Basement Project Studio, With an Eye for Resale/Flexibility
Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2021 4:35 pm
Hi Folks,
I’m new to contributing and I’m about to start my first build (all other rooms I’ve worked in were bedroom studios). This will be in the basement of a 1964 quad in Detroit, Michigan USA.
I’m an amateur keyboard player and songwriter/engineer and I have a pretty good understanding of acoustic principles, though I’m more comfortable with treatment topics than isolation/construction (I still have a lot to learn in this arena). I have a busy career, a wife, and two toddlers, so this is a passionate hobby that unfortunately only gets a few hours per week (right now).
I’ve looked at a lot of the studio builds on this site and I think it’s important to share my context. I need a room for mixing amateur projects and I’d like to occasionally record a guitar player or vocalist. I’ll never record live drums or a Marshall stack and with 120-foot lots (and cinder block walls), disturbing the neighbors isn’t a big worry. My primary goal (with the constraints I have) is to build a room with the best low-end response I can muster, to make mixing more enjoyable and efficient. My first 15’x12’x8’ bedroom studio had terrible standing waves and that left an early impression on me. The music I create is keyboard-heavy with sampled drums and it’s a combination of Chill Drum & Bass, Jazz, Fusion, Progressive Rock, and soundtrack/New Age.
I don’t want to do anything that is going to negatively impact the resale value of the house. Some of the builds and techniques on this site are phenomenal, but I need to design this so that a future owner can tear down a wall and have a usable open space. That’s why I didn’t do splayed walls or slat-style construction. I have countless bass traps and broadband absorbers already, so I have a lot of treatment options for a rectangular room. That being said, if you see something in my plan that can be improved layout-wise (and wouldn’t scare off a future buyer), I’ll always take the feedback.
This basement project also has a few storage areas and four new basement windows, so it’s not just a studio (I can’t occupy the full basement). My wife would like to keep the total cost to $20K USD, but I think that’s unreasonable in today’s market. If I could hit ~$30K that would be success. If I exceed $40K I’ve probably gone too far for my hobby.
The primary physical constraint I have is the ceiling height (7 feet from concrete floor to bottom of joist). I’ve researched open ceilings vs. closed ceilings, and despite the low height, I’m sold on a drywall ceiling.
Most of my questions are going to center on humidity/dehumidification, insulation, and probably electrical. I’m not going to ask anything specific to begin, but I’ll certainly take any first impressions of the design.
Basically it’s a 21’ x 13’ x 7’ rectangular room with cinder block behind two walls. I’m leaving a 3-foot corridor along the studio perimeter for plumbing access and I’m going to enclose my furnace and water heaters as best I can within code. I plan to do a resilient channel ceiling with 5/8” drywall and the interior walls of the studio portion will be 5/8” drywall, maybe doubled-up drywall, or I may go the Quietrock route. The studio walls that don’t mate with cinder block will have two leaves (all cinder block-facing walls would be single leaf). I plan to stuff the walls with R13, the ceiling joists with R19, and I’ll use Hilti putty pads and acoustic caulk throughout. The door will be 2.25-thick but I’m hesitant to get into weatherstripping and other sealing techniques until I can better understand humidity/dehumidification.
I’ve already learned something since joining: I’d be better off with 25ga metal studs and 24” stud spacing. The 16” timber plan that you see in the images will change accordingly.
One last note: You might find my mix position or layout a bit unusual. I work with headphones most of the time, but when I mix and master I like to have no obstacles between the speakers and me. I learned this from Bob Katz. I don’t follow the typical layout of putting NFMs on the desk. I keep a third LCD monitor on the floor in the mix position so that I can make adjustments while listening.
I appreciate any initial feedback based on my constraints and goals.
Thanks in advance.
Todd (aka Sundown)
I’m new to contributing and I’m about to start my first build (all other rooms I’ve worked in were bedroom studios). This will be in the basement of a 1964 quad in Detroit, Michigan USA.
I’m an amateur keyboard player and songwriter/engineer and I have a pretty good understanding of acoustic principles, though I’m more comfortable with treatment topics than isolation/construction (I still have a lot to learn in this arena). I have a busy career, a wife, and two toddlers, so this is a passionate hobby that unfortunately only gets a few hours per week (right now).
I’ve looked at a lot of the studio builds on this site and I think it’s important to share my context. I need a room for mixing amateur projects and I’d like to occasionally record a guitar player or vocalist. I’ll never record live drums or a Marshall stack and with 120-foot lots (and cinder block walls), disturbing the neighbors isn’t a big worry. My primary goal (with the constraints I have) is to build a room with the best low-end response I can muster, to make mixing more enjoyable and efficient. My first 15’x12’x8’ bedroom studio had terrible standing waves and that left an early impression on me. The music I create is keyboard-heavy with sampled drums and it’s a combination of Chill Drum & Bass, Jazz, Fusion, Progressive Rock, and soundtrack/New Age.
I don’t want to do anything that is going to negatively impact the resale value of the house. Some of the builds and techniques on this site are phenomenal, but I need to design this so that a future owner can tear down a wall and have a usable open space. That’s why I didn’t do splayed walls or slat-style construction. I have countless bass traps and broadband absorbers already, so I have a lot of treatment options for a rectangular room. That being said, if you see something in my plan that can be improved layout-wise (and wouldn’t scare off a future buyer), I’ll always take the feedback.
This basement project also has a few storage areas and four new basement windows, so it’s not just a studio (I can’t occupy the full basement). My wife would like to keep the total cost to $20K USD, but I think that’s unreasonable in today’s market. If I could hit ~$30K that would be success. If I exceed $40K I’ve probably gone too far for my hobby.
The primary physical constraint I have is the ceiling height (7 feet from concrete floor to bottom of joist). I’ve researched open ceilings vs. closed ceilings, and despite the low height, I’m sold on a drywall ceiling.
Most of my questions are going to center on humidity/dehumidification, insulation, and probably electrical. I’m not going to ask anything specific to begin, but I’ll certainly take any first impressions of the design.
Basically it’s a 21’ x 13’ x 7’ rectangular room with cinder block behind two walls. I’m leaving a 3-foot corridor along the studio perimeter for plumbing access and I’m going to enclose my furnace and water heaters as best I can within code. I plan to do a resilient channel ceiling with 5/8” drywall and the interior walls of the studio portion will be 5/8” drywall, maybe doubled-up drywall, or I may go the Quietrock route. The studio walls that don’t mate with cinder block will have two leaves (all cinder block-facing walls would be single leaf). I plan to stuff the walls with R13, the ceiling joists with R19, and I’ll use Hilti putty pads and acoustic caulk throughout. The door will be 2.25-thick but I’m hesitant to get into weatherstripping and other sealing techniques until I can better understand humidity/dehumidification.
I’ve already learned something since joining: I’d be better off with 25ga metal studs and 24” stud spacing. The 16” timber plan that you see in the images will change accordingly.
One last note: You might find my mix position or layout a bit unusual. I work with headphones most of the time, but when I mix and master I like to have no obstacles between the speakers and me. I learned this from Bob Katz. I don’t follow the typical layout of putting NFMs on the desk. I keep a third LCD monitor on the floor in the mix position so that I can make adjustments while listening.
I appreciate any initial feedback based on my constraints and goals.
Thanks in advance.
Todd (aka Sundown)