thismanysounds - Basement Studio in London UK

[thismanysounds]

Friendly bump!

I have decided to change my acoustic treatment plan for the live room, so expect a few different versions for comparison.

In terms of the build itself, there has not been a lot of progress. Hoping to lay out the floor plate some point this week.

[thismanysounds2]

~ 1 Year Update!
Around August last year I made my first steps towards building a recording studio. We have been burning through different buildings and designs, but at least my understanding of acoustics is improving.

A quick summary for those who haven't been following:

Aug '13 - Building 1: 60m2 a basement in an office building that had been built with the intention of being a studio, but with absolutely no isolation!

Aug '13 - Plan A: Gut Building 1 and rebuild as 1 control, 1 live room.

Sep '13 - Plan B: After a while we decided that we should use the whole basement (120m2) and have two control rooms sharing a live room.

Nov '13 - Building 1 is looking increasingly threatened by our larger sister company, so we start looking for alternatives.

Dec '13 - We find a perfect industrial unit, Building 2 with ample space and height, and decide to increase the scale of our plans. Lease's in progress.

Jan '14 - It turns out that squatters have moved into Building 2 over Christmas, the second time that year! Facing months of waiting/legal issues we decide to revert to Plan B in Building 1.

Feb '14 - We start ripping out Building 1. Finally progress!!

Mar '14 - Progress stops after Building 1 is ripped out. Upon seeing the empty space our sister company decided that they need the space. AAAARRRGGHH!

Apr '14 - The hunt for Building 3 begins. We find a dairy that is being converted into offices in a private mews. Plenty of floorspace, but low ceiling so we decide to make one section double height for the live room. Lease process begins.

May to Jul '14 - We wait for the renovation work to finish while our lawyers go back and forth on terms. Meanwhile I draw up some plans of what we want to do with the building.

Aug '14 - The renovation work is done, and we have a meeting with the landlord, their architects and structural engineers. A few sticking points are found:

1. Changing their new double glazing to single panes

• Additional steelwork to secure the building

• Working around new heating and electrical services

• Fire exits

• Concerns about breaching a newly installed water barrier

• Ventilation/access within the MAM

• The big one - An even increasing security deposit to do restoration works at the end of the lease

So that brings us up to a year later, with Building 3 looking like it may be in peril, and even more questions to ask. Wish me luck for the next year?!

[Soundman2020]

Wow! It sounds like a nightmare, or a horror movie, or something!

I sure do wish you luck.

Did you lose your password for access to your old account? Is that why you are posting with a different name? If so, then PM me, and I'll restore your old password.

- Stuart -

[thismanysounds]

Building No.4 is official!
We have a new building for the studio. It is in the same mews as no.3, but hasn't been renovated so we have much more freedom to make modification. In a past life it was a sauna for single men..

Sketchup: https://www.dropbox.com/s/pbi83bj29veqr ... 4.skp?dl=0

It is a double brick building, with a slate roof. We have already begun solidifying the outer leaf:
- Taking out and blocking up the windows (dense concrete block, well sealed)
- The old ceiling was slate, plywood, insulation then plasterboard (see photo 4). The existing roof wasn't up to adding much more weight, so we removed the plasterboard and added it in between the timbers to give one solid leaf (~50kg/m2).
- All the blockwork will be sealed with paint/pva.

I have a floorplan which I think provides a good balance between the rooms, and works within the limits of the pitched roof. My main challenge is how to effectively maintain the height in the rooms. I have an idea of what I would like (Proposed w/desired roof.jpg) but I am not sure how to achieve it (Truss Types.jpg).

The building team I am working with have suggested using roof trusses either side of the existing and build mini roofs within them. I am wondering if there is a better way to do this? Perhaps allowing the steel of the old ties to breach the inner leaf (though this seems like a no no)?

Stuart, in a recent thread you mentioned about using a raised tie truss, so hopefully you have some ideas!

[thismanysounds]

- A very polite bump! -

I have done numerous searches on the forum, but cannot seem to find the right info. Please can someone point me in the right direction.


Colm

[Soundman2020]

Personally, I'd call in a structural engineer and get him to tell you how you can convert those ties into collar ties, as in the image that you posted. I don't see why it can't be done, but the only issue is how far up you can place the ties, and what dimensions you need for them. Only a structural engineer can tell you that.

I would not go with the idea of allowing the tie bars to penetrate the inner leaf, because if I recall correctly, you guys need fairly high levels of isolation, right? It would be really hard to get that with parts of the outer leaf penetrating the inner leaf... unless you were to soffit around them, but that would be complex and expensive.

- Stuart -

[thismanysounds]

Really quick question before I get a chance to update this thread:

What is the best way to caulk an obtuse angle? There is plenty of info on internal angles, but I can't find this detail.

[Soundman2020]

Put the backer rod in first, then the caulk on top.


Do you have a photo of the actual problem?

- Stuart -

[thismanysounds]

Okay, so it's basically the same process. Don't just overlap and butt joint?