John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum Archive

The ideal guest hs.+ 17'x17' studio combo for rental??

**I am in processs of designing a very basic conversion of an already drywalled guesthouse+garage into a soundproof 2 room studio. I will rent this to a musician/producer/songwriter. **

Here is the layout -Studio is 17' x 17'......guest hs. part is 17'x17'.

I left it a blank slate for floorplan ideas.

I'd like to design this from a single musician/ songwriter's point of view. " What would be your ideal setup. Would you want a small bedroom in the studio (also doubles as a second booth in addition to a drum booth) so your nights are very quiet and the living space can be separate?...OR is that a waste- do you assume you sleep in the studio in the corner behind the door; i.e no enclosed bedroom.? It is only one more wall and door to add to get the bedroom/2nd booth if it fits ok.

I'm going to throw out a bunch of questions and hope that some of the very generous geniuses here can help me narrow down my choices and steer me in the right direction.

Half the building is a 17x17' guest unit with a living space, bath, shower and kitchen.

The other half ( future studio) is a 17'x17' room with a door and long window on the back wall that will need covering or doubling w/ a new wall. 12" ceramic tiles on the floor on slab which I will add area rugs to taste.

I need a large main control/keyboard/ bedroom and a booth that will handle a drum kit.

Ceiling is 8'3" sinlge drywall on trusses. I'm going in the attic Sunday to check the look of the insulation and collar ties.

Should I add insulation and vapor barrier plastic up between the upper roof joists?

The conversion was just done this year and there is new electrical and 70 amp panel.

Maybe lose the back door and frame over it. Lose the Wall A/C in favor of a mini-split........

I'm thinking of trying to keep the window for natural light...... maybe frame an additional window for sound lock?

One basic approach is to build straight inner walls to fit the square and add a booth in the corner. Add room/ bass treatments to taste later.

I'd like it to be as LOW BUDGET as possible and maybe not have to build all inner walls if it can be soundproof. Maybe just hang some RC on gaskets and 2 layers 5/8" A La ASC ISO MAX. Plug or frame the window, and add an extra frame for a sound lock door over the existing one. Or is it just as cost effective and quieter to throw up walls?

Weakest link is probably the ceiling which might not hold 2 more layers on RC.

For the booth, I'm thinking of using 2 standard solid wood french doors (opposite opening and a small air lock), from Home depot which have a single panel of dual layered glass, lots of gaskets.

If I don't build double walls, is it worth it to frame an extra ceiling on the booth?..or maybe an extra layer of drywall on rubber iso pads.....

I plan on using a 12k-18k BTU mini split A/C and need ideas to deaden the A/C sound in the main room and ventilate the booth too. I could get a dual unit mini-split ( one for the booth), but that would be $$ overkill for the rare times the booth would be really used for long periods of time.

I'm thinking of mounting the air unit up at the ceiling and building a baffle box that extrudes about a foot with 703 lining. Somehow it should allow for proper warm air intake too.

I will be looking for a builder too...my back gave out years ago...referrals would be welcome.

I'm also looking for a tenant for this place in the nice neighborhood of Valley Glen, LA, CA (near N. Hollywood, Sherman Oaks). Rent will be $1400 mo. for the whole ( 600 sq. ft. approx. ) building. Even better if he is a builder / I will work out a very fair deal for free rent + $ to build.

Thanks in advance,

Baba

Let's try again on the pic.

Mate - the only concern I have are those circles you've drawn in the room - are these poles??

Anyway this is my first reaction to the setup

cheers
john

Thanks John,

The circles are existing recessed lights - those I would probably seal up and use surface mount track lighting. Below are pics of the outside and the ceiling lights and a/c window.

I was hoping to not commit to the detail work of soffits so much. I have no idea what kind of speakers my tenants might have.......Are those bass trap walls, or just dead air space?

==============================================
I think I'd rather build it soundproof and try to keep as much roominess as possible for a lower budget and I'd leave the room treatment to whoever rents the space.

For initial room treatment, I would hang a bunch of simple 703 wall panels for a start, to create a look and even out the mid/ high reflections. Some splayed out a bit??? CAn you suggest placement?

Do you think that 's reasonable? Maybe some simple corner traps...but even that might be too much detail work for now. I know I've seen a simple design here somewhere.....

That gets to the original question of : "Maybe, instead of building double walls, just hang some RC on gaskets and 2 layers 5/8" A La ASC ISO MAX. Plug or frame the window, and add an extra frame for a sound lock door over the existing one. Or is it just as cost effective and quieter to throw up walls? "...Would double walls be overkill if the ceiling is only one extra 5/8' layer on RC? Or is there another ceiling treatment you'd recommend? I'm going for inspection tomorrow, so I'll see how strong the rafters look. I know 2 layers of 5/8" would be pretty heavy though.

Also, I think the booth could be shorter and leave the lower right corner as a possible place for the bed/couch or desk area.

If the booth is 10' long, 7' deep at the left and 5' deep at the right, I think that would be room enough for a drum kit.......? Am I wrong? My layout is a different size for another opinion. Anyone else have experience with good drum kit dimensions? No window in the booth - although my options are a sliding glass door or the wood french- style door(s?) with 1 large panel of dual pane glass..

Care to have a go at some of my other questions?

Thanks,

Baba

Care to have a go at some of my other questions?

No not really - you appear to want to build a soundproof room full stop - do a search - you don't want a studio, you want a web so you can trap a tenant to build it, so I'd prefer to wait till your tenant logs in and we'll fix him/her up.

happy investing Baba

cheers
john

Hi John,

I think you misunderstand my mention in the end of my first post. I don't want to trap anyone. The last thing I would do is wait around to find a person to specifically build AND live in it. That is possible here in LA though so that's why I mentioned it. Certainly not my first option though.

My goal is to get this built asap and make it attractive and functional to a whole range of prospective tenants - long term. ( songwriter, drummer, hobbyist, film audio editor, voiceover single guy...)

A reliable builder is worth much more than a guy who is a carpenter and just might be looking for a place to live.......'nuff said.

My reference to "I'd leave the room treatment to whoever rents the space." means: They might not be so worried about splayed walls, soffits and such, and I would want to provide good, basic surface treatments that would probably be more cost effective (maybe not in certain cases- that's why I asked the questions I did on the forum).

I don't want to over-design or over-build it. The forum is great for the research- and I've noitced there are many ways (and many budget $$ levels) to accomplish the same goal of having a "nice" studio. That's why I'm so open to various options.

The key is NOT to have a "weak link" - that I don't overbuild one aspect if it doesn't match the overall STC or ergonomics (or budget) of the space.

I'd love to hear from anyone who has been in a similar position.

Thanks again,

Baba

But Baba - what I drew for you involved one wall being added to create a proper control room space and a booth big enough for drums which is what you wanted. The soffit mount is optional but the wall isn't if you want a booth for drums. My design incorporates your existing window, existing door, with an added sound lock door. The added wall will also allow you to add a new ceiling under the existing one which, as you said, probably won't handle the extra drywall layers. It cuts the ceiling span in half so no additional support beams will be needed.

I don't see how you can do it for less

cheers
JOhn