Soundproofing an outdoor studio on a budget - Need Advice!

(this is my first post... I have tried hard to follow the rules, I apologize if I have made any errors)... Overview of Goals: I am an amateur songwriter and I am trying to build the best room for recording, mixing, and playing that I can on a very limited budget. I am hoping it will at least allow me to play keyboard and work on mixes late at night without concern of bothering my neighbors. I am hoping it will also allow me to record guitar and vocals without picking up the hisses and buzzes of the outside world. I have not yet begun construction, but we will probably begin very soon. Here is my situation: I have a 12' x 16' gambrel-style shed with one window, one door, batt insulation, drywall on the walls, a storage loft overhead, OSB floors, and hardi-plank siding. I live in a fairly rural area, am ~40 feet from the street, and at least 200 feet from the nearest house. Sound is already fairly muffled by the interior, but still somewhat audible nearby, and ambient noise contaminates my recordings. I am thinking of doing the following: - Build a 4' x 10' "room within a room" in the back end of the shed. The new walls will be built from standard 2x4s, filled with standard batt insulation, and covered (inside and out) with standard sheets of drywall. There will be an empty space of 8-12 inches between the internal room and the outer walls on all sides. - Use a solid steel exterior door for entrance into room. - Cover all walls and ceiling of internal room with "egg crate" sound-insulating foam. - Cover floor with several layers of mechanic's mats and then place a carpet on top of that. Total Cost (by local Georgia prices): ~20 sheets drywall: ~$120 ~240 sq. ft Batt Insulation: ~$100 2x4s for frame: <$50 Steel Door: $120 ~240 sq. ft "egg crate" foam: $220 Mechanics Mats and Thick Carpet Remnant: ~$60 Total: ~$700 Obviously, this is not very sophisticated, but I am unable to spend much more than this, and I am not sure how best to improve upon this plan. Can anyone recommend either how to improve this plan without added expense or how to create a comparable effect for less money? I do not need perfection, but I am hesitant to spend $700 on a plan that may not serve my needs. Would it make more sense to save my money on the extra insulation, and instead pile on multiple layers of drywall? Does that 8" of empty air around the internal room actually do much, or should I just load up the back three existing walls with soundproofing materials? I have attached my own very unprofessional "diagram" of the plan in case that helps you visualize it. Thank you very much!! Adrian

You are not going to be satisfied with such a small area, and your music work will suffer. You did not mention the ceiling, but I assume it is open to the decking, so that would be another issue you would have to overcome, just one of many. Rather than take the short run and attempt to do what is going to be a very unsatisfying experrience, let's explore another option. The long term. Using the money you have you would add mass to the existing interior mass, on the walls. The floor needs mass, but how is it supported, assuming a 2X6 joist, does this have point loading areas at the farthest points of the shed and possibly in the middle...or is it a span from the one side of the shed to the other. Building a room in a room in a wooden structure is always risky/tricky and will often be less than what you would expect. typically adding mass is your only recourse. Then that leaves windows and doors to consider. By the way, a metal door, usually filled of Styrofoam, not much help. A solid core door with good seals is a better option. Then there is the lose of air from closing this shed up...so you should consider thinking about that before you spend anything. You need air and possibly heat and cold in the different times of the seasons. You do what you want, but I can tell you that such a small room is going to be an acoustical issue with such a confined space, and the flutter from the walls, your just not going to get anything done that can make you be proud.

agreed with Brien - using the whole structure to its best advantage would be the right course. perhaps RC-1 on the walls with a layer of 5/8" type X drywall and RC-2 on the ceiling with a layer of 5/8" there. pink insulation in the air cavities. basic stuff but may get you to where you need to be. seals on the doors and windows and ventilation, and perhaps a window plug. on ventilation - consider an exhaust fan pulling air out and a passive baffle box for the intake. again, fairly low isolation all around - maybe an STC of 30-32 but it might be enough. acoustics - scattered cloth covered absorption to cut down the flutter echoes and balance it. if that's out of budget immediately - consider some flame retardant 3'x5' Berber carpet hung on drape rods about 3-4" off the walls in a few places. that will cut the flutter echoes on the walls. some scattered carpets on the floor for ceiling-floor echoes. acoustics will not be balanced per se but its a start.

"batt insulation, drywall on the walls," Glenn is thinking in my direction but the mention of resilient channel would suggest that you will remove the interior sheathing first. This demo process will at least develop a wall assembly with a better transmission loss/higher sound transmission class rating.