please help with my planned studio design

I'm planning to build a recording studio of my own. I'm thinking of several options here. 1) build it above my existing house, 2) fit it somewhere inside my existing house, 3) rent a commercial space. I'm dealing with my first option here. I've attached an initial idea of the design I had. Unfortunately, the software I'm using can only make slanted walls at fixed degrees. I'm planning to tranfer it to another software though. :) Must haves: Studio A - for recording a band (can fit vocals, 3guitars, 1bass, drums, keyboards for example) Studio B - for rehearsals (will be rented out to customers as well) Control Room - mainly for Studio A, but would like access to Studio B also for control of mics and PA system Machine Room - preferrably attached to an exterior wall. I plan to put 2 exhaust fans (intake and exhaust) on the wall for air circulation. Storage Area - for safe keeping of mics and other equipment Restroom - no need for bath. Just toilet to keep it small. Isolation booth - optional. Not necessary at least for now. I'm sure I'll be needing it though. wasn't able to include a restroom in my diagram. Was planning to put it on the railing area, below the studio B. Any suggestions / recommendations on a better design will be very much appreciated. thanks. mon

mon, sound isolation is VERY heavy. we're talking TONS here ... structurally speaking it might be easier and safer to put new living space on a new second floor and keep the studio downstairs. dan

Out of curiosity, what program are you using?

Mon - that DXF file is not too good - I finally found a program to open it but there are no measurements. what version of AutoCAD was it created in?? cheers john

Dan, I understand but at the moment, I'm considering a second floor studio because I can't afford to have the whole house re-designed. Also, the foundation of the house can handle an additional 2nd floor (for bedrooms, living area) however, as you mentioned, I did not consider the weight for the sound isolation. I'll check on that. Thanks. Doni, I used 3d home architect 4 for the design. John, I just exported the file to dxf from 3d home architect. I'll attach it as jpg instead. :) just a moment. mon

Here's the jpg version. I used the Alt-PrintScreen function. hehe.. mon

dimensions are in metric, by the way. also, about the 3d home architect, i find it very easy to use plus you can view in 3d. A lot cheaper that smartdraw or visio. problem is the angled walls, and i can't add additional furnishings (drums, amps, etc.) in 3d. only images. well, i'm not sure with the newer versions. mine's old. :) mon

Only reason I asked is cause I use 3d home architecture 3. go check out my thread youll see 3D renderings of the design layout John helped me with. I actually used the angled limitations of the program to my benifit. But I couldn't have gotten as far as I did without the help of john and everyone else here I opened it up with Delta Cad 5.0 and all the Dimensions came up just fine.

Mon - are those center walls - i.e. the control room walls set or is the design free to be changed?? cheers john

I'll check out as you suggested, Doni. Thanks. :) John, everything in the plan hasn't been built yet. Feel free to change anything you like. I'm very much open for suggestions. One thing I can't change though is the position of the stairs. It's the only space where I could place one. Also, the railing area I think is a waste of space. I only thought of placing that there because the entry door is in the middle portion. mon

Stairs? What stairs?

The stairs are at bottom left on the drawing. Here's my version Mon. cheers john

Wow! Thanks for your design, John! Can you tell me what you eat everyday? I figured if I eat the same, I might come up with great ideas like you do! hehehe... kidding aside, do you mind if I ask for the file of the version you just did? You did that in smartdraw, right? I still have space in the lower right portion to put a restroom. :) I'll try to improve based on your suggested design. Thanks again! mon

sure mon - here you go :) cheers john

thanks john! thank you for sharing your ideas with us. keep up the great work! I hope i get the chance to visit australia. If i do, i'll let you know. :) mon

cool mon - just make sure you realise your signature :) cheers john

Hi again. I've been working on john's suggested design for the past few days. Everything in the design is great. It's just that I would like to move the entrance to the control room either from the rear or side of the room. I tried using john's idea and flip the rooms around. I can't seem to make it work. So I came up with a new design. My issue regarding the entrance to the control room was solved but I think my new design caused more disadvantages. 1) have to pass by the first studio in order to enter the 2nd studio and vox booth (not good if i'm going to rent out the studios). 2) no direct access to the 2nd studio from the control room. 3) i'm sure there's more. :) I've attached the original design of john's and also my new idea for reference. Suggestion for a better design is greatly appreciated. Thank you again. :) mon

I'm sorry, i forgot to label the rooms in my drawings. :) Control Room - obvious. :) Studio A (tracking/recording) - larger room with the drum kit Studio B (rehearsal) - smaller room with the drum kit Vox Booth - small room attached to Studio A Tech Room - small room attached to Control Room I attached the original design of mr john sayers first then my design. However, when i viewed the message, my design was showed first followed by the original design. mon

Here is what I came up with.

Thanks, doni. :) thanks for the idea. :) i'll sketch it up in my software to see the "space". especially on the smaller studio. just wondering if the room would be enought to fit around 6 member band (+other watchers-by) hehe.. anyway, up to this point, i'm considering two designs to work at. first was the original idea that mr john sayers came up with and the second is this idea that you've just suggested. i'm kindda disappointed that the ideas that i've been coming up with are of no use to me. hehe.. i'm still open for suggestions though. :) thanks again doni! :) mon

your welcome mon I just took the one you did and just added a couple a few things is all.