Key posts: New Construction in a 2 car garage. Need advice desperately!
Substantial posts by Mira Music, who started the thread, and by the forum’s most active contributors. 51 of 78 posts are listed.
Page 1
Mira Music, 22 August 2011Hi all. First post here but I have done a lot of reading and thank everyone for the valuable info I have read. Here is my situation and I am desperate for some advice in…
Soundman2020, 22 August 2011Hi Mira Music. Please check the rules for posting: there is one you are missing! :) But here are some brief comments: I'm just "splitting hairs" here, but…
Mira Music, 22 August 2011Thanks so much Soundman202!! Oops, sorry. I think I got it! I have an SPL meter but cannot get into the new space with some speakers for a while. Does it make any sense…
Soundman2020, 23 August 2011Yup! That was it!!! :yahoo: Yes and no: it would be good to know what levels you have INSIDE your current room, not so much outside. The only useful outside measurements…
Mira Music, 23 August 2011Stuart, Thanks so much for the replies. I get it. I have decided to do the room within a room. This morning I posted an ad on Craigslist looking for contractors with…
Soundman2020, 23 August 2011Great! This is good news! :yahoo: Get references before you choose! Call a couple of owners, to make sure the guy really DID build their studio, and of course ask if he…
Mira Music, 23 August 2011LOL! Thanks Stuart for your always entertaining replies! So I sketchupped a VERY BASIC diagram of where things are in the room. Unfortunately I do not have the…
Soundman2020, 24 August 2011bad idea! That would make a three-leaf system, which means the isolation in the lower end of the spectrum would be worse. It doesn't sound intuitive, since it seems…
Mira Music, 24 August 2011Hey Stuart, I have searched for ages but can't seem to find it. I have Rod's book so maybe it is in there? In other news the search for a contractor continues and I have…
Mira Music, 24 August 2011Here is the rough idea. The furniture and piano dimensions are to scale...well...sometimes sketchup won't let me get the exact dimension!! But they are very very close.…
Soundman2020, 24 August 2011Looks like a reasonable basic design. You could probably gain some more space by only splaying the front half of your side walls, and you really should consider soffit…
Mira Music, 24 August 2011Would love to but at the moment my head is exploding with just figuring out how to build this thing! Would it be something I can do later? Hmm...so do I need to do it?…
Soundman2020, 24 August 2011You can do it later, yes, but you should at least account for it in your design. The entire room is a system, and soffit-mounting (or not) your speakers might affect…
Mira Music, 27 August 2011OK!!! SO I have read Rod’s book and my brain is bleeding. :D Now that that’s out of the way I think I am closer to a realistic design. Tomorrow I plan to go to the house…
Mira Music, 27 August 2011Here is a rough sketch of the door and HVAC setup. Yes I know. It’s rough. Does this seem workable for the portable AC unit I already own? Is this creating a giant…
Soundman2020, 27 August 2011Just checking: you mean sloping UPWARDS, with the front being LOW and the rear being HIGH, correct? You'll most likely need more than that! At least two separate seals,…
Soundman2020, 27 August 2011Boy is that ever going to be NOISYYYYYY!!!! Even the quiet portable units are still way too noisy for my liking in a CR. Personally, if that is going to be your…
Mira Music, 27 August 2011Correct. Right, ok. I will research online what that looks like and the materials involved. That's actually what I meant. I thought in order to clear the overhead…
Mira Music, 27 August 2011Yikes. Sounds expensive. Do you mean put the actual portable AC unit in the exchange chamber? Might be cheaper to buy a mini-split system at about $700 Good to know! It…
Soundman2020, 27 August 2011That's AT LEAST 12° for the ceiling, and AT LEAST 6° for each side wall: As far as I know, there's no equations or research to support those numbers, but there is plenty…
Mira Music, 27 August 2011Empirical evidence is good enough for me! I will be in there tomorrow doing my final measuring and testing with the SPL meter. I will also search for more specific info…
Page 2
Mira Music, 29 August 2011And time for an update.... The landlord has still not installed the exterior door so I cannot go and do my db testing yet. Argh! I did go back and measure everything…
Mira Music, 29 August 2011This design seems to make the best use of the space. I also like how the 2 doors create a passage into the CR and I can open them when I'm not working to let air in. I…
Mira Music, 29 August 2011Call me crazy, but couldn't I do something like this? ( Thanks John!!!) I would leave out the door at the back of the room and possibly move the door on the west wall a…
Mira Music, 30 August 2011Ok here's an updated one. The structure will be MAM so there will be no drywall on the outside of the inner leaf. Dimensions of the inner leaf are 15'4" x 13'4". As far…
