design comments on this setup?

Hi Dave, Thanks for commenting and the compliments! This studio is in a basement, which luckily has 9' ceilings, except for the troublesome support beam and worst, the ductwork going under the support beam (i think i have about 7' clearance in that section). As for isolation, the main concern of isolation was between the TR and CR, not between the floors, which i still attempted to address by adding a layer of 5/8th on between joists, and another 5/8th as the finished ceiling... I was not able to isolate the TR ceiling because of budget and owner concerns... so, you make due what you have. Isolation results are still up in the air... i have yet to put doors and windows in, so i'm a few weeks away to see how much i've been able to isolate the two spaces. I've used double walls which have an airspace (including insulation) of 12" and double 5/8 drywall on the outer leafs. the windows are two 1/4" laminate sheets, I know I should have a 1/4" and a 1/2", but this is what the local supplier could get for me...so... the doors are exterior double pane glass doors... again, NOT what the recommendation is. However, i have other flanking issues (namely the ductwork that passes through each room) that may limit the effectiveness of replacing the double glazing with a single thicker glaze... which is still an option if the door proves to be the weak spot afterall.... something i'll have to address when the time comes. I'm hoping to achieve decent isolation, IE, be able to track some music in the TR with my CR monitors turned up. As long as I can do that, i'll be happy:) (roughly about 40-50db difference, but realistically i'll prob get about 30db) I attached a pix of my sketchup model, kinda crude, but it worked for me to layout the room and figure a few building concepts...

I have some pictures of the door/threshold assembly, hopefullly to stir some suggestions out of you :evil: and heres some more pix for the rest of the silent audience: here's the pvc conduit... i know it's not the long gracefull bend, but theres not enough room to use them... I plan on making a doggie door on both sides with seals, that will cut down on sound transfer through the tube... and possibly fill it with some insulation or something... i'll deal with it when the time comes...(suggestions?) heres a mosaic of the block wall, which has some of the shelf supports on it... they're pretty robust, and going to be encased in concrete, so they'll be fairly strong! which they need to be since they will also be used as steps to access the shelf area... can't wait for the builder to do his thing with the concrete... should look awesome. heres a pix of the ceiling texture i'm using... kinda copied my dads idea... though he does this WAY better :roll: guese i just need to be 20 years older, less hair and i'll have it down :lol: (and i believe there are already comments in the "how not to..." section that describes applying mud on a horizontal surface above your head) heres another mosaic of the overall rooms progress... not much being done this week since i'm helping out with a local play production :) cheers, kevin

i exceeded the 6 picture per post limit! :shock: heres the control room side pix of the conduit... (i'd be shocked if this post alone doesn't get me yelled at by SOMEONE on the forum!)

Hey Moderators! I was hoping to move this post to the Construction Forum... I am hoping to trigger some responses... I didn't realize that build diaries should be in the construction forum, not the design forum. (Though the main page of build diaries is in the design forum). thanks, kevin

well, here's a comment for you: WOW! fast and presice build... At first I thogght i saw some flaws in the window/door framing, but then looked a bit closer and noticed the double frame (sistering) and as long as that is up to code.... It would be in Europe. on the conduit_CRside.jpg, it shows a big white pipe in centre. Is that for air or cables? If it's for air you should mount something that makes sure the air doen't travel that "straight" through the pipe. And if it's for cables it sure looks too big. Say a standard 24 channel XLR cable would be about 20mm thick and this looks more like a drainpipe in size. I think you would be better off mounting the cables directly through the gyproc and make it twist and turn a bit inside the wall before exiting into the other room. best a :arrow:

thanks andreasB! seems like you've visited my thread 5500 times! (or at least your the only one to comment!) it is a pvc pipe, and it is 4"... way overkill, but I wanted to be able to get an entire snake with ends through it, as I will need it to be removeable later. there will be lids on it on either end that will be closer to size of the actual cable thickness to allow it to pass through, and I plan on filling the rest of the tube with ??? something? i'm not sure what yet... maybe try and find some of these electrical putty packs online? I am going to go back and put in one more support around the door to bridge between the king studs and adjacent studs, just not shown in pictures. i've been trying to get the drywall seems finished so we can paint and get the false rock started! I can't wait to see that! :D paint base coat should be done this week, hopefully color this weekend, then it gets tough, window and door frames :roll:

