Soul Search Records Studio Build!!!!

[docdj112]

So here it is after many years of planning and several delays I have finally started construction on my brand new “Professional Home Recording Studio” for my company Soul Search Records. Here in Northern New Jersey we have a great music scene that is largely overshadowed by the NYC music scene. With so many people needing an affordable and high quality place to record I made the commitment to open up a recording and production facility that will cater to a vast array of clientele. Its been said before but this will truly be a professional studio with project studio affordability with great equipment, professional people and excellent service.


Ok so now that I’m done plugging here’s the background on the project and its location…I have explored many options and had been actively looking for a new place to open a recording studio. I have been working out of my basement for 6 or so years with varying degrees of success. Most of my clientele initially was hip-hop and therefore my main recording instrument was vocals. However in the past couple of years I have been taking on large bands and the little home set-up that I had before was not cutting it. So after graduating from college I decided to completely overhaul the space into a professional recording studio. Initially I looked at property in the area that would accommodate me but alas it was much to expensive to purchase and renovate for the recording space so that turned me back home. My house has a fairly large basement but the ceiling was always too low and that was a major draw back. However the house is 100 years old and the foundation is made of stone which makes for a really nice acoustics that not many people have access to. With the help of an architect and a structural engineer, we were able to develop a plan that would give us a lot more height and utilize the unique architecture of the house.

To provide all the services we needed to move some things around. The old garage storage area that always flooded when it rained needed to be placed else where. The most logical and cost effective solution was to build a storage shed in the back yard and open up the space for the artist lounge and create and easy entry way into the studio. So in the is blog you will see not only pictures of the recording studio build but some of the logistical challenges that we faced when building and designing this studio. Hope you all enjoy the thread!!

[Downsound]

Looks great, man! I LOVE basement builds. Looking forward to it!

[MidasHatesGold]

great... reminds me of my place....

this will be a great place....enjoy...

I´ll follow your progress...

kind regards

[docdj112]

Thanks guys, Here is the latest update. Most of the work in the live room under the concrete has been taken care of. The water proofing and radon pipes have been laid as well as the vapor barrier and wire mesh to strengthen it. All thats left in that room before the concrete pour is to have the electrical and data conduit run to all the rooms which should happen sometime tomorrow morning.

One other issue that we have run into and it is apparent that it needs to be delt with soon is the fact that there are two very LARGE boulders that were used in the original foundation that stick out substantially into the lounge space. These will have to be chipped/cracked off to below the concrete level before the concrete can be poured. Thats all for now, Here some some of the latest pictures including the first slab pour which occurred last week!

[chris carter]

Can you leave the boulders and pour around them? It COULD look VERY cool... that thing that gives your studio personality and good word of mouth. I mean, if I recorded in a studio that had two big ass boulders protruding into the lounge, it would be hard not to tell other people.

[Downsound]

I agree with Chris, that would give your place some character.

[docdj112]

Originally I wasn't going to take them out but it looks like now I don't have a choice as they seem too hard to cut safely and the feedback to keep them brought me around...so I'll just rearrange some furniture and cut some cup holders in em! Thanks for the feedback guys

[docdj112]

Hey guys got some new pictures to throw up here. The concrete for the lounge and the live room was poured yesterday! Finally theres no more mud being tracked around. They also poured a small amount of concrete into a form around the chimney base. This was done because this is the main support of the house and initially we thought thought we could make it all one level but it is 100 year old construction and this mass of rock and concrete literally supports most of the structure so best not to take any chances. It did't affect the studio space at all though which is really the most important thing! We also had the data conduit run for all the studio cable wiring. I had some run into the lounge so that if need be it could be used for an extra isolation room.

On Monday the HVAC and plumber come into start stripping out the ceiling and re-routing the pipes!

