All In One Room Studio - New Build From The Ground Up

Okay, I've read these forums for a few years and I've also built a one room/all in one room studio already at my previous house. I've since moved (I know, even after the other build out). You can see the old room I built, which was a one room studio as well, here: http://www.tateeskew.com/zero-art-studio/2/ I've since rented that house out to a tenant. I then bought a 5 acre piece of land and built a house. We are just now completely moved into the new house and now it's time to start work on designing/building the studio! I'm attaching my SmartDraw drawing of my all in one room design. I bought Rod's book some time ago and really thought about building a multi-room place, but I reall love working in a one room studio and enjoy it so much more without glass between me and the band/musicians. I don't have neighbors and outdoor noise isn't a problem unless I get an occasional wild turkey gobbling :) So, I'm not too worried about isolation. The current situation: The slab is already poured and it's a 40'x30' slab. The plumbing for the full bath is already roughed in as well. I plan on keeping the floor concrete and staining it with this: http://www.radonseal.com/color-sealer/color-sealer.htm The exterior is already framed using metal studs. The height of the exterior wall is 12 feet. That's all that is done, right now. I have a few questions that I'd like to pose to the forum. They are: 1. As you can see by the drawing, I have a closet built at the end of the long room that would house my DAW and my console's (MCI JH416) power supplies. I have the console sitting in the corner in the drawing, but I was wondering if it would be better to move the console against the North wall instead of caddy-cornered? Acoustically speaking that is. Would it matter much one way or another if the room was treated correctly? 2. The ceilings will be a scissor truss that will slope from 12 feet to 17 feet. I would love for the truss/beam to be exposed, but I'm having a hard time understanding how I would construct this and still have adequate insulation. Here is a picture of Pete Weiss' place (verdant studio), which is in Vermont. He has the same type of exposed ceiling I would like, but not sure how a ceiling like this would be constructed. He surely has insulation galore in there being in Vermont and all: Any idea on how one could achieve good insulation, but still have that look? You can also find more photos of the exterior/interior here: http://www.ssdarchitecture.com/works/co ... l/verdant/ 3. I've used Bob Golds room mode calculator here: http://www.bobgolds.com/Mode/RoomModes.htm and have calculated my room, but I'm not sure what dimensions I should be using with the layout of my room that I have now. Does anyone know how I should calculate it? Since I have the Iso/Drum room in the main space, I'm not sure how to take that into account when calculating the room mode. For the ceiling, I'm guessing you take the average? With all of this said, I'm not interested in building a multi-room place, but would anyone have any comments on my design? Is there a better way to utilize the one room space? Should the layout be changed to add more storage? For better acoustics without going too much smaller on the room size? Here is the drawing. I'm also attaching the drawing in SmartDraw format if anyone wants to tinker or use it.

i definitely wouldn't put the mix position facing into a corner. rather, i'd face the desk into the room and put some nice heavy absorption behind it like the corner traps you see in the control rooms, but in this case without the control room walls... :-) why not add a new roof layer over the existing roof? that is create a new and isolation roof over top (obviously clear off shingles etc) to get the isolation and keep the nice interior... then add absorption hanging in spots as needed. check with a structural engineer to determine if you can do this but in theory if the walls can handle the additional dead weight plus still meet live load, then you should be able to do it.

thanks for the reply glenn. as of now, there isn't a roof at all. the only thing up is the framing for the exterior walls. i'm kind of wondering how to do this from the ground up for the ceiling. is there a way to get at least R30 ratings from a scissor trussed design while still exposing the trusses/beams? if you look at the photo of Verdant Studio that i posted, that's what i would ideally want, but i want a nice insulation rating. so would you do a layer system of like: shingles roof paper ply some sort of foam insulation ply exposed truss ?? i'm not even sure how you would do it. i've done vaulted/cathedral ceilings before, but i've always drywalled. it usually goes shingles roof paper ply rafters foam channel for ventilation ceiling insulation drywall with regards to the mix position, would it be better to have the console against the far wall? here is another drawing i did real quickly moving some things around. i see that verdant studio and mavericks in new york (http://mixonline.com/studios/profiles/a ... mavericks/) both have one room designs and they both have the console to the wall. any thoughts? am i wasting space here?

