BUILDING STUDIO IN PALAYE BOTSWANA AFRICA

Hi John great hearing from you after a while. I just realized that too that they are too small. I am really concerned about the design too aswell as the sound proofing. But its the design that is really stressing mi out right now. I honesty need an office, I also make some video animation and graphic work for companies in the Capital City Gaborone and wanted that office to be the place where I could work even if the studio is being used by the engineers.i really needed some space for the other stuff that i do so that even if am busy working in the office production continues in the other rooms. THe Store room I could do with out for now but would need one later when we start distribution. But John, I am very much open to all your suggestions because I am totally in the dark. But the most important thing is that is should be cost effective as the demolishing of the existing wall is going to call for more cash, but i will talk to the Builder once we have a design that we all happy with and i could execute with out any hickups. i am looking for a design that will really blow people away and still do a great job. I am open to suggestion. The other things is that the wall thickness is only 460mm around the area that I had allocated for the studio and the rest of the area is partision of 115mm but the out side wall is 230mm. I hope that you understand what I mean. THe other alternative would to keep the studio very simple, I mean the oparations and just keep it computer based and just make a voicing booth. So that when I find some land of my own, I will be able to expand a whole new studio that will be able to offer everything due to the Size. I am just worried that the demolision and reconstruction will kill me. I think there should be some land to be advertised in my village soon and i could expand the whole studio there and see that things are done right from the foundation. If we left recording bands out and just focused on keeping it as a control room and booth where we can just record, percussion, bass, vocals one at a time there instead of the whole band including the drums. i am just worried about the cost and that the mess up of having constructed without this websites input . That is what I think. If i get my own land soon and have the money to invest in a bigger studio that can do every thing that we wish to do in it. Please let mi know what you think. If this option would work better. As space is too small, maybe its an option that we could consider. Let mi know. Thanks Moemedi

Sorry Steve Please read your quote as I answered the questions there.thank you

Moemedi, so why not get at least one of the rooms right. As you have to demolish the dividing wall you could move it to give a good sized control room and a smaller booth. cheers john

...and then in theory, when dealing with a full band, you could get the drums in the smaller booth and the rest of the musicians in the control room... Then use the booth for vocals afterwards. --Keith :mrgreen:

Moemedi, I don't believe that you would gain much (if anything) by trying to fill the cavities with sand. The brick is pretty massive - and I would guess that your mason used brick ties to join the outer-most faces to the inner most faces. Generally a double wythe wall has the 2 joined to become one - please verify this with your mason. If this is the case - then even with the small air gaps that exist - I would expect those walls to act as a 2 leaf system - and not a 4 leaf. The only possible problem I see is where the 2 walls are bridged in the very middle with mortar - that's unfortunate - but my best guess would be that it doesn't break the bank when it comes to isolation. Your weakest point is goint to be at the roof in this case - so pay close attention to detail when you construct it. I can't add anything to the great direction given to you by John...... do what he suggests and you won't ever be sorry. Sincerely, Rod

Should he add a few layers of bricks on his outer walls so that his inner ceiling can rest on his inner walls? Alternatively, layers can be removed from the top of the inner walls... Or a combination of the two. It would seem he could have a more true "box in a box" situation with independent ceilings firmly attached to inner leaf walls, and in order to do that, the inner walls need to be shorter than the outer leaf walls. --Keith :mrgreen:

Cheers John and the Johnlsayers massive I have been think about the demolition and think that it would be best to demolish the wall going into the store room and see if we can extend the control room there. THis then we include a window between the booth and the control room. THere will be a door going into the control room out into the passage and them you would go into the booth from where the current door are and then partision another wall leaf that will allow you to walk into the booth and we can have a small left over area for soring things like CDs there. But i think that if we can work on a design like this, it is reall possible. I am not an expert but i think i just like the look of the design I have put here. We can still leave the Booth at 3000mm x 4000mm but if a booth must be reduced we could maybe reduce in this way too, I am sure but you can develop it further, this design. I hope that you will be able to understand the idea. I think that the control room will be bigger than the if we move the central wall. Thanks for all you help so far John. cant wait to see the studio finshed and cant wait to start.

Hi steve, i have attached a picture of the brick used and the dimension I am working on the sketch for the roof the roof must be flat. but would like to have a false ceiling. thanks Moemedi

hi Keith I have reading your posting on my thread about the ceiling and I was think the very same thing. Steve Mentioned the Concept of the Ceiling and I wanted to research it a bit but if you under stood what he was talking about you could throw in some words of wisdom. I made some calls to Johannesburg South Africa about the Insolation ROckwool and it costs an arm and leg and a head. it is too small but i am still trying to find out where I can get it chaeper than the price that they gave me. But fibre glass seems to be a lot cheaper than the rockwool. What happens when we find a right design with John, do I have to take it to an architect who will make the plan and dimensions, angelsand all the specs or will I just need to dig into this sight and rearch how things are done. THe is alot of information on this site, i have to thank every one so far, on all the info that I have gained so far and am still to gain. How can I donate if i dont have a paypal account, can i western Union some cash to John ? Thanks a billion Moemedi Ramogapi

don't worry Moemedi - when you've decided what layout you want we'll sort it out ;) cheers john

