Gearslutz.com - View Single Post

Lunatique · 31st May 2008, 02:59 PM

Before I begin, let me first say that I own three good books on the subject of studio construction/acoustic treatment:

building a recording studio, by Jeff Cooper
Acoustic Design for the Home Studio, by Mitch Gallagher
Home Recording Studio: Build It Like the Pros, by Rod Gervais

I try to reference the books whenever I have questions, but often the books don't cover everyone's unique situation, and that's why I'm here--seeking advice.

We are currently starting the interior construction of our new home in Fuzhou, China, and I'm trying to build a home project studio into the second floor. It is technically a loft apartment in a high-rise building, so each unit gets two floors--ours is floor 7 and 8. AFAIK, other than directly upstairs from the studio (which is floor 9's kitchen area), I have no other neighbors to worry about. The real estate companies in China do not do full interior construction when they sell units because people in China commonly want to do their own interior construction--that's why our place is so bare, with no interior walls at all.

I'm a composer/songwriter, and I will not be tracking loud bands or anything like that. I usually record my guitar/basses DI, and my drumset is electronic. I do record vocals though. The room isn' big enough to divide into control room and recording booth, so I'll have to combine them.

My listening level is usually from 80db to 90db. My neighbors will be noisy as people in China are pretty loud in general, and also for the next few years, other units will be doing interior contruction in their homes in our building or in nearby buildings.

Here's a photo with measurements of how it looks right now:

The orange color is the dimensions of the room (as how I'd like to have it once the walls are put up). The green color is the misc measurements of all the uneven parts (support beams, storage)the real estate company had built into the apartment. The purple color is where I'd put up a wall and door to the studio.

The window and the glass door are a concern, and I'll most likely just build hinged soundproof covers to close them up when I need to--probably wood panels with glassfiber insulation in the middle, and then put broadband acoustic panels on them.

The real estate company had built a small storage area into the room. I'll probably build a wooden frame around the opening and use a hinged broadband acoustic panel as its door, and let he storage area double as a bass trap.

The construction company the real estate company hired used hollow bricks like shown in this circular cutaway (it's a standard cut made in all houses to accomodate a hanging wall HVAC unit).

Speaking of HVAC unit, the most popular ones used in China are either the hanging wall units (on the left) or the standing units (on the right):
¹ãÖÝËÉÏÂ¿Õµ÷Æ÷ÓÐÏÞ¹«Ë¾

The lowest noise output for the wall units I've found is 22db, and 25db for the floor units. I don't know if that's quiet enough, and if not, I have to figure out a way to make them even more quiet.

Here an angle from the stairs.

Here's how the wall facing the outside (balcony) looks.

Here's what the building looks like from the outside.

So, my concerns currently are:

1) Does the current standard hollow bricks/cement wall/floor/ceiling used by the original construction company provide enough soundproofing? If not, what should I be adding to them? Simple wood panel/frame+glassfiber soundproofing, or just add another layer of brick/cement? The floor and the ceiling probably can't stand another layer of brick/cement's weight, so those will probably have to be wood+glassfiber?

2) Should I bother replacing the window/door with soundproof glass, or simply just make hinged soundproof "plugs" to block them off?

3) What to do about HVAC?

4) The interior wall (purple colored in the diagram) will be shared by the bathroom. Should I be worried? should to separate them into two walls?

5) Is that storage area fine to be used as a bass trap?

I've tried to do as much research as I can, but since I've never done anything like this before, and I'm no longer in the States, it's hard for me to find any help. People in a city like Fuzhou are pretty ignorant about any of the stuff--I probably know more than anyone else in the city. Anyway, any help you guys can give me will be much appreciated.

31st May 2008, 02:59 PM	#1
Lunatique Gear addict Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Fuzhou, China Posts: 364	Beginning construction in China Before I begin, let me first say that I own three good books on the subject of studio construction/acoustic treatment: building a recording studio, by Jeff Cooper Acoustic Design for the Home Studio, by Mitch Gallagher Home Recording Studio: Build It Like the Pros, by Rod Gervais I try to reference the books whenever I have questions, but often the books don't cover everyone's unique situation, and that's why I'm here--seeking advice. We are currently starting the interior construction of our new home in Fuzhou, China, and I'm trying to build a home project studio into the second floor. It is technically a loft apartment in a high-rise building, so each unit gets two floors--ours is floor 7 and 8. AFAIK, other than directly upstairs from the studio (which is floor 9's kitchen area), I have no other neighbors to worry about. The real estate companies in China do not do full interior construction when they sell units because people in China commonly want to do their own interior construction--that's why our place is so bare, with no interior walls at all. I'm a composer/songwriter, and I will not be tracking loud bands or anything like that. I usually record my guitar/basses DI, and my drumset is electronic. I do record vocals though. The room isn' big enough to divide into control room and recording booth, so I'll have to combine them. My listening level is usually from 80db to 90db. My neighbors will be noisy as people in China are pretty loud in general, and also for the next few years, other units will be doing interior contruction in their homes in our building or in nearby buildings. Here's a photo with measurements of how it looks right now: The orange color is the dimensions of the room (as how I'd like to have it once the walls are put up). The green color is the misc measurements of all the uneven parts (support beams, storage)the real estate company had built into the apartment. The purple color is where I'd put up a wall and door to the studio. The window and the glass door are a concern, and I'll most likely just build hinged soundproof covers to close them up when I need to--probably wood panels with glassfiber insulation in the middle, and then put broadband acoustic panels on them. The real estate company had built a small storage area into the room. I'll probably build a wooden frame around the opening and use a hinged broadband acoustic panel as its door, and let he storage area double as a bass trap. The construction company the real estate company hired used hollow bricks like shown in this circular cutaway (it's a standard cut made in all houses to accomodate a hanging wall HVAC unit). Speaking of HVAC unit, the most popular ones used in China are either the hanging wall units (on the left) or the standing units (on the right): ¹ãÖÝËÉÏÂ¿Õµ÷Æ÷ÓÐÏÞ¹«Ë¾ The lowest noise output for the wall units I've found is 22db, and 25db for the floor units. I don't know if that's quiet enough, and if not, I have to figure out a way to make them even more quiet. Here an angle from the stairs. Here's how the wall facing the outside (balcony) looks. Here's what the building looks like from the outside. So, my concerns currently are: 1) Does the current standard hollow bricks/cement wall/floor/ceiling used by the original construction company provide enough soundproofing? If not, what should I be adding to them? Simple wood panel/frame+glassfiber soundproofing, or just add another layer of brick/cement? The floor and the ceiling probably can't stand another layer of brick/cement's weight, so those will probably have to be wood+glassfiber? 2) Should I bother replacing the window/door with soundproof glass, or simply just make hinged soundproof "plugs" to block them off? 3) What to do about HVAC? 4) The interior wall (purple colored in the diagram) will be shared by the bathroom. Should I be worried? should to separate them into two walls? 5) Is that storage area fine to be used as a bass trap? I've tried to do as much research as I can, but since I've never done anything like this before, and I'm no longer in the States, it's hard for me to find any help. People in a city like Fuzhou are pretty ignorant about any of the stuff--I probably know more than anyone else in the city. Anyway, any help you guys can give me will be much appreciated.