So here are the first pictures of the basic structure I will be working with. It is by no means impressive and if anything, it will highlight just how much work has to be done in such a small budget. I guess this is why this studio isn't going to be the most impressive in the world, just something basic and practical.
EXTERIOR SHOT:
The front has a rolling shutter door as you can see. This is currently a garage and will be left that way. There is roughly 3 other spaces behind this garage conversion that I will be using. The old yard you can see at the left hand side will all be removed and tidied up. You can see two windows at the side. The first window is into the garage that I am not going near. The second window looks into what will be the reception/living area and just behind it you can make out a doorway which will be the main entrance.
MAIN ENTRANCE:
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/t...%20BUILD/2.jpg
This is the main entrance as pointed out in the pic above. It will lead into the first room of 3, which will be the reception/living area.
INSIDE MAIN ENTRANCE. RECEPTION AREA/LOUNGE:
This is a shot of as you step into the doorway, looking to the right. You can see bare insulation covering what is the back wall of the garage. As you can see, there are no ceilings and it is open to the rafters and tin roof.
CONTROL ROOM ENTRANCE:
In the same lounge room as in the previous pic, taking a look to the left hand side as you enter, shows you the doorway to the rest of the building and into a space that I guess could be the Control Room. This is a solid block wall.
CONTROL ROOM SPACE:
Stepping through the doorway shown in the previous picture leaves you looking at this. You can pretty much see down the length of the entire shed from here. However, there is part of a solid block wall build about half way down dividing it up into two section. I am thinking this section can be a control room. It is quite a large space for a control room so it could be partitioned off to create a store room within the same space for equipment etc. Or perhaps another Iso Booth?
ENTRANCE TO LIVE ROOM:
This is a closer look at the partial wall separating the two spaces. I guess I would like a triple glaze window of some sort installed in this wall. I have been thinking of leaving the space to the left hand side for installing some kind of sound proofed door, or double doors into the live room?
LIVE ROOM:
Not much to say about this shot. Its the very end of the shed, the back outside wall shown. Its a pretty big space, looks a lot smaller in the pictures. It should be a reasonably good sized Live Room. I'd like to isolate a small corner for a vocal booth or something like that.
HEADING BACK OUT:
This pretty much highlights how much work might have to be done. The side of the live room are has this massive hole that doesn't seem worthy to even label a doorway in its current state! I'll probably build this up. However, I have to say, looking out of this there is a spectacular view looking out over the hills. I am guessing a window in a live room would be absolutely dreadful for acoustics? It would be beautiful to just have a huge pane of a glass there.
LOOKING FROM LIVE ROOM BACK DOWN TO LOUNGE:
Just a shot taken from me standing in the live room looking back down through the control room space - the doorway to the lounge area seen in the far distance. If you look at the outside wall along the side you will see that it is pretty un-even and in bad shape. It shouldn't matter much as there will be new wall surfaces placed in front of them, with some insulation in the space between.
As you can see, there are no ceilings on any part, so its up to me as to what height I want them set at. I kind of like the idea of having them slightly higher than normal then installing some sort of cloud fixtures. Advice on this idea is very welcomed.
CONTROL ROOM LOOKING BACK INTO LOUNGE:
I thought I should include this shot. It shows an exterior wall of the control room space. As you can see, it too has another doorway. I don't really see how this would ever be needed. I think I can safely say it can be built over and blocked up.
ENTRANCE BACK INTO LOUNGE:
This wall between the Control Room space and the Lounge space is already quite well built. It should only be a matter of adding to what is already there. I can't see us needing to tear down whats already there first.
Another thing I should mention is the flooring. It is in TERRIBLE shape. This was literally used to house cattle up until about 5 or 6 years ago. So its extremely muddy and the concrete is pretty tore up. The floor also seems to be in 3 different levels. Not enough for a step, but a ramp in the flooring will probably be unavoidable in at least 2 places. In general though, I think it might be in too bad of condition to just repair localised areas. I think large areas of it will have to have a complete new layer of concrete. As I said before, I can't afford anything extravagant like floating floors etc so this will have to do.
By the way, help and advice on angled walls would be appreciated. We have thought of building wooden frames, filled with rockwool or other insulation and covering with sheets of masonite. Then applying my acoustic treatment to the outside... something along those lines?
The place only needs to be acoustically 'treated'. Sound proofing to the outside world is not overly necessary as this is in a rural area with no other near by dwellings.
Well I hope this gives you a better idea of the small (but massive to me) project I am settling into the idea of embarking on. I will familiarise myself with sketch up and get other blueprint plans scanned and uploaded soon.
Again, all help, advice, suggestions, criticisms HIGHLY welcome. Many thanks for your time guys.