John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum Archive

Hi everyone! I've got a question for all you basement studio owner.

I'm planning to build a brand new home this summer. Could you give me any advice on things you could have done differently if you had the chance to build your studio from the moment the fondation took place.

For exemple, have the fondation be dug nine feet instead of the standard eight feet, being able to place the restroom at the right place instead of building your studio around it!

Thanks to all!
My regards to John for this excellent forum about "studio" all around.

I'm building in an existing basement. If I had the luxury of starting from scratch, ceiling height would be amongst the highest. Give yourself some head room, especially if you plan to have a floating floor. Maybe even have the control room slab decoupled from the rest of the studio if possible. Basements are also know to leak/seap, so check into what can be done for water proofing/resisting in the foundation itself. If you haven't done so yet, check this link...

http://www.buildingscience.com/resource ... ystems.pdf


Aaron

Thanks Aaron for that information about basement insulation!

Steve

Aaron gave you good advice, nothing like speaking from recent experience

IF you're starting truly from scratch, why not take it a notch further - get your studio floor space laid out, and if necessary change the house floor plan if you need just a few more feet. It's not that big a deal if you do it BEFORE the concrete goes in... Steve

Thanks Knightfly, I'll take your advice in consideration!

Steve

Speaking of high-ceiling basements, one thing to think about...

If you want to have a high ceiling in your basement, it means they'll be digging deeper, because you won't want the main level much farther out of the ground. Obviously, a split-level home has a little more sway here, and there's other things to do that'll change this (kick the whole house up farther out of the ground and build up earth around it, etc)...

But if you're digging a deeper basement make SURE you check the soil. Double check the local water table. Having a 9' or 10' basement won't get you anywhere if there's water in it... You might need to double up the perimeter footing drains and/or have an extra sump pump or whatever, but you should know what you're getting into before you get it built...

Now that I think about it, kicking the house out of the ground isn't TOO bad an idea- having earth built up around the house like that would help water flow away from the foundation, which is exactly what you want. There's a lot of other things to consider, not the least of which is how it'll look from the street. And digging a deeper foundation for a home is going to be pricy, because it means the concrete boys can't use standard forms to build it (they'll have to go to a commercial concrete contractor, so it'll cost more $ and undoubtedly make the homebuilder's socks roll up and down).

Just other things to think about. Just like mixing, every change you make to the house will affect other things, so make sure you chase down the details.

Kase
www.minemusic.net

All good points for sure - if anyone has NOT downloaded the PDF that Aaron linked to, please do. It covers everything Kase referred to and more. Very good resource for ANYONE with a basement... Steve