[docdj112]

Hey Guys...Getting some new photos up first thing tomorrow morning of the soon to be cleared out ceiling. The HVAC guys were in the building today taking down the old duct work and moving the air handler to its new home. The air group company that is doing the duct work has done a great job at re using many of the existing duct pipes that were taken out. This has cut down on waste and saved a lot of money in the process... One of the issues that has come up today is how to route old steam heat pipes around the duct work in a very limited space. Several ideas have come up but nothing solid yet. I am meeting with the plumber tomorrow morning to try and work out the best solution.

[docdj112]

Update time....I met with the plumber this morning and we devised a way to re run the pipes without impeding on the studio and the air conditioning ducts! Thats a great relief because this was one of the biggest draw backs to to having the old studio there. So he will be back tomorrow or thursday to do the plumbing. He will also be moving some valves on water pipes to an area where they will be readily accessible since the new floating ceiling will cover them up and an access panel would be hard to seal well.

On the electrical end we ran into some problems with damaged wiring that needs to be replaced for safety reasons This 100 year old knob and tube wiring is no longer up to code. I'm sad to see such a historic piece of the house be changed out but being that it is a safety hazard now its time to retire the last of it and bring it into the 21st century. So thats all for now I'll have more info coming tomorrow as the excavator will be here cleaning up the driveway and preparing to work on the exterior.

[docdj112]

The plumber and electrician are here today working like mad men The heating system is being changed out as I'm typing this and the electrical panel is being added with a sub-meter so that we can monitor our power usage. The excavator came yesterday and moved the gigantic pile of rocks to the other side so that work can start shortly on the exterior entry walk way.

The mason will be here today or tomorrow to start building up the exterior wall and install a 90min industrial steel fire door. This door will be built into the masonry work and give us extra security. The door will be equipped with a remote entry button and allow us to open it from the control room once the person is verified on camera. Well thats all for now I'll have more info as I get it and as always any feedback or ideas that you guys have is always appreciated.

[Downsound]

Lookin' good!!

[Syncamorea]

I've been involved in a few restoration projects on buildings on the order of 150 years old and know that it can get downright ugly. It's good to see that you're putting the money and effort into ugrading the utilities and foundations. It's much better to handle it all up front rather than have to tear into a completed studio later on.

[docdj112]

Originally Posted by Syncamorea

I've been involved in a few restoration projects on buildings on the order of 150 years old and know that it can get downright ugly. It's good to see that you're putting the money and effort into ugrading the utilities and foundations. It's much better to handle it all up front rather than have to tear into a completed studio later on.

Thanks. I'm a big fan of historical buildings and architecture and anything I can do to preserve their original integrity makes it that much better. The town that I live in claims to be one of the first planned developments in the US so its unique I guess in that way.

[docdj112]

So I apologize if its been a little bit since I updated the blog had a few busy days in front of a board this weekend but I have some cool updates and pictures to add. The masons were here this weekend and today building some new walls and sealing up the foundation around the lounge area. The plumbers have completed moving the steam pipes and some water shut off valves that would have been stuck under the floating ceiling. This was one of those extra expenses that I didn't take into account when I set out on this venture however it was a really good move because trying to make a sound proof access panel in the ceiling would have been complete hell and probably wouldn't have turned out a good result. Finally the HVAC guys have returned today to finish re-running the house air conditioning system. The re-run system gave us more ceiling height which we really needed and will allow us to sound proof the live room much effectively. Oh and the electrician has got the new studio electric panel all wired up with the new meter! Its getting to that time where I'm going to need to order some sound isolation clips for hanging the ceiling and with so many options out there I'm kinda lost. Do you guys have any suggestions as to which ones work the best for this application?

