Key posts: New studio/house build including John’s small studio design
Substantial posts by bencarter, who started the thread, and by the forum’s most active contributors. 117 of 150 posts are listed.
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bencarter, 24 November 2013Hi, this is my first post and I am hoping to get some experienced thoughts on a new studio/house build. I am new to building studios, but, not new to recording,…
bencarter, 26 November 2013Hi Jim, Thanks for support! We met with the owner of the building company yesterday and we still appear to be on track which is great. Some of the numbers around $ for…
Soundman2020, 17 December 2013Hi Ben, and welcome! :) I must have missed your initial post for some reason, since I don't recall it at all. Sorry about that! :oops: That's actually a pretty mart…
bencarter, 3 January 2014Hi Stuart, Thank you for your reply and welcome! :D I'm sorry that I have taken so long to get back to you. All I can say is that Christmas and the new year kinda got in…
Soundman2020, 23 January 2014DB25 is pretty big, and not too flexible, so you'll need to keep your curves very broad, very large radius. I would go for something bigger than 60 mm for a 55 mm cable.…
bencarter, 23 January 2014Hi Stuart, Thanks again for your reply, the wealth of very very useful information and great analogies that have really helped, especially regarding HVAC. I will also…
Soundman2020, 23 January 2014This might save you quite a bit of time, money and hassle: Don't beef up! If you are building this place from scratch, then you do NOT need to beef it up from below!…
bencarter, 23 January 2014Hi Stuart, Thanks again! This is now an edited post after meeting with the engineer yesterday. I really hope I am not being too much of a pain by asking a few more…
bencarter, 27 January 2014Hi again, This weekend I spent some time learning how to use Sketchup. A big thank you to Stuart as your advice and knowledge is absolutely invaluable. Thank you many…
Soundman2020, 9 February 2014Questions is what we are here for! But please don't edit your thread to remove old questions: They might not be relevant, but they do still document your entire build…
bencarter, 15 February 2014Hi Stuart, Thank you so much again for all your experience, wisdom and suggestions. I had hoped that my posts would get shorter, but, alas this one is not so. I have…
bencarter, 10 March 2014Hi, I thought I would post a quick update. As of last week we have design approval to move forward and our plans are now on to mine subsidence. We do not expect any…
bencarter, 30 May 2014Hi Stuart, Thanks for checking up on me! First to the conduit runs. I will definitely have the cat-6 cable run in it’s own conduit to supply ethernet to the CR. CONDUIT…
bencarter, 11 July 2014Hi Stuart, Thank you again for your advice to date. If you do find some free time to set me straight regarding the questions in my last post that would be awesome. I am…
bencarter, 20 July 2014Hi Steve, Thanks for the encouragement. With any luck we should get going within the next 4 weeks (fingers crossed). Stuart if I can trouble you to look over my last…
Soundman2020, 22 July 2014Hey Ben. Sorry for the delay: I had completely missed your thread! :oops: You need a separate circuit for your gear, at least one and perhaps more than one. ONLY gear…
bencarter, 23 July 2014Hi Stuart, No worries at all! Your help is every much appreciated. I have started redrawing this evening and though I am close to finished I am a little slow in Sketchup…
bencarter, 27 July 2014Hi Stuart, I’m ready for my next beat-down :) I hope my time in Sketchup over the last days has been worthwhile. In the end the dimensions of the CR and LR have not…
Soundman2020, 10 September 2014Wow! :shock: I think that must be the record for the longest post ever on the forum! :!: :) Naah, just kidding: I reckon some of my volumes have that beat... Seriously,…
bencarter, 10 September 2014Hi Stuart, Thank you so much yet again! I trust that all is well over in your neck of the woods. I am at work at the moment and will process your answer a little more…
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bencarter, 13 September 2014Hi Stuart, Yes the soffit angle was out of whack, maybe this happened when I rotated the room as I thought I always had them at close to if not at 30 degrees exactly. I…
bencarter, 24 September 2014Hi Stuart, Thanks for the heads up. The conduit was weighted and tied down. When I checked after work I could not shake it or move it at all really. I am assuming that…
