Not really a studio, but still need advice!

Hello forum! First of all, I'd like to kick off with saying that Im stunned with all the great help, information and resources on this forum. This also is my first problem, haha. Didn't know where to start! I've read through the "READ THIS" part, but hey. Still some questions come up. I'd like to start off basic; Next summer me and my dad will build a new garage in our garden. It will be 7x7 meters (23~ x 23~ feet). Btw, Im from Holland, we dont use inches etc, is it a problem to only use meters etc? The building will be about 5-6 meters high, and on the above floor I will be given about 7x4 meters of space to build a rehearsal room for my band. In this room I'd like to be able to record some songs with "decent" quality. Further I'd like to have a small "vocal booth" for recording some acoustic guitars and, well, vocals ofcourse. Also I'd love to create a control room, but looking at the space I have this just isn't possible. This kicks off to my questions. Since the building won't be built for another 9~ months I have some time to research my possibilty's, and for this I would really love all the advice and input I can get! Question 1: Since we will play there with a full band (Acoustic drums, 2 guitars, bass player) I'd like to know how realistic I need to look at the "noise" outside. The neighbours are about 20-30 meter from the building, so thats rather close. How much will I be able to reduce the outside sound, so I could play untill 23:00 without my neighbours and their children going crazy? Question 2: The above room will have angled walls because of the roof. Option 1 - A tilted side across the 7 meter wall. Option 2 - 2 tilted sides at both the 4 meter walls. Which option would suit me best? Is there a difference in it? Why pick for either? Question 3: Did I understand the "leaf system"? Ill supply a drawing of a insulation that, according to my best knowledge, is a 2 leaf system. Please explain if Im right or where the mistake is. Question 4: Last but not least.. how could I construct a vocal booth in this small area? Whats the general idea in this? Whats the minimum size? Thanks in advance, And please tell me about things I've missed, Ill gladly edit my post to suit the needs! Cheers ----------------------------- Looks like the pics dont work, Ill see where the problem is and upload new ones asap. Meh, weird. Rightclick the picture and "Open in new tab" seems to work just fine. Dont know why its not working correctly.

Hey all, Small update. This is most likely going to be the buildplan. I've got to draw it out for the builders permit, but thats not too important right now. So this way (as seen in the attachment) is how my "practise room" is going to be. From this point on, I could use all the help I can get. I cant figure out why the pics in the first post won't show up, weird stuff. ------------ Also, I see some "top view" building plans in some posts, how are those created? Not with SketchUp I assume? What program is used?

Hey, I've added a SKP file, maybe this will clear things up! Cheers

Hi "VisionNineMusic", and welcome! :)

It will be 7x7 meters (23~ x 23~ feet). Btw, Im from Holland, we dont use inches etc, is it a problem to only use meters etc?

It is fine to work in metric: no problem at all. Most of the world is metric now, with only a very few hold-outs still stuck back in the last century :) !

and on the above floor I will be given about 7x4 meters of space to build a rehearsal room for my band.

Building a studio on the second floor is generally not a good idea. It is very hard to isolate the floor sufficiently, and there is also the issue of structural integrity. Building a studio implies a LOT of weight (mass), and that usually means reinforcing the ground floor. If at all possible, try to move your rehearsal space down to the ground floor.

Since we will play there with a full band (Acoustic drums, 2 guitars, bass player) I'd like to know how realistic I need to look at the "noise" outside. The neighbours are about 20-30 meter from the building, so thats rather close. How much will I be able to reduce the outside sound, so I could play untill 23:00 without my neighbours and their children going crazy?

The best way to answer that question is for you to get a sound level meter yourself, and actually measure it. In other words, measure how loud your band is when playing at maximum level, and also find out how quiet you need to be at your property line, both legally and also in terms of being a good neighbor. Call your local municipality and ask for a copy of the noise regulations: they should tell you what the legal requirement is. But to give you an idea: Just the drums by themselves can easily reach 115 dB, and more. Add in bass, electrical guitar and other things, and you could well be getting up to 118 dB or more. Most municipal regulations seem to set the night-time noise limit at around 40 dB, plus or minus a few. so you need roughly 70 to 80 dB of isolation, in total, between the interior of your room, and your property line. Fortunately distance is your friend here: those 20-30 meters will help a lot, since sound dissipates at around -6dB every time you double the distance. So theoretically, as long as you can get your level down to about 70 dB 1 meter outside your walls, that should be enough. Roughly. That still means you need around 50 dB of isolation. That's do-able, but not easy on the second floor. That is going to be very expensive to accomplish. So before looking into those other questions, I'd first strongly suggest that you re-think your plan, and either move the studio to the ground floor, or understand that you won't be able to play loudly in there, especially at night. Or if you HAVE to play loud at night, and you HAVE to have the studio on the second floor, then you will also have to spend a lot of money to do it. - Stuart -

Stuart, I will go indepth on your reply later tonight, though for now; i cant move the studio downstairs. The garage will be for ky dads hobby. He wants 2 cars next to eachother inside, to work on them etc. So no possibility there. Im ready to spend money on it, whatever amount needed I guess.

Just wondering what happened with this build: Any progress? It sounded interesting! - Stuart -