[Downsound]

How much isolation do you need? What is above you?? Bedrooms? It looks to me that ceiling height is also going to be a consideration for you. There's really only so much you can do without building a room within a room. Here's what I would do if you can (you might not be able to access the cavity very easily if there's a lot of pipes/wires/ducts, etc.)- screw 5/8" drywall to your existing floor between the joists, leaving a small gap between the drywall and the joists - then fill those side gaps with acoustical caulk. Some would probably recommend two layers, but that's a mountain of work. Then put in regular batt insulation, probably R-19, thus leaving a small air space between the insulation and the floor above. Then you could use resilant clips with hat channel spaced 24" on center, assuming you could make it work around pipes.
THIS:



OR this:




a layer of 5/8" drywall, taped and mud, then another layer of 5/8" drywall with green glue. I think that's probably the best you're going to do. I'd love to hear other suggestions, too!

[docdj112]

I need quite a bit of insulation. The room right above the live room is the living room and kitchen with bedrooms on the floor above that. I really like the idea with the sheet rock placed between the joists...will regular R-11 type insulation be comparable to say Roxul or OC 703? My contractor had an idea to spray an inch of foam insulation and then put either Roxul or OC703. do you know if that spray stuff works well?

[docdj112]

Got some new pictures to post up...the excavator was here today digging out where the new walls and walkway will go. They dug out a huge boulder today from the driveway, you can see it in the one picture. I'm going to see if I can have it turned into a bench built into one of the stone retaining walls. Tomorrow we are supposed to have some more masonry work done but well see its supposed to rain all day. The studs are going to be going up in the lounge hopefully on friday we will see though the weather may play a bigger role in the timing of the work.

[Downsound]

I'm not sure about spray expandable insulaton, but I think Roxul would be better than regular "pink" insulation. The main problem you're going to have is the low end. Insulation doesn't do much to block bass frequencies, only mass does. There is really only so much you can do working with an existing structure. I think decoupling the ceiling from the floor joists is a great idea, something I couldn't do in my basement studio due to ceiling height. I think it would help with the low end isolation as well as foot noise from above coming down to you. I think 2 layers of 5/8 dywall with green glue is a must. In my basement studio, I did catherdral ceiling insulation between my joists (which is denser), then two layers of 5/8 drywall with green glue screwed to the joists. Overall, I'm happy with the isolation. If I'm playing something fairly loud in the studio, you can hear the bass (like listening to it with a low pass filter at 120Hz), but that's about it. It's really muffled and not loud at all. AND, you can't hear ANYTHING upstairs in the bedrooms (keep in mind, I don't do live drums, that's a whole other ball game). However, you can FEEL the bass on your feet in the room above my control room, which I think your decoupling strategy would virtually eliminate. SO, if you could do the drywall between the joists (as recommended in Rod Gervais book), Roxul insulation, a mechanical decoupling installation, then two layers of 5/8" with green glue, I think you'd be in great shape.

[docdj112]

Originally Posted by Downsound

I'm not sure about spray expandable insulaton, but I think Roxul would be better than regular "pink" insulation. The main problem you're going to have is the low end. Insulation doesn't do much to block bass frequencies, only mass does. There is really only so much you can do working with an existing structure. I think decoupling the ceiling from the floor joists is a great idea, something I couldn't do in my basement studio due to ceiling height. I think it would help with the low end isolation as well as foot noise from above coming down to you. I think 2 layers of 5/8 dywall with green glue is a must. In my basement studio, I did catherdral ceiling insulation between my joists (which is denser), then two layers of 5/8 drywall with green glue screwed to the joists. Overall, I'm happy with the isolation. If I'm playing something fairly loud in the studio, you can hear the bass (like listening to it with a low pass filter at 120Hz), but that's about it. It's really muffled and not loud at all. AND, you can't hear ANYTHING upstairs in the bedrooms (keep in mind, I don't do live drums, that's a whole other ball game). However, you can FEEL the bass on your feet in the room above my control room, which I think your decoupling strategy would virtually eliminate. SO, if you could do the drywall between the joists (as recommended in Rod Gervais book), Roxul insulation, a mechanical decoupling installation, then two layers of 5/8" with green glue, I think you'd be in great shape.

Thanks so much for your help. Dry wall/green glue it is with the dry wall between the joists!

