18x24 studio

I am constructing a 24x36 freestanding shop, half of which will be a recording studio. I live out of Washougal, WA in the Columbia River Gorge. I plan on partitioning off half of the building, so the studio size will be 18x24 roughly. There is one man door, and 2 3x3 windows in the studio side. The floor is 4" thick concrete. The ceiling is 10'. I am way out in the country - the nearest house is about 400 feet away, behind some fir trees (although they are the kind of people that would complain.) It is a very quiet area - no trafic, etc. Currently, there is no insalation, no drywall, no wiring. I would like to spend about $4000 on sound proofing the room. How should I best prioritize my dollars - I am afraid i will spend a lot of money on something that really won't be neccesary, or miss something that is really important. For example, how important is the floor compared to the walls? I am thinking about leaving it one big room - or maybe one control room with a larger recording section. Any suggestions would be welcome. Thanks

I would like to spend about $4000 on sound proofing the room. How should I best prioritize my dollars - I am afraid i will spend a lot of money on something that really won't be necessary, or miss something that is really important.

1. Read the reference section on this site and: [url=http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3231]DON'T EVEN think ABOUT POSTING before you READ THIS... [/url] Please edit your profile to include your location... I know it's in your 1st post but for your next posts, we need to see where you are at. 2. Of $4,000 the 1st $30 should be on Rod's New Book - (You NEED this) AND maybe a small donation to this site... this is the best Internet source for the info you seek. 3. If our forum members were to attempt to advise you right now with limited info you've given, it would take a books worth of writing to help you out. Please go through reference section, which will answer your questions for the most part and get you going in the right direction. That and Rods book should take a while, may confuse you and we then welcome your specific detailed questions. Marc

Thanks. I have added my location to my profile (it was also in the email). I will look at buying the book. I have read the post, and found it helpful, but I am still not clear on what the priority should be between the floor, the walls and the ceiling. What information am I missing? One thing I can think of is how loud the music would be - it will be very loud - Guitar Amps and Drums - typical Rock Band stuff. Thanks,

Welcome; trust me, Rod's book will MORE than repay its cost. Meantime, with that much NATURAL isolation (inverse square law applies here) forget a floated floor unless you're planning a separate control room and want max isolation between it and the drums, for micing purposes (it's much easier to mic a set of drums if you can NOT hear them coming thru your structure, but ONLY thru your speakers). Only other reason for a floated floor would be if you have heavy traffic rumbling by. I'd spend more on ceiling and walls, the "stickies" and Rod's book will be mandatory reading on this. Plan on a double layer of sheathing outside your frame for starters, including strong enough roof framing for double sheathing there too. This can be your OUTER leaf, so should be more massive than normal. Then inner SEPARATE frames for walls with a SEPARATE inner ceiling frame strong enough for 2 layers of wallboard, lotsa insulation, and you're on your way... Steve

Thanks - I really appreaciate the help! I am glad i don't have to do a floating floor. How should I finish out the floor? Would laminate flooring on a rubber pad be a bad idea? Thanks again, Chris

As long as you don't falsely think that you're "floating a floor" in a studio context, that would be fine... But use an underlayment that is appropriate for use with laminate flooring. Or, you could do an etched stain on the concrete slab, which is cheaper, more durable, and I think cooler looking (resembles marble). 8) --Keith :mrgreen: