Deal Struck on New Studio Build - Advice on Interior Dimensions?

  • Thread starter Thread starter DigitalDon
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DigitalDon

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Just talked to the contractor last night. Construction will start in about 2 weeks. It will be a 30'x40' steel building on concrete slab. All he will do is pour the slab and put up the building. I will do all interior work. This building will serve 2 purposes. 1 - As a rehearsal room (in the live room) for my son's band and 2 - To record his and other local bands as best as I can. I've done an unbelieveable amount of reading to get ready for this and will rely heavily on opinions of members at this forum . I'm very limited on budget but I do have the opportunity to build this thing from the ground up. That means not rushing anything and doing it right the first time.

Take a look at the attachment. It's very basic and was converted from a .dxf file so I hope it's still clear. If anyone knows how I can attach a .dxf file to the post then I'll do it (HR.com limits you to .jpg, gif, etc). Otherwise, send me an email address and I'll send the .dxf file. It's only 20K in size. You can play with the dimensions then. The interior dimensions are not set in stone. Comments are welcome and greatly appreciated.

DD
 
DigitalDon said:
Take a look at the attachment. It's very basic and was converted from a .dxf file so I hope it's still clear. If anyone knows how I can attach a .dxf file to the post then I'll do it...
Click to expand...
I can't read the dimensions.

What are you using to draw this?

Have you been over to John Sayer's site yet?
Good place for design help if you haven't.
 
I can't read the dimensions either - I tried blowing it up but the definition isn't there.

Email me the DXF file and I'll try to convert it into a pdf file.

johnsay@locall.aunz.com


cheers
john
 
Ok here's the drawing attachment again (and readable too). Thanks to Michael Jones for converting it.

The exterior walls are 8" thick due to the thickness of the metal beams. I haven't decided yet on whether to put a double wall or a staggered stud wall between the control room and live room. Opinions?

Here are my intentions at the moment
:D Of course this assumes I finalize my drawings!

Stage 1 - Slab is poured and building stood up. This can be done without final drawings since it's just the exterior.

Stage 2 - Install electrical (power distribution). Everything will be in metal conduit.

Stage 3 - Install signal cables. Haven't determined yet my total requirements. At this point I'm looking at running multiple snakes (probably Belden) rather than individual signal cables (in metal conduit). I intend to have several XLR panels within the live room if I go the "snake" route. Either that or a single XLR panel below the window in both the control room and live room. From there I would run cables to the mics, amps, etc. The first method would cost more (of course) but would look much more "professional" than cables across the floor.

Stage 4 - Build wall between control room and live room. Insulate and sheetrock all walls.

Stage 5 - At this time we can set up and rehearse in the live room. A decision will then be made on whether to install a ceiling. The roof has a thick layer of fiber reinforced insulation beneath it. I'm sure some type of ceiling will be installed in the control room and vocal booth. Keep in mind my walls are 10' tall with the center peak at approximately 14.5'.

Stage 6 - Install heating/cooling. If there is no ceiling in the live room the ducts would not have to be insulated unless there was noticeable air noise or they started reverberating.

Of course this is all subject to change. Just sort of a strawman to organize my thoughts.

Opinions anyone?

DD
 
Help on room design

I got an article from Taxi.com the other day written by John Storyk of Walters-Storyk Design Group. There are actually 2 articles there, one on low frequency control and the other on high frequency control. The link is: http://www.wsdg.com
Click on Resources and look for Taxi articles 1 & 2.
 
here is the converted file in jpg

cheers
JOhn
 

Attachments

  • plan_1.webp
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Longsoughtfor - Yeah I looked at Michaels design and really like it. Mine differs in that I need a large room for band rehearsal. At some later time I would expand or split the Live room into smaller, dedicated rooms. As far as doors, windows, etc nothing is firm yet other than the positioning of the bathroom :D . Kinda funny that everything revolves around the bathroom but my home septic tank is only about 20 feet from that position. I plan to tie into it rather than install another tank. What did you have in mind? I've also considered putting the door to the bathroom in that short hallway. I just noticed that I didn't show the window from vocal booth into the live room. Oops!

MikeA - I went to that site Monday. Got a lot of good info there.

John - Thanks. I hope to get (OK - buy) some design software that'll give me a lot more flexibility. The cheapo I'm using doesn't allow me to draw anything other than straight or 45 degree lines.

Thanks everyone for the help (and continued help) in getting this studio built. If anyone has an idea of a different configuration please let me know.

Also, would it be best for my mixing position to be facing the window or facing the North unobstructed wall? Starting out I will be using my old JBL 4311A studio monitors (to be reconed in the near future). Should I put these on stands, suspend them or build them into the wall?

DD
 
Interior Design Dimensions

DigitalDon,
One thing I thought of that is missing is a load-in door. If you are talking about a rehersal room you really need to think about this. Here is a link to foreverain4's room that came out looking real nice.
http://www.therecordinghouse.com/studiopics
...and the finished product is here
http://www.therecordinghouse.com/studiopicsupdate

You may not have the room for a pull in type area like him but I would think at least double doors with some sort of a sound lock leading to them would prove to be very useful. It could also break up the square walls of the room.
 
Plan with Load-In option

Here's a rough idea of what I was talking about. This of course could be modified to take up even less room but this is what I came up with quickly.
 

Attachments

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MichaelJones - Thanks. I just downloaded the SoftCad. I'll give it a try this weekend.

MikeA - The load-in doors wouldn't be financially feasible for me. That and it would be one more sound leak area. My main entrance door and the door from control room to live room are both 36" doors. Shouldn't have any problem getting things thru the door. Concerning having to carry equipment rather than backing in and unloading - well - I won't be carrying it :D :D My son bench presses about 325 lbs. Get my drift??:rolleyes: And also these guys will be paying me (or maybe not) to record, not carry their equipment in.

DD
 
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