Dear Forum users,
After many hours of reading acoustics books and hundreds of online articles, I am still in need of a bit of expert advice about how best to proceed with designing and then converting approx. 1000 sq. feet of loft style commercial space into a new project studio with a very limited budget.
In my part of the world, well located loft style commercial space can be found in 100 year old former wharehouses with nice 12' or 15' wooden beam ceilings and old pine plank flooring at around $0.75 USD per square foot monthly rental. At these prices, and after adding other obvious expenses such as rental fees, fire/theft insurance, alarms, electricity, gear upgrades and maintainence, and taxes, I am limited to between 1000 and 1200 square feet of raw space.
As is often the case, I have a big dream with a little budget for the initial studio design and construction. The good news is that all the gear from analogue and digital consoles to vintage mics to snakes and amps have already been acquired by me at studio auctions and other sources for very reasonable prices over the past 15 years.
I figure I will only have around $3750 USD to spend on converting a rectangular space of somewhere around 35' x 30', into a fairly well concieved music production studio with a good sounding control room of around 300 square feet, as well as a nice live tracking room of around 500 sq. feet, as well as a vocal booth and a well isolated drum booth. In the event that the studio makes any real profit in the next year or so, I would hope to either further modify and redesign the space, or find a larger and more suitable venue if necessary.
About the only materials I have already acquired are about 250 square feet of Auralex 2" and 4" acoustic foam tiles which I found at a 75% off sale.
Anyway, I was wondering if any of you more experienced studio designers or builders would care to comment on if it is even possible, with a budget of just $3750 USD for materials (and an equal mix of slave and paid labour), to effectively treate/insulate/isolate the necessary rooms and areas of such a space on the top floor of a quiet building so I can have good acoustics and also help avoid having studio noise tranmission problems with both the immediate downstairs and next-door tenants?
I am working on sample floorplans now, and will be glad to email them to anyone who may be of some help in this initial stage of basic design and cost estimation.
THANKS A MILLION IN ADVANCE
Ron C.
Quebec, CANADA
Advice wanted on Converting a LOFT into a Recording Studio
Moderators: Aaronw, kendale, John Sayers
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John Sayers
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Travelreview
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Hi John,
I do not have to build the 1000 sq. foot Loft, I only want to insulate and treat specific parts of it including a 300 sq. ft control room and two 75 sq. ft iso booths, as well as 1 wall of 15'H 20'W 22'L that adjoins another business. Considering I already have 250 sq ft. of 2" and 4" thick 1 foot square Auralex acoustic foam, I was hoping to first treat and wall up the iso booths, drop the ceiling from 15' to 13' in the control room and make new walls using room within a room techniques, and then build a second (doubled) wall from soundboard/airspace/sheetrock/703 for the only wall which I share with the adjoing business, all with the $3750 USD I have remaining.
I do not have to build the 1000 sq. foot Loft, I only want to insulate and treat specific parts of it including a 300 sq. ft control room and two 75 sq. ft iso booths, as well as 1 wall of 15'H 20'W 22'L that adjoins another business. Considering I already have 250 sq ft. of 2" and 4" thick 1 foot square Auralex acoustic foam, I was hoping to first treat and wall up the iso booths, drop the ceiling from 15' to 13' in the control room and make new walls using room within a room techniques, and then build a second (doubled) wall from soundboard/airspace/sheetrock/703 for the only wall which I share with the adjoing business, all with the $3750 USD I have remaining.
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Aaronw
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Hello Ron,
For the isolation you're trying to do, materials alone will cost you more than what you have. I'm building my studio now in a basement. I calculated some rough numbers yesterday, and with doing everything 100% DIY, it's still costing me in materials about $20 per SF. Minimum.
Unless you're able to aquire free materials...
Aaron
For the isolation you're trying to do, materials alone will cost you more than what you have. I'm building my studio now in a basement. I calculated some rough numbers yesterday, and with doing everything 100% DIY, it's still costing me in materials about $20 per SF. Minimum.
Unless you're able to aquire free materials...
Aaron
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John Sayers
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AndrewMc
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I'm at around $25 / sqft - but with zero labor costs - add in labor and you are easily upto $70 / sqft.
Ron - sounds like a nice space you have, but a budget of $3750 is really too low to do much. You will have to count out using any paid labor - that will eat your budget is a heartbeat.
The foam you have can be used for some treatment - but it's not going to help you with making the place soundproof. It sounds like the hardest part will be to make the place soundproof to the people below.
Maybe the best option is to wait and build up some funds - with $20 - $25K and mostly doing labor yourself - you could turn the place into a really great space., although if the place is rented it's questionable if sinking that kind of cash into a place makes sense.
Ron - sounds like a nice space you have, but a budget of $3750 is really too low to do much. You will have to count out using any paid labor - that will eat your budget is a heartbeat.
The foam you have can be used for some treatment - but it's not going to help you with making the place soundproof. It sounds like the hardest part will be to make the place soundproof to the people below.
Maybe the best option is to wait and build up some funds - with $20 - $25K and mostly doing labor yourself - you could turn the place into a really great space., although if the place is rented it's questionable if sinking that kind of cash into a place makes sense.