[docdj112]

So the masons were here today putting up studio walls it was great feeling to see these things ascend from the floor. A truck load of lumber also arrived today this will be used in framing out the lounge. The rain kept everyone indoors today so hopefully tomorrow things will dry out and we can get rid of some of this mud that has infiltrated everything. but by the end of this week the building should be sealed up for the first time since construction started back in mid september!

[Downsound]

So far so good! The fun stuff is just around the corner!! It'll really take shape once you start the framing. Is there any way you could post a floor plan of some sort? It's hard to see your vision by just the photos you've posted so far. Thanks! thumbsup

[gouge]

Originally Posted by Downsound

I'm not sure about spray expandable insulaton, but I think Roxul would be better than regular "pink" insulation. The main problem you're going to have is the low end. Insulation doesn't do much to block bass frequencies, only mass does. There is really only so much you can do working with an existing structure. I think decoupling the ceiling from the floor joists is a great idea, something I couldn't do in my basement studio due to ceiling height. I think it would help with the low end isolation as well as foot noise from above coming down to you. I think 2 layers of 5/8 dywall with green glue is a must. In my basement studio, I did catherdral ceiling insulation between my joists (which is denser), then two layers of 5/8 drywall with green glue screwed to the joists. Overall, I'm happy with the isolation. If I'm playing something fairly loud in the studio, you can hear the bass (like listening to it with a low pass filter at 120Hz), but that's about it. It's really muffled and not loud at all. AND, you can't hear ANYTHING upstairs in the bedrooms (keep in mind, I don't do live drums, that's a whole other ball game). However, you can FEEL the bass on your feet in the room above my control room, which I think your decoupling strategy would virtually eliminate. SO, if you could do the drywall between the joists (as recommended in Rod Gervais book), Roxul insulation, a mechanical decoupling installation, then two layers of 5/8" with green glue, I think you'd be in great shape.

this is the same method i used on the last studio i did as well. worth the effort i agree.

we had bedrooms over the tracking room. (existing house)

we put 2 layers of fyrecheck (drywall type product) with green glue to the u/s of the existing flooring between the existing joists and corked around every perimeter with fire mastic to fill the gaps.

then installed insulation, then an isolated ceiling again with 2 layers of fyrecheck and green glue.

all up that's about stc 65-66 which to be honest is about as much as can be achieved for lightweight construction and diy products. the attenuation does roll off at the lower frequencies. carpet finish to the floor above makes a big difference as well. gets you the last 1-2 db.

even with that you will still hear guitar/bass in the room above when it's played loud. but it will be muffled and won't travel any further.

isolation in small rooms is VERY important. isolate everything from the existing structure. that means any existing floor slabs also. i also isolate the new ceilings and floating floors from the new walls, plus isolate the new walls from the existing structure. (to be honest floating floors don't touch the perimeter walls anyways. that's how they need to be installed)

i leave a 5-10mm gap at all connection points of the floor/wall/ceiling linings and then fill that gap with fire mastic and make sure there are no air holes.

in a small room unfortunately flanking from impact is a big deal so i prefer overkill.

[docdj112]

Originally Posted by Downsound

So far so good! The fun stuff is just around the corner!! It'll really take shape once you start the framing. Is there any way you could post a floor plan of some sort? It's hard to see your vision by just the photos you've posted so far. Thanks! thumbsup

Here are some sketch up layouts of the whole thing the area between live room and the control room will have double glass sound proof doors. The way the house was built in was impossible to put a dedicated window between the two rooms because it would remove too much of the, so we had to improvise a little.

