Build from scratch from complete newbie. HELP!!!

Hi, My first post! My name is Adam (doggybreath to you). I am a musician, TV location sound recordist and recording engineer when I have time. Have just turned 40 (mid life crisis perhaps?).... It has always been my dream to have a backyard studio. I have been thinking about building something for the last few years but have no idea where to start. Was thinking I have to make this my 2012 project and today I found this forum! Whoo hoo! How cool is it?! Anyway, as I said don't really know where to start and my budget is very low. :cry: I have been looking at some of the posts trying to find something close to what I am looking at but haven't found anything just yet. I was hoping to build a soundproof room/shed/studio about 8m x 3m (roughly) in my backyard with a control room and studio space. Was also hoping to get away with spending $15000. :oops: is this possible??? or am i kidding myself. (air con and extras not included in price). Have been looking at a lot of materials but am thinking besser brick may be the way to go (or should I soundproof a premade shed?). Roofs I have no idea about. I live in a residential area but houses aren't too close. Backyard isn't exactly flat but there is a couple of spots I could level and put a shed/studio on. Could someone please give me some starting advice or link me to a similar studio please. Do most people build there own or get professionals in? Any help extremely appreciated! (how awesome is this site!). Many thanks!!!

Hi Adam "doggybreath" ( :) ). Welcome! The normal starting point is to define your goals! Are just talking about a rehearsal space? just a control room for mixing/mastering only? a control room plus live room for simple sessions? A control room plus live room plus several booths for full-blown live recording? Etc. In 24 m2, I'm guessing either a single room rehearsal space, or maybe a small control room plus small vocal booth? With that done, the nest step is to put some real-world numbers to your studio, starting with "How loud are you?" and "How quiet do you need to be?". Both of those in terms of decibels. So you need a sound level meter, and you need to measure a typical "session" of whatever it is you do. Measure the worst-case of what you plan to do. ie., if you plan to have a place for doing two extreme live recordings at once, in two adjacent rooms, with Grateful Dead in one room and Pink Floyd in the other, then set up that scenario as best you can, and measure the levels. Then find out from your local municipality what the legal limits are: go visit them and get a copy of their noise ordinance, or whatever they call it. So now you have two numbers. Subtract the little one from the big one: that's how much isolation you need. That number, your "Transmission Loss" number, dictates the type of construction you will need, in terms of materials, dimensions, masses, etc. It will be very different if your goal is to record a single acoustic guitar, or a full rock band. The hardest sounds to isolate are low-frequency sounds, such as drums, bass guitar, low octaves on the keyboard, etc. There are documents that show you what level of isolation you can expect for different types of construction, such as IR-761, so you'd just look through that to find a construction technique that you like, that gives you the level of isolation you need, and that fits your budget. On the budget issue: to get an idea of what it will REALLY cost to build your studio, call up some local building contractors in your area and ask for their flat rate for building an up-scale "granny flat" in your back yard, of roughly 24 m2 (your 8 x 3). They should be able to give a very rough "per square meter" figure. My guess is that your budget is rather on the low side, especially if you need to isolate something like a drum kit.

Have been looking at a lot of materials but am thinking besser brick may be the way to go

That will probably do for your outer leaf. Your inner leaf can be 2x4 studs with drywall (plasterboard).

or should I soundproof a premade shed?

Probably a bad idea. Sheds do not have anywhere near the mass or structural integrity you need for a studio. You'd end up modifying it so much that you'd basically be rebuilding it completely.

Roofs I have no idea about.

Assuming you need good isolation (most home studios do!), then you'll be doing two-leaf MSM "room in a room" construction. In that case, the surface density of each leaf must be the same all around, so the roof would need to be roughly the same density as walls. Yup! Hard to get your head around that, but that's the way to do it. Same for your inner leaf: the surface density of the ceiling must match the surface density of the inner-leaf walls. Same for doors and windows: each must match the wall that it is part of.

Do most people build there own or get professionals in?

Depends! How are your design skills, and how are your building skills? Two different things. First comes the design, which you can either do yourself or hire a studio designer to do it for you, then comes the build, which you can either do your self or hire a contractor to do for you. In both cases, you might be able to do part yourself: eg, you might need to hire a contractor to lay the foundations and slab, then build most yourself, and hire a contractor for the roof and electrical work. Or some other combination. Same with the design: You can hire someone to do the basic layout, then figure out the framing and HVAC details yourself, if you know how to do framing and HVAC. Etc. So you can do as much yourself as you are able, provided that you already know how or have the time and inclination to learn how. That's mostly what this forum is about: helping out people who want to do some or all of the design and building themselves. You'll find absolutely everything that you need to know right here on the forum, and all of it is based on solid science, real research, and decades of experience from some of the leading designers in the world. No marketing hype, no "egg crates on the walls" or "carpet on the ceiling" myths, either! :shock: Just tried and tested methods that have been show to work both in laboratories and in the real world. You can spend some weeks and months learning the basics of acoustics and studio design here: why things work they way we recommend, how to do it at low cost, etc. Then you start working on your design, and post it here for the experts to look at and suggest improvements. Then, when you have your design finalized (and ONLY then!) you can start digging holes, pouring concrete, and doing the other actual build stuff. (Some people get ahead of themselves in their enthusiasm, and start building before the design is ready! Recipe for disaster...). Or if that sounds too daunting, then you can hire someone to do some it. If you decide to go that route, your first call should be John himself: PM him, or e-mail him, for a quote.

(how awesome is this site!).

"Awesome" just doesn't cover it! :!: :D It's beyond awesome! There really is no other place on the internet like it. Believe me: I think I looked at all of them before I settled on John's forum. It's simply the best. - Stuart -

Stuart, thanks so much for your quick reply! So much to think about and learn! Yes, unfortunately budget is low. I may just have to do it in stages. Will get back with some real numbers etc. but in the meantime..... I'm mainly going to use it for a small control room plus live room. Lately I have mainly been recording acoustic type bands but I think that's just a weird coincidence. I would like the option of recording louder bands including drums (I am a drummer). Cheers, will start reading and learning! Doggybreath.