Help needed with covering conduit trays in slab

I am nearly finished my first studio. It's got a 3.5x 4.8m control room and a 3 x 3.2 m booth attached. It's all in core-filled concrete. The soundproofing is great, but... it sounds like a cathedral at present (Haven't started the process of bass trapping and absorption.) I was going to put in wood laminate or cork to conserve a quite low ceiling height of only 1.95 metres. However, I got some form work done on the slab...suggested in "The Manual", so that I will always be able to change my studio cabling. There are three 195mmx 3000mmm conduit trays in the slab at present, with planks of wood which fit neatly into them. However, the very nature of having the wooden trays in the slab means I will always have slight variations in my floor level. Trying to laminate around them will be tricky I fear. However, covering the cable trays up sort of defeats the purpose of having them done in the first place, so I am keen to come up with a workable solution. A simple option might be to simply paint the slab and coat it a non-slip polyurethane and then polish the tray planks. Then I'd lay a bamboo mat or rug down for comfort at the back of the room. What do you think of this idea? Won't help my cathedral sound though...though...though. I am loathe to put too many rugs in, in case it eats up too many high frequencies and leaves me with a bassy, boxy sounding room. I've thought of cork too, but again, I will have trouble creating a nice even floor, with my transitions to the floor trays. Any ideas, suggestions, tips would be hugely apprecaited. Lobe :)

1.95 meters (6 feet, 4 inches) of vertical clearance? :shock: Wow... :roll: Is that even legal in your part of the world, mate? Consider an etched stain concrete. It looks a bit like marble 8), it may be cheaper than laminate (definitely cheaper in USA), and it's extremely durable. Area rugs are good because you can roll them up or move them around to change their acoustic affects. --Keith :mrgreen:

Mmm...etched stained concrete eh? Sounds good. Anyone idea how I do it? I've also been thinking of just having a carpet cut exactly to size and having it laid, but not secured, so I could lift it whenever I needed to change my wiring. I'm thinking that most people will be listening to my music in a carpeted cinema or lounge room anyway (I do mainly film soundtracks and tv stuff), so perhaps having carpeted floors is not such a mad idea. Is there any sense in this way of thinking? I am aware that while carpet will tame some of my reverb problems, it will probably make the room sound overly bassy. But to my ears, the ctotally concrete room sounds overtly bright in its untreated state. I've had two large glassbrick windows installed in the rear wall to try and get rid of some of the room's bass, while allowing in lots of natural light. As for legal height...1.95m is the lowest point in the ceiling. The majority is 2.03m but yes...I would have had to dig a trench through the neighbour's yard to get the right drainage gradient for legal height, so the decision was to classify the space as "under house storage" and be done with it. Thanks for your reply by the way... :) This forum has been fabulous and I will definitely be donating to the cause when I finally finish this project. It is an invaluable resource.

lobe wrote:

Mmm...etched stained concrete eh? Sounds good. Anyone idea how I do it?

I realize you're in Australia, but a quick Google search led me to a site that linked to this one for an acid etch stain distributor. I also came across this concrete stain product page. I'm sure you can research it more online.

lobe wrote:

1.95m is the lowest point in the ceiling. The majority is 2.03m but yes...I would have had to dig a trench through the neighbour's yard to get the right drainage gradient for legal height, so the decision was to classify the space as "under house storage" and be done with it.

Hmmm... It seems you won't able to legally use the space for a studio then... :roll: That's a bummer.

lobe wrote:

Thanks for your reply by the way... :) This forum has been fabulous and I will definitely be donating to the cause when I finally finish this project. It is an invaluable resource.

Always glad to help, mate. 8) --Keith :mrgreen:

Yes...It'll just be this "office space" I use under the house...definitely not a commercial "studio", but I'm sure it's going to be a huge improvement on what I do now, which is record violins and voiceovers in my bathroom. "Don't mind the toilet," I tell clients :)