[docdj112]

Originally Posted by gouge

this is the same method i used on the last studio i did as well. worth the effort i agree.

we had bedrooms over the tracking room. (existing house)

we put 2 layers of fyrecheck (drywall type product) with green glue to the u/s of the existing flooring between the existing joists and corked around every perimeter with fire mastic to fill the gaps.

then installed insulation, then an isolated ceiling again with 2 layers of fyrecheck and green glue.

all up that's about stc 65-66 which to be honest is about as much as can be achieved for lightweight construction and diy products. the attenuation does roll off at the lower frequencies. carpet finish to the floor above makes a big difference as well. gets you the last 1-2 db.

even with that you will still hear guitar/bass in the room above when it's played loud. but it will be muffled and won't travel any further.

isolation in small rooms is VERY important. isolate everything from the existing structure. that means any existing floor slabs also. i also isolate the new ceilings and floating floors from the new walls, plus isolate the new walls from the existing structure. (to be honest floating floors don't touch the perimeter walls anyways. that's how they need to be installed)

i leave a 5-10mm gap at all connection points of the floor/wall/ceiling linings and then fill that gap with fire mastic and make sure there are no air holes.

in a small room unfortunately flanking from impact is a big deal so i prefer overkill.

Thanks for the suggestions I always figured there would be a little bleed out but as long as the people upstairs can do what they need and not be bothered by what I'm doing down there then thats really all that counts...maybe the next studio I build will come equipped with the lead lined cement ceiling

[docdj112]

The workers were here over the weekend doing tons of work. The cement walls have been finished up and the studs in the lounge and the live room are half way to completion with any luck we might see sheetrock by next week in the lounge. Still waiting on an order from the green glue company so we can get started on the live room ceiling. The excavator is coming again this week to do some more exterior work and lay the drainage pipes before the ground freezes over shortly it is the north east after all. So here are some more pictures of whats going on and I should have some more tomorrow! Thanks for the replies guys.

[Downsound]

Very nice. It looks like you're going to need a retaining wall outside too. I'm glad you're thinking about drainage outside, and then spending the money on it. Water can ruin everything.

[docdj112]

Here are some new framing pictures! I took delivery today of 3, 5-gallon buckets of green glue as well as sound isolation clips!! The ceiling should start to come together tomorrow. The excavator still has yet to show up and so we wait another few days to see if it will happen. The rain that has been predicted for tomorrow may put the squash on that tomorrow but well see. I'll let you guys know as soon as I do

[docdj112]

Hey guys got some new pictures to put up sorry for not posting for a while I figured with all the PT9 porn on the site for the past few days sheetrock and green glue might not look so appealing The construction has been going pretty well. Things aren't so dramatic these days as they were when the project first started. Now its all about the little things. This weekend the electrician was here to finish the rough wiring for the inspection tomorrow and the plumbers were here today hooking up all the sewer and water lines! This weekend we also started running some data lines. We felt that while everything was open we should run a wired Cat6 ethernet network in the whole studio as well as the house. dfegadWireless We also ran some lines for the CCTV system that will monitor the facilities as well as provide supplemental visual communication between the live room and the control room. Tomorrow they will continue to put up more sheet rock in between the joists 2x. (Thanks for the suggestions guys with ceiling)

So After this weekend there has definitely been some new industry news that is impossible to ignore and that would be PT 9 release...Originally I had planned to go with an HD2 system with a lynx 16 aurora converters. However with the latest release I am finding that I must shop around a little bit more because of the "openness" that this has created. I'd like your opinion on what I should do for a multitrack setup. Currently I have a 002 and light piping it to a presonus fire studio flakey at best and not professional in terms of conversion quality or for the facility that is to be put together, but I can use the MSR to control speaker selection and output volume. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated to help navigate the sea of possibilities

[docdj112]

Hey guys sorry its been a while since my last post things have been a little crazy and to be honest they've been doing things that really matter but don't make really good blog post photos. But I do have some cool stuff to show. The outside which has been neglected for the past few weeks has finally got some love this week. They built and pored the concrete for the rock walls which will outline the walkway and they laid the drainage pipe for the sump pump to the corner of the back yard, well away from the studio! Tomorrow they will be installing Roxul all day and the plumbers will also be here installing the last of the heating pipe for the control room. I was also told that there might be some sheetrock going up on Thursday of the week. If all goes as planned we should be seeing the final space by the end of the week.