Looking for advice on "shed" studio build

So I'm looking for some help/advice on a studio I'm hoping to build this summer. I've been basing the design off the SSL Shed of your Dreams but I've run into a couple issues through my audio engineering courses (for those who don't know or haven't seen the design, I've included pictures). To start, I'm trying to do this on a budget of around $5,000ish USD. I need a structure outside of my house to work in and this seemed like the best way to go about doing it, but the more I've read into my course covering subjects like soundproofing in a "proper" studio atmosphere, the more I've come to realize that, for one, this design simply doesn't work and for two, it's going to get very expensive, very quickly. The original SSL design goes for $250,000 with the SSL gear. The cabin by itself goes for $25,000 to have Summerwood build it and ship it. The plan I had was to buy the plans from Summerwood since they sell those and build it myself. The problem came in with soundproofing the building. I don't have a lot of neighbours where I live, but sound seems to carry here since I live in a valley and if I'm tracking drums or vocals, I don't want a whole lot of noise coming from the inside. The more I looked at the design and the more I studied my course, 2 and 2 didn't really add up and I'm not sure what my options are at this point other than the following: I go with the Summerwood design and put in a proper booth to do live recording in. or I scrap the whole Summerwood design and go with something else that will be more soundproof. The problem is, when I started looking at what was involved with soundproofing, I came into the reality that the cost I was looking to spend was beyond what I'm willing to put into this because I'll be putting a much larger studio in once we build our new house in a few years. Right now I just need a place to work where I can think and is larger than the space I'm working in right now. The 16 x 24 shed looked like it would be enough room for just myself and my gear for the moment. So basically, based on my budget, what would you guys suggest or do if you were in my position? One last thing... concerning HVAC, I'm trying to decide what to do. I have a lot of gear and would hate to see it all destroyed by humidity, but I'm starting to think an HVAC system is going to be far too much to install on this particular project. Is there a simpler way to deal with the Pennsylvania humidity than to have a large HVAC system installed? Thanks guys.

Hi Mystic, and welcome! You should try to put some numbers to this, to determine what can and cannot be done with your budget. A couple of questions: that looks like it is simple one-leaf wood construction, with no special isolation at all, so I'd hazard a guess and say that you are getting maybe STC-20-something on that? Does that sound about right? How much isolation do you need? If you have a sound level meter, then you should do some measurements to figure out how loud you are inside there, how loud you are outside, and how quiet you need to be. Based on that (real numbers) we can figure out what type of additional structure will get you there, and roughly how much it will cost, then you can take the decision: "Is it worth it?". You are the only person who can answer that, but you do need to have real numbers in hand in order to make that call.

... it's going to get very expensive, very quickly.

You stole our motto! That's the studio builder's secret chant! All DIY studio builders are required to repeat that phrase over and over again, during the initiation ceremony, and at least ten times per day thereafter (most often while handing over their credit cards at the hardware store). - Stuart -

"I've been basing the design off the SSL Shed of your Dreams" What is that and where can we get a look at it? I mean, I saw the video, but no plans to construct this shed.

Soundman2020 wrote:

A couple of questions: that looks like it is simple one-leaf wood construction, with no special isolation at all, so I'd hazard a guess and say that you are getting maybe STC-20-something on that? Does that sound about right?

Hi Soundman, thanks for the reply. I think that's what confused me most about what SSL was trying to do. After I really looked at the design when I originally saw they were making these as studios, I got kind of a "what were they thinking" attitude towards the whole thing. You'd think if they were trying to sell an all-in-one studio, they would do something for sound isolation, but it looks like they focused more on marketing and selling their gear than they did actually putting a proper studio together. Now that I'm looking at that, I think you're right about the poor isolation on that. I think the goal at this point that will be easiest for me to do is to construct the building to be between STC-40 and 45 and add a booth that gets STC-60 or greater if that's possible, though that is a complete game changer there and I'll have to start from scratch because that building will never cut it.

