Ideas on how to improve my initial home studio layout/design

I've been reading through this site and feel lucky to have found it. Lot's of great info and smart members. thanks. I just moved into a different house and need to convert an existing office into a listening room for mixing. I've included two scale layouts. The first is how I have the room configured today with a simple desk in the corner and near field monitors. The room has NO acoustic treatment yet. Idea 1 is to keep the 10'x10' room intact and tune the room with bass traps and diffusers, etc. Idea 2 is to add interior walls to provide angles and more isolation. the house is pretty quiet so I'm not overly concerned with noise I just want to make the room sound sweet. I would very much appreciate feedback on directions to pursue this project on a tight budget. Thanks, Carl

Carl - your biggest problem is the parallel glass in the door and window. If you were the angle the walls you should angle one of those components, with the window being the easiest one. so maybe something like this? cheers john

John - thanks for the direction and the drawing. Question - I would like to make the studio re-design as low impact as possible on the house/room. Would it be acceptable to cover the glass doors with a heavy curtain and stick with the original layout? If so would the drawbacks be severe? the room is pretty small now and I am hoping to keep as much of the original floor space intact. Thanks again for the input. Carl

well you did say "Idea 2 is to add interior walls to provide angles and more isolation.' So that's what I offered. If you are going to treat the room with curtains you are at the wrong site. cheers john

John - you got me. I am willing to add walls but I need to presever as much space as possible so I can have a few people in there to record. (sorry I didn't mention that -:) 1. In particular I need an area to do close micing for vocals. If the room is well insulated could i just put a mic in a corner and sing away? 2. If I were to build the thick corner walls is it cool to use the inner space for storage? 3. If I follow your superior design how would I get to the closet? thanks for your patience... Carl

well you have to break up the parallel walls - if you want to keep the cupboard reverse the idea like this. cheers john

John - Thanks. I actually like the wall in fron of the closet since I would like to use that space to keep the PC to keep the room isolated from the fan noise. the question is is it acceptable to build a door into that wall so I can still get to the equipment/closet. also, per my questions below - are rooms like this usually pretty decent for close-up vocals and is it cool to use the corner walls for storage?

1. In particular I need an area to do close micing for vocals. If the room is well insulated could i just put a mic in a corner and sing away?

2. If I were to build the thick corner walls is it cool to use the inner space for storage?

I had the talk with my wife and its not going to happen to create cover up the window with an interior window wall. (In addition the heating vent comes up in the floor right where that wall would be) So I've experimented with creating a wall unit on hinges which swings closed to cover up the window. (I've drawn them staggered in the pic to show that they are hinged) I know its not ideal but I have some real world contraints that I must deal with. Please let me know if this is a non-started or a worthwhile compromise. (I am very much the part time audio guy so if it is close to meeting a 'good enough' spec I'm good. thanks and let me know how I can help other forum users. Carl

Wouldn't you want your lower right corner (the walls between your entrance doors and your closet doors) to be more like John's "Wed Jun 29, 2005 2:43 pm"post (above)? Otherwise, you're locked out of your closet again. :roll:

John's last pic is growing on me as I weigh the pro's/cons. I think the interior window wall is unavoidable since I have to break up the parallel walls. If I leave access to the closet I would like to soundproof it so I can use it to store my noise PC and drives. Solid core doors, weather stripping, etc? I will check out the Studio construction forum for ideas. If I were to make an interior window wall could this window open so I could get to the existing window (this may be required for fire codes since every 'bedroom' requires a fire escape) thanks for the feedback. let me know if I can help you with anything. I am a Cubase SX, Mackie Mixer, guitar, drummer, keyboard guy. Carl

hey carl whats on the other side of the wall next to the closet? ( right hand side facing closet ) just out of curiosity Doni ( residential construction framer )

Doni thanks for the curiosity 8) On the other side of the closet is the garage with a knock-out for the water heater/furnace. (see pic) I was going to put some kind of vent hole in the back of the closet for ventilation for the equipment. Do you have any pics of your current studio? Carl

carl_johnsn wrote:

I was going to put some kind of vent hole in the back of the closet for ventilation for the equipment. . .

Not unless you want to make things seriously dangerous by allowing carbon monoxide into the living space, not to mention compromising the integrity of the firewall that separates the garage from the living space! :shock: Ever seen a car fire? There's a reason (actually lots of them) there are a lot of building codes that govern attached garages. If you want to ventillate your closet, consider an exhaust fan like those in bathrooms and laundry rooms... You can vent out to the side (the same wall as the window) if you want, or up and through the attic and through the roof (don't just exhaust into the attic -- I don't think that will fly either).

