John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum Archive

Hello

My name is Julian. I have have been checking out this forum for a few months while getting my thoughts together on my drum studio that I am hoping to build. I am planning on starting demo/construction in the next month or so.
I will be using the space for: teaching private drum lessons, creating online drum content (video and audio), rehearsing with my own band and practicing.
My goal is to create a space where I can play at a normal volume without waking any of our 4 children who's rooms are on the 2nd floor of the house. The house is a 1980's construction center hall colonial. Our neighborhood is pretty quite and our neighbors are pretty far away so outside noise is not really a concern.
As the basement currently stands, there is a playroom which will soon be my drum studio, a small impractical laundry/office space, which currently serves as my drum studio, a mechanical/hvac room and some unfinished storage space. The total footprint of the house is 40'x25'
my budget is about $3000-$4000 but I am hoping to include some minor renovations to the other part of the basement, which will serve as the kids playroom/laundry room/guest bedroom. The upgrades will be minor; new flooring (probably laminate) and moving a wall and some paint.


My new drum studio will take up one end of the house and be approx 12'x25' (less depending on how the walls are to be constructed)
This is where i am looking for some help/expertise.
The space is currently finished with 2x4 studded drywall, insulation on the outside walls, a drop ceiling with insulation between the floor joists.
Obviously there will need to be enough work to get any amount of sound isolation that would make this a worthwhile project.
I have read about and researched the various methods, but am stuck as to which direction to choose.
Here are what i see as the pro's and cons of the room within a room vs the RC/double drywall method

Room within a room:
Pro's: more isolation, less initial demo work as I could probably leave the current walls alone, could frame the new ceiling right on top of the new walls ( i think)
Cons: floating floor? (expensive and not sure i have enough headroom), loss of space

Demo inside of wall, add whisper clips and resilient channel, insulation, double layered drywall with green glue.
Pro's: less loss of space, probably cheaper?,
Cons: maybe more expensive (this is where i could use help) ceiling? floor? Less isolation overall?

Here are some pictures with dimensions.
I should add that the distance between the floor and bottom of the floor joists is 92", with the drop ceiling being about a foot lower than that to accommodate the HVAC duct work that runs through the middle of the space on either side of the main beam for the house.

Current layout I can't figure out how to get a sketchup file to load, but I have done a few variations. I think the file might be to big?

My questions are:

What would be the ideal construction method for building the walls, floor and ceiling to create a space that is fairly well isolated? It doesnt have to be perfect as I will not be doing any major recording projects in here

Is this possible within my current budget?

Any other advice would be greatly appreciated.
I will try and figure out how to upload the sketchup file, in the meantime, here is a couple of screen shots

Hi Julian - and welcome to the forum!

I'll share my thoughts with you quickly in the hopes that it helps, and then let's see if there's agreement from the experts.

Room within a room:
Pro's: more isolation, less initial demo work as I could probably leave the current walls alone, could frame the new ceiling right on top of the new walls ( i think)
Cons: floating floor? (expensive and not sure i have enough headroom), loss of space

Demo inside of wall, add whisper clips and resilient channel, insulation, double layered drywall with green glue.
Pro's: less loss of space, probably cheaper?,
Cons: maybe more expensive (this is where i could use help) ceiling? floor? Less isolation overall?

For the kind of isolation it looks like you need (Drums + Kids) I would definitely go with a separately framed room. I would not float the floor. It's very difficult to do properly, very easy to do wrong, and very expensive. The most bang for you buck will come from beefing up your existing outer leaf as much as you can, seal every possible hole, hap and penetration, and then create your new room as described - ceiling framed upon the new walls. Two layers of sheetrock with Green Glue between them. Pay attention to all of the small details like caulking and sealing everything. I don't see anything in your post about doors - this is another area to pay attention to - a lot of sound can escape if you don't use an appropriate solution for a door which includes having good seals.

So yes, you will lose some space going this route, but for the extra isolation it will be worth It IMO.

I also did not see in your post anything about heating, cooling and fresh air - these are all areas you HAVE to consider. You will need the space the be comfortable as well as safe. If you invest a lot of time and effort into sealing this room air-tight - it means that there will be no air getting in or out - this is not a matter of comfort, but of life or death. Without fresh air - you will die.

So these are my initial thoughts based on what I've read. Perhaps if you can share some more detail about your plans for HVAC, Door(s) etc. Once you can talk about that we can figure out how realistic your budget is. Are you planning on doing all of the work yourself?

If you haven't already - pick up Rod Gervais book. It may be the cheapest and most valuable investment in your project!

Good luck and look forward to hearing more about your project.

Andy

Andy,

Thank you for response, here is some additional info.

I also did not see in your post anything about heating, cooling and fresh air - these are all areas you HAVE to consider. You will need the space the be comfortable as well as safe. If you invest a lot of time and effort into sealing this room air-tight - it means that there will be no air getting in or out - this is not a matter of comfort, but of life or death. Without fresh air - you will die.

Yes, I have thought about it. There is HVAC in there which consists of a heating/cooling duct and a return. My initial plan is to create some sort of baffled insulated ductwork. I had also considered including a dead vent instead, but am still researching the options.

Are you planning on doing all of the work yourself?

Yes. I have a couple of family members who are experienced in framing, drywall, electrical.

I don't see anything in your post about doors - this is another area to pay attention to - a lot of sound can escape if you don't use an appropriate solution for a door which includes having good seals.

I have put somme thought into this one, including closing off one of the "doorways" that are currently in the space so that there will only be one. I looked at some solid wood doors at Home depot yesterday. I will most likely be going with a Solid wood door with some beefed up sealing, possibly adding a layer or two of something else on either side of it.

Windows... There is one window. I am thinking of some heavy curtains with some MLV or maybe some sort of shutter system. It would be nice to be able to have natural light during the daylight hours, when sound transmission is not a big deal.

If you haven't already - pick up Rod Gervais book. It may be the cheapest and most valuable investment in your project!

Ordered it on Amazon this morning!

I was also thinking about building a Drum riser as an alternative to a floating floor... I am thinking that it would help eliminate some of the resonance of the kick drum.

Thanks again for the response. I look forward to hearing some more of what y'all have to say.