Things you wish you had thought of

[Wireneck]

My soon to be wife and I just purchased a home. The new home has a rather large garage space which I plan on building a rehearsal room/personal studio into. I've got the layout somewhat designed, I am an electrician by trade (friends will be helping with the carpentry portion).
I was just wondering if there were certain things that you may have thought of after you had already gotten well into building. If so what were they? I still have a month before we move in and it will probably be a few more months before I get ready to start building.

 

[NL5]

I suggest going to John Sayers site. The BEST thing I did for my studio by FAR.

 

[Obi-Wan zenabI]

I put a lot of my gear in, and now have to drill a few holes in the sheetrock t hang my 703 bass traps. Dust problems.

I wish there had been a way to get all the treatment in before loading in gear, but Ihad to see how everything fit first.

Also, it's cool to drae in where you're going to put your stuff, but also draw in peoplle on your plans, and little lines where you think that they'll move... like from mixing desk to amps to set up microphones and run wires. Try to lay it out so that everyone is out of everyone else's way.

I'm more for convenience than perfect accoustics.

 

[andyhix]

I put a lot of my gear in, and now have to drill a few holes in the sheetrock t hang my 703 bass traps. Dust problems.

Just a thought, but maybe have your wife/girlfriend/drummer/life partner hold the shopvac nearby like a dental assistant when you are drilling to suck up the dust.

 

[c7sus]

Get a building permit for your remodel.

The ass you save could very well be your own.

Insurers don't care if you're a wireman or not. They care about signed-off inspections, and pay claims accordingly.

Check with your local authorities. If you permit it as a bedroom you'll need arc-arresting breakers and an emergency egress--i.e. a window. Also, you cannot walk directly from the garage into a bedroom, you have to have fire-rated doors and 1-hour drywall.

Don't use rope, either. I did and I regret it now. I wish I had used steel flex and EMT.

If you're adding cable modem and telephone access I also recommend installing one of those all-in-one networking panels. That's another one I skipped that would have added probably 5 times the value of what it costs.

 

[RICK FITZPATRICK]

I was just wondering if there were certain things that you may have thought of after you had already gotten well into building.

If you get to the last page you will be prepared as you can be, but Murphy is always waiting.
http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2921&start=0&sid=bae6c45e5cf012a3c309dc109d753b21

 

[Seeker of Rock]

And don't forget to search this forum as well. A lot of good explanations/Q&A/etc. of things regarding John Sayers's site, Ethan Winer's site, Rod Gervais's book. A few basics to get you started that I picked up from others here:
1) square control room is bad, non-parallel (angled) walls are good; I didn't do this part but I believe John's and Ethan's sites have formulae for the proper angles in relation to room size and mix position
2) plan for twice as many electrical outlets as you think you'll need
3) construction will probably cost more than you plan (about 50% more for my project)
4) maximize transmission loss if you're concerned about others hearing your sound outside of the studio space (neighbors, family)
5) think about HVAC BEFORE you build and how it is going to work...otherwise, if you just run new vents to the space you may be creating sound tunnels into other parts of the house.
6) plan the structure accordingly to handle the extra dead load of a 'room within a room'

I did all of these except number 5. My alternative was to buy the smallest central air conditioner (1 ton). I opted instead for a really powerful wall unit. I crank the thing for 5 minutes and it stays cool inside for an hour. A bit of inconvenience, but not the end of the world. Something to think about ahead of time, though.

 

[tmix]

me

I think the one thing I would have worked out a little better is thinking through how and where you want to mount things like sound panels (ceiling particularly) breakout boxes possible muffler type manifolds for airducts and make sure you have plenty of wood there in the walls and ceiling . THEN MAKE SURE YOU TAKE PLENTY OF PICTURES AND MEASUREMENTS so you can find it later.

Trying to use even sonar type studfinders through an 1 to 1.5 thick sheetrock is NOT fun or easy.

Tom

 

[Seeker of Rock]

Good point, tmix...as-builts.

One more little thing that I had to deal with this morning...remember the details, especially in sealing. Unfortunately in all of my impatience (I wanted this thing to be done last fall, and it's only one room ) I did an 'oops' and put one of the trim boards on my door before sealing the gap where it connects to the structure. I noticed I was getting some outside noise when I put my ear to the door. The gap was small (shimmed), but nonetheless I pulled it off to put in some expandable foam and then leftover Auralex pieces. Before the repair, the only thing I had between the inside and out at the door was the trim and a thin coat of stucco on the outside (I didn't do double doors which would have been ideal, but it is what it is ). I guess in a long way I'm trying to say remember the details after the major construction is complete.

 

[Innovations]

Decide up front what your expectations are going to be for isolation and build accordingly top to bottom. You can always fine tune the internal accoustics of the room with absorbers but isolation is a different matter, and isolation is a no better than the weakest link thing.

 

[Dani Pace]

Remember isolation has to work both ways. Keeping unwanted noise out is just as important as keeping wanted sounds in. Sirens, lawn mowers, traffic, car stereos, and lots of other noises can ruin an otherwise good recording.

 

[Dethska]

I have absolutely nothing to add other than a congratulations on the wife and house.