Key posts: NEW Basement Studio Design in New York. Looking for advice

Substantial posts by richroyc, who started the thread, and by the forum’s most active contributors. 94 of 135 posts are listed.

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richroyc, 4 May 2015Hello All - I am have been poking around this site for years and have finally decided to become a member and seek advice on my upcoming new studio build. Basic Info: -…
Soundman2020, 10 May 2015Hi " richroyc", and welcome! :) I think you mean "Urei" not "Urie"? But those things are monsters! I wouldn't use them in such a small room. Don't you have something…
richroyc, 11 May 2015Stuart - thank you so much for the in-depth reply! I was hoping you would chime in! Lol yes I mean Urei, they are not knock-offs like my Rolecks watch lol. I had a…
richroyc, 13 May 2015See attached jpeg's of the new layout. I oriented the room lengthwise. There were a few other things I added, I show the doors and a bathroom. There are also existing…
richroyc, 7 June 2015Hello All! Just an overall update - I've started demolition in the basement (there was an old bar and some areas had 3/8" gypsum on the underside of the floor joists -…
richroyc, 8 June 2015Ok - I was just over at the house for a few hours doing some clean up and more demolition. Here are 2 photos of the underside of the existing subfloor: Image not…
richroyc, 8 June 2015ANOTHER UPDATE!! So I heard back from the structural engineer. I can remove the 2 pole that are in the center of my control room!!!! That is great news. I will have to…
richroyc, 1 February 2016Hi All, slight bump here and a few more questions. Its been ages since I've been on here - the house I bought (which is getting the studio in the basement) is taking way…
Soundman2020, 1 February 2016Cool! Don't forget to post photos of how they do that! It's always interesting to see structural engineering at work. I had to do something similar for a studio Canada a…
richroyc, 1 February 2016Stuart!! wow that was fast! Thanks so much - you just saved me a lot of work! and more importantly now I know the right way to do it ! God I love this forum. The reason…
richroyc, 1 February 2016I'm also posting this really quickly hoping your may still be poking around the forum Stuart - normally I would wait to fully formulate the idea before asking a question…
richroyc, 1 February 2016Additionally - I am NOT planning on venting these speakers in any way - I have tried numerous times to contact JBL (who I think is who to ask nowadays) about weather…
richroyc, 1 February 2016See photo of the Urei 813: Image not preserved: IMG_0634.JPG That rectangular cut out is open to the inside - a front port. But it also may help with the heat venting?…
Soundman2020, 1 February 2016To be honest, I would not use that as a good example of well-designed soffits. There are several issues with the design, both of the soffits and also of the room itself,…
richroyc, 1 February 2016Thanks again Stuart, I think a while you back you had mentioned that you had design that may work in my situation, something you had done previously I think I messaged…
Soundman2020, 2 February 2016That wont work... :) Sorbothane is great stuff (the best, actually), but that's not the way to use it. You need to carefully calculate the load that your speaker will…
richroyc, 2 February 2016Stuart!!! Thanks a million. you've convinced me - I SHALL VENT! These are really big boxes so I understand that the heat is dissipating over a large area which is why I…
Soundman2020, 2 February 2016:thu: Sorbothane provide a calculator app for figuring that out, but you do need to understand how it works, and what the numbers mean. Well, you can if you really want…
richroyc, 3 February 2016STUART!!!!! THANK YOU SO SO MUCH!!! Amazing response - this has helped me immensely!! Hopefully I'll have time to work on my sketchup model tonight and this weekend so I…
richroyc, 4 February 2016Hey Stuart (or anyone else if you can help) I have one quick question: Do you know if I would be able to use these Sorbothane Stud Mounts? File not preserved: Sorbothane…
richroyc, 6 February 2016Ok so that last post was kind of all over the place, I'm going to try to simplify my main problems and questions: 1) Sorbothane stud-mounts (part no: 0510350-50-10). Are…

