FINALLY - My New Studio Build.

I am not doing anything deep. I have always found studio construction and design pretty simple (after tutelage by John) In this FUN economy I am going for simple, inexpensive and effective. I Learned a LOT from my previous rooms. They sounded AWESOME. SO I am gonna build on that with, now, more space (depth) for clients and myself. Nothing like sleeping on the Sofa during a long mix session vs. running upstairs. Here are some photos starting with the control room design: Very basic design. with Rear surround soffits. Here are photos of the Control side of the basement during initial de-construction. This was a finished basement (drywalled walls) The studs you see will be reclaimed for my construction. I have also reclaimed and collected supplies from other construction sites to keep costs to a bare minimum. These are photos of the Live Room Side. Yet to be de-constructed. :)

As I stated in the previous thread, I am reclaiming tons of materials to do this build. I am estimating materials costs for the Control Room with what I have reclaimed to be around $2,000 USD (so far) We'll see what the Rock wool comes in at. Then I start chipping away at these costs. LOL. I will say this. Prices have Doubled since the last build. WOW!!!! LOL. I knew they were killing us, but man!!! BUT, there is always someone somewhere giving something away at a ridiculously LOW price. Call me cheap. LOL. I'd rather buy gear!!!!!

Bryan, good luck with the build. Got any more specs on your design? Good thing the room's shell it brick :)

What specs would you like. I have no idea what to post. Been a minute. LOL. I am happy to share. That brick was a nice boon!!! IT separates the live room from the control room with a small 32x80 opening. Which I will use for a window (no doors!!!)

Morning, Do you think the hour glass shape will affect the sound at the couch? And slap back at thecontrol desk?

lilith_envy wrote:

Morning, Do you think the hour glass shape will affect the sound at the couch? And slap back at thecontrol desk?

Look a little closer :) That "hour glass" you see towards the rear of the mix position is 2' above the mixers head height. I know from an aerial it may be difficult to see the separation, but if you note the color difference in the pic. Also, that soffit for the rear surrounds will not be a solid baffle as bass is not a concern in the surround channels. it will have an absorptive front and rear to absorb any mids emanating from the surrounds as well as trapping any reflections from the front of the control room. (4" AFB) I am not certain of what slap back you are referring to.... Please elaborate and I will clarify

My existing ceiling height is 7'8". With the insulation, new floor and ceiling drop I will lose about 5" total. Not to bad. I am only 6' tall so for most visitors they will not scrape the ceiling. LOL.

New Photos of the walls coming out in the live room side of things You can see the water issues I have to deal with. Old house, when it rains, if the gutters are not right, it leaks inside the house. I have routed the downspouts away from the house. Now I just deal with humidity in the basement (this is the basement bathroom wall.)

Finished taking out the Live Room Ceiling See you next week when the floor framing goes in :)

Next up... My Reclaimable wood stash.. This is wood I picked up from various construction sites.... Putting in the EPS vapor Barriers and floor studs for the control room. My Pipe runs for Live room snakes and signal lines running to front soffit speakers, surround sound speakers, and an external patch bay for cable, ethernet, DTV, etc.... Just gonna run a few multis in to cover the various basics. Doing a Double layer of EPS on the walls. will = 3" thick See you next week after I get the rockwool dropped and the 1st layer of plywood laid. Very low cost on materials thus far.

Flooring Rockwool went in today. Flooring Panels go in tomorrow. 3/4" Particle Board/ 1/2" Drywall/ 3/4" Plywood

looks cool Bryan! That's a quick build

What does the EPS do on the lower portion of the walls? Is it for a thermal barrier?

Ro wrote:

looks cool Bryan! That's a quick build

Thanks Ro. I have an aggressive timetable. I have a Live recording to mix in a few weeks, so at MINIMUM I HAVE to get the control room built. Then I can finish off the Live room. Having built a bunch of rooms THE RIGHT WAY, since building my 1st room in 2003, I have learned what planning to do before hand to get her done quickly. John is the MAN. He taught me a ton in a short space of time. That 1st room gave me a ton of experience. I have also built a multiplicity of his portable treatments for living room mixes, a few basement studios that were tight on space, etc... I Love building studios as much as I LOVE mixing.

xSpace wrote:

What does the EPS do on the lower portion of the walls? Is it for a thermal barrier?

The EPS is a Vapor Barrier. The Rockwool gives all the Thermal you need. LOL. I plan on putting in a Mini-Split. My 1st studio, in the thick of winter with 10 below zero temps would Idle at 68 degrees with the computer running 24/7. Any warmer and the A/C had to run 24/7. Even with just 3 small lights (40W) burning, those rooms will get to 100+ degrees in no time.

Just some addendums... I am in debate about what speakers I will soffit Mount. Some oldies I have or some others. I am thinking of a Double speaker soffit design. 10" 3 ways up top at an angle and a Mackie HR Surround sound rig at 45" height (Ear Level) I have decided on the following Mix Desk build. I am moving totally over to the Euphonx Control surface Model and love this little desk they have for it. It is 65" wide allowing for plenty of room behind and on the side of the mix desk to the walls. I'll mount some small (5" or so) nearfields on here. I am leaning towards the Yammie HS-50M's. For straight cutting I am using Eurekazone Tools, Inexpensive rails allow for perfectly sized AND straight cuts. No, I am not a salesperson, I just LOVE these tools and for the guy like me who is NOT a carpenter, they work fantastic!!! I have my Router on rails (sorta like the Festool) and a Hitachi Circular with Saw Brake.

giles117 wrote:

The EPS is a Vapor Barrier.

Wouldn't it be a more effective barrier if it went from floor to ceiling?

xSpace wrote:

giles117 wrote:

The EPS is a Vapor Barrier.

Wouldn't it be a more effective barrier if it went from floor to ceiling?

Ahh a person in a hurry. I am working on the floor right now, so the only areas I need to concern myself with are the "Floor" and the portion of the wall connecting to the Floor. When I begin to work on the walls, the EPS will continue up the wall to the ceiling. Patience young Jedi. Patience. LOL.

First Layer of Particle Board Going in. I got a Serious deal on 33 cut sheets (40" x 96") for less than $2 per sheet. That is what this build is all about. Using reclaimed materials or inexpensively priced used materials. So Far my build cost is $150.00 in materials total spent.

Scored an awesome deal on 47 sheets of 1/2" Drywall. Big Thanks to the Gentlemen who helped me out there. FREE was the cost. With that, I am still on schedule (based on my timetable) and here are the photos from today. This is the 2nd layer on my Control room floor. With limited space, I am finishing the control room floor before I begin the Live room floor. I have all materials for that room sans the Rockwool. My 12 Gallon Shop-Vac was also a steal @ $25.00 Laying the final Layer of Particleboard for the CR floor tomorrow. Will up those photos when done.

you lucky punk!

Ro wrote:

you lucky punk!

LOL. Thanks. LOL. It's that wife of mine dude. She is the best. I told her what I needed and she hit the net and found it. It will be used wisely :) Now to convince this lady with a ton of 3/8" to let it go for super cheap.

Laying the final Layer of Particleboard.

Putting in the 1st Wall I have to finish the cutout for the window and finish placing the braces. Otherwise, that wall is done. Temporary Screw(s) to keep the wall in place while framing the remaining walls. The Floor is DONE!!!! The compressibility of EPS Styrofoam is excellent. Now I move to finish the walls. SHould have that framing done in a day or two.

thanx for the update, looks like a clean build. (I love that)