New Studio Build in Georgia

[spinnakerstudios]

Hey guys....I'm about to start a build within an existing structure in Columbus, GA. It currently consists of a living space, a bedroom, a bath, and a closet that will be converted into an iso booth.

Irregardless, here's what I'm working with. Existing structure as I said, crawl space (by default no slab), it has its own HVAC, dedicated circuitry, attic space, plenty of grounded outlets. What I want to be able to do is use the living space as the live room, the bedroom as the control room, the closet as the iso booth, and wire up the bath for tracking guitar amps and vox to take advantage of the natural verb.

My current plans are to lay hardwood down, run audio under the floor and power in the attic, build out inner walls for at least the live room (maybe control too, depending on space and $), install a window between the two rooms, double the doors between the living area and the studio as well as between the control and live rooms, install tie lines (XLR and TRS, 2 each) in both the iso and bath, and wire up the live room for playback. In addition, I want to install some artsy yet functional diffusers and traps in both rooms, dampen some existing windows with baffles and curtains, and tie the whole thing together with a sharp and professional motif.

Any thoughts on the above, space, dollars, please comment. I've got a source for rockwool and plenty of willing hands for the build. I have been watching many of these threads grow over the months and days before I posted this and I'm excited to see what tips and tricks everyone has.

Here's a sketch (thanks to floorplanner.com) of the space. Dimensions are close but not 100% accurate:



Here's a view of the future Live Room looking toward the doors on the right in the rendering. The door on the right is an exterior door which leads to a porch. You can see the HVAC return on the floor in between the doors...might be a problem, not sure yet:



...and here is looking back the opposite way toward what will eventually become the Control Room. The empty wall on the left is where I hope to install my window:



The below shot is as if you have walked through the door above and are facing the left corner of what will become the Control Room:



Now you have turned to your right to see the closet (future Iso Booth) and Bath:



Close up shot of closet. I plan on removing the shelving and clothes bar:



Shot of bath:



Thanks in advance for your tips and comments. Sorry for the shoddy pics but honestly I hadn't thought all of this through yet. I could write for an hour notating in detail my plans but I figured it would be more worthwhile to get your opinions first. I'm very stoked to finally have a place for all my music and business to come together and I can't wait for you guys to come with me.

-J

[The MPCist]

Nice space!

I've got a suggestion for you to get even more space. Make one of these and attach it to the side of the structure:



And that way, you'll have a place for people to hang out and use the main structure for maximum space for the recording studio...

[spinnakerstudios]

Originally Posted by The MPCist

Nice space!

I've got a suggestion for you to get even more space. Make one of these and attach it to the side of the structure:



And that way, you'll have a place for people to hang out and use the main structure for maximum space for the recording studio...

Wow. Feel free to come by and set that up for me anytime.

[The MPCist]

Originally Posted by spinnakerstudios

Wow. Feel free to come by and set that up for me anytime.

LOL, wish I could but I'm not talented in construction... It would look a lot more lopsided.. ee

[spinnakerstudios]

Sorry guys, I know it has been a really long time since my last post...We didn't close on the place until July, and I've been pretty busy. The holidays have given me a chance to finally relax some and update:

No actual construction has taken place yet, but I'm about to start today. I wanted to go ahead and post some "before" pics with gear so you can see how I have been using the space for the last few months. Lately I've been doing voiceover work, podcasts, an audiobook, and I have a couple of bands lined up during January that I'll be wrapping up prior to putting things on pause for good (for a while) so I can frame walls and such.