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richroyc, 10 February 2016slight bump - and i also got this from sorbothane "Thank you for contacting Sorbothane and inquiring if our material is a good fit for your application. You can…
Soundman2020, 10 February 2016You don't need to be extremely precise! It can be a bit thicker, if necessary. Don't try to "squeeze" it though! Just use whatever thickness makes the most sense. Yes!…
richroyc, 10 February 2016Stuart! Thanks as always for the advice. Now I just need to research what type of caulk to use in this application. I've narrowed my questions down to just 3. 1) I'm…
richroyc, 16 February 2016slight bump and i'm also having a hard time finding which type of caulk to use for the ceiling beef-up? Does it need to dry flexible or can it be something that dries…
richroyc, 25 February 2016THE STEEL BEAM HAS BEEN DELIVERED!!!!! Image not preserved: Steel Beam 1.JPG Image not preserved: Steel Beam 2.JPG Image not preserved: Steel Beam 3.JPG Image not…
Soundman2020, 29 February 2016How did you manage to keep the beam attached to the truck, with both of them hanging vertically like that? Image not preserved: verti-beam.jpg :ahh: That's a pretty…
richroyc, 29 February 2016STUART! Thanks again for the response - always EXTREMELY APPRECIATED!!!! hahaha - gravity is really strange in this town - its SIDEWAYS! Nothing Steven Segal can't…
Soundman2020, 29 February 2016Nope! :) 80 Hz is the frequency where the cross-over STARTS to roll off the low end of the feed to the mains. What is the roll-off RATE? Assuming 12 dB per octave, and a…
richroyc, 29 February 2016Hey Stuart - So my calculation regarding the speaker resonant frequency (while non-existent) - also show that I am not even close to being on the right path!!!!!!! So…
Soundman2020, 1 March 2016But that's no use: you want the surface area OF THE SORBOTHANE! The only thing that matters is the sorbothane: How much are you loading it? If you have one square inch…
richroyc, 4 March 2016Stuart - thanks again for the ultra-informative response :yahoo: So the crossover I have is 24dB/Octave (Marchand XM9) So I plugged in 55Hz (roughly 15dB down point) to…
richroyc, 9 March 2016Small Update! Temporary walls going in for the column removal and beam replacement. Image not preserved: IMG_1226.JPG Image not preserved: IMG_1225.JPG Question - if the…
richroyc, 13 March 2016Slight Bump! Aaaaaand...I'm about to pull the trigger and purchase some close cell foam for my ceiling beef-up. I'm going with the Polyethylene. There are some options…
richroyc, 14 March 2016So, I guess Stuart sort of answered my closed cell foam question earlier.....or did he?!?! How much is "that much"? Based on this I'm about to go ahead and pull the…
Soundman2020, 5 April 2016Sorry man! I got a lot on my plate right now, with several projects for paying customers doing various things, so very little time for the forum at present. I guess I…
richroyc, 5 April 2016Stuart - THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!! no need to apologize EVER! you have helped me IMMENSELY even if this whole site was to vanish overnight I would still appreciate what I…
richroyc, 6 May 2016MAJOR CONSTRUCTION UPDATE!!!! THE STEEL BEAM IS FINALLY INSTALLED!!!!!!!!! Image not preserved: IMG_2213.JPG Image not preserved: IMG_2211.JPG Image not preserved:…
Soundman2020, 6 May 2016Oh no! It's the wrong color! You should have painted it lime green! Or maybe hot pink.... on second thoughts, canary yellow... no no, wait ... fire-engine red! Yup,…
richroyc, 6 May 2016Stuart - thanks for the reply. OH NO THE WRONG COLOR!!!!! I'm tearing it all down today! Steven Segal didn't actually flip the house - he squeezed a bunch of matter…

