building a small studio in existing room

[djoni]

I need to build a new studio (outside of my house this time <- thats my wife's smile.

My studio will be in a room and about 10 m x 5 meters. Ceiling is about 3 meters high .

My idea is to separate the room in 2 sections with a wall (or double wall)and double glass window: control room and live area.

I don't pretend to record very loud stuff such as accoustic drums etc. I normally use midi drum kit+sampler, synths, electric guitars, volcas etc.

I also don't want to spend too much money and cannot build with concrete (the house is not mine, I am just rentinc the room for some years).

The floor is made or solid wood on top of concrete (parquet???) and walls are concrete.

Can anyone give me ideas on how to do this with conventional materials?

1) My first aim is to isolate the north wall from the street noise.

2) I need to build the wall to separate the room in two - isolating them the more I can.

3) I will also want to reduce sound transmition through walls and ceiling.

4) How can I enhance accoustics with cheap materials?

Some other questions:

a) What is better: dry the floor or the ceiling? or both?

b) Is carpet good for walls?

c) Is it necessary to built double walls with concrete? Or can do build false
walls with wooden boards?

d) do I really need to frame the walls?

Thanks for any input

best

djoni

[knightfly]

Hi djoni, welcome to the forum -

First, we need to know what your approximate budget is, and what that means in terms of material cost and availability - every country has different materials that are cheap and expensive, as well as different local building customs. Here in the US, gypsum wallboard is the cheapest and best material for sound proofing, used either on wood or steel framing (the steel is very thin, it's the shape that gives it strength ) However, in Indonesia (for example) gypsum and MDF (another high-mass material) are very expensive (not made locally) but bricks are quite cheap. Labor is also a big variable from place to place.

If you can give us an idea of those things (budget and cost of materials) it will be easier to recommend. Another HUGE help would be a basic drawing, showing windows, doors, and any other irregularities in the room. Please include dimensions.

You'll want to stay away from rooms with two or more dimensions the same, it's bad for acoustics - so don't divide your space evenly, or you'll end up with two square rooms.

Give us as many details of your existing room as you can, let's see what can be done... Steve