Old Guinea Record Haus (New Stuidio build)!!!

Hello everyone! I live in Denton, Texas and am starting construction on my new studio. I have been stalking this site (which is great) for several months now and am ready to start building. The studio will be located in my backyard and will be about 60ft. from my neighbors. Ths studio will be for my peronsal use only and will also serve as a rehersal room for a rock band. That being said isloation is going to be my biggest concern. My goal is to have a 24/7 room with no complaints. My goals may be lofty so I am seeking help from the experts on this board. We play very loud and typically play at night..... PLEASE HELP ME!!! On with the plans..... First of all, I just got my permit!!!! There was an exsisting "workshop" on a concrete slab. I decided to demolish the entire building and start over from scratch. I am also pouring some new concrete this weekend to add about 200 sf. to the room. The total size is going to be 420 sf. I plan on utlilizing a room with in a room plan, Mitsubishi mini-splt sytem for HVAC and wall mounted electirc. I know that is pretty vauge, but thats why I'm here. I would like any and all input and to make this a "Community Build" if you well. I have a contractor that is going to build the "shell" in the next few weeks, so my first step is make sure I'm not making ANY mistakes. The shell: My contractor is going to frame the building with 2x4's 16"oc then OSB covered in tyvek home wrap then hang smart panel siding http://www.lpcorp.com/sidingtrim/lpsmar ... panel.aspx. I know this is not enough mass for first "leaf"... so my first question: Does it make a difference if I add mass on the indie of the first leaf? I will be adding picture and updating my progress very regularly, thanks in advance for everyone's help.

Welcome to JLS. Stop, make up a sketchup file and post it. Read and follow the before you post at the top of the forum. Andre

Sorry about that, here is what I have so far. I am horrible at sketchup, please pardon my rookie mistakes! Thanks!

Here is a picture of existing structure which has since been demolished.

Before you pour that slab, I'd suggest that you take a break and get your design totally in place first! that new slab can be a big part of the solution, if you do it right. Or it can be a big part of the problem, if you do it wrong. So my first suggestion would be to hold off on doing anything drastic, like pouring slabs, until you have your plans absolutely defined. For example, pouring that slab in two isolated sections, one for the outer leaf wall to stand on, and the other for the inner leaf and the floor, could make a big difference to your overall isolation. I also tried to follow that link you posted, but I got an error message form that web site: "We've Hit a Snag: You've run into an unexpected error. Our apologies. Use your browser's back button to return to the page you were previously on."

I agree, you need to plan this out better then to just start building. Its no dig against you, I got the same advice when I got my permit and started buying wood before carefully planning it out. Believe me it helped to make sure my plan was solid, I could have made a few very expensive mistakes. People on here are very helpful IF you follow the rules.

Point very well taken. With the limtied amount of space I have to work with I will not have the option of seperating the slabs. Here is my foundation plan which is currently being poured. How does my intial construction plan sound? And what about adding mass to the inside of the first leaf as opposed to the outside of it? I will be doing this in several phases as my buget permits. Currently, I do have the budget for the intial "shell" build and that is what I am seeking help for now. Thanks!!! Here is a look at the new slab that is being poured.

I don't see why you cannot separate the slab! For example, why is it not possible to separate the 10' x 12.3' section marked "new slab"? All you need is a very thin gap of a couple of millimeters. If you were to make that area into your iso booth or live room, for example, then that gap would make a big difference, if done right... I seriously suggest you read the text and take a look at the diagrams on pages 40 through 43 of Rod's book. Have the new foundations been dimensioned correctly to take the weight of all the mass that you are about to pile on top of it? Personally, if I were going to spend all the money that you are about to spend, then I would have ripped up the existing slab as well, and re-pour everything with correct separation, specifically laid out for the purpose. I wouldn't waste my money on a concrete pour that isn't optimum. But that's just me, I guess. - Stuart -

Soundman: I really appreciate your opinion and input, however I am forced to pour it this way.... This was an existing structure and was not within current building codes for my city because it was too close to my property lines. The "new slab" was a wood floor on a peir and beam foundation that was removed. My only option is to "remodel" the existing building. I am planning on using the 10'x12' new slab as you mentioned as my control room. I would have the option of pouring a seperate slab there. What do you think?

Update... I spoke to my contractor. He strongly advised against seperating the slabs due to the steep incline of my yard. He is going to tie the new slab into the existing slab with rebar and pour a beam around the new slab. I really appreciate the input but the fact remains this is the slab I have to work with. So, let's move on. Does anyone see any problems with my plan for building a shell? Thanks!