bencarter, 29 September 2014Hi Stuart, The conduit was covered with gaff tape prior to the pour to make sure that no concrete got in. I also talked to a local HVAC supplier on the weekend and he…
bencarter, 17 October 2014It's been a few more weeks and I thought I'd post a few pics of the outer leaf build underway. With any luck by the end of next week downstairs will be ready to be core…
bencarter, 22 November 2014Howdy, It has been a few weeks since I last posted and the house and studio build is still in progress. Below are a few updated pics that show the floated slab above the…
bencarter, 27 January 2015Hi Stuart and fellow forum members, Sorry for the delay and happy new year to everyone. I hope everyone got to relax and had a great break over the holiday period! I did…
bencarter, 8 February 2015Hi Colm, Thanks for jumping in and providing advice. It is much appreciated. As suggested I flowed shorter angled walls (50% shorter) through both my 2d reflection…
bencarter, 1 March 2015Hi JCBigler, The ducting and registers are all from the SketchUp 3D warehouse. Rather than search within the app I found it a lot faster to find components by going…
bencarter, 1 March 2015Hi Stuart, Thanks again! I have been learning a lot and the time to build the house is certainly providing time for my ideas and understanding of the inner leaf build to…
bencarter, 11 July 2015Hi Stuart, Thanks! and yes I have been quiet for quite a few months but i'm most definitely alive and have just been going to work, saving hard and waiting until the day…
bencarter, 14 November 2015Howdy Stuart and fellow JLS studio forumists, Firstly, thanks Stuart I'll use a high quality masonry sealant that is known to be waterproof. It's been a while since my…
Soundman2020, 14 November 2015Then do it in manageable sections! :) Instead of trying to raise the entire wall all at once, build it in several smaller sections, one at a time, and raise them, one at…
bencarter, 15 November 2015Yes I understand, but, I was hoping to lay the 2 layers of Frychek so no joins lined up. Between each small section there will be a vertical join running from floor to…
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Soundman2020, 27 December 2015.... which will be caulked completely, and the studs bolted through to close the gap fully. You could then add a piece of drywall, MDF, plywood or whatever across the…
bencarter, 29 December 2015Hi Stuart, Thanks for getting back and I hope you are having a great end of year break (with any luck some holidays too!). I do hope I can get a final understanding of…
Soundman2020, 29 December 2015"A" makes more sense. Firstly, it it not coupled to the brick wall, like B is, secondly there's a bigger air gap (but you still do need to put insulation in there), and…
bencarter, 29 December 2015Hi Stuart, Thanks again all I can say is your post is very informative and very appreciated! I understand now quite well, but, I am going to take a few days to re-read,…
Soundman2020, 29 December 2015Ahhh! OK. That's normally referred to as "laminated flooring". I have heard that it is also called (incorrectly) "floating" flooring in some places, but it isn't really…
bencarter, 14 January 2016Hi Stuart and everyone else who may be following my protracted plan/build, Thanks yes the slab is brand new and flat and I will use a good quality underlay under the…
bencarter, 18 January 2016Hi Stuart, Sorry to ask again, but, I am talking to the only 2 suppliers for Green Glue here in Australia and also am trying to lock in insulation for the air gap cavity…
bencarter, 24 January 2016Howdy, I know I have a few decisions still to make, but, I was reasonably comfortable starting to seal the inside of the outer leaf over the last few days. As above I…
bencarter, 4 February 2016Hi again, I'm happy to say that the inside of the outer leaf is now sealed, the room cleaned and there are some pics of that at the end of this thread. I have also got…
Soundman2020, 5 February 2016Cool! Looks good. And I'm betting that you probably noticed a difference in the internal sound after having sealed the block surface...? Not a huge change, but…
bencarter, 7 February 2016Hi Stuart, Thanks again for getting back. Yes there was an ambient change I feel it is more reflective now than it was prior to sealing. Will do! Ok I had thought the…
bencarter, 10 February 2016Hi folks, This one will be quick. I have finally found a HVAC designer in Newcastle who really seems to know his stuff and whose company only designs HVAC systems. So I…
Soundman2020, 10 February 2016I would be REALLY interested in how he plans to silence an HVAC duct without a silencer! That would be a neat trick... :) Perhaps he calls it by a different name, but…
