Home Studio as an addition to my home

Well, I'm finally to the point where I need some professional opinions from the good folks here. I've been lurking here for about a year, learning all I can about sound isolation construction techniques. I was initially going to go the wood frame route, but recently thought about going ICF for my exterior leaf. I am in the planning stages for this project, and would like to start in the spring 2007. As far as volumes go, I'd like to be able to record drums and guitar amps without disturbing my neighbours. As you can see from the air photo, my neighbours are fairly close. Isolation would be more for them then for my existing home, although having good isolation to my home is also a concern. Construction would be - 1 to 2 feet below grade stained and sealed concrete slab (so as to get a 9 foot height for the studio. - outer leaf of 8 inch insulated concrete form (ICF) tyed to the existing house framing (North, South, East, and part of the West wall) -outer leaf finished with aluminum siding to match my home. -the roof would tye into my existing roof at 90 degrees and be sloped with the same pitch (4 12 I think) and shingled to match existing roof. -interior leaf would be 2X4 framing with 2-3 layers of drywall for walls and ceiling. -as far as HVAC, I was thinking of using a mini split for AC and Heat, and installing an air exchanger for fresh air. -a bathroom would also be installed so we can be self contained and not have to be trudging through the house. -there will be steps down into the studio from my home, hence the sound lock on the West side of the structure. This would also be a good place to store computers and the like outside the studio. -the angled wall on the Southeast corner with the door would also provide another sound lock. -The measurements are hard to see on the drawing, but exterior would be appox. 24 feet by 16 feet by about 10 feet high. -I can do the interior wood framed room and all the associated door hanging, drywall and acoustic treatments myself, contracting out the outer shell, the slab, and the roof, all the major stuff. I'm going the one room route as I would rather have that then two small rooms. The studio will be mainly for myself and buds recording original stuff and just jamming, but I will also do demos for bands and songwriters, etc.. My budget is $50,000 CAN or less. My main concerns are: 1) With this type of 2 leaf construction, can I hope to realize enough isolation for my needs? 2) Would 50K be enough to do this? 3) The toilet could be a composting type (sewer drain is at the extreme West end of my home so tying into that would be a pain). Is this type of toilet practical? 4) Would it be better to build the interior room inside out, so as to use the walls as acoustic treatment? Well after a year, I finally spit it all out. I've probably forgotten many things, so just let me know what and I'll provide the info. This site is the best on the web for studio builds and all you need to know about it. Thanx to all who participate and share their experiences, without you I'd still be scratching my head, wondering where to start. Cheers Clay

Hi there. Wait to hear from an expert such as Steve or John etc, but im going out on a limb and suggesting a standard single sided stud wall with 3 layers of drywall might give better isolation than an inside out wall due to the physical air gap created. I get the impression isolation is the key issue. If its only a one room studio, you could stand to loose a little floor space for acoustic treatment. Just a thought, and dont quote me!! oz

Interesting that you'd be the first to post a response to my thread. Interesting because I was just reading thru YOUR thread about the foundation runaround. You've learned alot though about building isolation and acoustics from the good folks here, but it's a real bummer your project got the axe. Thanx for the suggestion, I was trying to kill two birds with one stone with regards to the interior leaf and acoustic treatments all in one. I like to keep it simple if at all possible, but am starting to realize that building a soundproof studio and KISS might not go together. cheers Clay

Hi there. Thanks for the kind words re my studio. The situations sucks, but hopefully ill get something sorted sooner or later! :x If you were specifically looking at isolation and acoustic treatment in 1, then by all means go for the inside out wall design. I was just pondering whether going for the trad style wall my yeild better STC and TL responses as youve effectivly doubled the air, or spring in the MAM concept. As you mentioned the houses next to you are close, i presumed isolation was key. It would be interesting to know if anyone else here can verify that trad wall designs give better iso than inside out walls? oZ

from amazon.ca, should be home in a couple days. I figure the more I can learn, the less mistakes will be made during construction. Thanx Rod

Great book Rod, do have any opinions on my plans? Thanx Clay