Flooring?

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816matt

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Quick question... I am wondering what the best flooring situation would be for my new studio? I have heard reflective flooring offsets the absorbent ceiling and absorbent flooring is better. So wood? Tile? Carpet? Or leave it with the concrete floor I have now? I've done my studio to "right" to this point and want to continue the trend... Rockwool... 1/2 sound board 5/8 sheet rock and rc channel... Pics to come soon... Thanks in advance
 
I would go for the hard flooring. I have built 4 studios over the years 2 with carpet and 2 without, and the best sound always comes from the hard floor. It's also easier to clean up spills (coffee).

You will need to kill some of the reflection of the ceiling, I used hanging cloth covered frames with high density polyester (the real sound absorbing stuff), and 3 of these in my room was heaps. Also you can roll out a rug or 2 if need be using them to taylor for the sound you want.

I eventually used the click together laminate flooring in my latest recording space, this sits on a polystyrene sheet with air pickets that reduces transmitted noise, not as good as a fully floating floor but does help reduce transmission thorough the concrete. I did have the concrete floor for a while and this can also work with some rugs, as it gets cold in winter.

My control room has tiles, it had it in the space when I moved it so I just left them, put a rug over part of it and it works fine. A hard floor in the control room works good if you are rolling a chair around also.

Check out the photos on my site.
Cheers
alan.
 
You've got the right idea. Go with whichever you like best. Throw rugs will help control reflectivity.

-SC
 
Cement floor and ceiling clouds is what works for me. A few rugs here and there, like Supercreep says.
 
Matt,

Hard wood floors are very common in recording studios because many instruments require a hard reflective surface (floor) to sound 'right' to humans. ;) For example: Piano, acoustic guitar, Cello, Double bass, and the list goes on. Instruments sound more pleasing with a reflective floor because this is how we are used to hearing them.

BTW, laminate, hardwood and concrete all sound similar. TV/Movie studios usually have a painted concrete floor.

Acoustically, carpet is a poor choice due to it's absorption peak in the upper mid-range and it's uselessness at other frequencies. But when required, a thick Persian style rug really does the trick for cutting floor reflections - either in the control room or tracking room/booth. - as recommended by the other posters. :cool:

Cheers,
John
 
Thank you to all the responders. I have been researching this studio for quite a while, and I am really close to my final touches. All the help I have gotten here has been much appreciated. I look forward to sharing with you all my experiences and hopefully be able to help someone else down the line. This life we've chosen, music, is great!! Never forget that it is what gets some people through The darkest of days and boosts the best of days...
 
I would stick with the concrete as it is going to save you money for the rest of the room. There are stains for concrete that look pretty cool.
 
floating floor maybe? I heard they can get costly, but I believe that is the preferred choice. Either sand or rubber donuts covered by hardwood flooring.
 
whattaguy said:
floating floor maybe? I heard they can get costly, but I believe that is the preferred choice. Either sand or rubber donuts covered by hardwood flooring.
Click to expand...

No, actually it is not. I would never recommend a floating floor for a home studio. It is not necessary.

To float a floor properly will cost thousands of dollars - no matter where you live. To float a floor improperly is opening a can of worms, not wise, and a foolish waste of time and money. ~cop~

Cheers,
John
 
jhbrandt said:
No, actually it is not. I would never recommend a floating floor for a home studio. It is not necessary.

To float a floor properly will cost thousands of dollars - no matter where you live. To float a floor improperly is opening a can of worms, not wise, and a foolish waste of time and money. ~cop~

Cheers,
John
Click to expand...

Thanks for the correction!
 
I have already dropped a pretty dime on the rest of the Room and treatment of the room... It is in my basement and built by me so I had a clean pallet to work with. I have followed the advice from people thus far and it has turned out nicely. I think I will choose to do a laminate hardwood floor with no floating. I'm assuming this is the best decision for me at this time.. You can always make hardwood absorbent by adding rugs but you can't easily make carpet reflective. Good choice?
 
816matt said:
You can always make hardwood absorbent by adding rugs but you can't easily make carpet reflective. Good choice?
Click to expand...

Yes, good choice, though another option is to put plywood sheets down onto a carpet floor when needed. Home Depot sells plywood already cut into 2x4 panels, and I recommend that to people who already have carpet.

--Ethan
 
I agree the best is HardWood for your new studio, very common to all studio use in flooring is hardwood,,
 
816matt said:
You can always make hardwood absorbent by adding rugs but you can't easily make carpet reflective. Good choice?
Click to expand...

thats my problem now. i layed carpet in my garage before reading this. i couldhave saved alot of money had i known better
 
Hey there,

I would highly suggest fitting in oak wood flooring or any other engineered wood floors. They look and feel better under your feet and don't even have to say how easy is to maintain them!

Good luck
 
alangf said:
Hey there,

I would highly suggest fitting in oak wood flooring or any other engineered wood floors. They look and feel better under your feet and don't even have to say how easy is to maintain them!

Good luck
Click to expand...

As this was being done over 2 years ago the advice is a bit late for them.

Alan.
 
witzendoz said:
As this was being done over 2 years ago the advice is a bit late for them.

Alan.
Click to expand...
Yeah but thanks to the the internet, this conversation lives on for others to continue to find value so there's that.
 
I'm setting up small home studio in Florida (floating slab concrete) and my goals are to make acoustic music with quality for film & TV placement. Was going to use cork floor and ceiling (vaulted ceiling) - but am leaning towards the painted concrete for quality of goals and budget.

I'm just beginning to use room mode calculator on JH Brandt website.

Thanks to all for information!

Steve
 
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