John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum Archive

Hi, I live in Tumut, foot of the snowy mountains, country NSW.

I have a stand alone room that has currently got a concrete slab, external frame in place with scissor trusses, an almost blank canvas with no Cladding as yet. Timber frames and trusses, frames are 90mm. I have attached a simple plan to start with to help explain. The room is approximately 7.7m long x 5.1m wide x 3m high. The trusses are scissor trusses so it has a pitched internal ceiling 22.5 degrees, this will make the center of the ceiling approx 3.4m high. I would like to keep it as one room if possible, I would like to do some band, Duo and Solo artist recording and also do some recording for the local radio station but the area will also be used as a live rehearsal space with an acoustic drum kit. All kinds of music is to be played including hard rock.There is no real problem with outside noise coming in as its a fairly quiet surrounding, although I would still want to insulate the walls and ceiling as well as possible to limit the bass drum especially from escaping and potentially annoying anyone. I have looked into insulation, Rock wool acoustic batts along with Acoustiblok 3mm rubber matting for the walls and ceiling, 13mm acoustic gyprock. In saying all that i"m not sure the 90mm frame will be efficient,

How can I improve the sound insulation without building another set of frames inside the existing room.?

There must be a way I can add maybe a top hat beam to the outer of the 90mm frame and either fill this with more insulation or use it as am air gap before cladding, Any help would be greatly appreciated. There is currently 3 openings that were for windows approx 2000mm x 500mm at a height of about 2200mm. I looked at Viridian VLam Hush windows double glazed with a 10.5mm and 6.5mm glass. I want the room to be as professional as possible but unfortunately theirs a budget, I have $20k - $30k to spend but I want the right info going forward, I know the frame might not be ideal but it's what I have. I hope you can help.

Regards Clayton Denson

Hi Clayton, hope you are still around! I totally missed your thread before, but hopefully "better late than never" applies here...

I have a stand alone room that has currently got a concrete slab, external frame in place with scissor trusses, an almost blank canvas with no Cladding as yet.

Photos?

I would like to keep it as one room if possible, I would like to do some band, Duo and Solo artist recording and also do some recording for the local radio station but the area will also be used as a live rehearsal space with an acoustic drum kit.

What about tracking / mixing / mastering? If you plan to do actual mixing and/or mastering, you need a room that has neutral acoustics, is symmetrical, and meets the ITU BS.1116-3 spec.

I have looked into insulation, Rock wool acoustic batts along with Acoustiblok 3mm rubber matting for the walls and ceiling, 13mm acoustic gyprock. In saying all that i"m not sure the 90mm frame will be efficient,

90mm framing for your inner-leaf walls will be fine, but obviously not for your inner-leaf ceiling: You need to check the span tables / calculators and get a qualified structural engineer to check your design (after you complete it) to ensure that it is structurally safe and meets code.

How can I improve the sound insulation without building another set of frames inside the existing room.?

Simple answer: you can't. If you have only one frame, and directly attach sheathing on both sides of that, you won't get much more than about 30-something decibels of isolation. That's pitiful, when compared to the 60 or perhaps even 70 dB of isolation that you'd need to silence a loud rock band with acoustic drums.

There must be a way I can add maybe a top hat beam to the outer of the 90mm frame and either fill this with more insulation

You seem to be confusing insulation with isolation. Insulation by itself does not isolate. It's a common myth, but totally false. You could stick 50cm of excellent insulation on your walls and it would do practically nothing to stop sound getting in or out. Insulation does not stop sound. It absorbs sound, yes, but that's not the same as isolating. Isolation requires mass: thick, heavy, rigid, massive panels, all around, with totally air-tight seals. In fact, isolation requires two such "leaves": one is the outer wall of your studio on it's own frame, and the other is the inner leaf, on a separate frame. You do need insulation in the cavity between them, but the insulation is not there to stop sound getting through: it is there to damp resonances inside the cavity.

I'm not sure what you mean by a "top hat beam". Is that local terminology for something that is known by a different name elsewhere?

I looked at Viridian VLam Hush windows double glazed with a 10.5mm and 6.5mm glass.

Do not use double-glazed units. No good for this. You need s single thick pane of laminated glass in your outer leaf, and a similar thick pane of laminated glass in your inner leaf. That's all.

I want the room to be as professional as possible

The I'd suggest re-designing the toilet section! You most certainly do NOT want a toilet, bathroom, kitchen, or anything similar opening directly into your studio. That would be a big mistake.

but unfortunately theirs a budget, I have $20k - $30k to spend

Customers who have bult studios in Australia tell me that there costs work out to around AUD 1,000 per square meter, give or take about 30% (depending on location and complexity). 30k for a room measuring 7.7 x 5.1 is roughly in that range, a little on the low side, but still reasonable with careful planning and careful building.

I know the frame might not be ideal but it's what I have.

As I mentioned above, please provide photos of that, so we can see what you are dealing with.


- Stuart -