Studio conversion from house

I am planning a studio conversion from an empty house that was recently vacated. We had initially envisioned a significant renovation, but upon viewing the structural components, we have decided against that, for the following reasons: The home was built in the 1960's, and has a concrete block foundation with a 6x6 support down the middle that holds 2x6 floor joists. Exterior walls are 2x4, with 2x4 ceiling joists and 2x4 rafter construction, really minimal crossties and bracing. We are not comfortable spending a great deal of money extensively renovating when the "bones" are not of good quality. We understand that significant noise isolation will be impossible without extensive work on the crawlspace floor, and since the structure just won't take it, we will live with what we have, and instead focus on best use of space as it exists. That being said, it is in very rural Tennessee, and there is really no issue at all with exterior noise, except for birds and crickets. I don't have actual measurements, because my meter has not arrived, but I can post those as soon as I can take them if needed. It is very quiet, though, not even any road noise. We will be recording vocal overdubs, acoustic overdubs such as fiddle, mandolin, acoustic guitar, and electric guitar. Piano and drums will be midi triggered samples, because of the issues with isolation as outlined above. Walls are 2x4, rough cut lumber, so really is 2x4, not planed studs. There is a layer of drywall on either side of the walls, and on the ceilings. Floors are plywood over 2x6 joists, with carpet. Carpet will come up, replaced with laminate or vinyl tile. Here is the current layout with demensions: And here is a proposed revision: The interior walls of both the proposed live room and control room are weight bearing and cannot be moved easily. The changes shown involve removing a non weight bearing wall and creating a new doorway into the small hall that feeds the bathroom and proposed storage room, as well as replacing 2 doorways with walls. The front door is located in the middle of the front wall, but will not be used. The rear door opens into the 43" by 43" area just off the porch on the back, and would be the primary entrance. The area to the rear that encompasses the proposed control room is of more recent construction, and of better quality. Questions: 1. Is the proposed layout most appropriate, or would you suggest changes? 2. Will the ability to build deep bass traps as shown help with the difficulties of the rooms sizes enough to create usable space, both in the live room and control room? I have many, many other questions involving treatment options, but I'd prefer to start with these 2, and then if it appears what we want to do is possible, I can post more.

Hi there "sounddoctor", and Welcome! :)

We are not comfortable spending a great deal of money extensively renovating when the "bones" are not of good quality.

You might be able to beef up those "bones" with something more substantial, without too much expense. A structural engineer would be able to give you god advice on what could be done there.

I don't have actual measurements, because my meter has not arrived, but I can post those as soon as I can take them if needed.

That would be very useful.

That being said, it is in very rural Tennessee, and there is really no issue at all with exterior noise, except for birds and crickets.

So it never rains in Tennessee? No wind? Hail? Thunder? :) No aircraft flying over? Helicopters? Nobody ever arriving at your place in a car, or on a motorbike? No farm equipment running close by? No dogs barking, people talking on cell phones? No radios, TV, etc? No toilets flusing or water running in other parts of the house? Nobody walking around, or using the vacuum cleaner, dishwasher, microwave, or anything else? There's a lot of potential noise sources that are commonly overlooked when thinking of isolation needs. If any of the above could possibly interrupt a recording session, or mess up that once-in-a-lifetime perfect take, then it is worth thinking about improving the isolation.

We will be recording vocal overdubs, acoustic overdubs such as fiddle, mandolin, acoustic guitar, and electric guitar.

With the possible exception of the electric guitar, all of the others are delicate acoustic sources, easily damaged by exterior noises getting into the mics....

There is a layer of drywall on either side of the walls, and on the ceilings.

If you are going to do a proper "room-in-a-room" studio, then that inner drywall will have to come off, leaving the studs and joists facing the room. That will be your outer-leaf.

Floors are plywood over 2x6 joists, with carpet. Carpet will come up, replaced with laminate or vinyl tile.

What is on top of the joists, under the carpet? OSB? Plywood? Something else? How thick? You might want to consider beefing that up with an extra layer of "something", to add some mass and rigidity to it. Another option might be ceramic tiles.

Here is the current layout with demensions:

That's a really small diagram, with very little detail! It's hard to figure out what the current situation is, or what the full plan is.

And here is a proposed revision:

Ditto.

The interior walls of both the proposed live room and control room are weight bearing and cannot be moved easily.

You don't need to move them, since they will be your outer-leaf walls. You'll build your inner-leaf walls an inch or so away from those, to give the rooms their final shape and dimensions. However, you will need to remove the drywall from those existing walls, and you might need to beef up the mass on the other side, with drywall, OSB or some such. You can do that form the inside, between the studs.

1. Is the proposed layout most appropriate, or would you suggest changes?

Once issue is that the CR and LR are not contiguous. In other words, setting up a session is going to mean walking through the intervening rooms many times, back and forth, to position mics, instruments, gobos, etc. That might turn out to be a lot of walking, and a big time waster. It also means there's no direct sight lines between the two rooms, so the engineer and musicians cannot see each other, which is important. You can fix that with video cameras and screens, but it's not quite the same... so it might be better to consider moving your CR into the area currently marked as "kitchen/lounge", and move those two to where the control room is currently.

2. Will the ability to build deep bass traps as shown help with the difficulties of the rooms sizes enough to create usable space, both in the live room and control room?

Deep bass trapping at the rear of the control room is always a very good idea, so yes, if you have the space for that, then it is very much worthwhile doing that, provided that it does not eat up too much room for the rest of the CR.

I have many, many other questions involving treatment options, but I'd prefer to start with these 2, and then if it appears what we want to do is possible, I can post more.

That's what the forum is here for! :) It would be very useful to have a more detailed diagram, with better dimensions, and it would REALLY help to have some photos of the building, both inside and out, especially of the proposed rooms as they are now. It looks like a fun project, though, with good possibilities. - Stuart -