ah, well, I managed to pull a 16channel snake with 50meters of cable through my tiny 35mm hole, just 1 xlr at the time and you'll get there. I understand that you wanted to remove/change the cable. Or maybe expand the number of connections, anyways i'd do it with smaller holes and not a pipe. BUT since you're already put the pipe in, maybe you can fill it with insulation (pink fluffy stuff?) or something. The other reason I'm talking about the pipe is the possibility of flanking through the pipe since it's a pretty sturdy construction that connects the two leaves. Regarding studs, I'm not exactly sure what the ling stud is: but you might need another vertical stud connecting the top of the door frame with the top of your wall frame. (perhaps that's a king stud, who knows :P ) a :arrow:

it's difficult to picture, but the conduit is actually not physicall attached to either wall, it is resting on the ply wood that you see, and i will use acoustical adhesive to glue around the perimiter of each side where it contacts the plywood. it's probably not the most effiecient method... I could change the size of the pipe too, what would you recommend? k

dunno what shapes and sizes you got "over there" but in europe we have a type of piping usually used for water installments under kitchen sinks and such. They're usually about 45mm and is pretty much enough for pulling through two multi cables. The trick is to pull the xlr's through one-by-one until they're all through and then just decide the length of cable you need on both sides... this is of course only the case if you go for an already soldered and connected cable. I guess the handy guys (aaron f.ex) just pull multi cables straigt through, open them up and start soldering the various connections they need. so, to sum up, the tube should be about as large as an XLR plus the thickness of the cable and then some extra mm's just to make sure it runs thorugh smoothly. a :arrow:

ok... I've read a few places that you can do recessed lighting, provide you build a sealed 3ply drywall box for the cans... however, this seems to directly conflict most manufactures warning about using recessed lighting in tightly enclosed areas, as it builds heat and can be a fire hazard... so, how does that work? are there special fixtures that we should buy? i seemed to avoid this problem for now, I just didn't build the enclosers as I should have, (again not my permanent studio) , however... in my NEXT studio build :twisted: , i'll probably need to know this. so, i'm getting really close to painting and installing windows and doors... which i'm still hoping that someone can help me out w/ my threshold issue... surely i'm not the only one to have this issue, as there are other designs that incorporate two doors! :evil: any help would be GREATLY appreciated. thnx kevin

ah, I thought someone answered that door question earlier. Well, I think you should keep the original thresholds as they separate the two doors from eachother. But if your concern is the fact that the space is "uneven" (can't picture why you're so concerned about that small space, can you even place a foot in there?) you could probably cut off the original thresholds "inner" part and thereby get an even floor. Generally (as in my case) you have the two doors mounted on top of separate floors already and therefore never encounter that situation your facing. a :arrow:

so... been still at it... though its starting to come together! took a chance on a dark color, man it really looks great! yahoo!!! also had someone to come over and help w/ the electrical work... (someone who knows what they're doing... unlike me!) so heres some teaser pix... no false rock yets or doors or windows... trying to finish up w/ the shelves before the builder can start that area, then i'll be working on the doors and windows. the nice thing about the minimal/ spot lighting is that it doesn't show some of my drywall screwups.... 8) cheers! btw... i'm probably going to cut the manufacturers thresholds off the door, and make my own out of the cherry... i'll post pix when that happens... hopefully soon!