I dont have a current studio. Have been designing one from scratch with help from John and everyone else who had suggestions. And hope that one day I'll be able to build it. Ok from the diagram you just posted the waterheater and furnace closet is inset from the garage. I'm just wondering if you could pull those items out a lil bit to make them closer to being flush with the wall of the garage, and then kicking out the back of the closet and maybe make it a lil bigger which will help keep your equip cooler but adding more ventilation space.

DreaminDrumBeats wrote:

. . . I'm just wondering if you could pull those items out a lil bit . . .

Wood piles can be pulled out a lil bit. Shelving units can be pulled out a lil bit. Refrigerators can be pulled out a lil bit. Christmas decorations can be pulled out a lil bit. Water heaters cannot be pulled out a lil bit. Furnaces cannot be pulled out a lil bit. A combination of water heater and furnace can most definitely not be pulled out a lil bit!

Shay it can be done. All is needed is a lil hard work in order to do so. I know a water heater just sits on the floor and isn't bolted down. Now the furnace on the other hand I dont know about whether its bolted down or not but I believe it could be moved with some hard work.

Yeah, I was being too clever to acknowledge that anything is possible, but that would be a major ordeal and, I would think, not worth the effort to gain just a few inches of closet space. :? Remember, we're not just talking about moving two appliances. We're talking about the platforms they sit on and all the hookups (assuming they're gas powered: gas lines, water lines, exhaust stacks, and control wiring). Plus, if there's any plumbing inside the wall that separates the garage from the closet, the job becomes even more daunting. I'm not pickin' on you, DDB... I'm just trying to present the ramifications of such a thing in a "effort:benefit" context. :)

The furnace is the most daughting of the work needed to be done. But the waterheater wouldn't take that much at all. But yes I see your point shay, but also this is my own opinion if it was me I would move them in order to gain those few inches but then again I dont know exactly if its just a few inhes it could be something like a foot. And out of all honesty I would do it to gain the space in the closet for cooling purposes of my equipment.

Points taken... Although I think cooling could be accomplished with ventillation, rather than just added square footage (or inchage?).

DreaminDrumBeats wrote:

. . . I know a water heater just sits on the floor. . .

I missed this originally. This is not true in my state (California). Gas water heaters must be elevated so that the pilot light and controls are at least 18" off the ground, and the platform supporting the water heater must be secured to the structure or the slab. Anyway, this is probably a moot point. :)

thanks for the feedback re: the vent to the garage. would be tough to explain to the fire insurance guy why my entire house went up in smoke :D Another concern is soundproofing the closet. any threads on that would be useful. I will add solid core doors, and gaskets, etc to silence the computer. sharward - My main issue is is is legal/code compliant to build an interior window wall that covers up the existing window? this seems like a non-starter since it cuts off the fire exit to a room that is considered a 'bedroom'. I'm sure there are millions of highly illegal studios that sound great but my wife is not going to let our house contain one of them :roll: thanks guys. let me know if you have topics I can chime in on

carl_johnsn wrote:

My main issue is is is legal/code compliant to build an interior window wall that covers up the existing window? this seems like a non-starter since it cuts off the fire exit to a room that is considered a 'bedroom'.

Great point. Different municipalities adopt different "model codes." My city uses the "California" codes, which are derived from the "Universal" codes. You would need to find out what your city uses and then determine what the requirements are.

I'm sure there are millions of highly illegal studios that sound great but my wife is not going to let our house contain one of them :roll:

She's a smart gal. ;-) I would think that if you removed the window, you'd have to classify the room as "not a bedroom" from that point forward. Although I talk a lot about things meeting code or not, I'm by no means a "code expert." Issues of ventillation and "glazing" (i.e., windows) are, I have learned, taken quite seriously by the authorities. Unfortunately, I have not had much luck looking up code on the 'Net -- only bits and pieces, since the books themselves are copyrighted. :?

Sharwood - thanks for the advice. Will call my my county building inspector. they have a suprisingly quick turn around for a gov agency and I've found that getting them to say 'yes' is not that tough. My plan B is to commit the mortal sin of trying to tune the existing boxy room with traps and diffusers although I imgaine this esteemed group of purists would tell me I'm crazy and shortsighted (short-ear'ed) cj

Let us know how that goes. Good luck! Hopefully they'll see your coming to them with questions in a sincere effort to do things right as something that should be encouraged.