Hello Tom, and welcome to the bbs. So you want to build a standalone studio huh? Ok, first thing I would do is do a search here for all the posts by Michael Jones. He built a standalone studio in Texas last year. He shows the plan, and tells a lot of the Building Inspection Department criteria. Then shows tons of pictures and descriptions of his progress. He is not finished yet.
Then go to these sites for Studio related information.
http://www.saecollege.de/reference_material/index.html
http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/index.php?sid=a738de4da2c4580ee7f7a1e26ae44e72
http://forum.studiotips.com/index.php
http://www.soundonsound.com/forum/p...2f2886d&Cat=&Board=DESIGN&page=&view=&sb=5&o=
http://www.realtraps.com/art_studio.htm
This should give you enough to do for a year or two
If you can't find what your looking for within the context of studio design at those sites, or answers, come on back and we'll try to help you with direct questions.
Let me give you a quick overview though. Homestudios are quite different then full blown commercial studios in the context of budgets. Although similar in criteria, the difference is usually found in the extent of isolation and perks. Without knowing you set of existing location conditions such as environmental noise, neighbors, type of music, and your own budget, it would be difficult to give precise advice at this point in the game. However, my best advice is to study a couple of threads to see the end extremes of homestudio building. This will give you a clue to the REAL DEAL vs psuedo design in the context of isolation/acoustics. Here is the most extreme example I know of in terms of isolation for a control room design and BUILD. This thread is NINTY PAGES long
http://forum.studiotips.com/viewtopic.php?t=107&start=1900
There is a lot of "net fact" out there, and a lot of "expert" advice that contradicts each other. If you do enough study, you will begin to see the truth come through. One area of this "net fact" criteria is floating floors and rooms, as they are the main "studio isolation vouge feature", which seems to be a "gotta have" of most peoples list of studio design features. Study well. Mucho dollars can be spent on this area of construction, when in reality you MAY not need it. Do NOT assume anything.
In this regard, it would behoove me to point you to these threads.....
http://forum.studiotips.com/viewtopic.php?t=1734
http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2921
http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3876
IF you read EVERYTHING in these threads, you will notice two things. One, these same people frequent ALL the sites regarding the subjects at hand, as they have one goal in common. SOUND TRANSMISSION LOSS. You will become very familiar with this term. Two, "floating rooms". You will also become very familiar with the inherent problems and solutions that are STILL being worked out on these forums. Remember, this is oriented around DO IT YOURSELF(DIY).
There are a few books to check out also. One is Alton Everests Master Handbook of Acoustics and another by him regarding Small Studio Design, another is Phillip Newels Studio Design book. And there are others mentioned on the linked sites. In fact there are quite a few.
Next is construction information and contractors. Since your Dad is a draftsman I have a suggestion. First off, I am too. I post drawings here all the time. If he uses a CAD program such as Autocad, ask me and I will send you some preliminary CAD files for manipulation within your files, that will save you TONS of time, AND they are already set up for posting on the web or forum site to allow quick illustration of your intent. Next, as to contractors.........BEWARE!! Normally, contractors do NOT have a clue to studio type construction techniques nor materials. Intuition into sound transmission loss and acoustics does NOT work. In fact, these subjects will baffle your intuition. The REAL deal is TESTED ASSEMBIES. Do NOT listen to a contractor. This is why I asked about your DADS drafting. By the time you are ready to submit drawings to BID(Building Inspection Department) you should have EVERY DETAIL drawn in advance for not only BID approval, but so contractors can NOT make arbitrary decisions in regards to how things are done. You will see. Of course this is if you plan on using contractors, which for some things you may have too. And this brings up another thing. Since you are building from the ground up, you WILL have to deal with BID, as you will need permits. This is where things get tricky. Right from the getgo, I would check with your local BID for information regarding limits such as egrees, setbacks, easments, and other important preliminary info. Remember, studio construction is quite different than ordinary residential construction, and will place concepts at the inspector/appoval authorities doorstep that they are NOT familiar with, which will make your job that much harder to get a permit. That is why you should either become familiar with local codes, and or
hire a person such as a local architect to INTERPRET your designs for submission, and oversee the construction. It could save you a ton of time and money. For example. Floating room/floors are MASSIVE. And they are free to vibrate. That means for some people, SIESMIC(earthquake) restrictions in some locations. Your location may not have these, but MAY have others such as soil condition which limit types of footings/slabs etc.
It also means some other things regarding MASS. Mass is what translates into isolation. And usually, for studio design, this mass is applied to whats known as a MASS AIR MASS TWO LEAF SYSTEM. Which means this. The exterior shell of the building is the exterior LEAF. It is a frame shiethed with the exterior mass. Plan on this from the getgo. Either concrete block, or stucco, or multiple layer OSB shiething with one or TWO layers of water resistant drywall or other heavy material applied BEFORE the OSB. Then the roof. The ROOF is the outer LEAF of the two leaf system. It must be HEAVY. That means either concrete tile, or multiple layers of OSB with TWO layers of SEALED roll out comp, with a finsih layer of COMP shingle. Whatever, think SEALED MEMBRANE. This all translates into weight, which also translates into STRUCTURAL INTEGRETY. Think ENGINEERED TRUSSES. This exterior shell is where most people have to make compromises for thier isolation. If designed properly from the getgo, the INTERIOR LEAF will not have to compensate...ie..six or seven layers of drywall..
(ie see Paul Woodlocks studio diary) Within this "exterior leaf" concept is the floor. Hence my links to this subject. Study hard. It will be the most important issue decision you will make in regards to isolation.
Lastly, acoustics. This subject is an Alice in Wonderland story. Enter the Rabbit hole at your own risk. You could spend a lifetime before making decisions. Being informed is one thing. Trying to outthink the experts is another. That is why I linked you to an acoustics site. The FAQ's section will outline the goals already. You do NOT have to re'invent the wheel.
Well, I hope this helps with your direction. Good luck on your journey.
fitZ