Sandlefoot... I must say you have got one of the most interesting yet beautiful designs I've seen! You have really done an EXCELLENT design in your work. This is one of my favorite threads to visit (when I'm on here!) I really like your choice of colors...kinda has that "warm" look to it. I was going to comment on the recessed lighting as I've asked about that question myself... http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewt ... ght=#51904 Looks like you're past that though... Anyway, I'll be looking forward to your upcoming progress...

thanks stan!!! man.... this window and door stuff is tricky! it'll be a bit before i have anything new to show from me... however, the false rock is being done as I type! should be wrapped up soon, and i think the homeowner has a choice of flooring, and it looks great... so that will be done within a couple weeks too... slow ...but steady progress... hey, i might get done this decade yet! K

Sandlefoot, Looking superb, and yes it is a teaser to all of us wiating to get to that point. The lighting is stellar. I can only hope my lighting design turns out half as good as yours Looking forward to soe more pics Keep up the good work Tom

I've been checking out your build. Looks very nice. I see your location is Morgantown. I'm near Clarksburg, in Quiet Dell. My project is at http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=8426. I lived in Morgantown when I went to WVU. My band used to play the Lair, Underground, & Gibbies, etc. Good luck with your project!

britune ahh yes... the long nights in back alley behind gibbies to catch a smoke... the group i played with is not playing anymore... but it was fun overall... maybe minus a few nights and drunks! i'm interested in seeing on what you decide, i don't feel that well qualified to give you suggestions, since you seem to know whats going on thus far... but i'll be watching your post Update: So work on the studio has been ever so slow recently, ive been busy with another project and doing little things (like putting in outlets)... I have got the first door and window in, and if you saw my other post, know that it was not the best way of doing it... however, i know i keep using this as my excuse, but since this is not my permanant studio, i'm going to wait to see if my method will get me by... If it does not and I find the seal to be unsatisfactory, then I'll take it out and pay to have it installed professionally, and either way I've lost nothing... This weekend I hope to finish the "outer" wall of the tracking room, which is the front of the control room wall, which i haven't done anything with yet. Work on the false rock continues, and is looking amazing, can't wait to see it finished... the floor will be a day or two after that, so perhaps in about two weeks i'll have some really cool pictures to post. cheers! kevin

hey all, long time no post! well, unfortunately not much has been happening, however, the rock wall is about done. so I put up some photos that show what i've been talking about... no floor yet, i did some electrical work to get the lights working for the rock wall to see how it looks, but thats about it... i'm leaving for brazil for a month this week, so theres not going to be alot of work done for a while... the first photo shows how the builder put in a mesh foundation for the concrete... the shelves in the wall double as steps to access the little nook area... i think for recording , i might cut a piece of 703 that fits tightly in that area and make it a trap of some form... we'll see... it's all an experiment the photo of the column was edited to show more detail of the rock... so it is normally a darker color... but you get the idea... kevin

WOW! Way cool! are you a set designer or what? a :arrow:

Kevin, Very cool. Nice touch. Thats what I was talking about. Your finish work and ideas are ery cool Definately gives it the Batcave look Tom

Okay. I give up. Your the coolest ever. You rock. So on and so forth...

lol.... i'm not sure about that, I'm hoping that once the rooms treated it will sound as good as it looks. here's some update pix as promised... working on finishing up the thresholds between the doors and start the control room window. rod (or anyone with knowledge therewithin :) : the contractor who installed the rock left me a 1/4" gap next to the laminate floor, however, due to floor irregularities, pad thickness and just some tight areas, I really needed about 3/8". So I had to cut the floor a little short to leave the recommended expansion area, but there are still areas that touch the rock. two questions. if that area is too tight, what are some problems that might occur, and i fear that you would probably recommend cutting the floor correctly next time (or undo the floor and cut it again ??) I tried to leave additional expansion area on the opposite side of the room from the rock part in order to compensate. , and is there anything i can do to fill in those gaps where they are shown. along the rock ( the walls will have a baseboard of course). for instance, fill with some of the acoustical caulking, then try and stain it. (it's white now, so it would probably stain nicely to match either the floor or rock... and either is fine as long as it doesn't stand out and make it even more obvious). worste case is I leave it, they aren't horribly noticeable even standing up, but i don't like the unfinished "look" of it... also: please visit my studio design post to give me suggestions on how to finish the control room side! thanks guys kevin

Wow Kevin, You have been working. :wink: Looking great my friend. Anything flexible along the rock will work. Test it with stain before you install. Most caulks are hard to paint/stain.But it must be flexible for expansion and contraction. T

That wall look great, Was it expensive to do? Look forward to the next update cheers Alan