Studio Build: Mix Room w/ Single Iso Booth | John Sayers’ Recording Studio Design Forum archive

Hi, I'm super stoked to have found this site! What a great resource. I've read the "Before You Post" and I've done some searches for relevant topics. Please let me know if I've missed anything and feel free to direct me to any threads I've missed that may be useful. Here's my situation: I just bought a very small house on a decent-sized lot here in sunny Portland, OR. There's no room in the house or basement to really do this right so I want to build a new structure in the back. The structure will be about 1000 yards from the closest neighbors but there is a possibility that something will be built on the empty lot next door someday, maybe as close as 100 yards away. I try to monitor at around 80db but I like to be able to crank it from time to time. I also like to play very loud guitar very late at night. There's also some street noise and the occasional barking dog, so good isolation and sound-proofing will be needed. The room's main use will be mixing and in-the box composing along with recording vocals, acoustic guitar and voiceover work. No live drum tracking but possibly guitar amps in the iso booth. I'd like the booth to be big enough to accommodate a person sitting down with an acoustic guitar comfortably. Option One: Here in Portland I can build up to 200 Sq. Ft (LxW) on my property without needing a building permit, though I would need a permit for the electrical. I think I have a height restriction of about 9 feet but I'll have to double check that. Option Two: Build something bigger and pay the various permit fees. I'd like to do this but I don't know if I have the budget to do it right. ----- Speaking of budget: my budget for building is $20,000 - $40,000 USD. Gosh, I'd sure like to not spend all 40K. But I'll eat rice and beans for a year (or two) if that's what it takes to do this right. --- I know absolutely zilch about construction. I know enough about acoustics to know that I don't know nearly enough about acoustics. I'll be doing as much of the work myself a possible, but realistically I expect the vast majority will be hired out. I do have an excellent, experienced (but not cheap) contractor who understands that he knows nothing about acoustics and that this will require some learning on his part. I just ordered "Build It Like The Pros" and I'll be reading through that and this site for the next few months. Then I'll hand the book off to him, along with any other relevant info I can get from here or elsewhere. I'm hoping to get started on this in the next few months but I'm willing to take as much time as needed to get it right. Obviously I want it to be as sonically awesome as possible. Starter questions: Could I build something awesome (not just "useable" but awesome) within the 200 square feet limitation? Is my budget feasible for a bigger build? Is it even feasible for the 200 square foot build? If so, roughly how much of the budget could/should be allocated to what things? Can anyone recommend people in the Portland area who I could hire for any aspects of a project like this? What other questions should I be asking at this stage? Thanks in advance and I look forward to hearing any input on this. -Cliff

Hi there Cliff, and a major Welcome! I have to say, that has to be one of the best "first posts" I've seen on this forum! I'm almost tempted to make it a sticky.... Clearly you did your homework on this already, and you have a good basic plan, plus a realistic budget, and realistic goals. Excellent!

Please let me know if I've missed anything and feel free to direct me to any threads I've missed that may be useful.

So far you seem to be doing more than fine! But seeing that the forum currently has over fourteen thousand threads, and over a hundred and twenty thousand posts, it's likely that you missed one or two of those... :)

so I want to build a new structure in the back.

A "ground up" build! Cool! so basically you have free reign there, with no restrictions from existing structures.

The structure will be about 1000 yards from the closest neighbors but there is a possibility that something will be built on the empty lot next door someday, maybe as close as 100 yards away.

Lucky you! If your nearest neighbor is that far away, you are getting major attenuation in sound levels purely from the distance.

I try to monitor at around 80db but I like to be able to crank it from time to time. I also like to play very loud guitar very late at night.

Can you put a number on that? Decibels...

I think I have a height restriction of about 9 feet but I'll have to double check that.

Something that people often forget is that the height restriction is relative to ground level ("grade"), and restricts how far you can go UP from there, but there's generally no restriction on how far you can go DOWN first. So if you wanted more than 9 feet total height, you could dig down a couple of feet before pouring your slab, then go up from there until you hit 9 feet above grade. Might be an option...

Build something bigger and pay the various permit fees. I'd like to do this but I don't know if I have the budget to do it right.

It's worth looking at, just to see if it would fit your budget. A quick trip to your local municipal offices would get you that info.

Speaking of budget: my budget for building is $20,000 - $40,000 USD. Gosh, I'd sure like to not spend all 40K. But I'll eat rice and beans for a year (or two) if that's what it takes to do this right.

20k for 200 ft2 works out to US$ 100 per square foot, which is a very reasonable budget for most places. To confirm if you are in the ball park for your area, call around a few contractors and ask if they have an estimated "flat rate" per square for building an up-scale 2000 ft2 house in your area. Take that number, divide by 10 (to make it 200 ft2, instead of 2000), add about 25% (it's a studio, not a house) and you'll have rough estimate. But at guess, I'd say you are very realistic in your budgeting, and you very likely have enough to go beyond 200 ft2.

I know enough about acoustics to know that I don't know nearly enough about acoustics.

The you are fully qualified! :) That's about where all of us studio designers are.... :shock: No matter how much you learn about this, there's always plenty more that you still need to learn. :) But anyway, if you really want to get a better handle on things, I'd suggest that you read "Master Handbook of Acoustics" by F. Alton Everest (that's sort of the Bible for acoustics). It's a basic text that takes you from knowing pretty much nothing about acoustics, to the point where you understand enough to design and tune a typical home studio. And the best thing? There's not too much math in it! Everest tried to keep that to a minimum, and succeeded.

