott.