Attic Studio

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theguit

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hi everyone. Im looking for advice on my studio project. I have an attic that im converting to a small recording/mixing studio. The attic has a false floor (joisted to the brickwork rather than straight to the ceiling below), and is bare to the blockwork and joists. Im going to be converting it to a proper room so im at a point where i can alter the rooms shape. ie. build bass traps into the corners? are there any advantages to this rather than installing bass traps at a later date. if so, best way to build them? i will be battening out the walls and installing insulation, then plasterboard. same for the ceiling. I have included some quickly drawn up plans, (without dimensions though im afraid, however can easily get it all measured) but imagine the size big enough to get a car in! I do however have alot of stuff that needs storing so when i build the room i will be including access points to the eaves. There is also a dormer window central to the room above the desk.

The use for my studio will be, recording, mixing, and general jams with friends. i have a roland electric kit so can record direct or midi, guitar amp with a great sounding record out, good sounding di output from bass amp also, so am hoping the only micing up im going to need is vocals and some acoustic instruments.

With this in mind, i want to get the best setup for mixing that i can. By my reckoning, the angled ceilings work to my advantage as any early reflection points on the ceiling will be directed into the room rather than to my ears. Another point may be, do i need to bother boarding and plastering the room? apart from external noises (and if im not doing much mic-ing?), and cosmetics! the acoustics dont seem to bad in there. it feels fairly dead when i do the good old clap test (nothing noticable anyway).

Any help and advice is greatly appreciated, i have searched extensively on google for anything similar to my setup but to no avail! all other attic studios seem to be orientated the other way round!

Ta
 

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I am in just too bad a mood to strain my brain this Friday afternoon of a very stressful week, so you will need to rely on others to do the thinking.

One thing I can tell you is to pay attention to ergonomics. The sloped walls an attic room produces can easily give you the feeling you are always walking around with your head tilted over, half expecting to run into the wall. It can get very disconcerting, and you find yourself just generally pissed off and/or stressed out, without really knowing why. Less floor space, resulting is smaller "roof walls" is often a very good trade off.
 
ok thanks, The drawing is a little misleading! The attic space has enough room for me to stand up in all but the ends next to the eaves storage! (im 5'10). And the markings on the side view drawing indicating the eaves storage and void are how im proposing to turn the attic into the room! I already use this room for playing my drums, guitar or whatever but am in the process of clearing out all the crap ive bunged up there in the past 2 years! Trying to rid myself of my hoarding ways! I already find it a comfortable and relaxing place to play! But my aim is to have a proper studio setup there!

Thanks for taking the time after what sounds like a busy week!
 
It sounds like you already have the first clue and that could be a very cool space. Being oriented the "wrong" way is really good for reflections as you surmised. I wouldn't build proper walls with sheetrock and all that if you don't need them. Get a mix position set up and play some tunes through your monitors and see what it sounds like. Burn a quick mix of anything to cd and play it back in your car to see if anything sounds horribly different/amiss. Then start with some simple bass trapping in the corners, side wall first reflection points and behind the desk and see what you get. I think you can probably pick away at it a little at a time.

The fact that it sounds fairly dead to start is probably a function of the natural diffusion you're getting from sloped ceilings and open rafters. Adding walls and hard surfaces would screw that up. Go with it.


lou
 
thanks lou, i think you may be right. Is it possible that with the ceiling being the open rafters, water proof membrane and tiles is that actually helping to control the bass response in the room? with the eaves being open as they are now with alsorts of stuff stored in there, is that acting as some sort of bass trapping?

First reflection points will be easily sorted with some foam, bass trap the corners where the roof meets the walls, what about at the back of the room. should i build some sort of foam wall at the back where the eaves are? should i make a diffuser wall at the back? assuming that the bass frequencies will be taken care of as it is?
also whats best for the floor? its just chipboard at the moment but i like the idea of a laminate floor, or wood floor. am i best with carpet though?

sorry if that doesnt make sense, its late and ive had a few drinks and i just have all these ideas bouncing around in my head at the moment lol

ta
 
But my aim is to have a proper studio setup there!
Click to expand...
The word "proper" has some very serious implications to it. I have yet to see anyone even mention the word PERMIT yet. And if you ARE serious about being "proper"... then you will hear this word"PERMIT" again.

