Garage home studio build- My idea, and your thoughts please!

[GazLion]

I've just recently moved house, and I plan to convert my garage into a home studio / office area. I'd like to outline my initial plan, and then hear any thoughts or advise that you may have. I have never done anything like this before, but I have been reading plenty of threads on here from people who have done similar things.

The space -

Standalone garage, around 30' away from my house, and any other houses for that matter.
Overall internal size - 10' (W) x 19' (L) x 7' (H)
Floor - concrete
Walls - Breeze blocks
Roof - Steel sheet
Electricity is already running to the garage

What I want it for - Mainly recording acoustic guitar, vocals and electric guitar/bass. Then mixing to be able to produce some nice demos. I have no plans to record acoustic drums.

Also, as I work from home, I would like to use this space as my home office rather than the spare bedroom where I am currently.

Picture of how it looks currently -



I plan to build a stud partition wall, around 13' down the length of the space, to allow me to retain a small section at the garage door end for general storage. This would leave me with a studio room space of around 13' x 10' to work with.

Rough diagram of the plan -



There are currently 2 windows, one at the top and one along the side of the garage. I plan to block up the window to the side, leaving just the one window at the top. I will then be putting in an internal plasterboard roof, obviously within the studio space only. I will also be changing the crappy wooden door to something more substantial.

So thats my initial plan to get started with. Obviously I am a long way off thinking about acoustic treatment, but I'm in no real rush with this project. Thankfully I will have the help of my in-law, who is in the building trade, but doesn't have any knowledge on the layout of a space for acoustic purposes.

So I guess a couple of questions I have are -

Will I get away with leaving the (3 minus the partition) walls bare, or should I also look to drywall those right away? Will I get away with a rug or carpet on the floor, or will it needed to be treated properly? I guess the best place for the desk will be directly in front of the window at the top, rather than along the stud wall?

I guess if no one has any suggestions, I can use this thread to show how I'm progressing with it!

Any thoughts or comments appreciated.

Thanks

 

[mjbphotos]

Lots and lots of sound treatment. All concrete and plaster ceiling is going to be very reflective. By the time you've got bass traps in corners and walls your 10'x13' space is going to seem really small.

 

[jhbrandt]

Gaz,

Your ceiling gypsum board along with the door & window mass and seal will determine the isolation level that you can achieve in this space. My paper on 'how to find how much isolation you need' may be helpful. - On my publications page.

- When calculating the amount of space or volume to be IN the studio area, I recommend playing with the Room Mode Calculator (also on my pubs page) to find dimensions that will 'work' best. There are no 'magic ratios', IMHO - you must calculate & test. Place the partition wall where the acoustics will benefit the most.

Cheers,
John

 

[Raymeous]

First off I'm not an acoustician, so my info is only gut reaction and guesstimates. jhbrandt seems to know what he's talking about so pick his brain.


When it's all said and done, this is going to be a tight space, but should be do-able for what you're talking about. I agree with you that your first priority should be making the space livable, especially if you're planning on working there for both your music, and your paying job. You need to be comfortable. I can see daylight through the wall and ceiling joint. Juuuust sayin'. =P

At the minimum, slap on a layer of Killz and some paint on the walls to make it feel less like the storage barn it is. There are also several products availabe to paint a seal your concrete floor to make it look nice. Even thourgh these products can get a bit pricey, it will be far cheaper than putting in a whole floating floor. The floating floor will sound infinitely better but again, it all comes down to budget.

In terms of acoustic treatments, build yourself a bunch of panels to help tame room reflections, but you don't need to kill it completely. Don't forget about putting one up above your desk. Don't forget about the Reflexion Filters if you need to do vocals. You can also build these as well but there are a ton of options out there for you.

Here are a couple of links that may be useful. They're not the be all end all of this topic, but may help give you ideas.
1) How to build panels: How to make Studio Sound Absortion (Under $100) HD - YouTube
2) Studio in a garage: Studio Rescue - Episode 9 - YouTube


Good luck and keep us posted on how things are going.



Almost forgot, if you want drum sounds for your electric guitar and bass stuff, EZDrummer is a sweet program, not too expensive, expansions are also cheap, and the loops were recorded by great drummers in amazing facilites.