John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum Archive

Hi, I am building a rather large studio under my house. All the walls and ceiling will be built using Hebel on a concrete slab (each room will have a separate slab and walls), however I'm wondering what I should put on the concrete slabs? I want to have a live room as I am a percussionist so I am thinking a timber floor, but is this neccesary since I have a concrete slab already? I'm not sure about whether the acoustic will vary greatly. I was just thinking of laying the timber straight on the floor with a sheet of rubber in between.

I will be carpeting the other rooms (small studio, mixing room, and office. I will probably use carpet tiles for durabilty.) But if this idea of timber and rubber on concrete is ok I may do this for the whole lot.

Any advice would be great.

Best, Philip

Hi, and welcome; if your slabs are smooth enough, another option is to stain the concrete; acoustically, you won't see a noticeable diff between concrete and wood flooring.

Try a google search on stained concrete, see what turns up; if you still like the wood idea, I have a few links I can post... Steve

I plan to do what is often called an "etched stain" concrete floor in my room -- chepaer than laminate and lots cheaper than real wood, and it will look kind of like marble when done. It's also extremely durable!

--Keith

Dear Steve,

Thanks for that! I was hoping concrete would be the same acoustically. I will google and aim for a very smooth finish.

Cheers

Philip