Let me explain. Any time you make a "habitable" space out of NON habitable space, especially if you are doing things "proper"...like ELECTRICAL/HVAC/STRUCTURAL, then your local BUILDING INSPECTION DEPARTMENT(BID) wants to know about it. In fact, if you DON"T let them know, and do NOT apply for a BUILDING PERMIT..you are seriously jeopardizing your investment in your home(I'm assuming you DO own it don't you?), as anything you do up there(like electrical work or other work that is required by CODE to be inspected), that causes anything to happen(like fire!!) can cause your insurance policy to be voided!! Remember, Electrical work is required by CODE to be inspected. And if it has to be inspected..it requires a PERMIT.

Now, the next thing is STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY. You mentioned bringing Friends up there. People are heavy. Have you even considered that CEILING JOISTS are NOT FLOOR JOISTS?? And they are not RATED for LIVE loads? Again, this is serious stuff.

Just setting up a little recording place for yourself is one thing. But the minute you start bringing up other people....well, lots of scenarios come to mind...like EGRESS should anything happen. :eek:

I think you need to do some explaining here. LOTS of it.:rolleyes:


fitZ
 
Aww, Fitz...you are such a wet blanket. ;)

Good points of course but lets pretend we're just blowin' a doob out behind the garden wall. Think sound not law. Run extension cords.


lou
 
Hey Lou! What part of "proper" does "Run extension cords" fall under?:D
 
RICK FITZPATRICK said:
that causes anything to happen(like fire!!) can cause your insurance policy to be voided!!
Click to expand...

That is the very reason I took out a building permit when I built my studio in the garage. Even the builder inspector himself thought I probably didn't really need a permit. But I did anyways, and they loved the room, thought it was cool and signed off on everything with no problems. The permit cost ~$75. I think it was worth the peace of mind.

imho,
 
Chili said:
That is the very reason I took out a building permit when I built my studio in the garage. Even the builder inspector himself thought I probably didn't really need a permit. But I did anyways, and they loved the room, thought it was cool and signed off on everything with no problems. The permit cost ~$75. I think it was worth the peace of mind.

imho,
Click to expand...

Brown nose. Are you recording Mr. Rogers covers?

;)
lou
 
Thanks for the replies. things have got a little off track though lol!

I am in the uk, and as far as planning permission goes here, it is generally not needed for what i want to do there. It is what is called permitted development. Which allows a loft conversion without planning permission as long as certain criteria are met. The building regulations of course have to be met to. As far as electrical work goes, im a self employed electrician. Should be easy enough!

The house has been extended before creating 2 additional bedrooms, and the attic space that im talking about here. The floor for this part of the attic is made of wooden joists hung to the brickwork of the house by joist hangers, rather than the ceiling of the room below. So it is strong and sturdy. There are no roof alterations to do, no major structural work, any electrical work i can handle.

Trust me, i wouldnt even attempt anything on this scale if i didnt know what i was doing on the building side of things. And im not even sure if im going to turn it into a 'proper' room yet. I just wanna get the place as good a mixing environment as possible right now soooooooooooooooooo....................................................

Any advice on acoustics would be greatly appreiciated!

ta
 
Well then....carry on. Unfortunately, the US is quite different when it comes to Codes. And since this bbs doesn't ask you to post your location, I posted what I thought was "good policy" for others who DO live in the US. Although, I understand that most DIY's will ignore "good policy" as some will think that as long as no one knows...everything is cool.:rolleyes: Unfortunately though..Murphy has unlimited patience and doesn't give a damn how long it takes before an opportunity arises to kill ya. :) Soooooooo, carry on. and good luck.

Oh, about the acoustical thing. I suggest getting this book. Rod Gervais is the author and is a member here.

Amazon.com: Home Recording Studio Build it Like the Pros (Book) (0082039530345): Gervais Rod: Books
 
Just to reiterate - I think your room shape is pretty good to start with. I'd just go ahead and set stuff up and see what it sounds like. I don't think you are going to have to do anywhere near some of what we have. Look at my thread - Studio Build such as it is. I am dealing with yer classic box and had to really lay the absorption in to it. I think you will likely get by with much less just because of the nature and shape of your space. At any rate I wouldn't go overboard before trying it out live.

Good luck.


lou
 
Thanks muchly guys for the advice guys! will check out that book now. thanks for your time!
 
just a little update, I have been a very busy boy and the space is all ready. even with no treatment, the room was good to start with (as you suspected lou!!!).

With a little treatment (mostly around the desk behind the hs50's, and the FRP on the side walls, and up on the apex). And results are great. very balanced, the mixes transfer well to anything i have played them on.

I done a quick test with a good condenser mic and realtime test software, and again, looks well balanced.

So, the next step for my room . . . . . . I am thinking about diffusion. Just to give it a bigger sound. My thinking is, if i have a good room now, could i make it even better?
 
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