Future backyard studio in Portland, Ore.

Hello All, I'm planning to build a small detached personal studio in my backyard. It will double as a home office, sans any office equipment. It will normally have one occupant but I would like to have occasional company. I have around a $5000 budget and will do most of the construction myself. This will be new construction, nominally 12' x 16' with, preferably, a 12' side facing my house. I am planning on a standard 8' ceiling. I'm considering an 18" easement from the two fence runs the building will face. I would like to have a window on each of the non-fence sides. I am planning on constructing with a concrete slab and independent double walls. I plan on using double 5/8 DW on interior, but I'm not certain about exterior. I'm leaning toward a simple rectangular interior due to size. I believe I want a reflective floor, but could be convinced otherwise. Currently there exists a large brick BBQ/Fireplace and a 3" slab at the site which I will demolish soon. My next door neighbor has a large maple by the fence whose roots have raised the existing 3" slab a little. I can excavate these somewhat, but I'm not sure about risks. My closest neighbor is about 25 yards away. I would like to sing 24 hours a day and play my child's tiny drum set well past 10 pm. I mostly play guitar and will play a bass infrequently. I play at moderate volumes, shouting, not screaming. Sorry if this is not accurate enough. Pictures to follow. Questions ========= How thick does the slab need to be? Are the double walls necessary, could I get away with RC on interior with single frame? Are the roots a deal killer for this location? Do those double hose portable A/Cs really provide fresh air? Do I vent the space between the ceiling and roof at all? Are there any safety issues to be aware of? What am I missing? Thanks in advance for any input, Brian

View from my back door.

View from BBQ back to house. My house is to the left.

Hai GG, 1. read the forum, esp. them stickies. 2. get "the" book (you'll know which one when following the first rule) 3. make a floorplan (design), post it here. 4. discuss the plan. 5. progress to construction 6. add the construction plan on the forum 7. discuss the plan. 8. build and make pix. 9. impress us or discuss some more.. ;) good luck!

Birds eye view. 2D rendered from Sketchup drawing.

Thanks Ro! Brian

If anyone is interested in following this, I've moved over to the construction forum http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=10764, because my current questions are more appropriate there. :D Thanks, Brian