Transforming 3 car garage into a studio...Any designs / pointers / help ?

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Zacman

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Hello, this is my first forum post...ever. Please notify me if I forget to include some

details on the room. The garage is 30 ft by 23 ft. (Not exact, but very close.) The

ceilings are 10.5ft high. I want to have this acoustically treated so the sound is decent.

Also, the garage is attached to the house and I want it somewhat soundproof for that

reason. I want a mixing room, a live room, and a hallway between the two. Please reply,

thank you!
 
Start reading and follow the links you come across. There is too much out there to condense down nice and simple for you but doing yer homework is an essential part of the process anyway so have fun.

How much budget do you have? Isolation from the main house could be a very expensive proposition with limited results. Treatment alone in a room that size will get pricey but you can go a bit at a time.


lou
 
Do you have a general price zone, just so I can assign myself a budget from there? What's the average cost?
 
Yup....I'd check out the info right here at HR, John Sayers site, Gearslutz studio build section and just figure on a good amount of homework before ya go spendin yer bucks.
You good with DIY? Save quite a few bucks by buildin a lot of your own bass traps etc.

Oh...and to get any isolation between your house and the garage, remember...MASS....and decouple it.

Keep us posted man. I dig studio builds.
;)
 
Zacman said:
Do you have a general price zone, just so I can assign myself a budget from there? What's the average cost?
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Buy this book. All the research was done for you right there.

EDIT: After I linked to the book above, I noticed there's a new edition.

Here's the nutshell. You say you want it to be somewhat soundproof. To do that, you're going to have to build a room within a room. Do you care about sound going from the control room to the live room? Well, then you'll need to build those separately and not connect them. I'd also recommend doubling up the drywall and making it the 5/8" variety. Throw some Green Glue between the sheets of drywall as well. Immense help there. Then you'll have to get some backer rod for under (and between I think) your drywall so you can totally seal off the room. If air can go through it, sound can go through it. Also, design smart. You sure don't want to create a situation where there's a fire and you can't get out effectively. And since you're building from the ground up, so to speak, splay those walls and pay attention to room dimensions and such.

Anyway, that's a quick and dirty nutshell. Like I said, buy that book.
 
Zacman said:
Do you have a general price zone, just so I can assign myself a budget from there? What's the average cost?
Click to expand...
$20,000 ought to get you decent isolation. Maybe less if you do it yourself. $5000 for treating the room(s). Multiply both of those by two just in case.

There are no average prices, Zac. It's all about what you want to do. You can probably make that garage a reasonable jam space and mixing room for less than a grand if you do it yourself and aren't worried about the isolation part.


lou
 
Sky Blue Lou said:
You can probably make that garage a reasonable jam space and mixing room for less than a grand if you do it yourself and aren't worried about the isolation part.
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Isolation = $$$$$$$$$$$

My small room, just for treatment alone, is likely going to cost me close to $1,200.
 
Myriad_Rocker said:
Isolation = $$$$$$$$$$$

My small room, just for treatment alone, is likely going to cost me close to $1,200.
Click to expand...
Oh yeah. My room will probably break my $700 budget by a little bit and I'm doing it all myself, nuthin' fancy and I got a good deal on 703. I was thinking rockwool and gobos would be the cheap start for Zac.


lou
 
Well, now I have decided that the isolation isn't the most important thing for me. It's okay if I hear sound from the studio in the house.. The thing i'm most confused about is what to do with the walls, such as double walls, how many coats of drywall, etc. A diagram would help a bunch if possible. I'll soon post a diagram of how I want the studio to be set up.
 
Again...start reading. John Sayer's site has a lot of build projects and experts galore. You should probably first decide and describe your intent for the place; personal one-man recording, full bands, hobbyist, commercial. No one can give you any meaningful advice until you tell us what it is you are trying to accomplish. Same with construction. It's a waste of everyone's time - including yours - to talk advanced construction techniques if you have a $2000 budget. Not happening. The price of Green glue alone will stun you.

Read, refine, report. There are no shortcuts and no one is gonna do it for you.


lou
 
Zacman said:
Well, now I have decided that the isolation isn't the most important thing for me. It's okay if I hear sound from the studio in the house.. The thing i'm most confused about is what to do with the walls, such as double walls, how many coats of drywall, etc. A diagram would help a bunch if possible. I'll soon post a diagram of how I want the studio to be set up.
Click to expand...
To go with what Lou has already told you, buy that book. It's one of the best $26 you'll spend!

People have asked the exact same question you have (perhaps in different words) a million times over. The information is out there. And I hate to keep harping on the book, but, the research has been done FOR YOU right there.
 
I used half of the 3rd car portion for my studio. Here's a thread on it...
https://homerecording.com/bbs/general-discussions/studio-building-display/studio-garage-279814/

I wasn't concerned about sound isolation because there wasn't much attached to the house. And after finishing and moving in, I don't hear anything inside the house even when my system is cranking.

I spent about $200 on DIY acoustic treatment. I used OC703 and Johns-Manville rigid fibreboard (703 equivalent). I think I've got a good sounding room.

Good luck. Keep the updates in this thread so we can follow along....
 
There are some excellent layouts here to get you started. John Sayers site is a great resource even if all you do is look around to get inspired. (Of course, HR is also a great resource). Are you planning on using all 3 bays? Are you going to hire a contractor or do this yourself? Obviously that will affect the cost.
 
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