Small Drum Studio (11' X 7') in Basement

This is a terrific site! My drawing skills are limited and not on par with the other pro designs...This is my first post and I would appreciate any feedback on my plans. Primary purpose of room: Be able to play drums at any hour without disturbing my children or neighbors who live 20' away from the basement. I want to keep part of the basement for a workshop. Secondary purpose: Recording. I tried to stay close to the 1:1.5:1.2 ratio, although with a room this small, I hear the ratios are less important. Proposed room size: Ceiling: 7.5' 11'L X 7'W Budget: $1,500 - $2,000 Location: Atlanta, GA Basement construction is cinderblock with a concrete slab floor. To keep the sound in, I plan to use the room within a room design. Framing will be 2 X 6 with staggered 2 X 4s. Plan to use 3 5/8 sheets of drywall on each side of the walls with R19 isolation in the middle. Studio doors will be wood with MDF overlay treatment described on this site to give them about a 40 STC rating. For mechanical isolation, I will not attach any of the 2 X 6s to the cinderblock. I plan to keep the walls about 2" away. Also there is an exterior window in cinderblock wall now. To improve the sound retention, I don't plan to build a window in the drum room. Basically, just close off the outside window by building the wall across it. The ceiling will also have 3 5/8 sheets of drywall. I plan to use the existing concrete floor with acoustic caulk at all plates/joints. Will add padding and rug to floor. Here is a very rough sketch of the room within the 25' X 12' basement. My drum playing measured 104 - 110dB. Question: Does this look like the best orientation for the drum room, given the dimensions of the basement? Are there any other techniques I should absolutely follow to make the room as quiet as possible to contain the drum sound? Will the techniques above reduce the sound outside the room to ~ 60dB? Thanks for your input. Ron Notes on Attachments IMG_2799 View of basement from exterior door. Studio will be in far right corner. Stairs from upstairs level are on far left. IMG_2798: Exterior window will be blocked off by new interior wall ~2” from cinder block. Are there any issues with doing that? Also, A/C will be piped in from existing ductwork. Drum_room_12_06: Rough sketch of studio. Are their any recommended changes to orientation within the basement given the desire to have a small shop in the remaining area?

Aloha and welcome to the forum, Ron :D Here's a thread that might prove interesting and helpful to your needs. http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2921 Hope this helps, Aloha 8)

Thanks, Kendale. I have reviewed that post as well as the reference pages and have a question about whether floating a floor is needed. I want to be able to play at anytime without bothering neighbors 30' away. My basement is half underground with concrete block and brick on the outside. The floor is concrete slab. The drum room will be in the N/E corner. Against the two cinderblock N/E walls, I plan to add a 7" wall using 703 insulation with airspace. RC with 3 sheets of 5/8 sheetrock. On the S/W walls, where I need to build a partition to separate this room from the rest of the basement, there will be 2 X10" walls with 2 X 4's on each side, 703 insulation, 2 1/2" of airspace between the 2 X 4's, RC on the inside wall (only) with 3 layers of 5/8 sheetrock on the inside and outside. The ceiling will have R30 insulation with 5/8 sheetrock, RC and two layers of sheetrock in the RC (1/2" and 5/8"). Double solid core wood doors will be used with additional sheetrock reinforcement. If the floor is sealed with acoustical caulk at the sole plates, do I have to float a floor to get the sound reduced to where it won't bother neighbors? My playing was measured at 110 dB. :shock: Thanks, Ron

RLL05 wrote:

. . . a question about whether floating a floor is needed. I want to be able to play at anytime without bothering neighbors 30' away.

With a 7' 6" ceiling, you don't have the headroom to float the room, so it's a moot point.

RLL05 wrote:

there will be 2 X10" walls with 2 X 4's on each side, 703 insulation, 2 1/2" of airspace between the 2 X 4's, RC on the inside wall (only) with 3 layers of 5/8 sheetrock on the inside and outside.

If you're planning to do separate frames, there's no need for RC and it is actually not recommended to use RC in that situation.

RLL05 wrote:

If the floor is sealed with acoustical caulk at the sole plates, do I have to float a floor to get the sound reduced to where it won't bother neighbors?

Moot. But even if it weren't, you'd have to build one heck of a bunker for it to keep up with your floor. Have you bought Rod's book yet? If not, you should! 8) --Keith :mrgreen:

Keith, Thanks. Quote: "If you're planning to do separate frames, there's no need for RC and it is actually not recommended to use RC in that situation." Does a single 2" X 10" sole plate and header with 2 X 4's on each side qualify as separate walls? I'll still have 2 1/2" of air space in the middle. If yes, not having to use RC on the inside walls will be a small savings. Just bought Rod's book...it will arrive on Friday. :D

the 2x10 will still couple the 2x4 walls. just use 2x4 as your plate and leave the air gap, and decouple the walls from the floors and ceilings.