OK, so you are stuck with the slab. Pity. But what's done is done. Regarding your "shell":

My contractor is going to frame the building with 2x4's 16"oc then OSB covered in tyvek home wrap then hang smart panel siding ... Does it make a difference if I add mass on the indie of the first leaf? "

Sure, you can beef up that outer leaf by adding a few layers of drywall to the inside of your OSB, in between the studs, carefully caulking each layer as you go, and holding it in place with cleats. There are several examples here on the forum of people who have done that. Maybe it's not optimum, but it works, as long as you do it well. Clicking on your link to the "smart panel siding" web site still does not work, so I can't really comment on that. In fact, even if the link did work I still wouldn't want to comment on it, because the acoustic properties of siding is not something I understand. I guess that you'd need to make sure that it doesn't create a third leaf, and that it doesn't vibrate or rattle, but I hope that someone who really DOES understand siding can comment. I guess 16¨O.C. is OK too, but I've seen numerous recommendations here to go with 24¨OC, for the purpose of getting lower resonant frequencies, but I'm not sure if that applies to outer leaf walls with siding, or just to inner leaf walls. By the way, when you say "wall mounted electirc", do you mean that all your electrical work is going to surface mounted, outside the walls? Or that it is going to be inside the walls with switches / sockets poking through? One other comment: Did your contractor make provisions for some place to put the heat pump end of your mini-split system? If possible it would be good to have that decoupled from your main slab. Not a huge issue, I reckon, but worth considering. You don't want those things hanging on your stud framing, that's for sure! I have a couple of those at home already, for cooling bedrooms and my home-office, and even though the heat pump end is not too noisy, it still vibrates plenty when the compressor is running. In my case, the unit that cools the bedroom is on a bracket bolted to the outside of the bedroom wall, which a very thick reinforced concrete-and-brick wall, yet we can still faintly hear the wall vibration. If you can attach those units to a separate structure, totally decoupled from your slab and studs, that would be useful. How about positing a plan of your room layout? It's really hard to guess what it might be like!. Also, your roof design looks rather strange: Any reason for that? And how high are your ceilings going to be? The higher the better. - Stuart --

Ok. Thanks for the input Stuart, I appreciate it! Here is a new link to for the smart panel siding: http://www.lpcorp.com/sidingtrim/lpsmar ... panel.aspx I really would like some input on the siding, from what I can tell in Rod's book this should not create a third leaf because it is a solid material. For building code purposes I will either have to use a siding or brick the building. My budget will not allow for brick. Update: The slab is done, framing is to begin this weekend. Here is a plan that my contractor drew up, btw Stuart, he did change my "strange" roof design. :D The electric is going to be surface mounted, outside the walls. I will post a room design soon, I am still working on it and I need help!! I think I am going to just have one big live room and the control room will be on the 10x12' section. Any suggestions?

Update: the wall heights are going to be 12' and 10' instead of 10' & 8'.

That was going to be my suggestion.. I have 7.5ft in my basement to the joists, add mass, just under 7ft finished and thats not a lot of space... definitely go for the higher ceilings. I would always suggest more space. Your exterior walls will have to be beefed up with mass, Are you going to frame a 'room in a room' design to create a 2 leaf isolation system? This is only for the frame, what are your future plans?

That was going to be my suggestion.. I have 7.5ft in my basement to the joists, add mass, just under 7ft finished and thats not a lot of space... definitely go for the higher ceilings.

Wow, thats a low ceiling. I figure 12' in the main room should be pretty good.

Your exterior walls will have to be beefed up with mass, Are you going to frame a 'room in a room' design to create a 2 leaf isolation system?

Yes, I plan on adding mass to the inside of the "shell" with a few layers of 5/8" sheetrock. I am planning on a "room in a room" design with 3 layers of sheetrock and using Green Glue on he inner layer. I'm looking for suggestions on adding mass the the first leaf. The current wall will be: 7/16" smart panel siding>Tyvek>1/2" OSB. How much sheetrock should be used on the inside and would adding green glue on the first leaf have any advanteage? Thanks!

If you are planning a room in a room, then you wouldnt put any sheetrock on the inside of your first layer.. Instead you would frame your second room about 1 inch away from the existing wall and only sheetrocking the inside of that leaf.. You can put OC 703 on the exterior wall to add mass instead of layers of sheet rock, that is what someone suggested I do in my ceilings to add mass. IM NOT and expert on this, and it all depends on your budget. Hopefully someone else will chime in here. What I do know that optimally you want to have the same mass on the outside wall as the inside wall to get the best results from a 2 leaf system.. So you will need to calculate how much mass you plan on putting on the inside leaf and mimic it on the outside leaf.. There is a lot of material on this if you read the stickies..

joshF wrote:

The shell: My contractor is going to frame the building with 2x4's 16"oc then OSB covered in tyvek home wrap then hang smart panel siding http://www.lpcorp.com/sidingtrim/lpsmar ... panel.aspx. I know this is not enough mass for first "leaf"... so my first question: Does it make a difference if I add mass on the indie of the first leaf?

If your interested in keeping the work to a minimum, you have options. The exterior wall needs mass as much as the interior, to be effective. But it doesn't "have" to be cut up into small pieces and installed in between framing. You can upgrade the OSB sheathing to 3/4 inch. And then apply an exterior grade gypsum type underlayment directly to the OSB. Then you would install house wrap and siding. EightAM: "You can put OC 703 on the exterior wall to add mass instead of layers of sheet rock, " :), not instead of. The sheetrock adds the required mass and the insulation damps the cavity/panels.

Thanks for the clarity on that one.. I had my application backwards.

Yes sir, I just try to keep up :)