| Converting My Garage [message #235357] |
Wed, 04 April 2007 16:00  |
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 el duderino
Messages: 621
Registered: May 2004
Location: Wanamakamusica, NJ |
Gold Member |
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hey everybody...this is going to be a long process (and post)so i appreciate any help. hell i appreciate you reading it at all!
well, i've decided to bite the bullet and convert my garage. Not to a full blown studio, but a quality control room with an iso booth for overdubs. and HOPEFULLY a half bathroom.
Its going to be DIY for the most part (aside from electrical and other things that kill). Luckily, just about every local band I've worked with has at least 1 guy who does some form of construction so most labor will be free. Plus, it turns out an old friend is a plumber who is starting a metal band that needs to record. So im callin in favors and setting up to owe some.
Now, the space is a two car detached garage that is about 20'x 20'and has nothing in it. cement slab for a floor and the walls are basically just studs inside. outside is sort of stucco but not 100% sure on that. The ceiling is about 8' where it meets the side wall and slopes up to 14' in the center.
First off, do you guys think this is doable? i mean i know we can build it, but do you think it could be up to the potential im hoping (gear aside for now)?
Also, (and this is where i have no clue) putting in electricity (only has 1 outlet at present) and some sort of heating system/AC are blowing my mind. When exactly does this stuff happen? would it need a frame for the inner wall built before both can go in? how's it usually done? is this stuff going to cost as much as materials for everything else? thats my current grief.
another thing im wondering is if the iso booth will do its job. there's going to be loud amps in it and while ive dealt with less than stellar iso booths before, they were in studios where id didnt have to worry about neighbors. well, at least MY neighbors. Also, building an iso booth would be better than one of those pre fab ones right?
btw, the closest building is my house about 20 ft away. then a neighbor's house about the same distance, maybe a bit more. I'd very much like to not piss them off when doing rhythm gtrs at 2 am. Plus, i monitor fairly loud.
i've read the master handbook of acoustics (a couple times) and keep going back to it as well as this forum and some others and of course ethan's site. I *think* i have an ok grasp of building the shell- thick insulation, layer of drywall caulked, 4" air gap, second wall with more insulation and two layers of drywall caulked and having the seams of them not on top of one another. then comes bass traps and diffusers where needed.
would it be beneficial to use rigid fiberglass in either wall instead of the usual stuff?
would the ceiling need as much, or could 1 layer of drywall and a lot of insulation do it? im mainly worried about the weight with much more than that.
ive got about 5 guys to help do drywall, insulation, and flooring. Plus I'm putting a new roof on this sucker so we'll be ripping off the old one to save money. I'll handle the audio cabling and initial acoustic design (hoping to have enough $ to pay for some consultancy on that).
Well thats about it for now. Am i insane? I figure in a worst case scenario where i fail at having a studio I'll have added some value to my home by having a separate functioning "guest house" that needs some windows 
I'll try to get exact measurements tonight or tomorrow and post a little diagram of what im thinking of.
Thanks in advance. As this thing moves along i'll post pictures of the progress. now to go read Fibes buildout thread....again.
Making records one tamborine hit at a time.
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| Re: Converting My Garage [message #235436 is a reply to message #235357 ] |
Wed, 04 April 2007 22:11  |
crna59
Messages: 110
Registered: March 2006
Location: Seattle |
Active Member |
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This is good that you are asking now. First I would make sure the structure is sound! LOL Not kidding! The thing you should consider is to build a room within a room. That's what I did in my basement. Luckily for me the ceiling height was 12'. You will also need this to contain the sound and keep sound from outside coming in.
Now... If the building is ready, you'll need electrical/plumbing permits. Also if you want complete isolation, you might want to saw the concrete between the rooms. Now before you put anything on the walls, you will need to acoustically caulk every seam/hole/junction... whatever. Acoustical caulk is cheap and I went through 33 cases!
Next comes the plumbing. This you will need to saw the concrete for drainage. Consult a plumber. Next will be electrical. Wires will be run through studs/joists. You'll need to caulk these as well. My electrical was $30k. !! Acoustical caulk is your friend!
Next comes the insulation. Rock wool is the best, but the pink stuff will be more cost efficient. You can then start to think about if you want a room within a room, or just build everything up. Don't forget the vapor barrier on the concrete before you build anything on it. I sealed the concrete first.
You can either do 2 layers of 5/8 plywood on the floor with Green Glue inbetween or a raised platform floor.
Drywall is fine. Two layers of drywall with Green Glue is better. You want to decouple everything as much as possible. Think about Resilient channel. If you like to see some work in progress, take a look at my build. I spared no expense at sound isolation. You can use as much or less as your budget will allow!
http://gallery.audioasylum.com/cgi/view.mpl?UserImages=1002
Regards,
Bruce
Puget Sound Studios
Bruce A. Brown
Mastering & Post Production
Seattle, WA
It is easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission! Buy! Buy buy....
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| Re: Converting My Garage [message #264292 is a reply to message #235357 ] |
Tue, 07 August 2007 14:19 |
Steve Hudson
Messages: 482
Registered: November 2004
Location: Austin, Texas USofA |
Active Member |
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Glenn's got some good ideas in his sketch. A square room is very problematic acoustically, so the CR should be narrowed as Glenn suggests. Do a search on room ratios and figure out what the ideal width would be with the fixed front-to-back dimension (19') and the average ceiling height. By way of example, I have a 20'x20' space with an average 10.5' ceiling, so we went with a roughly 19'x14' control room layout.
"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side."
- Hunter S. Thompson
http://www.myspace.com/steventoddhudson
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