I do have an excellent, experienced (but not cheap) contractor who understands that he knows nothing about acoustics and that this will require some learning on his part.

Your situation gets better and better! That is a rare find, indeed. Maybe suggest to him that he might want to sign up on the forum, and start looking around some of the completed construction threads, to pick up ideas and techniques.

I'm hoping to get started on this in the next few months

That's probably a little optimistic, if yo are coming from a background without much acoustic knowledge or construction knowledge. Realistically, it takes a couple of months to get your head around the basics of acoustics, simply because much of acoustics isn't intuitive at first glance: sound does not actually behave the way we think it should! Most of us arrive at acoustics with the preconceived notions about what sound is and how it moves and interacts with objects, that are completely wrong. So most people need to unlearn what they think they know about acoustics, then learn how it actually works. Then, after you have the acoustics figured out, you need to get into the basics of studio construction, which includes the very major, and very frequently overlooked issue, of HVAC: That's a far bigger part of studios than most people ever imagine... until they have to do it. Things like "static pressure" and "sensible heat" and "insertion loss" and "laminar flow" will start haunting your dreams while you figure out your HVAC. Not to mention all the FPMs and CFMs and NR curves and suchlike... So add another couple of months to get a handle on the aspects of construction and HVAC that you'll need to understand. Then you'll need to actually design your place, preferably in SketchUp (which will also take a little while to learn, but is WELL worth the effort). And only when you have every last stud, duct, bolt, door, window, and panel of OC-703 fully fitted in to the design, and checked, only then can you really think about picking up a hammer, or ordering a load of concrete. Not trying to scare you off! Just pointing out that, if you want to do it all yourself, it takes time to get there. But you are in GREAT company here on the forum! That's what most people are here for! :)

Could I build something awesome (not just "useable" but awesome) within the 200 square feet limitation?

Just a control room plus an iso booth? Doable, but tight. Especially if you want "awesome". International specs for control rooms from organizations such as the ITU, EBU, and AES all recommend a minimum floor area of 20-30 m2 (which is roughly 210-320 ft2), and the maximum floor are of 60-70m2 (about 650-750 ft2) . So from that point of view, if you wanted to build your place to international specs, you'd need more than 200 ft2. However, many people have built really good rooms in less space that that: John has even built a fully-functional (and great sounding) room inside a shipping container! So smaller rooms are feasible. ITU/EBU/AES are good guidelines, but not carved in stone. However, I would strongly suggest that you should consider adding a couple more rooms to your studio: A bathroom, a storage area, and a small entrance area / kitchenette: When you are "in the groove" with a great session, you don't want to go running up to the house at 4 AM in the rain to go to the bathroom, heat up the left-over pizza, or make coffee. You want to be able to do that right there, just a few steps away. And the storage/lobby: You'll thank me for that, once your place is built, and curse yourself if you don't add them... :)

Is my budget feasible for a bigger build? Is it even feasible for the 200 square foot build?

For 200 ft2? Most certainly! For larger? Very likely.

If so, roughly how much of the budget could/should be allocated to what things?

First, go quote HVAC. Go look at a a few mini-split systems in the range 5,000 BTU to 40,000 BTU. You'll need a small one for your iso booth, and a larger one for your control room. The exact capacity will depend on a number of factors (that you'll be calculating in a month or two, with your newly acquired expertise in HVAC! :) ), but at least you can get an idea of prices now, to fit into your budget. That will most probably be the single larges line-item on your bill of materials. Next, quote thick laminate glass, if you want to have windows in your room. Either windows to the outside world (natural light), or internal windows between rooms. It's expensive, so you'll want to get an idea of how much it costs, so you can decide how much to incorporate. Next: door seals / closers / hinges. Good isolation doors are heavy (VERY heavy), and need to have at least two independent full-perimeter seals. They also need to be mounted on heavy-duty hinges, and have a an automatic closer to take care of closing them at the correct rate, and keeping them fully sealed when closed. Then come your typical building materials: quote concrete for your slab, studs, drywall (5/8" only), plywood, / OSB / MDF, etc. Also, mountains of acoustic caulk, OC-703 insulation, and possible something called "Green Glue" which actually isn't glue at all (but it is green!). You probably won't need that, but quote it anyway. Several cases. Your electrician can give you an idea of the electrical installation and materials, one he sees your basic plans. And finally, labor. Estimate your labor costs for all of the above. And that's about it! So add up all the above, multiply by a random number between 2 and 10, add in yesterday's date, divide by a small fraction, and you get your very accurate final cost estimate! :) (not!) (Oh, you also need to add in the total annual GDP for a small county....)

What other questions should I be asking at this stage?

So far you seem to be asking all the right ones. I would suggest that you look into the various control room design philosophies, such as LEDE, RFZ, CID, NER, POR, etc. and decide which way you want to go. That influences the cost and complexity to a certain extent, and the acoustics to a larger extent. Personally, I'm rather partial to RFZ, as it makes a lot of sense, but others have different opinions. I'd also suggest that you get a better handle on "costs per square foot" in your area, and also how the total cost changes once you go beyond 200 ft2, so you can set the maximum possible size for your studio, and work backwards from there. You'll probably find that something around 350 ft2 would be a good size for all of the above, considering the extra rooms. - Stuart -