bencarter, 10 February 2016Hi Stuart, I'll definitely post as much information as I can and pictures too. The plan is that the designer will come out on site first so we can have a more detailed…
bencarter, 25 March 2016Hi Stuart and fellow forum posters, I thought I should post to say that I'm still here and some progress has been made. 1. I have sourced my Rockwool and am ready to…
bencarter, 14 April 2016Hi again, Today I ordered my Rockwool (100m 60kg/m3 Fibretex 350 made by Bradford here in Australia) for the air gap cavity and also Ultratel glasswool with an Ultraphon…
bencarter, 23 April 2016Hi Stuart, Thanks! Your assistance and advice has been absolutely invaluable and I am also equally dying to get going over the next few weeks. I have now also ordered my…
Soundman2020, 23 April 2016Well, think about that: You are building your own recording studio! so yeah, I'd say you certainly are doing something crazy! If not, you wouldn't be here on the…
bencarter, 24 April 2016:yahoo: Thanks! We are building everything inside the concrete so I will start hunting down low noise registers with a high ratio of open air to vane. Cheers I'll crunch…
bencarter, 8 May 2016Hi forum folks, I thought I'd post a few pics as most the materials for the inner leaf build have now arrived and are stored away. Framing and placing rock wool in the…
bencarter, 22 May 2016Hi, My builder/industrial designer friend and I have started framing up over the last three days. We are moving slowly and taking our time. After we build a frame…
bencarter, 30 May 2016Hi again, I thought I'd post a few more progress pics. We are aiming to lift the first ceiling baffle box panel this Thursday with a genie lift that is rated at around…
bencarter, 19 June 2016Hi again, A bit more progress to show below. In the photos there is some temporary wood in place to support framing and you can also see that while some panels have…
bencarter, 30 June 2016Howdy, I thought I'd post a few more quick pics for progress. We are moving along, although it may appear as if we are de-constructing at the moment more than…
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bencarter, 30 June 2016Hi Stuart, Thanks! We are definitely moving slowly and carefully to make sure that everything is carefully sheeted, no gaps and sealing as we go. Yes the box is big and…
Soundman2020, 1 July 2016Cool. Knowing how you've been approaching this whole build, I figured you had though through it carefully anf come up with a good plan. :thu: Seeing that you are going…
bencarter, 1 July 2016hi stuart, thanks again ... i wish i had prepped to use something like a sorbothane pad but alas one box is already up and the next is under the lifter tines ready to go…
bencarter, 3 July 2016Hi, Here are a few more pics. The live room air return box went up yesterday and the last wall for the live room went up too. We'll sheet the last live room wall today,…
bencarter, 4 July 2016Hi again, A bit more progress. We got the live room end wall up today as shown below. Things will go a bit slower until next Monday when we will get the control room…
bencarter, 27 July 2016Hi Stuart and anyone else following this odessy, It has been a while since I last posted and the pics below might not look like much has been done, but, I am confident…
bencarter, 27 July 2016A few more pics to bring things up to date ... Knocked down frames prior to back-filling with Fyrchek and heavy Gyprock plaster. We had to have these delivered knocked…
bencarter, 2 August 2016Howdy, Some good news to report. Today we finished all of the framing and ceiling work fore the inner leaf build. I'll add some new pics very soon. Tomorrow I will be…
bencarter, 8 August 2016Another update, The AC was all but completed today which is great and there are some pics below. On Wednesday the AC guys are calling through to add a filter to the AHU…
bencarter, 12 August 2016Hi again, A bit more progress which is great. 1. The HVAC is in and tested and runs very well. I can only just hear the CR air out but none of the other ins and outs and…
bencarter, 19 August 2016Howdy, It's been a few days since I could post anything as I'm back on contract working on a web/app/ux/ui project at my local uni. The work and folk at work are great,…
bencarter, 21 August 2016Hi Stuart, Thanks for checking back in on me and thanks also of the awesome kind words. Without your wisdom I would never have made it this far. To know that I am not…
Soundman2020, 22 August 2016Strictly speaking, it isn't totally necessary, but personally I do like to have as much data as possible about a room, so I can see how it is changing over time as each…
bencarter, 3 September 2016Hi Stuart, Thanks for the information about testing the empty room. I will definitely run a few empty room REW tests very soon, hopefully next weekend. When I do I will…
bencarter, 11 September 2016Hi, Things are still moving a bit slowly now I'm back at work, but, I did manage to get the floor down in the control room over the weekend. Next I hope to get the…
bencarter, 13 September 2016Howdy again, Tonight I ran through what I hope is a reasonable rough isolation test of the control room space. Please note that I do not have power in the space yet so I…
bencarter, 18 September 2016Hi, My electrician was over before the weekend and hopefully will get to the power points, lights and cat6 very soon. He provided a powerpoint template so that I could…
bencarter, 25 September 2016Howdy, A few more pics from the weekend, the live room walls are pretty much covered along with the prototype bass trap. Chasing up the electrician this week and…
bencarter, 2 October 2016Hi Stuart, I had hoped to spend this long weekend finishing the live room, but, my electrician has not been through and that means the lights are not in and I really…
bencarter, 9 October 2016Howdy, Another week has passed with a little bit of progress but unfortunately no electrician yet. This weekend we built the frame and shelf for the first enclosure to…
bencarter, 9 October 2016Oops, I should have mentioned that we have decided to have a go at soffit mounting the Adam A7Xs via option C and the i) variation from a few posts back. This will be a…
bencarter, 16 October 2016Another small weekend step! Things are moving, but, they are moving between full-time work and other weekend commitments that can not be shifted. Still work is pretty…
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Soundman2020, 16 October 2016It's looking good, Ben... But that speaker soffit seems a little on the flimsy side... It needs to be VERY beefy. It has to hold the speaker rigidly, without vibrating.…
bencarter, 30 October 2016Hi Stuart, Thanks for the heads up on the soffit. I'm sorry I just came across your post and don't know why I missed the email alert. I hope we are going ok, the frame…
Soundman2020, 28 November 2016:thu: There's two options here: Tight fit, as you describe, or using Sorbothane pads between the speaker and the enclosure box to make the speaker "float" inside the…
bencarter, 28 November 2016Hi Stuart, Things have been slow into the end of the year, but, I do hope that things will pick up over the next few weeks and maybe even wrap up over the Christmas…
bencarter, 4 December 2016Hi, This weekend we finished the last superchunk trap in the live room and started running some skirting too. We should be done in the live room by next Saturday with…
bencarter, 12 December 2016Hi, I don't have any pictures today, but, we did finish off the skirting in the live room over the weekend and got on to the soffits again toward the end of Sunday. Who…
Soundman2020, 17 December 2016Well, then, it didn't happen, now did it! :shock: :roll: :wink: :lol: You know what they say around here: "Pics! or it didn't happen!"... :) Just checking here, but you…
bencarter, 22 December 2016Hi Stuart, Thanks yet again ... :) ... and best wishes for end of the year celebrations too !!! There are some more progress pics below :mrgreen: We have lots of cutting…
bencarter, 24 December 2016Hi Stuart, Yeah both my border collie and my girlfriend would like to see me finish :) Thanks for the Xmas wishes and may Christmas and the New Year be awesome over your…
bencarter, 29 December 2016Hi, Today we got the first of the speaker soffits up. There are two pics below. The first shows the 8kg/m2 of MLV tacked over an initial 18mm thick MDF sheet and the…
bencarter, 4 January 2017Hi, Over the last day or so we hopefully finished most of the speaker soffit construction, added an extra 75mm of 32kg/m3 glass wool insulation to the rear wall (165mm…
bencarter, 4 January 2017Hi again, I have removed the REW file link that was above as those first readings were wrong. I have added some pics below and a link to a new data file that I hope is…
Soundman2020, 4 January 2017It looks quite reasonable for a room that size. There's the usual SBIR from the rear wall, and there's the usual bass rise (how do you have the controls set on your…
bencarter, 4 January 2017Ok, so nothing too tragic. Can I ask how I would go about digital tuning? I did place plastic over the fronts of the the CR and LR bass traps. The ceiling also has…