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richroyc, 15 September 2016Hello All!!! I have returned :yahoo: I am actually starting the studio build very soon!!!! So far, I have removed the (2) structural columns that were in the middle of…
richroyc, 21 September 2016Photo update of the existing ceiling "beef-up" in progress: Image not preserved: IMG_4189.JPG Image not preserved: IMG_4190.JPG Image not preserved: IMG_4191.JPG Image…
richroyc, 31 January 2018Hey it's me! after much time i am back at it again. i haven't been on here much but i have been making progress towards the studio build. mostly all these permits and…
richroyc, 3 February 2018Quick question regarding moisture getting inside sealed cavity through the slab. Im building on a basement slab and using treated lumber for bottom sill plate of the…
richroyc, 3 February 2018Update - My studio was delivered today!!!! :D Image not preserved: IMG_9425.JPG Its from IKEA, the UNGTRAADD model.....now I just need to assemble it. I don't see the…
Gregwor, 4 February 2018Exciting! What are you doing for HVAC in your live room? What did you end up doing about your cloud and the inner leaf duct work? What registers are you using? What foam…
richroyc, 4 February 2018Hey Gregwor! Thanks for the reply. For my Live Room HVAC I'm doing silencer boxes similar to control room. They are about half as large. Heres a pic of little HVAC nook…
richroyc, 5 February 2018Thanks for the reply Stuart! good to hear from you its been a while. The house is old, I think it was built around 1942 so I'm not sure whats under the slab. It seems to…
Soundman2020, 5 February 2018There's a simple but nor scientific method: Tape a piece of plastic to the floor, and see if condensation forms under it. Just cut out a fair size piece of transparent…
richroyc, 5 February 2018Stuart! Thanks for the advice as always and great to hear your following the thread! :thu: Moisture test underway! Image not preserved: IMG_9440.JPG Also here is a few…
richroyc, 5 February 2018One of the most interesting thing is the ceiling design so I thought I'd post a pic of the sketchup. It's basically the inside out method with the modules that slide up…
richroyc, 7 February 2018I have another question regarding doors, actually mainly the door framing. See pic from Rods book. He advises to build the frame straight through the leaves for the…
richroyc, 7 February 2018For the door latches I'm trying to achieve a push plate/pull handle design with no handle to turn. I've seen these on many of Wes Lachot studios as well as LP Swist…
richroyc, 9 February 2018So I've sort of got delayed on starting my walls because I haven't purchased my insulation yet (or DECIDED what to get :oops: :shock: ) I'm pretty sure I'm going with…
Soundman2020, 9 February 2018Irrelevant and meaningless for insulation! Insulation by itself is very, very lousy for acoustic isolation: it is mostly AIR, and there is free passage of air all the…
richroyc, 9 February 2018Thanks Stuart! I'm about to place the order on the insulation right now!! going with the 45 kg/m3 rock wool :yahoo: yikes! these costs really add up $$$$$$ something…
richroyc, 10 February 2018I've narrowed down the things I am still struggling with in a short list: 1: Door Frame Detail - Rods method or de-coupled method? Rod's method (I know I'm missing a lot…
Soundman2020, 10 February 2018. . . Question? How wide are your doors? An how thick? And how heavy? If you go with Rod's superdoor, you will need to greatly beef up the framing. That things is major…
richroyc, 10 February 2018I realize neither one of these situation is ideal, the problem is, I'm forced to do a single door due to space limitations. So I have to choose one of these methods :|…
richroyc, 12 February 2018quick question on HVAC ducts If i have a 1 silencer box on my outside leaf and then a 2nd on the inside leaf....do I still need one of these heavy duty sleeves? ) Image…

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richroyc, 22 February 2018Thanks Stuart! Just an update I have been making some progress with the framing but can't do too much until my insulation is delivered since I have to put it places that…
richroyc, 5 March 2018UPDATE! Here are some construction photos! :yahoo: DISCLAIMER: I KNOW some of the photos are upside down or sideways. I am unable to fix this on this computer. I have…
Soundman2020, 5 March 2018Cool! So it DID happen! :) I think that's because you built part of your wall sideways, part upside down, and part hanging bakwards from the ceiling! :) :lol: :lol:…
richroyc, 6 March 2018:D :yahoo: some more pics of the rockwool going in-between existing joists. the reason they are not filling the entire depth of the joist, is because I am actually able…
richroyc, 14 March 2018some more construction photos!! another material delivery! Image not preserved: material delivery.jpg inside out wall in the back and regular walls on the sides: Image…
richroyc, 11 April 2018hey i've been making some more progress with the framing! even got some of the ceiling joists up! - I'll post some photos soon. I have a question regarding wood typer…
richroyc, 23 April 2018Here are some more construction photo updates!! Things are moving along pretty steadily! I had one question regarding the wall construction. I'm pretty sure I'm doing it…
richroyc, 24 April 2018Hey Gregwor Thanks for the reply!! :thu: check the photos below - plenty-o-sealant The ceiling grid is 2x6. the span is almost but not quite 11'-0" with the joists 16"…
Soundman2020, 24 April 2018Are you sure that 2x6s are rated to span the distance you have between walls, with that load, and the typical deflection used for studio ceilings? Also, I'd leave more…
richroyc, 24 April 2018Hey Stuart. Thank for the reply! Yes I'm sure that's the size my architect/engineer told me to use for that span. I can probably dig up the email and post it n here I'm…
Soundman2020, 24 April 2018What is the span there? From the photos, it seems to be quite a few feet... In other words, it's not the same! :) Think about it: As you say, all those "other places"…
richroyc, 25 April 2018Stuart! Thank you for the response!! Ok so firstly I dug up the email from the architect and engineer. See photo below: He was actually the one who bolded the 2x6, not…

