office studio, one room, droptile ceiling, need help!

calling all talented people. I am building a non-commerical studio in an office at my church. We have a small budget and a difficult room. I thought some of you might like the challenge of assisting with a design. :) I have read alot in the forums and at the SAE site and have learned alot, I am just wondering how to incorporate what I have learned and where to best spend our money. Where to start... The room is 22'9" long x 13'8" wide x 8'11" high. It is almost complete parallel walls (drawing below). The materials are thin carpet over concrete for the flooring. All walls are dywall with metal studs behind (fairly thin). The biggest challenge I think will be the ceiling which is all suspended droptile. The air intake and 2 exhausts are in the ceiling also. It is a typical office. There are also 3 windows, 2 of which are on one of the long walls and 1 window on what will be the recording room wall. I am completely open to suggestions and would love any and all input from everyone. Our basic plan thus far is to divide the room in half, one side being the control room, the other side being the recording room. figuring out what to do with the droptile and how to fix a wall to it, I forsee as the biggest challenge. I don't think our budget allows for taking it out and just making a new droptile ceiling. We do have easy access above the ceiling. I don't want to blabber too much, so I will post pictures and some sketches and see what you all have to say. Thanks sooo much! Sorry for my bad drawings Andrew Burns Johnson City, TN USA

Andrew - how much do you have to soundproof this studio?? I must say my first reaction is to pull that drop ceiling out and build up to the real ceiling boxing around the ducts which will feed both rooms with another return duct added. cheers john

well soundproofing is not a huge concern, although it is an office that is open from 9-5. We figured to completely isolate the room would be out of our budget, so we thought the money could be spent better elsewhere. But I will at least get a quote on what it would cost to put up a drywall ceiling. But then there comes the extra expense of actually treating it to be more soundproof, it might be a slippery slope. I was thinking of at least adding another layer of drywall with an air gap in between? It should be noted that there is about 8 inches of insulation on top of the droptile. There is also the problem of fixing anything to the ceiling if we keep the droptile. Andrew

well to get any isolation between the two rooms you want you'll have to break through that ceiling to get a proper seal. I'm assuming your drop ceiling is made from tiles sittiing in an aluminium frame suspended from the true ceiling with wire droppers. cheers john

It is actually a steel frame building and the drop tile is suspended from the steel above, there is no ceiling above the droptile. After talking to the boss here, I think they wouldn't mind making it more soundproof, but their main concern is getting a good sounding control room and recording room and not worrying too much about isolation. I will go up to the cat walk and take some pictures of what is above the droptile. Just to make sure I am right about it being attached to the steel. FYI, I have been told that the purpose of the studio is just to record demos of songs that might end up on future albums and that it doesn't have to be perfect, of course I will be the one mixing in here and I would like it as good as can be within reason and our budget. So far I can't get them nailed down on a budget, I think they want to see what it is going to take to get it looking nice and sounding good and they might raise the budget. Andrew

john or anyone else. I am desperate need of an actual functional layout. If anyone has suggestions of just where to put what and what to put, I would be eternally grateful. I know I want the lower half of the room to be the control room since the only door is there. I definitely want to break up the parallel walls with some angled surfaces. The room defintely is full of mid bass, I need some ideas about absorbers and where to put them and also what kinf of wood to use for walls that is cheapest. THANKS again! Andrew

you could try something like this. cheers john

John, I really am digging it. This layout is something that I hadn't thought of before. Can you explain a bit about it, as far as as what is what? More specifically, what to fill the speaker boxes with and how to construct and what angles to go where. Do you recommend sliding doors or windows? I obviously have to have a door, so I guess with sliding doors, you can knock out two birds with one stone? I think I have convinced them to take out the drop tile which will also give me a higher ceiling, if not then I guess we can always do it later. what would also be a good air gap between the walls separating the control room and studio. The only thing that would have to be changed is the door opens in, I am guessing that is an easy fix. Thanks! Andrew

Andrew - check out this thread: http://johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5457 Download the sketchup .skp file and download the free version of sketchup - it's available for Windows and NOW Mac. http://sketchup.google.com/download.html That studio has now been built so you can see the stages at the studios under construction site as Scott's Studio. http://johnlsayers.com/Studio/index.htm cheers john

jon that sketchup file is awesome. I had a question. What type of hardwood do you use mainly on walls, pine, oak, maple? I am looking for something cheap. Also here in the states what is the insulation I need to be pricing for the walls and bass traps. Thanks Andrew

hey jon, I have some questions about wall construction and materials. I am having a hard time finding some good insulation. I can't get rockwool where i live in east Tennessee, any other suggestions for inbetween walls and bass traps. Should I stuff the speaker enclosures with the same insulation. If anyone has any suggestions with the drawings belows, let me know. This is a first time project for me. Andrew

Anyone...i am starting on a modified version of Jon's small studio that he attached above. I live in TN and can't seem to get rockwool. I need to know what type of insulation to get for walls, speaker enclosures and bass traps. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Andrew