Soundman2020, 5 January 2017Ahhh, now that's the 64,000 dollar question isn0t it? :) I don't like giving away ALL my secrets in public for free, but PM me if you are interested in going down this…
bencarter, 5 January 2017Hi Stuart, Sorry for the delay and thanks for getting back. I will PM as well! I used 100um, but, based on the Bunnings website they also have a thicker 200um and I am…
Soundman2020, 7 January 2017See if they have other thicknesses too. Building supply stores often have three of four different thicknesses. Also look for something very thin, such as "painter's drop…
bencarter, 10 January 2017Hi, Work is unfortunately back in swing for the year, so time has become a bit more scarce. Still, after work I am trying my best to get a bit of time in to keep things…
Soundman2020, 14 January 2017Hey! No fair! Thursday came and went already, and there's no sign of your REW tests! :) 8) Sounds like a good plan. That would be a good set of tests, yes. And also…
bencarter, 14 January 2017If I may indulge just a little via the Rolling Stones ... "You don't always get what you want" ... :mrgreen: ... and for sure I know that is true !!! please understand…
bencarter, 16 January 2017Hi Stuart, I finally managed to run the following REW tests this evening: 100% roll off + no 200um plastic tacked to the rear wall no roll off + 200um plastic tacked to…
bencarter, 22 January 2017Hi Over the weekend I installed the soffit hangers and have added a couple of pictures below. Next week there is a public holiday as well as the weekend, so I hope to…
bencarter, 28 January 2017Hi again, I started building my rear wall diffuser today, I think it's ok to show a few pics. I'm really happy with how this has turned out and much of that happiness is…
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bencarter, 28 January 2017Hi Stuart, No worries at all and certainly no rush! I am just about to head downstairs to start assembling the five panels and later today I'll head into Bunnings to…
bencarter, 5 February 2017Hi, This weekend we aimed to get the RFZ up and complete, but, not painted and the diffuser hung too. Unfortunately we did not get the final 18mm MDF cover panel over…
bencarter, 12 February 2017Hi, We have had a heat wave here on the East Coast of Australia for the last three or four days with temperatures up around 47 degrees so unfortunately we did not do any…
bencarter, 26 February 2017Hi, A little bit more progress with the hangers covered and the skirting starting. It will be a few more weeks until the skirting is totally finished. There are a few…
bencarter, 9 April 2017Hi, Just a quick note to say that the skirting is up. I will sand the touch up some paint over the next few evenings, and then with any luck, over easter I'll do some…
bencarter, 7 June 2017Hi, Apologies for not posting for a while, unfortunately work has been super busy and time has been short as a result. A quick update: The engineered floor is down in…
bencarter, 26 June 2017Hi Stuart, Things are still moving slower than I would like for the last few things. Aside from a couple of pesky skirting boards and the monitor cover pieces, I am…
Soundman2020, 28 June 2017Hey Ben, "slow progress" is a hell of a lot better than "no progress"! So this is good news... :) Now you've got me! I was looking for your REW tests, but couldn't find…
bencarter, 28 June 2017Hi Stuart, Yes I guess you are right ... :) Following is the Dropbox link and I have reattached the initial and current 0-800Hz waterfalls. Thanks !!! Please note there…
bencarter, 5 August 2017Hi Chris, Thanks! I am pleased to say that the desk that is housing all my gear is now complete and over the last week I have run power and most of the DB25 snakes from…
bencarter, 20 August 2017Hi, I thought I'd best post something after so much time! This weekend I finally got the covers finished for the A7Xs and put a few pics below. That just leaves a few…
bencarter, 8 October 2017Hi Stuart, Sorry it has taken so long to get back about REW and my build etc. I finally got around to re-running REW tests and have attached some pictures below, plus I…
Soundman2020, 9 October 2017Wow! That place looks GREAT, Ben! Nice work! So before going any further in the reply, I'm calling your place "Done!", and putting it at the top of the list, where it…
bencarter, 9 October 2017Hi Stuart, Thanks for the information, I have read through quickly and will start working on a response tonight and hope to get that out asap. Thanks again so much for…
bencarter, 9 October 2017Hi Stuart, Yes and no! Yes I did carefully follow those very instructions and they were clear and straight forward to move through, but, I have re-run the same tests…