Thanks, Glenn. I bought Rod's book and it slowed me down...for the best. As the book suggests, I added mass to the sub-floor above. 2 sheets of 5/8 sheetrock between each joist, temporarily held in place with dry walls screws as pins, caulked around the edges, then held in place with a 1 X 3. It took much longer then planned but I think it will help keep noise out of the bed room directly above. Insulated with R30. Ordered R2 today and will suspend 2 sheets of 5/8 from the R2. The joists are on a 12' run - using the span calculator, the dead load is under max capacity. Here are some pictures. Good advice on the 2x10. I will build separate 2x4 walls with air in between. Question on order of operations: After I sheetrock the ceiling over the R2, I was planning to build the walls and have the top plate touch the sheetrock and nail into the ceiling joists. Thinking through that, it sounds like that would be bad for isolation. How would I decouple the walls from the ceiling while keeping the heavy walls upright? Also, on the North and East walls, there is cinder block. To avoid a tripple leaf, should I just use furing strips against the cinder block, add insulation, air space and then build the interior 2 X 4 wall with 2 sheets 5/8 on the inside?

Slight Change in Plans To take advantage of decoupling for maximum isolation, instead of the plans I began with, I am considering building the vocal booth per the link below. Another advantage is less stress on the joists above, since the vocal booth has a separate ceiling. I plan modify the booth plans by using separate 2 x 4 walls with an air gap in the middle to increase the isolation. How far away from the cinder block walls (North & East) would the outer walls of the vocal booth need to be to avoid a triple leaf? Vocal Booth Link http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=51632[/url]

the cinder block - interior wall construct sounds right except put the insulation into the 2x4 wall and leave the cinder block clean. on the vox booth - just make sure you adhere to mass - air - mass. don't add internal walls. as far as decoupling - check Rod's book - he has a lot of ideas on properly supporting the walls and getting the decoupling right.

Here are some progress updates. Consulted Rod's book and built separate 2 X 4 walls, separate decoupled ceiling (recessed into basement joists without touching), added mid span bracing to ceiling.

Insulation - inside and outside walls (no pics). 2 layers of 5/8 on ceiling and walls (inside and out). Backer rod in all corners and between wall and ceiling sheetrock with caulking on top.

Finally finished the studio. 1 year start to finish. Decibel level inside room: 112 1 foot outside the door: 63Db. A reduction of 49 decibels! 5 feet from door <60 decibels I am very pleased with the results. Thanks to Rod, Glenn, Sheward and everyone on this site who provided advice. The techniques in Rod's book really work. Building the Super Door was key. The drop seal, 2 layers of Type K gaskets, and magnetic weather striping provided a tight seal. I also routed a 1/2" steel bar into the door to improve contact with the magnetic weather-stripping. The thumb latch holds the door tight against the seals and magnetic weather striping. Fresh Air is a must - great advice. The Fantech unit does a very good job. The best part is now I can play after 10PM and not wake up my sleeping children. This is a small studio (10' X 6.5') so it is difficult to photograph. Thanks again for an informative and very helpful website. Ron

More pictures from inside the studio.

congrats! looks like some nice work! we'll be expecting professional grade records selling platinum very soon! :wink:

Great Work Ron ! nice and clean. i loved those pictures for the door , can you please post some more detailed pictures for the full door frame, magnetic weather-stripping and threshold :oops: Have fun making Noise :wink: Wael

Wael, Glad you liked it. Here are some pictures of the door seals: Two rounds of GM trunk rubber, the third is the magnetic weather-stripping. I followed the diagram in Rod's book. I modified the super door design by routing in a 1/2" piece of steel into the 3/4" plywood which sits on top of the sheet lead over the solid core door. Adding the steel gives the magnet something to grab on to. I suppose you could use tacks with large heads but I thought the steel would make a better bond with the magnet.

RLL05 Very nice ! that was helpfull thanks allot :) how is your ventilation ?,did it effect your isolation? i sow your ducts in those pictures going through your ceiling , from where its entering your room , is it those two round covers on the back wall ?

Wael, Yes, the white 4" circle vents on the back wall (behind the drums) are for ventilation. Note: nothing goes through the ceiling of the shell. I used 4" metallic venting to go straight through the double walls.. Any gaps between the sheetrock is filled in with caulking and backer rod - both the inside and outside wall. The sound doesn't travel beyond 12 feet of the flexible venting pipe. With the caulking and backer rod there is no noticeable loss in isolation - keep it tight so there are no leaks. The Fantech heat exchange unit brings in fresh air from the outside. Works great. Ron

Wow RLL05, looks amazing. Great job. What was the total budget if you don't mind saying?

The total budget was $5,500 for materials. :shock: Well worth it!