Converting Garage to Auralex Acoustics 101 Control Room

Yep, 8'. Vaulting the ceiling isn't an option, so I just have to work with it. This is what I originally had in mind: sealing off the attic space, then building a new ceiling that rests on the frame of my control room. So, is the RC-2 on the trusses still needed (I seem to remember reading something about it not being needed in this case... could be wrong), since my control room ceiling is totally separate? And should I double up on the drywall? For both ceilings?

no - you won't need the RC. Have you considered having your trusses changed into scissor trusses?

Back when I first got the idea for this conversion, I ran the idea of vaulting the ceiling past my contractor. I don't think we were specifically talking about converting to scissors trusses though. That conversation looked like it would result in replacing the whole roof. Are you thinking such a conversion would be easier than that? I could definitely discuss it with him. He'll see your response here eventually too, since he's aware of the thread and catches up with it when he has time. I do realize the value of high ceilings... just can't blow my whole budget to do it. Or else I'll have the same old garage, but with nice high ceilings :)

This studio started out with an 8' ceiling with standard trusses. We converted the trusses and this what we ended up with. http://www.johnlsayers.com/Pages/Oasis.htm here's the interior before we built the studio.

Looks great! The truss conversion made a huge difference for sure.

I've had a day to think about this. It's going to come down to $$. Basically I would only be able to replace the trusses if doing so was comparable in price to the extra room treatments required to treat a room with low ceilings. To use some numbers, just for an example: If it costs 5k to replace the trusses, but it would also cost 5K to deal with the extra low-end problems of a room with an 8' ceiling, then it's a no-brainer. Replace the trusses. Yet if it's 10k to replace the trusses, and say, 1k to treat the low-ceiling room, then that's a no-brainer too. I'd go with the low ceiling. Of course the actual numbers would vary but you see what I'm getting at. Can't make a decision yet because I have no hard numbers to work with for either one (truss replacement or room treatment costs).

In these times, you can blow your entire budget on the truss replacement. Even modifications with LVL's or beams to open up specific areas could cost large chunks of money. The added benefits are pretty much known of how a larger room is just easier to work with. But it can take a lot to get an existing structure to have an increased room volume. But...it is worth entertaining as an idea if you really want to get the best acoustical climate you can out of this space. Rather than fish for numbers here, and get something that is never going to be concrete...talk to some folks in your area and let them help you with that. I would welcome the opportunity to see this happen for you, but I do not have anything to add that will be positive with this type of rehab.

Thanks, it's good to get so many thoughts on this project. I'll have my builder ask around and see what's possible. If I do end up limited to 8' ceilings, I'm hoping that I can tame things by treating the space both in and out of the control room. At least I have lots of space behind the control room for bass trapping. By the way I'll be totally offline from the 18th-28th... getting married in Hawaii!

You can treat, acoustically, any kind of space you can imagine. Small rooms, hexagonal rooms, short rooms, tall rooms, machine rooms, etc. What most fail to understand is that larger is just completely over the top, better. Keeping your mind on how much it takes to treat it is missing the big picture, in my opinion.

We'll just have to see what my ceiling options are once the builder gets back to me. I'm having him look into it. Fleshed the model out a bit more, showing existing windows etc. Played around with some colors. Not sure if those hangar traps in the back need to be enclosed in their own room, or if they can just sit like this in the chiller room air space. The black rectangle in the CR is the size of my living room couch.

I'm offline till the 1st. Heading out to Hawaii for my wedding. Talk to you all when I return!

Good luck for your wedding mate :)

Thanks, John! We had a great time. Now that I'm back, I'm seriously looking into the scissors truss idea. Still trying to get an estimate on that.

you are hooked now mate - there's no way out with your wallet intact :)

Gear lust was bad enough. Now I'm daydreaming about trusses. I'm doomed for sure!

And a new wife that wants your thinking as well. Yes, doom is the word :) But, till death right?

the day after...

and another lovely one for posterity

Oh'mgod how did a beautiful girl like you end up with a slob like him - oh dear the world never ceases to amaze me :) best of luck for your future guys :thu: cheers john

:lol: Yeah we had a blast. But after about a thousand photos I had to start getting creative 8) Back on topic, my contractor is coming over at 8AM tomorrow to price out the truss conversion!

Met with my contractor and good news... it's looking like we'll be able to vault the ceiling. Not a scissors truss exactly, but it will give the same end result. (He explained to me how it can be done; I trust his construction expertise on it). So the control room ceiling will be able to slope upwards into the middle of the room, following my existing roofline. Sketchup to follow this weekend. I assume I'll be changing the orientation of my CR so that the ceiling slopes up and away from the mix position.

Once again, clean living is paying off :)

I assume I'll be changing the orientation of my CR so that the ceiling slopes up and away from the mix position.

excellent :thu:

OK I've spent the past few days making sure that the financial end of things will still work out. Everything looks good, so now I'm trying to finalize on the design. Since we've decided to raise the ceiling, I assume the control now room needs a change in orientation so that its ceiling mirrors the natural slope of my garage roof. From what I can tell, this means that the front of the control room can only be positioned in two possible directions, so that its ceiling slopes up and away from the mix position. I've tried rotating the control room both ways in sketchup, keeping the exact control room dimensions that we've agreed on. The problem I'm running into now is that in both orientations, one control room wall or another always collides with the garage door (which opens inward). We could make the door open outwards, but it'd break code and make for a possibly dangerous situation (i.e. fire in studio and exterior door gets blocked = I can't get out!). I can scale the control room down until it fits, or I could try maybe moving the garage door to a different location. (The existing door location is ideal for a studio entrance though, so I'd like to work around it if at all possible. But if it has to be moved, then so be it.) Also, my contractor said that moving the mini-split isn't a problem, should we need to. My existing electrical box is in the same corner as the garage door, so maybe that area would be best for an air room. At this point I'm a little stuck on what to plan next. Scale down the control room, or move the door, or do something else... any input would be appreciated!

"Not a scissors truss exactly, but it will give the same end result. (He explained to me how it can be done;" Will there be, or is there some print of what this is going to be once framing is complete? That would help things a lot since you guys have a feel for what you are doing and we only know that it is going to change in some way..