Mira Music, 1 September 2011Ok so in a strange yet not completely terrible turn of events the landlords have decided to remove all the built-ins and give me the entire space to use and finish. I…
Soundman2020, 1 September 2011Cool! That's GOOD news!!! :) For max. isolation? Separate stud frame for the inner leaf. ESPECIALLY if you want to isolate drums, bass or other things with major…
Mira Music, 6 September 2011Can anyone help me with basic room modes? They start building tomorrow and I can specify the width of the room. I know it won't be exact modaly but if I could build a…
Soundman2020, 7 September 2011I looked at all of them between 14 and 16. 14'11 is optimum. Not fantastic, but it beats all the others for modal spread, especially around 73 Hz. But don't get confused…
RJHollins, 7 September 2011If I may confirm all that Stuart has just said by adding .... I had a time delay of 1 to 2 weeks before I could add my 2nd layer of drywall. I had already packed the…
Mira Music, 7 September 2011WOW thanks guys. I was aware of most of that but not all. I will now be meeting the contractor at the site before they start today to make sure they understand what they…
Mira Music, 9 September 2011UPDATE The framing is done. After some fantastic help from Stuart ( Soundman2020 ) I decided to go with resilient channel on the existing garage studs then double 5/8…
Mira Music, 9 September 2011Pics of the framing. Of course there is always something..... The landlord doesn't like what the contractor did with the electrical. Harumph! So a meeting this morning…
Soundman2020, 10 September 2011Pics! So it DID happen! :) But... what are those horizontal battens across the studs for? :shock: Not meant for mounting the RC on, I hope???? If so, is that method…
Mira Music, 10 September 2011Yes it did!! :D OK so I checked with the manufacturer....the RC is mounted on the bottom of the horizontal studs leaving the metal clear of any possible screw contact…
Soundman2020, 10 September 2011Are you SURE you can mount it that way? Did you clear that with the manufacturer? It doesn't matter what the CONTRACTOR says: it matters what the manufacturer has…
Mira Music, 12 September 2011I checked online again and they say it is no good to mount the RC that way in fact you would get better isolation by attaching the drywall straight to the studs. So…
Soundman2020, 12 September 2011That's what I suspected. Sorry to be costing you money, but it's far better to have us looking over your shoulder like this, and correcting issues as they arise, than…
Mira Music, 12 September 2011quick question... I have an original limited edition silkscreen of John Lennon from his drawing of himself in a frame with glass. I want to hang it between my monitors.…
Page 3
Mira Music, 13 September 2011UPDATE So they added the 2x4's to the existing studs and hung the RC-1 the correct way. I stayed and watched the whole thing. I had to return to my current studio to…
Soundman2020, 13 September 2011I wouldn't sweat it too much. The backer rod is not life-or-death, as long as they have good seals on both layers, with correct size gaps filled with good quality…
Mira Music, 13 September 2011Whew!!!!! Stuart I was hearing you in my head saying..."What!?! Go back and make them rip it all out and use backer rod!!!" Seriously! I was nervous to post it!…
Mira Music, 13 September 2011I'll find out but they used 4x12's not 4x8's I picked out a solid undrilled heavy door from Home Depot this morning and am going to get the heavy duty hinges after this…
Mira Music, 13 September 2011PICS Image not preserved: IMG_2777.jpg Image not preserved: IMG_2778.jpg Image not preserved: IMG_2779.jpg Image not preserved: IMG_2780.jpg Image not preserved:…
Soundman2020, 13 September 2011More pics! Great! So it DID happen! :) A couple of comments: The Green Glue spread looks a little light. Probably not a big deal, since even low coverage still does good…
Mira Music, 13 September 2011Sure did!!! :D There is a roughly 1/4inch gap there. I know it doesn't look like it from the pics but I was obsessive about that and explained it to each guy on the team…
Mira Music, 15 September 2011UPDATE Mudding and sanding is done. Painting and final electrical tomorrow then AC and finishing on Friday. Moving in on Saturday then the fun of acoustics starts! And…
Mira Music, 25 September 2011UPDATE Room is finished! Apologies for disappearing but in the middle of this build I got kidney stones which was BRUTAL and had to move my entire family house and the…
Mira Music, 28 September 2011LOL! STOP!! ENUF!! Hahaha! I'm going to wait for the bass traps to be delivered and installed on Friday before I take any more pics. Then I'll do a complete run through…
Page 4
Mira Music, 14 October 2011UPDATE So I have been so busy in the new room that this is the first time I have had to update. I plan to post in sections with pics relevant to each section. First, I…
Mira Music, 17 October 2011Ok moving on.... The one wall we framed.... Image not preserved: Studio8.jpg Image not preserved: Studio9.jpg Image not preserved: Studio10.jpg Image not preserved:…