Hello Everyone,
I have recently been quoted between $2000 - $1500 to build out my garage into a control room and DJ Booth/vocal booth (not including materials). The person who would be designing it also designed this studio http://morrisound.com/.
I plan to save money by doing most of the labor myself.
My main question is: Would it be worth it to pay a professional to design a studio or to keep up my DIY mentality?
I'm sure that may have crossed everyones mind from time to time. I know the last thing I bought for my mobile DJing was a $985 qsc KW 152 (off topic, but kind of puts the cost of the design into perspective)
The design includes:
Sound isolation from entire home.
HVAC
Electrical
Other wiring i.e. video, cat5, etc..
Design would not include:
aesthetics
lighting placement
other things of that nature.
The garage dimensions are W-L-H 18 x 21.5 x 11 Ft.
MY ROUGH DRAFT DESIGN to help guide the designer.. hallway needed :)
If I'm to vague on any of this info or if the subject matter is irrelevant to this site, please let me know. Had to write this quickly, girlfriend is pushing me out the door for grocery shopping
And thank you John Slayers for such a great site.

welcome! please update your profile to include your location information. if your total cost is $2000 for a professionally designed studio then that is a pretty amazing deal. if you mean the studio design will be $2000 and the rest of the construction is all you, then you may want to consider providing a lot more details on your isolation requirements etc. it looks like your design you are leaving a lot of space un-used in a hallway. also the booth is way too small, and if the 11 feet is based on a peak and you have trusses (or worse don't) then getting the isolation you might need up to that level will be tricky. what is your budget for building this?
MORE INFO COMING.
Ceiling in garage is flat nor is there a room built above it. The trusses in the garage are the prefabricated type, nothing more than for the roof itself. I will re-post the correct construction terms for the roof framing itself (I think pre-fabricated).
if your total cost is $2000 for a professionally designed studio then that is a pretty amazing deal. if you mean the studio design will be $2000 and the rest of the construction is all you
For $1500-$2000 - I was led to believe that that will be for a set of blue prints including: hvac, sound proofing, wiring diagrams and what ever else would be on a blue print for a studio. SO, 2000k is for the blueprint/design only, NOT INCLUDING any building materials or labor or even a general contractor.
The money also includes consultations and working with the designer on the ergonomics of the studio... i.e. storage, space of room to feel comfortable in, couch placement, where I would want lights.
It would also include working on the entire budget with the types of materials used in the design. I.e. acoustic block, 10 layers of drywall (just kidding), Pine, greenglue, fiberboard, floating vs. non floating room. .... Working with the designer to make the studio work to my specifications with as little money as possible in materials... Of course, if 1000 dollars extra is going to yield a 30db noise reduction on top of 80.. I would pay it. :)
So, good deal or not a good deal, that is the question.... :)
Thank you Glenn.. that is reassuring. If I do decide to go through with it I will start another thread so hopefully people can learn from it.
As much money as it will cost me in materials, I want to make sure I don't screw the design up. Might as well go with a pro.
Thanks again!
Thank you Glenn.. that is reassuring. If I do decide to go through with it I will start another thread so hopefully people can learn from it.
As much money as it will cost me in materials, I want to make sure I don't screw the design up. Might as well go with a pro.
Thanks again!
My experience here over the years is that those that post threads in the possible notion that they can teach someone something with an external designer not involved with us, usually get taught more than they teach the posters here.
We have several high profile threads to support this ;)
My experience here over the years is that those that post threads in the possible notion that they can teach someone something with an external designer not involved with us, usually get taught more than they teach the posters here.
We have several high profile threads to support this ;)
I've read many of the threads. I find it funny when people try to argue their uneducated opinions with you guys. They usually end up wasting a bunch of time and in the end, following the forum's advice.
I'll admit, it took me a long time and a lot of reading to fully grasp the concepts, but it was worth it. I'm glad I learned from the moderators, power users and literature. Not only can I avoid the cost of hiring a designer, I now have another product to offer my clients. Soundproofing, anyway. (I'm not 100% confident in acoustics until I get some more real life experience.)
On the other hand, if I was just looking to build a studio once, as quickly as possible, I'd easily pay the $2000. That's a deal if you ask me. I could see top tier designers charging $5K. I'd be the guy charging $1500 :mrgreen:
On the other hand, if I was just looking to build a studio once, as quickly as possible, I'd easily pay the $2000. That's a deal if you ask me. :mrgreen:
Two things come with paying money...the one is the realization that it just cost you and the other is "what did I just get"?
I think I can speak freely here when I say, you can pay anyone you are willing to pay but that does not mean you are getting the best job possible.
For instance. You designer may be interested in design with little to know interest in what happen behind this design....basically making a pretty picture.
I know for a fact, that I have seen some pretty pictures that we could not build for what ever reason...none governed by me but stalled at the government level.
So you are free to throw thousands of dollars at a questionable firm with questionable resources...but it is not the end all...it is your decision, right wrong or indifferent...including the lack of education even though there is the confidence level that you may put into the perspective designer.
But I have said it once and I will say it again, the first syllable in contractor should say it all.
I know for a fact, that I have seen some pretty pictures that we could not build for what ever reason...none governed by me but stalled at the government level.
Tell me about it. I'm having the same issue, plus MN just re-opened their government. NOW we can get electrical inspections.
In looking at the morrisound.com studio that you referenced in the first post, I don't see any added mass or drop seals on the doors. Plus the thickness of the door jambs leads me to believe that there is no double wall construction. You'd think if they were serious about isolation in that design, they would've paid more attention to things like that. Not to judge anyone's skills from a picture (that's more than I've built), but I'd do some research into the basics and quiz the person you're going to hire. Who knows, maybe isolation wasn't a critical aspect of this design. Those items would raise questions with me, though. Just my observations.
Before paying money to any designer, I'd want to know about his track record! What has he already built? See plans, visit customers, check reputation, etc. Take a close look at his work, and see if it is any good. Talk to his customers when he is not in around to influence the conversation. etc.
As a very rough ball park figure, it seems that studio design fees run in the same general range as house design (per square meter or square foot), and then some. So find out what an architect would charge you in your area for designing a good quality house (per square foot/meter), add a healthy percentage to that, and you'll have a rough idea of what a professional studio designer would charge you for designing your studio. Of course, it isn't quite that easy: there are many other factors that go into the studio designer's fee too! But it will give you a basic ball-park figure as a point of reference.
So, compare that 1,500 to 2,000 figure against the size of your studio and the local cost of house design, to see if you have a reasonable figure. If the designer is charging substantially more or substantially less than the "ball-park", then you might want to ask why!
But first and foremost, I'd look for track record: If they guy is good, and has done a few designs that turned out happily for his customers, then he should have no problem telling you about them, and the money will be well spent. But if he has nothing to show, or won't put you in contact with customers, then you might want to start wondering why...
And when it comes to building costs, you can use the same rule: What does it cost per square meter to build an up-scale house in your area? It will cost roughly the same per square meter to build a studio.
Well, that's my US$ 0.02, anyway. FWIW.
- Stuart -