Home recording studio
Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 1:24 am
Hi. Looking for advice on a two level, 16' x 22' addition to our colonial house in Richmond, Virginia (U.S.), with the 22' dimension projecting straight into the backyard, perpendicular to the house (all above ground). The upper level is going to be a sun room, completely open to the dining room and hence noise from the rest of the house. The lower level, coming directly off our walkout basement, will hopefully serve the following functions:
1) A place to play and record electric piano and vocals without that noise permeating the house or neighborhood (most lots are between 1/4-1/2 acre, and houses are roughly 30-40 feet apart)
2) A green-screen recording studio, for weekly interviews with two people sitting at a desk with a digital background. May also feature green-screen recordings of a standing or walking subject (with option for low budget Cosmos-like effects) - usually just speaking at a normal volume.
3) If noise control is sufficient, would also like to be able to do occasional recordings and green-screen videos of a couple of bands (featuring bass, guitar, banjos, and vocals - ideally would be suitable for drums as well if that doesn't introduce too much extra expense)
I've never had a studio before, and would welcome any advice we should pass on to our builder. Have mentally budgeted $3000 or so to help reduce noise spilling in and out of the studio - somewhat flexible on that, and could use help prioritizing what should be done (since I've gathered there's no point spending a ton on the walls if most of the noise will come through the ceiling/sun room anyway).
Current plans for the 16' wide x 22' long x 9' high studio are to have a smooth finished concrete slab floor, part of which will be painted green for videos where subject is standing or walking. When floor doesn't have to be in the shot, would roll out a carpet to reduce sound bouncing off floor. There will be one heavy door connecting this to the basement and no windows. Heating/cooling/ventilation to be done with a 'Mini Split' which our builder recommended for efficiency and low noise.
From the required reading for the forums, I was planning to have the build a 2 ply wall with 1" space in between, with no sheetrock on the inner/hidden surfaces - so Sheetrock>stud>1" air gap>another stud>more sheetrock - with rockwool between the sheetrock but no paper facing inside since that would ruin air spring damping.
Wasn't sure if it's worth putting MDF outside the sheetrock on one or both sides - I saw that increased mass would help reduce noise flow.
Our builder had also spoken about just a single six inch wall with some heavy material sprayed between to dampen sound - not sure the exact product or if that would be worth considering. Forums here made the 2 ply with air gap look like good idea for new construction.
I believe we're going to have one steel beam running the 22' length of the ceiling. Any recommendations on what to do for ceiling. I can make sure there's no foot traffic in the Florida room when I'm recording, but there will be regular noise from people talking in the house and a television several rooms away. Would a regular sheetrock ceiling, and then a drop-ceiling of tiles be adequate?
We also have a Trane heat pump that will be outside in the backyard probably only a couple feet away from the studio. Do I need to see if they can move that - or would the walls with air gap reduce the outside noise so not an issue (or would a simple wall outside between the unit and studio be enough to deflect most of the noise?
I do not need professional recording studio quality. But I do want to avoid loud, obvious noises that would ruin a news type program. Is the split wall with rockwool enough to block out a neighbor with a lawnmower or chainsaw in the neighborhood?
I'll also need Skype as an ongoing part of the show, and will have a computer in the studio. This will generally be a one person operation - though may have a helper at times. Wasn't planning to set up a separate 'control room' or vocal booth - but if there's something I should do up front in construction that would be much harder to add later, happy to hear any advice.
Images attached below - and thank you for any help. House repairs are already underway, and construction to follow in a couple of weeks (yeah, I wish I'd posted earlier, but ran into registration snafu and just getting back to it)
1) A place to play and record electric piano and vocals without that noise permeating the house or neighborhood (most lots are between 1/4-1/2 acre, and houses are roughly 30-40 feet apart)
2) A green-screen recording studio, for weekly interviews with two people sitting at a desk with a digital background. May also feature green-screen recordings of a standing or walking subject (with option for low budget Cosmos-like effects) - usually just speaking at a normal volume.
3) If noise control is sufficient, would also like to be able to do occasional recordings and green-screen videos of a couple of bands (featuring bass, guitar, banjos, and vocals - ideally would be suitable for drums as well if that doesn't introduce too much extra expense)
I've never had a studio before, and would welcome any advice we should pass on to our builder. Have mentally budgeted $3000 or so to help reduce noise spilling in and out of the studio - somewhat flexible on that, and could use help prioritizing what should be done (since I've gathered there's no point spending a ton on the walls if most of the noise will come through the ceiling/sun room anyway).
Current plans for the 16' wide x 22' long x 9' high studio are to have a smooth finished concrete slab floor, part of which will be painted green for videos where subject is standing or walking. When floor doesn't have to be in the shot, would roll out a carpet to reduce sound bouncing off floor. There will be one heavy door connecting this to the basement and no windows. Heating/cooling/ventilation to be done with a 'Mini Split' which our builder recommended for efficiency and low noise.
From the required reading for the forums, I was planning to have the build a 2 ply wall with 1" space in between, with no sheetrock on the inner/hidden surfaces - so Sheetrock>stud>1" air gap>another stud>more sheetrock - with rockwool between the sheetrock but no paper facing inside since that would ruin air spring damping.
Wasn't sure if it's worth putting MDF outside the sheetrock on one or both sides - I saw that increased mass would help reduce noise flow.
Our builder had also spoken about just a single six inch wall with some heavy material sprayed between to dampen sound - not sure the exact product or if that would be worth considering. Forums here made the 2 ply with air gap look like good idea for new construction.
I believe we're going to have one steel beam running the 22' length of the ceiling. Any recommendations on what to do for ceiling. I can make sure there's no foot traffic in the Florida room when I'm recording, but there will be regular noise from people talking in the house and a television several rooms away. Would a regular sheetrock ceiling, and then a drop-ceiling of tiles be adequate?
We also have a Trane heat pump that will be outside in the backyard probably only a couple feet away from the studio. Do I need to see if they can move that - or would the walls with air gap reduce the outside noise so not an issue (or would a simple wall outside between the unit and studio be enough to deflect most of the noise?
I do not need professional recording studio quality. But I do want to avoid loud, obvious noises that would ruin a news type program. Is the split wall with rockwool enough to block out a neighbor with a lawnmower or chainsaw in the neighborhood?
I'll also need Skype as an ongoing part of the show, and will have a computer in the studio. This will generally be a one person operation - though may have a helper at times. Wasn't planning to set up a separate 'control room' or vocal booth - but if there's something I should do up front in construction that would be much harder to add later, happy to hear any advice.
Images attached below - and thank you for any help. House repairs are already underway, and construction to follow in a couple of weeks (yeah, I wish I'd posted earlier, but ran into registration snafu and just getting back to it)