Design Help Needed for all-in-one studio

Hello Everyone, I am getting ready to start building a small studio utilizing the back bedroom of my house. It measures 9' 8" x 13' 3" and has built in closets at one end with overhead cupboards that creates a small alcove. The alcove measures 5'4" x 2' x 5 feet high. I would like to keep the built-in closets as is since they provide tons of storage space but a great sounding room is key so the closets can be taken out if absolutely necessary. I have attached a basic layout of the floorplan. There is only one inside-wall that faces a hallway that leads into the main living area and the outside door. I could use part of this hallway for a small vocal booth if needed. There is also one small window that can be covered if needed. For most of my recordings there will only be me in the room but I plan on having friends in to help with various instruments so there should never be more than 3 people at any one time. I can have a desk built to any dimensions needed to fit the room and accomadate my 2 computers. Any suggestions on how to build a studio in this room would be deeply appreciated. If you need any additional information, please do not hesitate to ask. Thank you Kenn

Johns DIY Plans for a bedroom studio seems to be a good for you. http://www.johnlsayers.com/HR/index1.htm Bryan Giles

Greetings and welcome! What kind of music will you be recording? Will there be any high-volume instruments played here? Do you need more isolation than is currently there? (eg are you sick of having your neighbor's dog show up on your recordings?) That room size has potential to be a pretty good sounding room. I don't know if the window will be too much trouble for you, but the door being in that position isn't helping you out too much. IMO you should build bass trapping into the alcove on the "left" end of the room. It's pretty hectic for me this morning, but I can sketch something up later on. But anyway, in my mind what would work really well would be to build a wood-frame wall to fill in the alcove between those closets. Not flat across, but angling back into the alcove so that the walls on each end of the room are not parallel. Stuff the area behind with acoustic hangers, fill the space between with fiberglass blanket insulation, cover the front with 1" rigid fiberglass panels, then fabric, then wood slats. Then set your mixing desk there, facing this wall. The door and window would be behind you in the room. Then I'd put a thick absorber on the "back" wall (right side looking at your drawing) per John Sayer's wall-units page. It's basically 4" rigid fiberglass spaced 4" off the wall, covered in fabric. The side walls could use a couple of 2'x4' panels of rigid fiberglass hung in the right spots, but too much would make your room dead. Just put them up on the walls (and ceiling) in the places that would reflect sound right from the speakers to the listening position. Once you're there, you'll have a pretty good sounding room. There's more you can do beyond this, but it's a good starting point. Hope this helps. Kase www.minemusic.net

Hello and thanks Bryan & Kase for the speedy replies. I have attached an updated floor plan and highlighted the new walls, absorbers and hangers in red. I tried to follow your instructions Kase so I hope I read it correct. I will be recording mostly country music but not with high-volume instruments. There won't be any Marshall stacks turned to 11, but I do plan on occasionally using a small drum kit. Other than that, I'll be recording mostly acoustic guitars and electric guitars (through a small amp) and of course, vocals. Isolation is extremely important. My restaurant pretty much fills my days (and nights) so I do most of my recording/mixing after midnight to about 4 am. Don't want the neigbors barking at me let alone their dog. :) In the updated plan I added a small vocal booth outside the studio door in the hallway. The window in the studio will be covered up. I may just pull it out and board it up all together. Is there a way to temporarily, and effectively, cover it so I could open it for fresh air when needed? The entire ceiling is flat and tiled and the floor is currently carpeted. My understanding is that a small room should have a dead ceiling and a live floor, right? All of the floor or only part of it? And, the ceiling should slope down towards the desk right? I did a lot of reading on this site and learned so much that now it's all getting jumbled in my little brain :) Thanks again for being here and for your help. Kenn

Yes - that looks like the way to go Ken. Soundproofing is going to be the challenge. ;) cheers john

That's exactly the kind of layout I was describing. But as John mentioned, soundproofing is going to be your big challenge. It doesn't seem like you have the space to double all your walls, so what I'd recommend doing would be to beef up the walls here. It's probably going to mean that you'll be taking down the existing drywall. Do you happen to know what kind of sheathing was used on the outside of the house? You can probably lay up strips of drywall between the studs, flat against the outside face of that wall. Then put RC up on all the walls and ceiling, and 2 layers of 5/8" drywall over that. Make sure every joint in every layer is caulked. Once you're there, you can worry about the real tough stuff- the openings. If any of the doors in the recording room are hollow-core, replace 'em with solid core doors and weather strip them as best you can. You can probably build a heavy inside shutter for the window, but sealing it will be just as important as the doors- maybe more. If it sounds like a lot, it is- I'd hate to have you take half-measures here and not get the isolation you need. Kase www.minemusic.net