If you have a sound level meter, then you should do some measurements to figure out how loud you are inside there, how loud you are outside, and how quiet you need to be.

The biggest issue there is the building isn't built yet. The room I'm in right now is in my house and I do most of my mixing at a lower level. Once I start tracking drums though, it's going to be a whole other issue. I think the basic idea for me is to get as much seclusion and privacy as possible out of a small 16x24 space. I might have the ability to do the building out of brick or concrete, but then I start running into ventilation problems that will require a fairly expensive system to remedy. That's one of the reasons I wanted to go with an isolation chamber inside the building. Hope that answers some of the questions. Thanks again. :)

xSpace wrote:

"I've been basing the design off the SSL Shed of your Dreams" What is that and where can we get a look at it? I mean, I saw the video, but no plans to construct this shed.

The actual building is by a company called Summerwood. http://www.summerwood.com/products/cabins/cheyenne.html

is the building isn't built yet

Ahhh! OK, gotya! I was thinking that you had already built it and were not happy with the results! So this is good news: You basically have a blank slate, and you didn't blow any money on it yet! I agree with your initial assessment: there's no way that the shed you showed is going to provide anywhere near what you need in terms of isolation. Alright, so to put some goals on this: You want to build a studio in a space of roughly 16' x 24'. You need a control room big enough to put your SSL console in, and a small vocal booth. You need isolation of around STC 45 for the CR, and STC-60 for the booth. Your budget is around US$ 25k. The budget might be a bit on the low side, but the basic plan sounds entirely doable, and the isolation goals are modest. I would suggest that you put together a basic SketchUp model of what you have in mind, then post it here so we can take a look at it and offer suggestions. If you look around the forum you'll find many designs, in-progress builds and completed studios, and you might see something that you think would work for you, so you can use that as the basis. This sounds like a fun project! - Stuart -

Kind of reminds me of Samuel Studios build. viewtopic.php?f=2&t=14399&hilit=shed

What the OP is talking about is wooden framed store bought kit...no concrete slab and no brick. So I would pursue a stick built on site structure with a concrete slab...but that's just me.

So I would pursue a stick built on site structure with a concrete slab...but that's just me.

I'm with you on that! That makes two of us... :) - Stuart -

I always forget the smiley :D People must think I am such an anal type... I just have limited time.... :wink:

Soundman2020 wrote:

Alright, so to put some goals on this: You want to build a studio in a space of roughly 16' x 24'. You need a control room big enough to put your SSL console in, and a small vocal booth. You need isolation of around STC 45 for the CR, and STC-60 for the booth. Your budget is around US$ 25k. The budget might be a bit on the low side, but the basic plan sounds entirely doable, and the isolation goals are modest.

Yikes, I think we got a little lost in translation. Yes, the building will be 16' x 24' Control room will be the main part. I don't really have much in the way of acoustic gear and am more and more thinking I might invest in V-Drums rather than micing live ones at this point. That means I could do everything else in the vocal booth. I don't have a SSL setup, I think that might have been a miscommunication when I was talking about the SSL shed. :) My setup is all Cakewalk based. I wish I had the money for a $150,000 console, but it's not in the cards at the moment. hehe Isolation is correct there. If we drop about 20k off that budget, that's what I have to work with. 25k I believe was the cost of the building to have Summerwood build it and ship it. What I'm looking to spend is much more modest, but I'm also not looking for anything fancy because I'll be moving the studio yet again in a couple years. I'm trying to do this for around $5,000. The more I think on this, the more I'm thinking I might just go concrete or brick. There is a possibility I might be able to get some free brick from a building in my town they just knocked down which will probably end up sitting there for the next year like some of the others. Not sure if that would help any and I'm not sure the town would go for it. I might just have to start taking a few bricks every night for the next year and carrying them home. :P I've never really used Sketchup before, so I'll have to see what I can do.

BriHar wrote:

Kind of reminds me of Samuel Studios build. viewtopic.php?f=2&t=14399&hilit=shed

The brick design with the flat roof is actually very similar to what I had in mind.