Any treatment suggestions for this room?

Started by mmcfarlane on 18 August 2006. 1 reply.

Originally posted at johnlsayers.com, topic 6847.

Edits: I added a bunch more detail to this question. I hope it doesn't overwhelm people. Attached is a sketchup file of my new space and the adjoining rooms. The scale is to within 1 inch. Where I am in the process: The basic room construction is complete and drywalled. I'm waiting delivery of the exterior windows and door. How loud am I?: Mixing levels shouldn't ever be a problem with my neighbours. Some rehearsals can get quite loud, and the long interupted wall of the room is shared with my neighbour (think townhouse). However, I built a false wall with 2 skins of drywall - but it touches the existing porch roof structure which bolts into my neighbours house. If rehearsal noise is a problem I have another room I can use for loud rehearsals. Existing Construction: This is a patio conversion. This room was built as a temporary structure (I have to remove it when I move). Basic room dimensions are 17'10" * 11'4" * 8' 1". The slab is concrete, directly on the ground, thinner than most house slabs. The concrete slab is independent of my house and my neighbours (It's an old porch slab). The two walls going into my dinning and living room (see picture) look like this: 2 layers of sheetrock, 2*4 with insulation, plywood with embedded gravel (a type of siding), furring strips, another layer of sheetrock. The wall to my neighbours house is like this: 2 layers of sheetrock, 2*4 with insulation, plywood with embedded gravel (a type of siding), 2" air gap, 2*4 with insulation, 2 layers of sheetrock. The outside wall is sheetrock, 2*4 with insulation, and plywood as an outer skin. The ceiling is sheetrock, a grid of 4*8"s and 2*4's stuffed with insulation, some air space, a plywood roof painted with rubberized roofing paint (hope it doesn't leak too much!) The two large (8' * 7') holes in two of the walls are sliding glass doors. Budget: I'd like to complete the treatment of the room for around $1000. This project is at my house in Saudi Arabia. Construction materials are very expensive and hard to come by, e.g. I'll probably have a heck of a time finding OC 703, but I have a friend who is an architect that should be able to point me at some importers at least. Existing Materials: I have a bunch or Aurlaex 2' * 2' * 2" foam 'wedge panels' and 8 of their Leonard bass traps as existing treatment materials. I also have a nice 80-year old tribal rug from Afghanistan that's hanging on the wall in my current tracking room. Do It Yourself Skills: I have decent woodworking skills and access to an excellent shop full of stationary tools - but wood is outrageously expensive - think like $5 for an 8' 2*4! Goals: I'd like to create a reasonable sounding single multi-purpose room that is used for mixing, mastering, rehearsals, and tracking. I realize this is not the best solution, but it's what I have to work with. For larger ensembles I can spill over into the adjoining front room and dining rooms. Questions: 1) I'm basically lookin for suggestions for placement of traps, panels, clouds, new false walls, etc. 2) Any other suggestions for the layout of equipment in the room? I currently have the mixing console along a wall to make space for rehearsals, but could put my gear on a desk on wheels and wheel it 1/3 of the way back into the room for long mixing sessions. 3) If I remove both sliding glass doors the room will loose symmetry, but I wonder if the bass response might improve (or just get really complicated due to the adjoining rooms). The doors are pretty easy to remove, but I expect to keep them in place most of the time, so the back wall from the mix postition would be mostly glass. 4) Should I strive for 'symmetry above all else'?, e.g. by keeping the middle of the long wall opposite the sliding glass doors with a glass-like surface. 5) Any creative ideas for treatments if they are needed in front of the sliding glass doors? 6) Should I remove the sliding glass door at the back of the room (directly behind the mixing position) and let this room open up into my dining room? Or hang something difrfusive or absortive in front of it? Or just mix with the door open? 7) Any ideas for bass traps and placement in the room? Will I really need bass traps if I open up the sliding glass doors. I haven't used any modeling programs that handle the complex geometries I am dealing with if I open up or remove the sliding glass doors. My gut tells me that bass build-up will be much less with them open, but other difficult to predict frequency issues may occur.
File not preserved: studio wout speakers.skp
Here's a picture for those who don't have Sketchup.
Image not preserved: studio wout speakers.jpg