NJ Garage Studio Design

[ssl4000g]

Hi All,
I have a detached 1 car garage that has 4' added to it's width that I'd like to convert to a mix/composition space with a vocal booth/lounge. The space is located just outside Philadelphia in New Jersey. Here is a GoogleMapsReference for you to have a look. I will provide a breakdown of the structure and it's elements/dimensions in a bit. The garage has it entrance on the S side and it points N.
As an overview, the garage is approximately 20ft from my house and approximately the same distance from the neighbors. The portion of the neighbors home closest to the garage is their garage. I see this as a mix/composition/vocal space and not a full tracking room, mix levels of 85dB to 90dB SPL will be the norm in the space. Of course, there will be the occasional blast of 100dB, just to check the low end.

As for exterior conditions, if you have a look at the Google Map/Earth/Streetview, you will see the house is situated on what appears to be a small two-lane road near a creek and one-lane bridge. There is some traffic noise especially when motorcycles or some modded cars go by and open it up.

Another exterior environmental issue is, as Google Earth shows, our neighbors pool. Every weekend during the summer they usually have guests over and this can mean anywhere from 4-6 adults to 20+ people including kids. Nowhere near as bad as loud motorcycles and cars but, I do experience some bass from the neighbors outdoor speaker system.
I set up some gear in the garage just to see what I was up against. I definitely hear some bass from outdoor speakers, cars, helicopters, birds...but no wind noise. The garage is well built otherwise.

Our other nearest neighbors are 50ft or more from the garage on the S and E sides. (See Google Earth.)
My house, approximately 20' from the garage, is a brick home built in 1930 (garage was built around 1999). The rooms at the rear of the home include the kitchen and dining room on 1st floor, guest bedroom and master bath on 2nd floor. No children in the household, just my wife and I, 2 cats and a Great Pyrenees.

I am presenting the result of some serious thinking. I believe that using the entire space is best option, closing in the garage door with a wall/window that could be removed should we need to turn it back into a garage is part of my thinking. I have uploaded the skp named 161123-Studio-Layout-1.2-submit.

Garage Details:
The usable space within the garage is 20'-4" (L) x 13'-8" (W) x 9'-0" (H) 278sq/ft 2500 cu/ft approximate.

Slab/Foundation
Slab is poured concrete as is the foundation. There is some cinder block use around the garage door opening. There is radiant heat built into the slab and I do not know the location/layout or depth of it. The floor finish is smooth. This is a 1 car garage with an extension to facilitate ease of movement and some storage.
Dimensions of the slab are 20'-4" L x 13'-8" W along the inside of the foundation. It is these dimensions that the layout is based upon.

Existing Walls
The exterior walls are built on 2"x8" plates (1 1/2" x 7 5/8"verified) which are on the foundation. The foundation rises approximately 8" above the finished floor.

The walls are of 2"x4" construction and are set flush with the exterior of the foundation/bottom plate, they are not flush to the inside face of the foundation. They are set back 3" to the face of the drywall. The walls are insulated with, I am guessing, 3.5" insulation and are covered with a single layer of 5/8" gypsum board. The height from finished floor to exposed ceiling joist is 9'-0".
The exterior covering of the garage is of two different types. The N and E walls have vinyl siding while the S and W walls are brick faced. I do not know what type of sheathing was used under the brick or the vinyl siding but a cursory inspection seems to indicate OSB at 1/2".

Attic/Garage Ceiling
The joists which make up the garage ceiling/attic floor are 2"x8" wood 16"OC with 6.5" R-19 insulation and 3/4" T&G plywood as the attic floor. Also, there is a pull down staircase that measures 26"(L)x55"(W) located 52" from the N wall and 60" from the W wall approximately centered for attic access. Fortunately, the peak of the roof follows the length of the garage so moving this is just one more thing to do as it is over the area I wish to build in.

Roof System
The main beam of the garage roof system is a pair (sistered) of 2"x12" Parallams with 2"x8" joists supporting the Parallam. The joists are 16"OC. I am assuming the roof sheathing is 11/16"(from reading the markings on the sheathing) plywood and the roof is standard asphalt shingles with a ridge vent. There is also a small window in the N gable end of the attic.

Electrical
There is a 30amp sub-panel, fed from the main house (which has a 150amp service-need to verify), in the garage. There is one 15A breaker and a double pole 20A (2 20A breakers in one breaker slot). This is enough for the general uses one would expect to find in a garage. I plan on evaluating the needs of the studio plus what the main house is capable of giving me after I double check the service. If the service to the house is large enough (at least 150A), then some re-balancing of the panel may be in order. I could feed the studio from there using a new feed a sub panel run via PVC conduit underground to the garage.

HVAC
As I mentioned earlier, there is radiant heat within the slab, fed from the main house. I have a 12,000Btu portable AC unit that I've been using. I plan on discussing an exchange chamber setup for AC based on designs from Gervais book. I have space laid out for just that purpose in the model (in the model, the E wall has two rooms w/purple door frames. The right is for an existing fridge, the left will be designated the mechanical/machine room). This can be discussed further.

Dimensions
I have Gervais' book (2nd Ed.), Sound Studio Construction on a Budget (Everest-1st Ed. 1997) and have been reading them as well as the posts in the design forum.

It would seem that the LWS ratio group of 1:1.28:1.54, will allow the smartest box I can put into the space. The numbers I used for calculating using those rations were: (H) 8'-0" (W) 13'-8" (L) 20'-4", which gave a result of (H) 8'-0" (W) 10'-3" (L) 12'-4" and my model is based off those. I plan on using the area outside the CR as a vocal area/lounge since I do not plan on tracking drums. I am sure I could re-amp in there if needed.

Gear
For monitoring, I have a Blue Sky 2.1 system with a 12-inch sub along with a pair of Dynaudio BM5A's. I plan on stand mounting the BM5As. I would like to soffit mount the Blue Skys. I do not have a provision in my model for that, yet, nor for the sub. I've got pics of the soffit structures Rod and John submitted to the forum. I will have questions regarding the layout/dimensions for the soffit build.
The Blue Sky 2.1 System satellite dimensions are 8.00" (W) 11.88" (Depth including heat sink) 12.25" (H), for the sub; 16.00" (W) 22.07" (Depth, including heat sink) 18.00" (H).

I have not decided where or how I will add any gear racks/synths. I am still settling on the structural layout including some input on where to put the sub. Once that is defined, I would like to get some input on the absorption needs in the rear of the CR then the design of the speaker soffits, the AC and the electrical layout/requirements.


Summary
I have time, I'm not in a rush and a ton of planning to do. I also have my day job to deal with.

There is a lot of the work I can do myself. If I need a pro, I will get one. I am still in the design phase and will be until we are all satisfied we've got the best out of the space. I still need to figure out what this will cost me. I am anticipating somewhere between $10k and $25k USD. I am honestly looking to do as much as I can myself bearing only the cost of materials and BS&T. I would cite an example of this in my wanting to build an exchange chamber using my already existing portable AC unit. On another note, that is just my starting point. If it works, fine. If not, as long as the logic and numbers point there, I am not married to any particular path. I'm looking for guidance.

I've worked on my SketchUp skills pretty diligently to get this model to work. I still have issues getting some items to move without ending up on the other end of the model. I included the Google Earth link above (drop the little guy down and you can see the street-view of the garage) for.

If you need to see or know something, just ask.

Questions;
1) I planned in the model to use 'inside out' walls. Good?

2) Do you believe this is the most efficient use of the space available?

3) To solve my radiant heat in the concrete floor challenge (I don't want to risk sending a nail through the piping as I've been told by a concrete contractor friend that these can sometimes float above the 2" depth they are set at before a pour), I plan on building the room on a platform of 2x3's and 3/4" T&G plywood (not floating). I will allow for raceways for both low and high voltages and sand in the non-raceway areas. 2x3's as the 'joists' and 3/4"T&G plywood for platform? (Finish flooring is hardwood flooring 3/4" thick 3 1/2" Brazilian Cherry). All non-raceway areas to be filled with sand. Thoughts?

4) Ceiling; I plan on beefing up the existing ceiling as directed in Rod's book, then filling with mineral wool as well as the cavities between shells. I do need to keep outside sounds outside. The garage is sealed well weather-wise, but it leaks like a sieve sound-wise. Am I on the correct path to achieve this?

5) Am I overlooking anything in the initial structural design? (Other than where I do not show proper tieing together of shell to other points for support)

6) Is my starting point for an exchange chamber viable? Is an exchange chamber viable, smart?

7) I mentioned a refrigerator to be placed in a space to the right of the mechanical/machine room. The space would have mineral wool in all the bays and the walls covered by fabric and likely a door (provided I design in some ventilation), this should subdue any sound from this unit. It is pretty quiet to begin with. It's nice to have a fridge nearby. Trying to accommodate it rather than get rid of it. Thoughts?

Process
I want to focus on the layout of the interior structure first. So, I believe my process will be;

-Finalize interior structure, soffit design, mix position and all CR trap structural requirements

-Layout raceways and determine power needs/points

-Determine cooling requirements, design/layout duct runs and determine means of providing that cooling and power requirements

-Develop drawings for permit requirements, submit.

-Start cost/procurement analysis.

For now, I think that will do. Plenty to get done prior to hammering a nail (and yes, it's likely I need to build with those, no screws) . There is still a lot I don't know, so I will likely design my build into phases that will allow better cost management as well as time too. And, it will make it easier to see the end if I step it out.

Guys, feel free to critique the model. I was on the forum about 8 years ago, right when Stuart started his garage build. Glad to see you're still here and really diving deep. I'm glad to be back too!

I appreciate any and all input.

Here is a link to the skp file NJ Garage Studio Structural Model I ran into the file size limit of 500kB trying to upload the skp file. Even zipping wouldn't bring it down that far.

Thanks again.

W

[Soundman2020]

Hi Wayne, and Welcome Back!

Wow! That's one hell of a great first post! I wish everyone would start out like that, with a clear, detailed, well-thought-out description.

It seems you've thought this through pretty well, so I'll just add some bits and pieces about the parts that caught my attention.

... using the entire space is best option, closing in the garage door with a wall/window that could be removed should we need to turn it back into a garage is part of my thinking.

Absolutely, but do check your local bylaws, regulations, and silly red tape: you might find that you are not allowed to change the appearance of the house, so the door itself might need to remain in place, bolted down, sealed, and then build that extra wall just behind it. You might be OK, and have no problems (hopefully), but it's best to check.

The usable space within the garage is 20'-4" (L) x 13'-8" (W) x 9'-0" (H) 278sq/ft 2500 cu/ft approximate.

Nice, especially the height.

there is a pull down staircase that measures

That's a problem! That cannot be in either of the two rooms.

the roof is standard asphalt shingles with a ridge vent.

That's what I was afraid of. That means you pretty much have no choice here: You'll have to go with a three-leaf roof system, since the roof deck has to be ventilated, and therefore cannot be your second leaf. You probably already figured that out.

There is a 30amp sub-panel,

That might not be enough. If it has to power your HVAC, your equipment, lights, and maybe other stuff. How much does your current portable HVAC draw? That should be marked on the nameplate. Add that to all your current and projected gear, and you might find that you are getting close to the limit. You should try to avoid running at the limit, as well: allow a good margin.

It would seem that the LWS ratio group of 1:1.28:1.54, will allow the smartest box I can put into the space.

Your model shows that the room is not rectangular, as you are splaying the side walls, so the predicted response won't be accurate. The width changes, and so does the length (to a much lesser extent).

I would like to soffit mount the Blue Skys

Are you planning to do a proper RFZ-style design? If you soffit-mount your mains, then you might as well. Thoroughly recommendable! Pretty much all of my designs are RFZ-style these days.

I have not decided where or how I will add any gear racks/synths.

Suggestion: Put it in racks under the desk, or embedded in the top surface of the desk, tilted up slightly. That keeps it close to you, for easy access, and also keeps it out of the way acoustically.

I am still settling on the structural layout including some input on where to put the sub

The sub usually works out best on the floor, off to one side of the center line. For the final room tuning (if you really want to get it as good as it can be), you might want to try nudging it around by steps of a few inches and checking the result with REW, to find the best possible location.

I would like to get some input on the absorption needs in the rear of the CR

Deeeeeeeep bass traps! I really like the way hangers work out, and it looks like you have the space to do that. Alternatively, you could go with large superchunks in the vertical corners, and thick absorption on the rest of the wall in between, perhaps with some diffusion if the geometry permits it, or at least some reflection so as not to suck out too much of the high end.

then the design of the speaker soffits,

There's a couple of different strategies for doing that. When you get to that point, I'd be glad to fill you in on the differences, and the pro's and con's.

I have time, I'm not in a rush and a ton of planning to do.

Excellent! In that case, this will likely work out to be a great studio. It takes time to plan it right, in full detail. Folks who come here wanting to have it all designed by Friday so they can start building next week are always in for a sad, sad surprise. Realistically, it takes weeks to design, especially if you want it optimized to the n'th degree.

I am anticipating somewhere between $10k and $25k USD.

Sounds about right, assuming you don't want extremely high isolation of luxury finishing.

I would cite an example of this in my wanting to build an exchange chamber using my already existing portable AC unit. On another note, that is just my starting point. If it works, fine. If not, as long as the logic and numbers point there, I am not married to any particular path. I'm looking for guidance.

That's one way of doing it, but not necessarily the best. Have you decided on the NC curve (or NR curve, if you prefer) that you'd like to aim for in your room?

1) I planned in the model to use 'inside out' walls. Good?

It can be, yes. A lot of the studios I design have inside-out walls, and most of them have inside.out ceilings, to maximize acoustic height.

2) Do you believe this is the most efficient use of the space available?

Nope! By splaying both side walls of your CR slightly, you are wasting space. There's no need to do that. If you want to maximize room volume, you can make it a plain old rectangle, then shape the front of the room with the soffits and "wings", as needed. Splaying the walls is a bit of a myth. The only real reason for doing that is to kill flutter echo, but in order to accomplish that you need to splay them at least 12°. That eats up lots of space. There are easier ways to deal with flutter echo that don't lose that much space.

3) To solve my radiant heat in the concrete floor challenge (I don't want to risk sending a nail through the piping as I've been told by a concrete contractor friend that these can sometimes float above the 2" depth they are set at before a pour), I plan on building the room on a platform of 2x3's and 3/4" T&G plywood (not floating).

Check your local building code: you might find that all interior walls MUST be anchored to the slab... If so, that's going to be a pain, as you'll have to figure out where your pipes are, and position the walls such that the anchor bolts won't hit the pipes.

I'm not a big fan of sand-filled floors. They work, yes, but the mess.... hmmmmm....

Also, raising your floor by several inches means that you lose that amount of height. Height is a precious commodity in a studio. Wasting it by filling it with sand and wood, just doesn't sit well with me.

And finally, that's going to add a lot of thermal mass to the floor: All of that has the warm up before any of the heat from the floor actually gets into the room...

4) Ceiling; I plan on beefing up the existing ceiling as directed in Rod's book, then filling with mineral wool as well as the cavities between shells. I do need to keep outside sounds outside. The garage is sealed well weather-wise, but it leaks like a sieve sound-wise. Am I on the correct path to achieve this?

Yep! That's the right path. You need to create a fully-sealed "shell" around you, with the correct surface density, then build your inner-leaf rooms inside that shell.

5) Am I overlooking anything in the initial structural design? (Other than where I do not show proper tieing together of shell to other points for support)

It would help if you could post some photos of the interior of the garage, as it is right now, to help spot any details that you might have missed.

7) I mentioned a refrigerator to be placed in a space to the right of the mechanical/machine room. The space would have mineral wool in all the bays and the walls covered by fabric and likely a door (provided I design in some ventilation), this should subdue any sound from this unit. It is pretty quiet to begin with. It's nice to have a fridge nearby. Trying to accommodate it rather than get rid of it. Thoughts?

Refrigerators need a good flow of air around them, to remove the heat from the cooling coil on the back. That heat has to go somewhere! Sealing it inside an insulated closet is probably not the best idea...

I was on the forum about 8 years ago,

What was your screen-name back then? How come you aren0t still using that one? Did you forget your password, or lose access to your e-mail? I can fix that for you, if you give me your old screen name. PM me.

I ran into the file size limit of 500kB trying to upload the skp file.

Did you "purge" your model? Sketchup has this weird "feature", whereby when you deleted something in the model, it does not actually get deleted! It sticks around in the file, like a ghost, but a ghost that takes up physical space! You need to "purge" the file every now and then to get rid of all the ghosts. Open the "model info" window, select the "Statistics" tab, and hit "purge unused". Then save the file.

- Stuart -

[ssl4000g]

Hi Wayne, and Welcome Back!

Wow! That's one hell of a great first post! I wish everyone would start out like that, with a clear, detailed, well-thought-out description.

It seems you've thought this through pretty well, so I'll just add some bits and pieces about the parts that caught my attention.

Thank you Stuart. That initial layout has about 40 man-hours in it.

... using the entire space is best option, closing in the garage door with a wall/window that could be removed should we need to turn it back into a garage is part of my thinking.

Absolutely, but do check your local bylaws, regulations, and silly red tape: you might find that you are not allowed to change the appearance of the house, so the door itself might need to remain in place, bolted down, sealed, and then build that extra wall just behind it. You might be OK, and have no problems (hopefully), but it's best to check.

Good point, I hadn't thought of that. Once I get a good structural layout defined, I planned on visiting the local inspector for review. It would make sense to have both options presented.

there is a pull down staircase that measures...

That's a problem! That cannot be in either of the two rooms.

I mentioned that there is a small window on the north gable end of the attic. It would seem that I should change that to an access opening to replace entering from inside the structure. That would require adding stairs or some solution to be able to reach that access point.

While keeping it inside the structure as it currently is would create a hole in the structure, even though it would be in the less critical space (VB/Lounge). If that was left in the structure in the VB/Lounge, would it compromise the CR?

If the access point was left in the VB/Lounge, are there techniques to minimize it's effect on the space, allowing it to remain inside the structure over the less critical space? Or, should I just fuhgettaboutit and move on, and create access on the N gable end?

the roof is standard asphalt shingles with a ridge vent.

That's what I was afraid of. That means you pretty much have no choice here: You'll have to go with a three-leaf roof system, since the roof deck has to be ventilated, and therefore cannot be your second leaf. You probably already figured that out.

No, that did not occur to me. If I make the ceilings in both the CR and VB/Lounge inside out will I need the 3rd leaf?

It would seem that the LWS ratio group of 1:1.28:1.54, will allow the smartest box I can put into the space.

Your model shows that the room is not rectangular, as you are splaying the side walls, so the predicted response won't be accurate. The width changes, and so does the length (to a much lesser extent).

I will make it a rectangle to the stated dimensions. Do I need to angle down the ceiling? I asked about making the CR ceiling inside-out, which will add a great deal more weight. I had used 2x6 lumber w/o GB on the outside. Will that allow for the weight of the GB and is the 12deg angle of the CR ceiling necessary? Placing the ceiling on an angle changes the weight distribution. Would you describe the implications there please? I think a short primer on why angling and when to may be in-order too. I will look up the weight per sq.ft. of 5/8" GB and the rating for 2x6 lumber. I will upload a new skp too.

I would like to soffit mount the Blue Skys

Are you planning to do a proper RFZ-style design? If you soffit-mount your mains, then you might as well. Thoroughly recommendable! Pretty much all of my designs are RFZ-style these days.

I would like to do a proper RFZ design. Please guide me along that route.

The sub usually works out best on the floor, off to one side of the center line. For the final room tuning (if you really want to get it as good as it can be), you might want to try nudging it around by steps of a few inches and checking the result with REW, to find the best possible location.

Is that inside of a soffit or free-standing in the room?

Deeeeeeeep bass traps! I really like the way hangers work out, and it looks like you have the space to do that. Alternatively, you could go with large superchunks in the vertical corners, and thick absorption on the rest of the wall in between, perhaps with some diffusion if the geometry permits it, or at least some reflection so as not to suck out too much of the high end.

In Lou's design, he used quite a bit of hangers, in some very interesting places I might add. While superchunks look very easy to create, you are saying that I could expect better performance from the hangers. Could you point me in the direction of how those are constructed please? I also have an RPG Diffusor system I will post a pic and measurements of. It is left over from the old studio I closed in Dec 2008.

There's a couple of different strategies for doing that. When you get to that point, I'd be glad to fill you in on the differences, and the pro's and con's.
Realistically, it takes weeks to design, especially if you want it optimized to the n'th degree.

Really! I thought I mentioned the framing contractor will be here Monday morning. Goofing aside, this would be a total waste of time and money without the proper design. The 7 P's apply here.

I am anticipating somewhere between $10k and $25k USD.

Sounds about right, assuming you don't want extremely high isolation of luxury finishing.

No luxury finishes. I was planning on fabric and some inexpensive wood solutions to cover overlaps etc. A friend of mine used wood from shipping pallets in his CR and other rooms. He got them all for free, like 200 of them. They look cool too. He busted his butt trying to dismantle them until somebody showed him the 'easy' way to do it. He DIY'd his space out of a warehouse on Long Island. He did not have the luxury of design. A friend of ours, who designed and built studios in Manhattan helped him out and guided his compromising in order to get up and running. He was paying rent while building. So, the race was on.

Have you decided on the NC curve (or NR curve, if you prefer) that you'd like to aim for in your room?

How low can I go given the budget constraints and design? Is it possible for the room to be 30dBSPLC when complete, 20dBSPLC? As I write this, I have my SPL meter set to C slow. It reads 50dB when I am not typing, no traffic, no birds, I am holding my breath and the computer is sitting next to me. I'll post a pic of the room as a general view.

1) I planned in the model to use 'inside out' walls. Good?

It can be, yes. A lot of the studios I design have inside-out walls, and most of them have inside.out ceilings, to maximize acoustic height.

I mentioned inside out ceiling above. If I make the CR and VB/Lounge ceilings inside out, will that negate the need for the 3rd leaf? What are the cons of inside out walls/ceilings as it may apply to my design?

2) Do you believe this is the most efficient use of the space available?

Nope! By splaying both side walls of your CR slightly, you are wasting space. There's no need to do that. If you want to maximize room volume, you can make it a plain old rectangle, then shape the front of the room with the soffits and "wings", as needed. Splaying the walls is a bit of a myth. The only real reason for doing that is to kill flutter echo, but in order to accomplish that you need to splay them at least 12°. That eats up lots of space. There are easier ways to deal with flutter echo that don't lose that much space.

While researching how to layout the CR, I saw it mentioned that two walls at 6deg = 12deg. It seems I misunderstood that? Would you explain please?

3) To solve my radiant heat in the concrete floor challenge (I don't want to risk sending a nail through the piping as I've been told by a concrete contractor friend that these can sometimes float above the 2" depth they are set at before a pour), I plan on building the room on a platform of 2x3's and 3/4" T&G plywood (not floating).

Check your local building code: you might find that all interior walls MUST be anchored to the slab... If so, that's going to be a pain, as you'll have to figure out where your pipes are, and position the walls such that the anchor bolts won't hit the pipes.

