John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum Archive

im starting to put together a plan to build a small project studio in my back yard (southern US)
the budget is smaller than most of the construction ive seen on this site but I am able to do the work myself and plan on spending the time and money to make it work well for me
I do have a few questions right now which ive not been able to answer on my own through research and any input would be appreciated

im looking to build a rectangle room that will be one room for both tracking and mixing
first off the available space that i have will allow me to build something as large as 24x20x10
i realize that wouldnt be an ideal ratio with the ceiling height being pretty well fixed at 10 (i could potentially vault the ceilings but i dont know that itll make for a
would it be better to build closer to 15x20x10 with inside measurements of the double leaf walls being 14x19x10 ( or is the ratio based on the exterior wall dimensions?)

the other really big question that is looming at the moment is in regards to the way most of the construction in this area is done. typically they would build a wooden structure on concrete piers 12-24 inches off of the ground
im concerned the floors wouldnt have enough mass to prevent resonance
pouring a concrete slab here is a major undertaking and a considerable cost as well. im not ruling it out and i do understand why it would be better just wondering if there is a way i can work around it.


i have quite a few more questions but ill try to keep it brief for now
thanks in advance for your time and input

Hi. Please read the forum rules for posting (click here). You seem to be missing a couple of things!

first off the available space that i have will allow me to build something as large as 24x20x10

That's a decent size. Good start!

i realize that wouldnt be an ideal ratio with the ceiling height being pretty well fixed at 10

Does this building already exist, and has a limit at ten feet? Or is this all hypothetical at this stage? If hypothetical, then you don't have to limit your height to ten. Make it whatever it needs to be.

(i could potentially vault the ceilings but i dont know that itll make for a

Your comment is incomplete: "Make for a ..." what?

would it be better to build closer to 15x20x10 with inside measurements of the double leaf walls being 14x19x10

It would be better to build it as large as you can afford, based on the goals, the budget, and the amount of isolation you need.

or is the ratio based on the exterior wall dimensions?

It's base on the interior surfaces of each room. The hard, solid, heavy, rigid boundary surfaces that you would see as you stand inside the room that has just been built, but before any treatment, furniture or equipment is installed.

typically they would build a wooden structure on concrete piers 12-24 inches off of the ground

Why? Flooding?

im concerned the floors wouldnt have enough mass to prevent resonance

Everything resonates. There's not even enough mass in the entire planet to stop it resonating! Mass does not stop resonance. It affects the resonant frequency, but doesn't stop it.

pouring a concrete slab here is a major undertaking and a considerable cost as well. im not ruling it out and i do understand why it would be better just wondering if there is a way i can work around it.

It all depends on how much isolation you need, in decibels. That's the key.



- Stuart -

i appreciate you taking the time to respond

new construction
the reason for the 10ft ceiling height max is because in the back yard it would be too large otherwise. it will be approx 5ft from the back of the house

the reason for building on piers here is due in part to flooding , cost, cooling, being able to move the building and or work on it

I guess i should have said i dont want the floor to resonate at a frequency in the audible range.

im shooting for 60+db isolation. essentially i dont want to build double leaf walls and not have the floor be on par. there are neighbors that id rather not bother the nearest of which is 15ft away from the proposed structure.