Andrew McMaster
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Jai
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Loft Studio
Hey Ron,
Sorry to say, your budget will buy at most your studs and floated floor to frame all that you are wanting. I just finished a 350sqft. control room and just a 250sqft. iso/vocal booth for a client. I had to give the client a list of material I was to buy, then he got on the phone for three days calling everywhere getting the best prices, and he got prices from bargin and over stock building supplies, I have never seen prices soooo low. he taught me a lot about shopping. But to the point, it was still after all that, $21 per sqft. of finished work. We had no labor cost, he had friends that helped. If you have to buy an electrician to do the work, or at least look at your work and pull permits...... they charge $45 per hour alone. Do you have AC or heat there that is big enough to pipe to all the rooms you are wanting? If not your looking at another $2200 - 3200.00 just for that. How about doors and windows? two 1/2" and 7/16" pieces of laminated glass will run around $600 - $1000 alone. then add $80 per solid Core door you intend to use....2 for control entrance, 2 for Iso, 2 for tracking thats $480 for just 6 doors. Basically glass and doors just ate half your budget.
Not trying to be an ass. But trying to let you see where your budget may be a little short to finish the job. Anything is possible but I suggest you spend the money to acquire a smart draw or CAD program, design what you actually want. Then go through the design from ground up and calculate all materials needed. Including everything, nails, caulk (Caulk will eat your lunch on budget, it's not cheap and you will use over thirty tubes on just two small rooms) studs, sheetrock, insulation, 703 (703 can eat your lunch fast too), fabric , staples (Damn you will use about 20 boxes of staples alone), lights, plugs, light switches, etc.
You say you have collected great gear over time. What about interconnects and cable that will be used in the building process? multipair cable to run from patchbay to wall plates will be in the $4 - $6 per ft. range for good stuff and $2 - $3 per ft. for the cheap stuff. A single run of 20' with canarie or mogami will run in the $100 - $200 range alone. If your iso booth is more than that distance you are looking at a whole lot of cash in just wire to get your mics to the patchbay. The XLR ends for your box on the wall will run $2 -$3 per connect. If you are going to put a 16 channel box your looking at some cost. Thats just for one box.
One last thing. You can save yourself a lot of money just by picking up your material yourself. The guy I just finished a studio for insisted he pick everything up. I laughed because i didnt want to move all that crap. In the end, he saved 9 trips at $40 per trip from home depot. Hell, that more than a sixth of your budget alone.
Just my 2 cents. Not trying to discourage, just trying to get ya to look at the whole picture, and what it will take to paint it.
jai
www.themixstudio.com
Sorry to say, your budget will buy at most your studs and floated floor to frame all that you are wanting. I just finished a 350sqft. control room and just a 250sqft. iso/vocal booth for a client. I had to give the client a list of material I was to buy, then he got on the phone for three days calling everywhere getting the best prices, and he got prices from bargin and over stock building supplies, I have never seen prices soooo low. he taught me a lot about shopping. But to the point, it was still after all that, $21 per sqft. of finished work. We had no labor cost, he had friends that helped. If you have to buy an electrician to do the work, or at least look at your work and pull permits...... they charge $45 per hour alone. Do you have AC or heat there that is big enough to pipe to all the rooms you are wanting? If not your looking at another $2200 - 3200.00 just for that. How about doors and windows? two 1/2" and 7/16" pieces of laminated glass will run around $600 - $1000 alone. then add $80 per solid Core door you intend to use....2 for control entrance, 2 for Iso, 2 for tracking thats $480 for just 6 doors. Basically glass and doors just ate half your budget.
Not trying to be an ass. But trying to let you see where your budget may be a little short to finish the job. Anything is possible but I suggest you spend the money to acquire a smart draw or CAD program, design what you actually want. Then go through the design from ground up and calculate all materials needed. Including everything, nails, caulk (Caulk will eat your lunch on budget, it's not cheap and you will use over thirty tubes on just two small rooms) studs, sheetrock, insulation, 703 (703 can eat your lunch fast too), fabric , staples (Damn you will use about 20 boxes of staples alone), lights, plugs, light switches, etc.
You say you have collected great gear over time. What about interconnects and cable that will be used in the building process? multipair cable to run from patchbay to wall plates will be in the $4 - $6 per ft. range for good stuff and $2 - $3 per ft. for the cheap stuff. A single run of 20' with canarie or mogami will run in the $100 - $200 range alone. If your iso booth is more than that distance you are looking at a whole lot of cash in just wire to get your mics to the patchbay. The XLR ends for your box on the wall will run $2 -$3 per connect. If you are going to put a 16 channel box your looking at some cost. Thats just for one box.
One last thing. You can save yourself a lot of money just by picking up your material yourself. The guy I just finished a studio for insisted he pick everything up. I laughed because i didnt want to move all that crap. In the end, he saved 9 trips at $40 per trip from home depot. Hell, that more than a sixth of your budget alone.
Just my 2 cents. Not trying to discourage, just trying to get ya to look at the whole picture, and what it will take to paint it.
jai
www.themixstudio.com
"Love the Music in Yourself,
Not Yourself in the Music."
Not Yourself in the Music."