I'm not a big fan of sand-filled floors. They work, yes, but the mess.... hmmmmm....

Also, raising your floor by several inches means that you lose that amount of height. Height is a precious commodity in a studio. Wasting it by filling it with sand and wood, just doesn't sit well with me.

And finally, that's going to add a lot of thermal mass to the floor: All of that has the warm up before any of the heat from the floor actually gets into the room...

I understand the thermal mass point. It would take longer to heat the space due to the thickness. While I am not concerned about the mess sand may create, point taken. I think this is the greatest challenge to the design. I mentioned that a friend of mine is a concrete contractor. He stated that the piping has a tendency to float after a pour, bringing the pipes closer to the finished surface. I get that and have seen the metal grids float to the surface while pouring a patio years ago. I really do not want to chance wrecking the radiant heat system in the floor. I'd like to use it if at all possible.

How would I find the pipes in the floor? X-ray? I can see, in the basement of the house, the point where the pipes leave the basement, go underground through the foundation. They are re-enforced plastic tubes, no metal. So a process similar to stud finding would not seem possible. Suggestions?

Thinking out loud, are there alternatives when standing walls such as, can strapping of some sort be used to keep the bottom plates from kicking out? Another, can some sort of external blocking mechanism be used where the walls cannot be butted against the foundation walls?

I will make the inquiry about using a platform vs anchoring to the slab to the township.

4) Ceiling; I plan on beefing up the existing ceiling as directed in Rod's book, then filling with mineral wool as well as the cavities between shells. I do need to keep outside sounds outside. The garage is sealed well weather-wise, but it leaks like a sieve sound-wise. Am I on the correct path to achieve this?

Yep! That's the right path. You need to create a fully-sealed "shell" around you, with the correct surface density, then build your inner-leaf rooms inside that shell.

I recognize that and refer back to the previous discussion on the leaf count, inside out ceiling ceiling discussion above as it relates to the attic and a 3 leaf system.

It would help if you could post some photos of the interior of the garage, as it is right now, to help spot any details that you might have missed.

I can post some. What specifically should I shoot that would be revealing and helpful?

I ran into the file size limit of 500kB trying to upload the skp file.

Did you "purge" your model? Sketchup has this weird "feature", whereby when you deleted something in the model, it does not actually get deleted! It sticks around in the file, like a ghost, but a ghost that takes up physical space! You need to "purge" the file every now and then to get rid of all the ghosts. Open the "model info" window, select the "Statistics" tab, and hit "purge unused". Then save the file.

This likely occurred because of my less than savvy SketchUp skills and component use. I did purge. I'll get it figured out. I have a feeling I will be making many revisions to my model.



Thanks Stuart.

W

[ssl4000g]

Interior views of garage. N view and S view. I set up a position in the garage. The large red item on the N wall is an old mattress I set up as a trap. I had previously inhabited the basement with my gear. The basement, being asymmetrical as well as other considerations, was not well suited to music. I did do some work there, however it was difficult to say the least.

N view interior:

Garage Pre-Build-submit-N.jpg

S view interior:

Garage Pre-Build-submit-S.jpg

Hopefully it gives a little perspective of the interior. As I mentioned before Stuart, let me know what you'd exactly like to see and I will shoot it and submit.

W

[ssl4000g]

I have this RPG Diffusor left over from my old studio. I don't know if it is usable. Here is what it looks like:

RPG Diffusor-submit.jpg

The unit is in two sections, a horizontal unit on top and a vertical unit on the bottom. The configuration shown in the picture is how it was mounted in my old studio.

Dimensions:

Top: 9 1/8" (L) x 47 1/4" (W) x 23 5/8" (H)
Bot: 9 1/8" (L) x 47 1/4" (W) x 47 1/4" (H)

Bays (Depth):
1 15/16", 7 11/16", 3 7/8" this pattern then repeats in reverse order. The same pattern is found in the large bottom section with the exception that the pattern runs two complete times and has a separation between the pattern left to right unlike the top running one time top to bottom.