Hi John I hope that you are well. Okay, thanks I will stop worrying. I think I like the space of the layout that I gave you as it gives more space in the control room. and we will only have to demolist one wall, as the store room is the least we will use once the studio is up, SO it you could think design something along those lines, it would be real great. I will also try and sektch the roof, roof and the ceiling and will take some pictures to give you abetter picture. THe thing is that it is going to be very low as the walls measure just over 2300mm. But I will confirm it first. Thanks John Moemedi

Moemedi - it would be best to have an angled ceiling like this cheers john

Glad to see people build studios over in Africa! Hope it all works out man! J

Greets I like this Design, I wthink it will work real nice. THe problem is the roofing, the roof must slope to one side, it cannot be a heaped roof like that becoz of the existing structure , but I will bring a drawing of what roof we can do. Thanks John ANd thanks to Altered Beats, We just trying to make a differnce in a place where making a differnce is the hardest thing to do. Thanks for all your support. Moemedi

We just trying to make a difference in a place where making a difference is the hardest thing to do.

Well said mate. :D cheers john

Indeed! Maybe you will start a trend :)

I love telling folks about this forum, and dropping in a bit about, "Yeah, there's this neat project going on in Botswana..." 8) --Keith :mrgreen:

Hi every ONE THis Site is a must see for people that are interested in recording and having studios, I wish I had seen it before I started but I am very very happy about what we are getting to make. I will try and get the President or our Member of Parliment to officially open it and bring the media to come see the power of the Internet and Johnlsayers.com. and I know from there everyone in Botswana will be logging on and asking for assitance with studio design. John there is an exisiting wall building so this is the best roofing that can work, I dont know if it will be a problem if its done in this way. It is also the cheapest. But let mi know if it can work and would need a false ceiling as the roofing will be in corrigated iron sheetsLet mi know if this roof will work if done in this way. Thank you.

Moemedi, A corrugated steel/tin roof by itself will allow just about any external sounds to come into your studio, e.g. street noise, cats fighting, neighbours talking... You may be able to get the steel sprayed with an acosutic treatment to help some (if such treatment is available in your area) but I suspect you won't get the studio quiet enough until you build another insulated inner ceiling. The ceiling is just as imporant as the walls for sound isolation, that is: both keeping your sounds inside the building, but also keeping the street sounds from entering your recording. On the other hand, one of the hallmarks of my studio is a dog yelp/bark somewhere on one of the songs of each CD I've produced :) I usually can edit it out, but I try to leave one in. Everyone I have recorded likes it 'cause my 2 dogs always sit at their feet for days during tracking sessions. It's too cute when I have 6 people in the tracking room and the dogs are lying over the tops of mic stands, against a guitar case,...

mmcfarlane wrote:

On the other hand, one of the hallmarks of my studio is a dog yelp/bark somewhere on one of the songs of each CD I've produced :) I usually can edit it out, but I try to leave one in. Everyone I have recorded likes it 'cause my 2 dogs always sit at their feet for days during tracking sessions. It's too cute when I have 6 people in the tracking room and the dogs are lying over the tops of mic stands, against a guitar case,...

That's funny! :lol: And cool! 8) Yes, I agree with all of that. Moemedi, see those walls you guys built? you need a ceiling that is just has massive as that. Otherwise, there's no point at all to having walls that heavy. You may as well have built a tin shed. :roll: This is what we sometimes called the "weakest link" effect. In terms of isolation, if you build wonderful walls and a crappy ceiling, you're going to have crappy results. I also think you need to be aware of the acoustic ramifications of having an angled ceiling where, in your control room especially, your ceiling would be higher on the left than on the right (or vice versa). Your ceiling should be symmetrical. Having it rise behind you is OK, but having it rise to the side of you is not. I'm by no means an acoustics expert, but this much I do know. --Keith :mrgreen:

Yeah - what keith said - slope the ceiling so it is lowest above the speakers and highest above the couch end. cheers john

Hi every one, I have been thinking about the roof and I know that seemed like I had wanted to just put corrugated iron sheets but I have attached an example of the roof that I was thinking for THe control room. I would like to Know if this will also apply to the booth too, but that would men the slope is at an angle not like that of the control room. But the booth will have more than one ceiling too, just as many as the control room. I was thinking to increase the hight of the wall in the control room so that there will be enough space high wise. But you can have a look at the pics that I have put together. Because of having more than one wall, i could remove some bricks like Keith had said to support the ceilings, there for ceiling 1,2 in both the control room and the booth. I am not sure if we have the material, that you apply on iron shets to reduce the noise, I will try and get to the hardware as soon as possible to hear if they have it or not. Thanks hope to hear from you all soon, I am sorry I took a long time to reply. Bless Moemedi

Hi every One We broke the walls over the weekend and this is how it looks now. I think that we must continue building the wall to into the new extension of the control room, (where the couch will be) so that the wall will be able to support the ceilings there for it will reduce the measuresments that I have specified 5760mm and shall be reduced to 5530mm, therefore the studio area will be 4000mm x 5530mm once another 230mm wall has been built. I may be away for a while but will check the connection from Gaborone where I shall be, for a few days but will be able to answer all things from there I think. Thanx MOemedi Ramogapi FOr Ruff Riddims

Wow, that had to be painful! Were you crying the entire time? Too bad you don't have pictures of the demolition! Hey, it could be worse -- you could have discovered this forum after the ceilings were built! :roll: Keep up the good work! 8) --Keith :mrgreen: