Help..i Need Studio Plan Help

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bennyserious

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HELLO

My problem is that i need help decideing on which way and where should i place things (vocal booth,control,etc) in a studio im building in my garage.
i dont need a live room just a vocal booth and comtrol room. if anyone can give me some ideas i will gladly apperciate it.
i have 2 plans (1)plan A.... is to use the entire garage and (2)plan B.... is to use half the garage. so if u giys can give me a good design that can help ...it will make my day
benny
 

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Hey Benny, I'm building a studio out back on my property, I'd be happy to help you if I can. What kind of budget are you on? Do you need isolation from disturbing the neighbors? Noise coming into the studio? Just vocal recordings? Looks like you have plenty of space to work with, are you good with carpenter type tools?
 
well i have a concrete floor and i want to make it a floating floor with carpet. me and my friends will be doing all the work, with help from a carpanter friend. i need to instulate the garage and add extra support with framework with new beam. hopefully i will have a pic to show everyone. i plan on starting end of january. my budegt for now is around 3,000.00 dollars or maybe more and i will also need some type of new (cheap) siding for the garage.
benny
 
8 foot ceilings and floating floors sound like a disaster waiting to happen especially with a budget of $3000. I think you should spend some time reading oher threads in this forum and also hop on over to http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/index.php and read some things over there. And by reading I don't mean asking this same question. This is not the first time someone has asked this question. You will also be in a better position to work with your budget if you see what other people have done with their small rooms and small budgets. Check out what frederic has done with his small space. It has the same requirements but you will notice his budget is more than twice of yours. Maybe you should a) reconsider the budget you have given your requirements of b)reconsider your requirements given your budget. One of them will have to give.
 
I'm not shure that there is any one off-the-shelf plan that someone could give you that would work in your situation. I think you should break the overall project down into manageable sub-tasks and ask specific question in each area. Start with basics like HVAC, electrical, sound isolation, sound absorption, etc.

Regarding your budget, you really need to address the question of sound isolation. If you have to shield neighbors or protect your studio from outside noise, costs can skyrocket. Remember, you are talking about multiple layers of sheetrock suspended on specially-designed panel holders, insulation, soundboard (homosote), vinyl soundblock, etc. or (god forbid) building mass through something like concrete walls.

On the overall design, I would use the entire space, since isolating the studio from outside sounds (and vice versa) will suck up more space than you think. You will also be adding furniture, instruments, racks, mic stands, and other items which rapidly deplete your available room. Plus, over time your space requirements will expand--trust me!

Also, I have to echo Kristian's warning about floating floors in rooms with eight foot ceilings. If you float the floor, the 2x4's (or 2x6's...2x8's) will sit several inches off the ground on rubber floats (U-blocks if you use Auralex's proprietry product). On top of that you will have a sandwhich of drywall, soundblock, plywood, carpet padding and carpet. The hole floor could run 12" so you loose height very quickly. (You probably won't attract standup bass players or men with hats!)
 
Benny, your entire space (outside dimensions) equates to about 283 sq. ft.
Now, you're not building from "the ground up" but considering your preliminary plans, constructions costs aren't going to be much different from a studio that is.

For instance:
Is there electricty in the garage now? If so, how much current is available?
I guess you don't need to construct a foundation, but is there plumbing? (It's a bitch to have to go inside to pee) :)
Will you have a toilet? Water?
How about airconditioning?

Studio construction, especially when factoring in isolation, which is very expensive, is not at all like residential home construction.

Now, you can save a lot of money by doing things yourself, but you really need to apply for and obtain building permits for your project. That means inspections to ensure your place is to code, and wont burn down in the middle of the night when you're not there.

Given all that, IF you have the proper electrical, proper plumbing, a good foundation, a SOLID structure to start off with, and you do A LOT of the work yourself, you're looking at around $28-$30/sq. ft. to build even a very modest studio. And that really doesn't address acoustics.

On the low end, with your space, you're looking at nearly $8000.
Even if you cut my number in HALF, that's over $4000!
I mean, you're giving me $3000 and 283 sq. ft. to renivate. That's a budget of less than $11/sq.ft. .... that's not much to try and build Walls, and Acoustics, and Insulation, and Isolation.... and... new siding too you say?

Check with member "rushfan" though, he's doing something similar in size and scope to your plan, he may have more insight than I do.
 
Check out what frederic has done with his small space. It has the same requirements but you will notice his budget is more than twice of yours. Maybe you should a) reconsider the budget you have given your requirements of b)reconsider your requirements given your budget. One of them will have to give. [/B]
Click to expand...

Oh, I budgeted about half of what I've spent. I also expected to be writing music in my new studio between Xmas and New Years.

Bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha! Bwah-ha-ha-ha! Bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha! Bwah-ha-ha! Bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha! Bwah-ha-ha-ha! Bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha! Bwah-ha-ha-ha! Bwah-ha-ha!

LOL
 
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Budgets are relative, I built 2 rooms floated floors doors glass, etc.. for under 3 grand. so it is possible.

And Not an accident waiting to happen. Good planning and a strong back can make it happen.

BTW my area was 260 sq ft.

Of course I did not need a toilet. Depends on how deep down the rabbit hole you want to go.
 
giles117 said:
Budgets are relative, I built 2 rooms floated floors doors glass, etc.. for under 3 grand. so it is possible.
Click to expand...


Exactly. It also depends how you source materials as well.

For my studio console table, to be made of steel, I had spec'd a variety of materials totalling approximately $500 or thereabouts, then ran across many pieces of rectangular and square tubing free for the asking. Some of it is smaller, some of is larger than I need, but free overcomes many faults. Simply have to redesign a bit :)

Someone had suggested to me that Home Depot and other places often have "Manager's specials", i.e. door and window returns. Didn't know this. Sure enough, tremendous savings on such things.

Good advice Giles.
 
Hey frederic that is how I got all my doors, $25 bucks for the ones with no windows and $50 for the ones with a 9 light glass panel. All at Lowes all New or returns.

Bryan Giles
 
giles117 said:
Hey frederic that is how I got all my doors, $25 bucks for the ones with no windows and $50 for the ones with a 9 light glass panel. All at Lowes all New or returns.

Bryan Giles
Click to expand...

Like I said, you gave excellent advice :D
 
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