Newbie Studio Design - How Would You Lay This Out?

Hey guys. New to studio planning and construction. Trying to reach out and get as much information and opinions as possible before jumping into my first studio build. Recently purchased a home, which has a 433 sq ft poured slab, workshop out back. Pitch of roof is 10' to 12' at center. I have full reign over this structure, and can do whatever I want with it. I would love for this to eventually be used as only an office or "guest house" space, so i don't want to go too crazy... I mostly intend on tracking vocals, acoustic instruments, guitar amps, but if possible would like to be able to track drums. I mostly do post production (mixing & editing work) How would you layout this space? (see attached layout) It already has an 100amp line run to it, will that be enough? What types of standalone HVAC Systems should I be looking into? Can this be done for ~$7,500, or is that a pipe dream? What to do about that massive roll up door/side door? Thanks for help in advance, I came here because I kept running into the name everywhere I'd go on the internet, I'm hoping it's as friendly and as helpful as it's reputation!

Hi there "joshcls". Welcome! Please read the forum rules for posting (click here). You seem to be missing a couple of things! :) That's a nice sized space, but you'll need to give us a lot more info on what you want to accomplish, and also provide some rough ideas of how you imagine the layout. For example, 1 room or two? Or more? That shape/size lends itself well to a control room plus a tracking room, but do you also need a booth? Storage? Bathroom? etc. To answer your specific questions: Yes 100 amps is more than enough, unless you plan on running some really major amp stacks in there! :) HVAC: You'd probably be fine with a couple of mini-split systems for that space, plus a ventilation system. That would be the least expensive.

Can this be done for ~$7,500, or is that a pipe dream?

Depends on what you want to do! But overall, that is probably very much on the low side. To get an idea of how much it will really cost, call up a few local contractors and ask for their basic "per square foot" rate for finishing an unfinished garage as a home theater, or for turning an unfinished basement into a "granny flat". Take that rate, add 25%, then multiply by your 433 square feet. That's a realistic ballpark estimate of what it will cost. For example, if they quote US$ 40 per square foot, add 25% to make it 50/square foot, multiply by 433 = US$ 21,650. Of course, you can do it a LOT cheaper if you do all/most of the labor yourself, and you can save on materials in other ways.

What to do about that massive roll up door/side door?

Here too that depends on your overall plan. For example, if you have storage and a lobby area, then you could put those next to the door and start your isolated area beyond them. Or if you just want one large space, then you'd have to either remove that door and brick it up, or seal it in place permanently and build an isolation wall a few inches behind it. - Stuart - - Stuart -

Hey Stuart, thank you for your reply, and a link through to the instructions. I apologize for not reading that first, and for the naivety of thinking that we live in a world, where reasonable adults can ask reasonable questions and have reasonable conversations online, without unreasonable people spamming and otherwise messing it up for the rest of us. I didn't want to launch into a novel on my first post, which is why I kept it as brief as possible. To recap the rules I missed: I'm completely in the planning stage of this empty shell building on my property. It's in my backyard, about 20 feet away from the house, and maybe 50 from the neighbors, there's an alley between our house and the neighbors to the east, so that will help with distance a little bit as well. I will not be making that much noise, as I mostly intend on doing post production work, and occasionally tracking guitar amps, and rarely drums. All live tracking times will be at reasonable hours. I'm not super worried about isolation. I have searched tremendously here, and around the web, for decent L shape plans. I find all sorts of plans for square, rectangular, big & small, but none for L shaped structures. I'm not sure what I can get out of this space, which is why I came here and posted Existing construction is wood and stucco, poured slab floor with 5" footer on the perimeter. There are horizontal gaps in that footer, where the doors are. There is also one single 36"x40" window, that is not very high quality. There is an existing fake wall dividing the space into two rectangles, one 23'x15' and one 8x'11 however that does not need to stay of course. Layout: Either way, I need two rooms. One for tracking, one for control room. If I only have room for control + small Iso, then so be it, Drums would be nice, but would not be required. I just want whatever tracking room to be as big as it can, without sacrificing the control room too much. No storage, or additional space is required, unless there's a hole in the layout that it could fill. There is no plumbing, so no bathroom is required. I don't think I'll want to sacrifice space for a lobby area, so best bet would likely be to seal the garage door up. Budget DANG. That number gave me a mini heart attack. I will be doing almost all labor myself (anything I can legally do) I have a relative who has a contractors license helping me out, has all tools needed, etc, and connections at the local lumber/hardware store I'm now realizing HVAC is going to need to be a way bigger part of my budget than originally planned. I have about $7,500 to throw at this right now, if it can't be done, I may need to hold off for a while. New questions: I need two rooms. Would you opt for a small ISO + Big Control --- or a medium tracking room + medium control? Again, not doing drums much, but probably would more if I had the space for it HVAC. Can I purchase mini split units online, and install myself, or is this something that a pro AC guy needs to do? Have you seen any "suggested" L Shape Plans Floating around? I'm all for going out and finding things myself, just can't seem to track that down

John designed a nice L shaped setup for me in my last space that you can see here: http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4552&start=15 Although your shape is a little different from mine. Perhaps this will at least give you some ideas though. I find the designing / floor plan part to be the hardest of all. I've been going back and forwards on the designs for my new space for a couple of months now! :? Wishing you the best of luck - and you came to the right place. Andy.