--------------------------------------------

Here's the area we are using as the live room. This is just about the same shot and angle as the third pic in my first post. The wall on the right currently occupied by cases will be the location of the control room window. The double window will be covered. That's part of what I plan to start today. Trying to get as much work done as possible prior to moving gear:



Couldn't resist a close-up of my new baby :



This is comparable to the second shot in the first post. Again, the control room window will go in the wall on the left:



If you turned to your right, you'd have this view. This window is also being covered over:



Another window (this one in the control room) which will be covered prior to installing the interior walls:



Standing in front of the above window looking toward the bathroom (right) and future iso, now still technically a closet (left):



My temporary setup for voiceover work and vocals, inside the closet. The gobos are cube walls, which I plan on keeping and recovering with the same fabric I'll use for bass traps and absorbers:



And lastly, the current setup for my desk. Window will go above the monitors which will look out into the live room:



Thanks for taking a look. Things should get more interesting pretty soon, I know it has been a super slow start and pretty boring. Money and time are the main constraints, but I've just invested in some new gear and construction materials are next.

I promise the next update will be somewhat inspiring.

-J

[Bounce]

I know how much work you're into there so good luck! One main suggestion would be to try to figure out a way to get your control room symmetrical (or close to it). Maybe the use of pocket or sliding doors could free up some space for furniture. The trick with those is lack of isolation but having your monitors and console off to the side of the room is gonna cause havoc come mix time most likely. You didn't list the dimensions of your room but if you did, maybe folks could save you some acoustic headaches later?

Congrats on the new joint!!

thumbsup

[spinnakerstudios]

Originally Posted by Bounce

One main suggestion would be to try to figure out a way to get your control room symmetrical (or close to it).

Yeah, excellent point Bounce. I've thought about putting in an extra interior partition to the left of the mix desk for this very reason, but my favorite brainstorm so far is to build a hidden gear closet (which will at first glance just appear to be an interior wall) to the right of the desk instead. I'm not sure what would be the best solution, but I'll certainly post dimensions and some sketches of my ideas for other to check out prior to any heavy work.

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look!


-J

[spinnakerstudios]

Finally got some stuff done this weekend. I tackled two tasks: installing a French-style glass/wood door for the iso booth, and installing insulated covers over the existing windows. Kind of boring "pre-work" tasks, but work nevertheless. Let's look at the iso booth door first:

I have additional plans for this door from an aesthetic perspective, but it will still serve me well in the meantime. I've been forced to work with a crappy slat bi-fold door and some blankets up to this point, and I'm happy to be rid of that. Had to trim it a bit due to the irregular frame. The sliding latch and pull handle are most likely temporary, because I'm not sure what type of hardware I'm going to go with in the end:

[spinnakerstudios]

Now for the window baffles. These were interesting to design and work on. I wanted to accomplish a couple of things. First of all, I wanted to preserve the look of the structure from the exterior, so as not to advertise the equipment and business to the rest of the world. Hence me sealing off the blinds inside the construction. Also, I wanted to minimize inside noise getting out, and outside noise getting in. I'm not overly concerned with the final look of these, since my plans include additional interior walls being constructed in front of them. And two of my favorite brewskis made the photo session as well:

[spinnakerstudios]

That's all for now. Next up...hardwood floors and interior walls. Here's a sample of the laminate I'm going with:



Have a great weekend and thanks for taking a look...
-J

[spinnakerstudios]

Tackled the floor in the live room this weekend with the help of a few excellent friends and relatives. It's all done at this point except for the thresholds and quarter round, most of which I might be saving till I finish the control room and iso booth floors. The interior walls will be put on top of the floors, so that if the room ever has to be renovated or dismantled, the flooring spans the entire width of all rooms.

It really is amazing how just this step alone really starts to transform the space.

I'll put up a revised floor plan soon. I've made some acoustic-based changes as well as some related to gear storage.








Some genius installed vinyl floor tile directly to this section of the sub-floor. What a pleasant surprise.

[spinnakerstudios]

After the glue and tiling adhesive was sanded and leveled:















My buddy Bret shows the planks who's boss:

[spinnakerstudios]

One room down! Only two more to go...





Thanks for taking a look. Can't wait to get some framing going soon and install that control room window!

-J

[Syncamorea]

Looking good!