If you look at the last outside truss: http://www.ssdarchitecture.com/works/co ... l/verdant/ You can see that it has been over sized, maybe 2X12? From what I can see, trusses are installed, plumbed, etc. and then decked, dryed in. Then, inside the house, framing nailers are installed on the sides of the truss rafters. Measuring down from the top of the existing 12" rafter you mark at 5 inches on both ends, both sides of the rafter. Then you pop a chalk line to that. Then a 2X2 nailer is installed on this line. Insulation can be installed above and should allow enough room to have a vented airspace to allow heat to escape. Your finished ceiling product is installed to the bottom of the newly installed nailer. All dimensions given by me are for examples sake only. /end Now what about those metal studs on the exterior? They are inbetween posts supporting a beam?

xSpace, That is exactly what I was looking for and that is indeed the way it looks like they accomplished that. Thank you much for the insight. Now, regarding your question about the exterior steel studs. The slab and steel studs were up when I bought the piece of land. The previous guy was going to make a big car shop out of it with a lift and whatnot. I'm not sure I can decipher your question, either. The exterior steel framing is currently only held up by braces that are tied to the ground exterior of the building. I'm attaching a quick drawing of how the exterior is framed. Both the top and bottom of each steel stud is inside of a C Channel type of metal stud. I'm not sure what you mean by being between posts supporting a beam. Sorry, but could you explain? Thanks, guys.

so are you looking to keep the steel in place and make interior a layer of nice wood? or replace the steel roof with lumber so it can be decorative with exposed rafters and beams?

gullfo wrote:

so are you looking to keep the steel in place and make interior a layer of nice wood? or replace the steel roof with lumber so it can be decorative with exposed rafters and beams?

there is no steel roof/trusses. i haven't ordered the trusses yet and when i do i was planning on wood trusses. i was also planning on a finished wood on the ceiling like verdant, but drywall on the walls. interior framing could be steel or wood studs. i haven't decided. would you suggest one over the other? the steel exterior walls were up when i bought the place. would you suggest taking them out as well and replacing with wood framing? thanks.

gullfo wrote:

i definitely wouldn't put the mix position facing into a corner. rather, i'd face the desk into the room and put some nice heavy absorption behind it like the corner traps you see in the control rooms, but in this case without the control room walls... :-)

Gulfo, Any chance you could expand on this. Are you talking about something like this?

formzero wrote:

xSpace, Now, regarding your question about the exterior steel studs. The slab and steel studs were up when I bought the piece of land. The previous guy was going to make a big car shop out of it with a lift and whatnot. I'm not sure what you mean by being between posts supporting a beam. Sorry, but could you explain? Thanks, guys.

I was thinking that this steel stud system was not designed to support what you want to put on it. In my head I was seeing 4X4 posts at specific length dimensions, metal studs installed in between the posts and the post support a wooden perimeter beam. Just me being curious about the steel studs what with not being able to see them.

yes, the new corner design. sorry, for some reason i thought you had the roof already in place... in which case i agree with xSpace - the steel walls might not be strong enough.

gullfo wrote:

yes, the new corner design. sorry, for some reason i thought you had the roof already in place... in which case i agree with xSpace - the steel walls might not be strong enough.

i would hate to go back through and replace the whole exterior framing. i think i might just do a regular scissor truss and then put the insulation in and then cover the insulation with a fireproof fabric stapled to the trusses. i would give me the vault i'm looking for with a nice look and no ceiling drywall headache. what do you guys think of that?

i think the hard bit is isolation - it takes mass and space... rain or hail will be a problem during a session if the roof is a single layer... maybe the walls are strong enough to build it correctly - check with a structural engineer.

gullfo wrote:

i think the hard bit is isolation - it takes mass and space... rain or hail will be a problem during a session if the roof is a single layer... maybe the walls are strong enough to build it correctly - check with a structural engineer.

thanks, glenn. i'm not especially worried about it being completely isolated. the room is for me and my friends only. there won't be any paying clients or anything unless my friends feel guilty :lol: thanks a ton for all of the help on this thread. you guys are great.