Re: Me Again Basement Studio

I have pictures upon request of the area I plan to build my basement studio. If you would like to see them I know my first step will be to remove the junk, ha ha. The area is approximately 21 x 24 however it is NOT a true rectangle, it is more of an "L" shape area. I was planning on putting the vocal booth in the foot of the space which is approximately 5x4 area. 1) Is that a large enough area for a vocal booth? The ceiling height is 7 foot to the bottom of my floor joist and the floor slopes for drainage. 2) Because of ceiling height & floor slope what would be the best solution for floor & ceiling construction? 3) Also if someone could suggest ideas for ventilation that would be appreciated. Any suggestions would be very helpful and very much appreciated. Again I would be happy to send along photos of the area I am planning on using and my current setup as well. Thanks for the help!

whynot post the pics so we can see what you are talking about?? cheers john

I compressed the pictures hopefully this works and you will be able to open them

where are they? use the add attachment function on the posting page. Browse to the folder and picture on your puter and it will upload and be displayed. cheers john

Could it be that he's trying to upload a file type that is forbidden? He said he's "compressing" the pictures... :roll:

sorry about the pics. when i try to upload them i keep getting file to big notice.ill keep trying to grt them posted.you guys got a awsome site keep up the good work

This is what it keeps telling me when I try to attach the pictures. Any ideas? Object not found! The requested URL was not found on this server. The link on the referring page seems to be wrong or outdated. Please inform the author of that page about the error. If you think this is a server error, please contact the webmaster Error 404 www.johnlsayers.com Mon Oct 31 19:31:51 2005 Apache

send them to me [removed]

i cant seem to get any pics to post :( ,also tried to e-mail'em to john but still no luck.ill keep trying till i get them to work.

:D i got it to work.here are some pics of current set up and proposed area.got a few more to post later.john i tried to e-mail them to you but it was sent back :?:

here are more pics of the area im looking to do future studio in my basement

i'm trying to keep all my posts in the same thread,so here is a rough size outline as far as the workable demnsions i have to work with.dose anybody think the rooms can be made possible in the amount of space?measurements would be outsidewalls of a room in a room concept.still cant get the hang of these cad-style programs,would rather use good old pencil and ruler :lol: any imput or opinions ,please post;em thanks john

Why not the control room in the center, drum room where you have the control room and vocal booth wher it is. Will give even more iso between drum room and vocal booth.. Just a thought......

so where are the poles I can see in the pics and over what area is the low ceiling due to those large HVAC ducts?? cheers john

thanks for responding john, giles.the mentioned poles and duct work run just inside the west wall,where the doors are.i thought about your suggestion giles,it makes sense.i also pondered just two rooms with the c/r being a little smaller than the tracking room. i got drums i want to be left set-up.north end of layout is where my furnance is so track room on oppiste end would be good idea.

What are your overhead clearances? :shock: That may be a dealbreaker, codewise... :roll: Also, you'll need your floor plan to account for all your utilities. Certain things need to be accessible.

With proper isolation, the Furnace would become a non issue.

i have 7ft from floor to bottom of the joists.the only utilities that are within the floor plan are my breaker box {dont forsee problem there}and hot/cold water lines going to the laundry room.my only worry is joists being able to support ceiling.considered framing roof off outer wall.i guess load span would be deciding factor.been doing alot of reshearch throgh out forum soaking up all ideas and info i can.hoping to start build some time in spring.been caltulating material cost :shock: diy looking best way to go.want to redo basment so i thought i'd do it all in one shot.i need to add that you guys are doing great job here i'm learning alot :D thanks john

WOW you are down the way from me. Garden City :) I hate these low basement ceilings. My Basement where my studio is located is 7' from floor to joist. The worse...... I wound up using the 1st and 2nd floors to build.

yeah giles i'm in your neck of the woods. my house is a late 1950's brick ranch so i dont have the luxuary of 8ft celing in the basement.upstairs is out also got 3 kids and they have to have some where to sleep :lol: . is the low celing height gonna pose that big of a problem :?: gonna have to try and make do with what i got.is there any design that would work? looking to use for personal use ,maybe do demos for local basement/garage bands. iknow what it was like being young and not having access to somewhere to record on a teenagers budget,most of your money goes toward just trying to buy desent equipment.any and all help would be gratiously welcomed. john

The only problem will be if/when you decide to float one of the floors. If not that concrete floor will be a method of flanking sound transmission. So basically you will lose some head room along the way, depending upon how you do the float, it can be anywhere from 2 to7 " My Studio is in a 1929 Special and same issue. The 60's they woke up around here.

Not only are you running into practical limitations on that very low headroom issue, you're almost certainly going to run into legal limitations as well. :( Have you been through my "Permits, Codes, Licenses -- and WHY YOU SHOULD CARE!" thread yet? :roll: Codes typically call for minimum finished overhead clearances to be 7' 6" in habitable spaces. Space becomes "habitable" as soon as you add air conditioning or heating. At least, that's how I understand it. I hate to be such a downer, but I don't see how you can get this project airborne within the law. I hope that I'm wrong and that you can prove me so.

my basment is finished off at the present time and the drop celing is at about 6' 8''. everything was already done when i bought the house 6 years ago and here you have to have a city inspection to get a certificate of occupancy.ceiling wont be much lower than it is now.i'll have to do some probing at city hall to make sure.i hope i can make this work i'm kinda looking forward to having this studio as my retirement gig and pastime :) .

What's the date on the certificate of occupancy? Might it have been issued prior to the basement getting finished? :roll: Don't forget to look into business licensing / home occupation permits while you're at it. You'd hate to get legal permits to build your studio, then find out later that you're prohibited from running such a business out of your home and be effectively shut down if/when a neighbor complains. (It happens all the time.) If it's a hobby/pastime that you're not charging money for, then that's one thing (not a business)... But if money changes hands, then it's a business and you have to have your ducks in a row or risk the consequences... Good luck! :) I'm rooting for you... --Keith :mrgreen:

sharward, in michigan most cities require inspections for c of o's for a house to be sold. wich is the case in the city i live,they did an ispection so so i could get a c of o for my lender to show the house was up to current code.my wife works in the mortgage rackett :wink: so i learned a few things along the way.cal's codes maybe slightly different than michigan's. i appreciate your concern and you have given alot of good advice in other threads that i have taken notes on.experience is a good teacher and i dont think john would have you moderating if you couldnt handle the job 8) i will take any advice you give in consideration for my build. as far as the biz end of it goes that will be a ways in the future . i'll be doing alot of freebies to learn and hone my engineering and producing skills :lol: