On Purpose Productions detached garage studio

[xSpace]

I'm pretty certain the one on the bottom is shedding a tear.

[lilith_envy]

Sounds like your aircon guys were just to lasy to do the slab mount.

[petrovinksy]

Ok - update:

I wasn't planning on using Green Glue but decided that isolation from my neighbors is worthy investment. I got two cases at $15.97 Cdn each - picked up locally from a distributor in Mississauga (about a 40 minute drive each way).

You got my hopes up on the price. I read 15.97 per case and thought that's pretty cheap. But 15.97 per tube that's a little crazy.

[onpurposeproductions]

Ok - update:

I wasn't planning on using Green Glue but decided that isolation from my neighbors is worthy investment. I got two cases at $15.97 Cdn each - picked up locally from a distributor in Mississauga (about a 40 minute drive each way).

You got my hopes up on the price. I read 15.97 per case and thought that's pretty cheap. But 15.97 per tube that's a little crazy.

Yeah sorry - I didn't word that very well. Yes, $15.97 per tube is crazy and I may not have really needed it, but in the grand scheme of things $400 to make sure I got the best isolation I could from my immediate neighbor was determined to be a worthwhile expense.

I posted a while back that I'd probably be around $25 000 all said and done. My wife and I did a final tally about a week ago and its actually at $30 000. In my very first post I stated a $20 000 max budget (although I always expected to be over that - just don't tell my wife ). So 50% over budget........that's about right eh?

[onpurposeproductions]

I confirmed today that the silica crystal idea is working perfectly!

My wife sewed together a pouch and we filled it with a bunch of crystals (probably more than necessary), put them in the window and sealed it up air tight. I also put the other window together but without any crystals (although it wasn't quite air tight).

Today was rainy and humid and when I went out to the studio my experiment proved the effectiveness of the idea (pics). Awesome!

But I decided almost immediately that I didn't really like the way a loose bag would look inside the window (nothing to do with my wife's incredible sewing skills and her gracious willingness to help). So I decided to build some tiny boxes that would hold the crystals and hopefully provide a cleaner look.

They're pictured below. The idea is that I'll wrap the whole thing in fabric so it will look like a solid box from top to bottom. I did two larger ones for the exterior windows and a small one for the CR-LR window.

[petrovinksy]

Good to know. I'd re-dry the crystals in the oven before you re-install them. Just to make sure they last as long as possible.

[onpurposeproductions]

Oh yeah - I didn't dry these out in the oven beforehand like you suggested.

I was actually planning on just using different crystals for the final install since I've got a whole bag of em!

[onpurposeproductions]

I made a decision to try standard door handles/latches on a couple doors. The CR to closet doorway has only a single door design. Sound transmission on this doorway is a low priority - or atleast, I knew I'd get enough isolation even with a standard door handle and latch.

I also decided to put a standard handle and latch on the second door of the CR to exterior doorway (a double door design). One door in this doorway already had a standard handle in order to include a keyed lockset for security. This doorway is my primary entrance to the studio and faces our house (not the neighbor) so sound transmission here is not as big a priority as on the back entrance which leads into the LR and is closer to my neighbor (and will also be where the louder noises will be made ).

My intention was to put the new handles/latches in place and then do some testing to determine exactly what isolation I was getting. My plan was also to stuff the hollow center of the handle with insulation - as much as I could stuff in there to try to create a 'mass' while still allowing the mechanism to work properly.

My testing was done with a couple reference monitors and an 8" subwoofer placed about 3 feet from the door. All of the seals were totally air tight.

On the single door from CR to closet I was reading 22dB of reduction while using both A and C weighting. On C weighting I was reading 100dB with the door open and 78dB closed.

The double door was a little more difficult to get accurate readings on because it goes to the exterior (which obviously has noises of its own). The daytime exterior noise level with no cars going by was reading about 62dB on average using C weighting (too low to read on A weighting).

I set my 'noise' levels to 100dB C weighting with doors open and was reading 70dB with both doors closed. However, with A weighting I was reading 93dB with doors open and 56, 57dB with doors closed. So 30dB reduction with C weighting and 36dB with A weighting.

Its worth noting that the holes in the doors (handles) are not directly across from each other as the doors are hinged on different sides of the framing.

I'm still processing what it all means but it definitely makes me want to find a way to latch the other doors in the studio tightly without making a hole in them! I was really hoping for 40dB on the double doors. I just really am not optimistic about being able to do that at this point without using deadbolts (which I'd really rather not).

[petrovinksy]

4-1_750.jpg

Have you considered door closers yet.

[onpurposeproductions]

Have you considered door closers yet.

I've got one on the main entrance already but it doesn't close with enough force to create a tight seal (and it is a heavy duty commercial grade closer). I've also got one for the outer door on the rear entrance but haven't installed it yet.

With the two door design, once both doors have air tight seals on them you get some pretty strong resistance from the air trapped between them when closing. I could imagine a closer working really well with full magnetic seals (refrigerator style) but not with the more affordable option that I've gone with.

I actually put two sliding bolt latches on the inner rear entrance door. I was planning to do this for security reasons (because the door with the lock on it is on the outside and the hinges are exposed). These two bolt latches keep it closed nice and tight so I think that's all I'm going to do on that door. It's only going to be used occasionally.

Once I put the sliding bolt latches on I tested that double door to see how it would compare to the main entrance. I'm measuring 33dB of reduction on C weighting. An extra 3dB from having only one of the two doors with a handle hole through it.

[petrovinksy]

well i'm outta ideas

[mikelol]

on a happier note - I've got some flooring installed! I bought some 12mm (1/2") laminate flooring that I'm quite happy with.

The underlay was a 'premium' product that also served as a vapor barrier and sound/impact absorber. Seemed pretty good....

Cutting the angled pieces for the edges was a bit tricky at first until I got the hang of it. Other than that, installing this flooring is super easy since it just clicks together and 'floats' - no glue or nails.

The pic of the finished product doesn't look so hot due to all the dust and the glare but it is going to look fantastic when its all cleaned up.

onpurposeproductions, you have done great work! The laminate flooring is with hand scraped surface? There should be min 8mm gap between the wall and floor.

[onpurposeproductions]

onpurposeproductions, you have done great work! The laminate flooring is with hand scraped surface? There should be min 8mm gap between the wall and floor.

Thanks Mikelol. Being a laminate floor it can't be hand scraped (otherwise they'd scrape off the laminate surface). I used cedar shakes as spacers around the outside to keep a 1/4" gap.

I'm really pleased with the flooring. I would have liked to put down an engineered hardwood but I really like the look of this stuff. So far it seems really scratch resistant and locked together really well (I've seen some laminates pull apart). I think getting the thickest stuff you can is key.

[onpurposeproductions]

Construction has been officially complete for about a week now! The seals on the doors between booth and Live Room are still outstanding (I've been ignoring them a little, I'm afraid) and I still need to get some small pieces of trim to finish off between the door thresholds and the floor....but its pretty much done.

I had a setback in getting equipment installed though. I had thought that I would be purchasing a Control24 and Argosy 90 series desk from another local studio owner at the end of October. When the time came however, he decided he wasn't quite ready to make his upgrade . So I've been scrambling to find another mixer and desk. Finding a Control24 is not that difficult but finding a 90 series Argosy desk for it is. But it looks like I've found a seller with both so hopefully I'll be setting them up within a few weeks! Woo Hoo!

In the meantime, there's still work to be done anyway. I set up a system to do some RT60 testing in the control room. I've got an Earthworks mic and preamp that I use for analysis along with an LE system and SpectraFoo (running in OS9! ). As you can see in the pic I set up everything on a desk with the mic approximately at what will be the mix position, but I quickly realized that the laptop makes way too much noise to get a good reading so I ended up moving it and the 002 into the booth.

I was reading an RT60 of somewhere around 1.00 second, give or take. I didn't do any testing in the Live Room - I'm really just going to treat to ear in there and hopefully mount panels in such a was as they can easily be removed to adjust liveliness if desired.

703 is really difficult to come by (if at all?) here in Canada so I set out to look for a supplier of Roxul's industrial product - RHT. There are apparently only two suppliers in all of Ontario. I put in an order of 2 bags of RHT80 at 2" thickness and 4 bags of RHT80 at 4" thickness. The 2" stuff comes with 6 24"x48" batts per bag and I plan on cutting them in half to make 24 12"x48" panels to go on the walls. The 4" stuff has 3 batts per bag and I plan on using them in their full 24"x48" size for ceiling and wall corner treatment.

I'm really eager to get some treatment going up as the rooms are predictably unpleasant in their current state - every surface is reflective.

You can see the speakers I installed in the Live Room. I'm pretty excited about these as in my experience artists often want to come back into the control room to hear what they've just performed rather than just listening back through the headphones.

I hope to still install a faux-stone product eventually from floor to ceiling on that wall with the mic input panels and the window to the CR. There's a company called StoneSelex around here that makes a really fantastic product.

[limsa-terry]

Hello Greg!

Looking really good Thanks for the very informative and interesting thread! My liveroom, which I've been desingning lately is almost the same size as yours. Was it in finished 8'x8'4"x16,9' as per your first post in this thread? That speaker installation in live room is very good idea. I think I'm going to steal that to you I like also that flooring and neutral colours of your walls and ceiling.

-Janne