Attic layout - are these dimensions acceptable?

Greetings from Chicago - Go Bears! Slight repost here but with much more detail... While having a structural analysis completed on my attic project I'm throwing around partitioning ideas. Just finished Rod G.'s book and have met with my contractor. It's a long 40' space with a ~17' wide floor under eaves that angle up to a 7'3" false ceiling. My intention is to open the space to the peak of the roof as much as possible and possibly out to the edge of the floor area. One of my major concerns is shrinking ceiling level once the floor joists are increased by 2" and the drywall closes in from the top. There currently are lath and plaster walls - probabaly 1". We need at least half the floor to be piano-worthy and, of course, be able to support the control room/iso booth walls. Hopefully lifting the false ceiling, even if it means soffiting some suport ties, will keep the space open enough to have some useful color... There are a couple of large dormer windows in the live area I want to preserve for light/character and treat with double walls & windows. In addition to a useful control/mix space I'd like to have a iso booth large enough for a jazz drumset for dual use as vocal booth. (Note: The chimney depicted in the .skp will be removed and relocated to a sidewalk in the back yard.) We'll be mainly doing classical or jazz projects and, fortunately I live on a relatively quiet cul-de-sac. Most noise is birds, jets, dog barking, occasional delivery truck. I assume, from my research to this point (with structural approval) I'll have my guy do the two layers of 5/8ths DW/Green Glue sandwich on RC2 hanging from the rafters. And decouple the walls of the various areas. Budget is $25-30K. By the way - is there an advantage to RC clips with hat channel vs. RC2? Is one less deep? Isolation from the second floor below is not too critical as it's just my wife and I and, very luckily, she's a musician, too. Hopefully we''ll save a little weight there. One of the reasons we chose this house was for the attic space studio possibilty. Now, of course, I'm getting nervous about the details. I realize we will have to compromise but I'd like to make the best use of the space possible. I've scanned the control room vs one big room debate but prefer the formal presentation of the split approach, particularly for client impression. I have to say I'm very pumped about this whole thing. It's kind of a dream-come-true for me to have a space to both to experiment freely and continue the production-oriented work I've been doing for years in other facilities. Although much better with staff paper, the piano and my DAW I've tried to work this in sketchup with limited success. Here are a couple of reasonably accurate representations (take the wacky increments >1" with a grain of salt.) I'm deeply grateful for suggestions or advice. The talent and experience on this board is impressive! Thanks, Brad W, Chicago http://RevengeoftheKissingBug.com

Bumpity bump~ No Suggestions?

I think there are way too many right angles in that layout. The control room will be hard to get to sound good with that layout. Take a look at some of John's designs, and grab a control room from one of them that you can fit into your space. Then use the remaining space for the live/piano room. Sneak a booth in where you can.

Aloha Brad, Looking over your skp file for some ideas & hope to post something soon. :wink:

By the way - is there an advantage to RC clips with hat channel vs. RC2? Is one less deep?

In the meantime, you might want to post this question over on the construction forum, and try a search on "RC clips" to see what you can find. Be right back, Aloha 8)

Aloha Brad, Here's a prelim idea, but the roof line's a bit of a challenge. Aloha 8)

I re-drew the baseline sketch because it was a bit tricky to get the ceiling angles correct. Kendale, the chimney is right in the middle... :shock:

maybe something like this works. having the CR face the roof slope. put hangers etc overhead. put a booth next to the CR and HVAC room (access to HVAC room either through booth or back of CR). and another booth between the live room and CR with as large a window and/or doors so someone seated at the console can see into that space (partially).

Aloha, Here's a revision with wall/ceiling geometry. Aloha 8)

Thanks, Gentlemen!! That's what I was looking for. Thanks for cleaning up my drawings. The chimney, as I mentioned, is to be removed. I like both ideas. I can see where the idea of an intermediate booth ala Kendale might be the most efficient use of space. The trick is to keep the booth wall terminated at the window bay. I'll have to double check measurements. Looks like we could have a decent-sized divider that way. The door in-between the monitors is something I haven't seen before. I suppose if there were to be a door off to the side in kendale's sketch, it would have to be integrated into the angled wall design - a secret door. I can also see the advantage the siide-facing control room ala gullfo which might use the roof slant for deflecting waves. Would that make too shallow of a control room? The idea of a foyer at the top of the stairs is interesting... Do the sliding glass doors cause a lot of reflection in a booth application? Thanks for the brain-food! Maybe I'll post some before pictures so you can see the layout. We're pulling the old walls off next week. Brad W, Chicago

Aloha Brad,

The trick is to keep the booth wall terminated at the window bay.

Thanks for pointing that out. I'll try to redraw that area and post.

The door in-between the monitors is something I haven't seen before.

John has used that approach on several designs where space/access was a premium.

Do the sliding glass doors cause a lot of reflection in a booth application?

Yes, they do cause reflections, but depending on how you position it (angled) and treating the rest of the room (absorption) can help to reduce reflections. Aloha 8)

Aloha, How much room is required for your HVAC unit? Aloha 8)

Aloha, Booth wall terminated at the window bay Aloha 8)

yea baby!

Kendale, Thanks my friend! Very cool - I went up there yesterday and eyeballed the space. I think that setup might work well. I was looking at folding glass doors or french doors. Wonder if anyone has used them in place of the sliding doors to keep a space that much more open. By varying the angle of swinging doors it seems like one could open up the space and perhaps even tune it a little. As oposed to having a static glass barrier. Pocket doors would be the coolest. Brad

Here's the raw space prior to wall demo...

Aloha Brad, I have to say, that's a very interesting looking room you've got there. :wink:

I was looking at folding glass doors or french doors. Wonder if anyone has used them in place of the sliding doors to keep a space that much more open. By varying the angle of swinging doors it seems like one could open up the space and perhaps even tune it a little. As oposed to having a static glass barrier. Pocket doors would be the coolest.

I seem to remember a couple of posts where french doors/pocket doors were mentioned. In as much as the look and feel of french doors & windows, and the convenience of pocket doors are very cool, depending on your isolation requirements between areas, you may best served by the "static glass barrier" reef approach as the above mentioned acoustic seals and TL ratings are fairly light duty. Perhaps a search on either/both would provide more info. Aloha 8)

Yes - it has it's own unique character:':shock:'. Regarding the doors - I figured the seal part is the weak link in those approaches . I was googling around looking at custom exterior glass door that were in the bi-fold or french door configuration. Since I might end up saving some $ on a typical control room window... By the by - all that space-consuming ductwork will be moved behind the hip walls after we pull the plaster and lath.

Aloha, Here are a few links on doors & windows that may be helpful. Aloha 8) http://www.overly.com/doorCo/Education/Acoustical.cfm http://www.doors-ambico.com/s_acoustic.html http://www.overly.com/doorCo/Products/index.cfm http://www.silentsource.com/adoors-overly.htm http://www.soundcontrolroom.com/door_details.htm http://www.acousticalsolutions.com/prod ... l_kits.asp

Aloha, Here's a redraw... Aloha 8)