My name is Nils, 29 years old, from the Netherlands. I’ve been lurking for a long time and have read a lot of topics on this forum, saved a lot of information in my browser-favorites and bought Rod Gervais’s book as a guideline / reference material. (awesome forum, still organizing my favorites haha). I’ve decided to dive in and create a post. Hopefully I follow all the first post rules.
I’m an IT administrator during the day and a musician in my free time as well as a woodworker. I have experience in building wooden buildings / structures and home renovating and I'm pretty handy if I may say so myself.
At this moment, my plan is nothing but a dream. I have a newborn and I’m going on a couple weeks road trip through the USA next year. Conclusion: my bank account will probably be empty for a while BUT… As I have come to learn from this forum it will be 75% planning and 25% actually building (or something like that) so I’d like to start planning. Anyway, let’s get into it
Neighbourhood and surroundings
My neighbours are close (probably 8 to 10m from the to be build studio) when they’re sitting in their garden. I live in a quiet neighbourhood but there is a busy road nearby with a sound wall. The dutch authorities state that the max sound level measured at the neighbor's house can be: Evenings average peak: (18.00 - 23.00) Between 45 dB(A) 65 dB(A).
I’ve done a quick test with my phone (not very accurate) and the sound in the evenings seems to land around 40 to 45 db. I’m planning on buying a good db meter but I can already say, it’s pretty quiet around here...
Option 1
The main reason I'm building the room is to record: vocals, guitars and a general place where I can mix projects. This should give me roughly 80 db MAX I think?
Option 2
Ideally would be that I can also practise here with my 3 piece band, without disturbing the neighbours. We practise with in-ears, without amps, with an acoustic drumkit (hello 115 db
), so drums would be the main and loudest concern…So with this option, I'm aiming for max isolation possible. Budget?
I would like to spend a max of 10k (in €) on the build. I’ve made an calculation of the materials and it will land somewhere around that figure. I’ll be doing everything myself (and I have some friends who are carpenters / builders). The pouring of the slab will probably be done by a company. I'm assuming I might shoot over this budget, as with any build or renovation... But I'd like to stay as close as possible.
The plan
I know I need to build a ROOM inside a ROOM. With the available space and budget, a one room build will probably be the best option. I know it’s impossible to get an awesome control room and a good live room in one, but that’s a compromise I’m willing to take. The space I’m willing to utilise is about 7x4 meters outer dimensions, 6,5x3,5 meters inner dimensions. Inner height around 2,6 meters. Closest ratio by Bob Gold’s Room Mode Calculator: "11) J. E. Volkmann: 1942 (later discussed by H. Bolt)" 1 : 1.5 : 2.5
I’m thinking about building inside out, but for now I’ve made my plan for a traditional build (worst case scenario with floor space in mind).
Floor
Slab on grade. My uncle is a contractor so I will ask him to help me calculate the correct thickness and weight bearing load etc.
Walls
I’m not completely sure about the outer leaf yet. I’m seen an awesome build documentary from Jonathan Curtis on Youtube (worth watching!) that got me questioning the use stud walls over concrete blocks. Of course the concrete gives great isolation but more expensive and maybe overkill for option 1. Definitely the right choice for option 2?
Wall construction:
Option 1 from the outside in: Option 2 from the outside in: Inside of the concrete wall would need to be plastered with cement.
I could go with 200mm thick blocks but would be more expensive. But if that’s what it takes?
Roof / Ceiling
This is one of the main components I’m not totally sure about. I’ve seen mention that the outer leaf ceiling mass should ideally be the same as the outer leaf walls. I also learned that increasing the airgap can also achieve this. I’m not that good with this kind of calculations so perhaps somebody can help me with this part?
I know there's no rockwool drawn in my 2d diagram but that will come in my more detailed plans.
HVAC
Since our climate is only hot for 1 week a year, I’m not sure about installing an air conditioner. Our current rehearsal space does NOT have one and sometimes it gets hot in here. Maybe I’ll come back to this..
As most humans, I do like fresh air! So an fresh air supply and outgoing supply are needed. I found some great designs from other builders on the forum. I know I need at least 4 silencer boxes (2 for each of the leafs). I will use and electical heater for heating. There are also airconditioners that can heat maybe that's a good option all in one option. Not really dove into this yet (will do!).
Questions
1). Would option 2 be a realistic option to even consider? Considering the quiet neighborhood and budget? And would a double stud wall suffice? Or is concrete the only way to go for this option in my location.
2). Can somebody help me with the calculations for the ceiling / roof air gap to match the walls for both options? Or give me some guidance how to calculate this myself?
3). Would 75mm rockwool be okay vs 100mm? It seems to be much cheaper over here. Fiberglass is even cheaper then 75mm rockwool (it seems).
I’m going to draw up a more detailed plan in sketchup. For now I’m still playing with the location in the garden and the overall shape and size. I just wanted to start his topic to refine my plan and find some help in making decisions for the planning phase. More questions will probably come as I go along.
Thank you very much for your help in advance!