Each bay is separated by a thin piece of what seems to be aluminum on the edge of each bay.

There is no model information on this unit. It was likely custom built for the space it was originally in. There is a badge on the larger bottom unit that says; RPG. Patented D291, 601

If I can use it great, if not, oh well. Saved it from the old studio because it was something only a studio could use. I submit it for your evaluation.

W

[ssl4000g]

Here is a still of the N Gable end of the garage:

N Gable View-submit.jpg

I've included this photo to show that a new potential access point to the attic area exists. Stuart had mentioned that the interior access anywhere within the planned space (see skp file for details) needed to be deleted.

Thoughts on how best to utilize this potential access point are welcome. Access to the attic area is needed. It is not a habitable space. It serves as storage currently. I'd like to keep it available as storage if at all possible.

The small shed below the window is my mother-in-law suite.

W

[ssl4000g]

I took a look at the NJ Building Code info available via Google. I determined that I'd rather reach out to the township, schedule a meeting and discuss some of the issues Stuart raised about converting the garage into a detached 'office space'.

First step is to reach out via email and go from there.

W

[ssl4000g]

161126-Studio-Layout-2.1-submit.jpg

Here is an updated CR layout using the slab as grade, not a platform, note on the left side there is a small platform used to hold the CR room against the right side foundation wall. It is also used to anchor the exterior shell framing as this wall is built to span across the slab and butt the foundation walls. I would anchor the exterior shell wall to the existing garage walls as in this design it is my 2nd leaf.

I would propose anchoring these walls to the slab using construction glue along with the perimeter butting using the platform and foundations walls, if that is viable.

One more thing, I eliminated the attic interior access (not shown) and intend to make the attic floor a second leaf.

The platform created thermal issues, and likely others, as it was the original solution to shooting a floor to anchor walls with an unknown pattern of radiant heat piping in the slab.

Progress?

W

[ssl4000g]

I made an initial inquiry to my local township. I received the following reply;

Your inquiry was sent over to me for initial comments, and I off the following:

1) Your use of your detached garage for an in home office/audio studio is a permitted use provided that the floor space does not exceed 25% of your dwelling’s floor space. As an example; if the house is 1,600 sq. ft. then the garage office space may be no bigger than 400 sq. ft.. In addition, you may not have any employees there that are NOT residents of the household.

2) As you are aware, permits will be required for any and all construction such as, but not limited to electrical, plumbing, walls, floors, and ceilings.

3) We will need you to submit a copy of your survey that depicts the existing location of the garage, as well as any expansion of that structure that you may be planning.

4) Lastly, you will need to fill out a Zoning Permit and Business Registration for the in home office and business. (copies of those documents are attached)


I trust that this information is enough to get you started. I thank you for your inquiry. Please feel free to contact us for any additional information that you may require in the future.


John Marshall
Zoning and Code Enforcement Officer

I can meet the requirements as outlined. So, no problem there.

My follow-up to him will be to inquire about the anchoring of the framing. I need to know the requirements, as specified in the building code for anchoring, as that will dictate how we should proceed. Based on the earlier posts above regarding anchoring to the slab or using a platform.

Moving forward Stuart, slowly but surely.

W

[Soundman2020]

I guess the good news is that you are allowed to do this, with no major restrictions! That's actually more than good news. Now for the details...


- Stuart -

[ssl4000g]

I guess the good news is that you are allowed to do this, with no major restrictions! That's actually more than good news. Now for the details...


- Stuart -

I'm re-thinking the space usage too. I am experimenting with Louden 1:1.50:2.10 to maximize the room that is most important. The vocal booth/lounge is becoming less important.

Keep you in the loop.

W

[ssl4000g]

I've come to realize that a project like this, and the results I expect are quite the challenge. I'm dropping this update to inform any followers that I am looking into a new path for getting this done. That includes some real funding, a business plan (as this is becoming more than just a 'home office' and my township requires that I operate as a business), and a very serious look at a professional design.

I will periodically drop some updates here as this process unfolds.

W