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Soundman2020, 25 April 2018:thu: OK, that sounds about right. It looked like a longer span in the photos. Optical illusion, I guess. Right. The layers of a leaf act both together, as a single…
richroyc, 25 April 2018Stuart! Thank you immensely for the in-depth and extremely informative reply! Totally makes sense now about the wall panels being independent and "sliding" past each…
richroyc, 26 April 2018Just a slight update regarding the ceiling modules. So I took some measurements. Here is the gap between existing and new ceiling. It's actually about 3/4" in almost all…
Soundman2020, 20 May 2018By how much? Is it the same amount as you factored in when doing the span calculations? If it is greater than the factor you got with the span calculations, then that…
richroyc, 11 July 2018Hey I'm back! I know I've been MIA for a while, just got busy with life stuff. So here's an update I currently building the silencer boxes, here a few photos: Image not…
Stadank0, 13 July 2018Hey Rich, Decided to check out your thread questions for fun. I didn't do any caulking in my silencer boxes, though I can't say its a bad idea. Too late for me now.…
richroyc, 13 July 2018Hey Stadank!!! Thanks for checking it out! :cry: Unfortunately, I don't have the room to put 2 doors. If you look at the door to enter the studio at the bottom of the…
Soundman2020, 13 July 2018So get rid of the stairs then! Overrated. Just jump. :shot: :mrgreen: Any chance you could fit two half-doors in there, that meet in the middle, for the second door? It…
richroyc, 13 July 2018Stuart! :yahoo: Hey! Do you mean something like a french door? Image not preserved:…
richroyc, 26 June 2019Wow - it's been almost a year since my last post! :shock: I have been making a lot of progress with my build - but as usual, it's taking way longer and more expensive…
richroyc, 26 June 2019Ok so it looks like I need to go back and re-do that last post :cen: All my pics got flipped again - I forgot that constantly happens one here. I've run out of time at…
Soundman2020, 30 June 2019What speakers are you planning to put on those? Something pretty huge, by the looks of it. And massively heavy, too: with seventeen 1" studs, that would be about right…
richroyc, 1 July 2019Stuart!! It's been a while! Great to hear from you! Yes the speakers are extremely large they are Urei 813's. I believe the speakers plus the mdf boxes came to around…
richroyc, 2 July 2019Hey ZSXI! Thanks for checking out the thread!! For the doors I am planning on using the roller latches + auto door closer with a pull bar handle. I have seen the roller…
Soundman2020, 4 July 2019You are so right! Man, that was something like 5 YEARS ago, and I had completely forgotten about that. Yeah, now I remember. Hmmm.... Way back then, I did mention to you…
richroyc, 8 July 2019[quote]There's two basic methods for soffit-mounting speakers, and you might be confusing them. One method is the way I do it, which completely "floats" the speaker…
Soundman2020, 8 July 2019That's fine! Some people do it that way. It also has the advantage of adding mass to the speaker cabinet itself, which is a good thing. 999 times out of a thousand…
richroyc, 17 July 2019Image not preserved: Image-Tacoma_Narrows_Bridge1.gif :shock: :shock: :shock: Attention to every single detail is why I come here. I'll set everything up one one side…

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richroyc, 10 September 2019So I've been making a ton of progress! I'll have a bunch of photos to post next! For now I had a question regarding fabric underlayment. According to Guilford of Maine -…
richroyc, 10 September 2019here's a few update photos as well - i know they are not quality pics but I haven't cleaned up the place enough to take out the good camera and have a photo shoot yet.…
Soundman2020, 11 September 2019It looks like it should work from the acoustic point of view, but I'm not so convinced about the aesthetics. The main purpose of that rear liner is to make it hard to…
richroyc, 11 September 2019Stuart! Always great to get a response from you! I'll stop at the store today and get a small roll of black fabric, and a see which one works better, I guess black makes…