What are the dimensions of the live and control rooms? 8' ceilings?

[spinnakerstudios]

Live Room: 10' 6" x 16' 6"
Control: 11' 6" x 11'

Here's a sketch of my rough plans. This doesn't show a lot of detail, but basically everything that is lined in black is an existing wall, anything in royal blue is a wall I will be framing, everything in other shades of blue represents some sort of absorption and/or bass trap/superchunk, and the green lines represent areas where I plan on having diffusion.

I toyed with angling the interior walls, but I really don't want to sacrifice any more floor space. Also, I'm probably going to be building soffits in the control after reading a lot on the topic at the Sayers and other forums, so this sketch doesn't show that either. All rooms will be wired up, so I can track anywhere, even in the bathroom. A friend who works for an avionics corporation is working on some custom panels.

Any thoughts, questions, comments, concerns? Two things I'm still trying to decide are exactly how to design and hang ceiling absorption, and...a question I've seen debated many times...should my control room have a slanted ceiling?

Thanks dudes.

[Jon Nolan]

awesome jason! good luck with your build!

and, for what it's worth.....

im no acoustician, but square rooms are horrible for sound. consider knocking out the closet in the control room and making yer room more rectangular, eh? do a search on the sayers forum about it maybe.

just trying to be helpful i'm cheering for ya....

regards,
jon

[spinnakerstudios]

Excellent point about the parallel walls/square rooms. I'm working with a friend to try to design some angled walls in both rooms while retaining as much floor real estate as possible. I knew it wasn't ideal when I drew it up. Once I get a better (revised) sketch I'll post it. Thanks for your thoughts.

[Syncamorea]

Originally Posted by spinnakerstudios

Live Room: 10' 6" x 16' 6"
Control: 11' 6" x 11'

a question I've seen debated many times...should my control room have a slanted ceiling?

The near square shape of the control room is probably more important to address. Also, if the height is 8', you have a nearly double of that dimension in the live room, so you'll want to consider that in your treatment plan for the big room. Are you dead set against tearing out the closet next to the control room? That would help quite a bit.

[spinnakerstudios]

Originally Posted by Jon Nolan

consider knocking out the closet in the control room and making yer room more rectangular, eh?

Originally Posted by Syncamorea

Are you dead set against tearing out the closet next to the control room? That would help quite a bit.

I think I misunderstood Jon's original statement/question, and Syncamorea has called my attention to it. The section (closet) marked "storage" doesn't currently exist. It is something I have tossed around as an idea. I thought you guys were referring to the iso booth which was formerly a closet, in the lower right hand corner, which I absolutely do want to keep. If I'm still confused please let me know

The measurements of the rooms are pre-construction. So if I added the storage closet on the right side of the control room, the usable space would end up being more rectangular. I have, however, thought of making some seating that would double as storage instead. So I don't really know the best idea at this point. Bottom line, I don't currently have any storage space and I need some, but I'd like to do it in a way that doesn't impair the design or sound of the rooms.

I've been looking at several forums and books with no real "light bulb" ideas on control room/storage solutions. Any suggestions would be wonderful. Thanks guys.

-J

[scaryonly]

spinnaker, looking good so far.

[therealbigd]

Originally Posted by spinnakerstudios

-J

was just browsing this thread and saw this picture.

Your monitors need to go much higher up. The tweeters should be in-line with your ears.

Experiment with putting them vertically and horizontally, and in both orientations (ie woofer at bottom, woofer at top, woofer left, woofer right) - though obviously what you do one side you will need to do the other in the case of vertical, and what you do one side you'll need to do opposite on the other in the case of horizontal.

[spinnakerstudios]

Based on the suggestions and some additional planning and reading, I've changed my layout design. Here's the modified design, with anything in green being a new wall. I've finished all the flooring and started on the framing...I'll try and post some pics this weekend. Thanks guys.

-J

***Having problems with the file uploader. I'll try again later.