Practice lockout question

[tf5_bassist]

I'm thinking about going about and building a lockout facility here in my hometown. There's nothing of the sort in the area, and I think that it'd be rather profitable, not to mention a lot of fun, and a good way to contribute to the scene here. I was wondering if anyone here has built or contributed to building a lockout or similar multi-room practice facility, and would have any ideas on it. I wouldn't start out too large, at the most, five rooms or something, with emphasis on soundproofing and security, but I'm really clueless on what a project like this would actually cost, or what it would entail. Anyone have any experience that they could help me out with?

 

[RICK FITZPATRICK]

First thing I would do is research the need. Second is consult an architect. If your building from the gound up, especially this type of building, you are going to need him. Permits alone are a staggering legal headache without one. And since this is going to involve more than one source of sound, and I'm sure you don't want one source interferring with another, you are looking at very specialized construction. Do you own property? Or are you thinking about purchasing a piece? Lots of questions here. Lots of risk also. Long term. Building this scale is very expensive too. Not a DIY project.
And out of the scope of this forum, except for the sound treatment and some of the soundproofing concepts. However, you will need an architect familiar with these sort of problems. If you have the financial ability and resources to tackle a project of this scope, see professionals for more preliminary info. It would be very difficult for people here to leagally and professionally offer advice when it comes to the actual design proposals. That is not to say people cannot help here. There are some very knowledgeable people here who can offer advice to a point. Homestudio constuction is a very different animal than what you are describing. Any time you start offering public access on a commercial property, it now is in the realm of total government and building approval process's. Sooooo, tell us more and we will try and direct you to the appropriate decision door. Hope this helps. Now, for those of you who CAN offer the next step or
experience......be my guest. I have none other than professional CAD document
drafting.
fitZ

 

[knightfly]

Something like that might be easier to accomplish in EVERY way if you could get a deal on an existing storage facility that's built with concrete block - if there's already an income that would cover the payment plus a little, you could come up with a room-in-room design that would work to convert ANY of the units to a sound proof unit, then just do every OTHER unit for even MORE isolation.

Advantages -

Starts out paying its own way.
No major architectural fees.
Likely no close neighbors.
Convert units only as you have money or clients.
Might be out of town. (less noise problems)

Disadvantages -

Might run into zoning problems, not sure.
Few storage facilities have toilet facilities, except at caretaker shack.
May need heavier power, electrical could run up the price.
Might be out of town. (First three rules: Location, location, location

Might work, wierder things have happened... Steve

 

[tf5_bassist]

Thanks Rick and Steve. Very good advice.

First to Rick. I realize that this is a rather big project, but I do not plan on building from the ground up. There are a LOT of emptied out warehouses and other commercial buildings (some even outside of city limits!), and I'm sure they wouldn't be too difficult to rent cheap around these parts, and convert slowly, just enough to start getting an income to fuel the project. So it's still a big project, but not a BIIIG project. Basically, I'm looking for advice on low-cost (yet effective) soundproofing materials/techniques, general sizes of the lockout rooms (seeing as i've never seen one in my life, living in this shithole of a town lol), and other stuff as far as "converting" an existing building into a lockout facility (or containing a self-built micro-structure of lockout rooms).

My friend who owns the studio that I record at has a three-room studio in the back area of his large shop/garage at his house. It wasn't very expensive to build, and he did it himself. It's a self-contained structure inside the larger building, basically. That's what my initial goals are, seeing as it's the least expensive way. I'd still have the whole building VERY secure (bars on windows, if any, good airtight security on the property, all doors lockable, etc etc), but it'd be an easy way to get things rolling. Very similar to Steve's idea about taking over an oldschool storage complex or whatnot.

Here's the idea of it. I work a minimum wage job (soon to be slightly higher. oh joy. *sigh*), and want to do this as quickly as possible, while I know it will take a while. So basically, saving up for a year is out of the question. Get a few financial backers, go amongst the community and ask for assistance (occasionally that kinda' stuff works around here ), and go from there, marketing the local scene and smaller groups that *NEED* a place to practice.

I'm rather tired, so i may have omitted a few of my thoughts and ideas... But hopefully this will give a bit more insight to my plans here. Thanks for the advice again.

 

[RICK FITZPATRICK]

living in in this shithole of a town lol)

Ha! Your blessed. You could be in Corning

Just kiddin with ya! I am VERY familiar with Redding. I think personally your in a better place than most in the Valley. I'm from Sacramento. And Steve hit it on the nailhead in regards to storage units. Many many bands in Sac rent a storage unit for a practice place. Trouble is, they can only practice at night. They come in before the gates are locked, and STAY in all night, till the gates are unlocked in the morning. And then there are the concrete practice rooms that the more entreprenural music oriented landlords own. BIG $, at least in Sac. And strict zoning, permit and occupation codes.
IF you can meet the codes there, I would imagine it would be financially feasable, however, most investors in commercial property are looking for returns(rents) at a much higher rate than practice rooms afford. So it sounds to me as if Redding, given a local music scene provides enough working bands, might be the place to do as you say.
And were you to find an existing structure to start this project, I'm positive that there are many here who would be very helpful with their insight into the sound proofing and treatment aspects of the project. I actually lived in one of our practice rooms for a year, in a large concrete building that was the local Indian council headquarters. They had one side of the building they rented to bands, cheap. Hence me living there Downside, was the Indian Drums. Every night. Cool at first. Drove me out of there after a year. And other asshole bands too. Rock and roll. Hmmm. One band tried to break in to steal our equipment, not knowing I was living in there. Did some serious asskicking. There was no soundproofing in the rooms either.
Well good luck with your idea. Don't hesitate to ask for help should you obtain a building for your project.
BTW, I live in Coos Bay. As you said.
fitZ

 

[tf5_bassist]

lol yes... I could be living in Corning. However, I did live in Red Bluff for 7 or 8 months haha... Anyways... Yeah, I need to figure out what's up with the permits and what codes i'd have to be aware of and all that crap... So I'm gonna' discuss it with a few likeminded friends of mine, we're gonna' start shopping around for a building and supplies simultaneously, look into a few small loans and community sponsors, and go from there. Hopefully it'll work out. It's getting started that will be the big obstacle. When I have more progress and whatnot, i'll post, and if i have any other questions, i'll still post. Thanks man!