thinking of building a garage, with studio above...

I am thinking of building a two car garage, but I also want to have a studio. I was thinking about putting a studio on top of the garage. Has anyone here done this before, and if so, any links to the build? Anyway, I am in the eastern part of KY. The outside dimensions of the garage will be 30x30. I am not sure how to lay out the studio above. Any tips on the extra weight on the second floor? I plan on recording bands with drums, so I would like to have a control room, live room, vocal booth, and an iso room for guitar amps. I would also like to have a bathroom if there is room. I guess my main question would be if this is a good idea, and if there are any tips on doing this on a second floor like this. Is this even a good idea?

Second floor can be done, but it ain't easy or cheap, mostly because of the weight issue. The studio floor would need to be concrete, probably, in order to take the weight, and even though its just a garage below, you'd probably still need to isolate it with a second leaf ceiling of some sort, or else the entire garage will become part of your "air", and would basically be a giant resonant cavity. It's easier to build it at ground level, IMHO. - Stuart -

Thanks for the reply. That is kind of what I though. So, I am now looking to build the studio in a seperate building. I think it will be easier and cheaper in the long run. So, I have been looking around at outdoor buildings and found some at http://www.tricountypanels.com/ that are insulated. They sell buildings or building kits. What do you guys think of these kinds of buildings? I know most metal buildings suck for sound, but these have insulation between two thick layers of metal. Would this work good? I think I could get by with just a control room and one live room and possibly a small bathroom. I am looking at the 12x24 for now, but may be able to go with a larger one if needed. What do you guys think? http://www.tricountypanels.com/

I know most metal buildings suck for sound, but these have insulation between two thick layers of metal. Would this work good?

I don't think that would work very well, to be honest. There isn't nearly enough mass in those walls to give you a useful level of acoustic isolation. My guess is that those panels are designed for thermal insulation, not for acoustic isolation. To stop sound, you need mass, and those panels don't have it. You also need to complete, independent "leaves" around you, without any mechanical connection between them. Those buildings don't have that either. You are probably much better off sticking to the tried-and-proven MSM method outlined all over this forum. It's the most economical way of getting good isolation using standard building materials. - Stuart -

Thanks for the reply. I also wanted to note that total sound isolation is not necessary. The neighbor that will be behind the building is up the hill around 50ft away. The neighbor that will be on the front side of the building will be around 50ft away as well. So I will not need total sound isolation. I will, however need isolation between each room. Could I build it in one of the buildings at http://www.tricountypanels.com/ and construct it like the container studios on here with decent results? I would build 2x4 walls inside of the building to make it the room-in-a-room design. Or would it be cheaper to build the outer shell out of wood instead of using one of these buildings? I can get the 12'x24' building for $3100 before taxes, delivered to my home. Then I would build the rooms inside of that building... That would save me from building walls, floor and ceiling, and leave the inner construction. What do you think? Jason

Jason, You've got a lot more research to do. Buy Rod Gervais' book "Build It Like The Pros". Read it. Research this site. Read the book again. MAYBE, you could hang some 5/8 sheet rock on the interior of the panels and get enough isolation. That should be 1 leaf; outer steel, insulation, inner steel, sheet rock; but that's a question best answered by the experts here. Then do your "rooms" inside. I would put the shed on a concrete foundation, I think their floor would act like one big drum head. You'll need to study Rod's book on the correct way for the concrete floor to be reinforced to carry the additional weight of the studio. I have a 36' x 36' barn built of similar panels, (sound isolation factor about zero, btw) and the concrete floor is cracking all over, and it carrys only the weight of the structure. If I tried to build a studio in it I'm sure the walls would settle and make a mess of the entire build. Just some food for thought. Listen to the experts! Keep researching here, that's what I'm doing. You'll want a complete design BEFORE you do anything, or you'll find yourself making compormises and/or tearing things out. Good Luck, Tom

So I will not need total sound isolation. I will, however need isolation between each room.

It's the exact same thing: You cannot have isolation between two rooms unless you also have isolation all around both rooms. In the exact same way, you cannot build an above-ground swimming pool by building only one wall of the pool, then trying to fill it up! Obviously, unless you have all of the walls in place, the water will simply spill out all over the place. Sound is the same. If you want to stop sound from leaving one room and getting into the other, you need to build a completely sealed "shell" around both of them (or at least around one of them). Tom is right: Get Rod's book, and carry on researching this forum. US$ 3100 will go a long way towards building a decent outer leaf for your studio, but building it the proper way. - Stuart -