Studio in a shed - wood or tin?

[headwerkn]

As one is often resigned to, I've decided that I cannot wait 5+ years until we build our 'dream' house, which of course would include a purpose built studio, and simply make do with what I have now... and, um, build a little project studio out in the backyard.

Part of the studio (probably the control room) I would join onto the back of the garage (which would of course be linked up as a 'live room', if needed) and fill in the 4 metre gap between it and the back fence, then have another 3x4 metre room (the 'dead room') coming off the bottom in an L shape.

Question: convert a big tin/zincalume garden shed (or in my case, two sheds), or build using timber frames? The garage is painted weatherboard, and while it would be good to match apparently the same size board isn't available anymore. Tin sheds are reasonably cheap though I have friends who can build stuff and own timber mills so cost either way isn't really a factor, nor is council approval which both would still need... so what matters is sound proofing and insulation. We're in suburbia and while my next door neighbours have no right to ever argue about noise given their dog barks constantly, it would be good to be able to track drums during the day/early evening without pissing off people.

Seems to me that timber would be better, as you're gonna have to build false walls in a tin shed anyway and insulate, etc., losing internal space as you go. Right?

[Daniel Antix]

Originally Posted by headwerkn

As one is often resigned to, I've decided that I cannot wait 5+ years until we build our 'dream' house, which of course would include a purpose built studio, and simply make do with what I have now... and, um, build a little project studio out in the backyard.

Part of the studio (probably the control room) I would join onto the back of the garage (which would of course be linked up as a 'live room', if needed) and fill in the 4 metre gap between it and the back fence, then have another 3x4 metre room (the 'dead room') coming off the bottom in an L shape.

Question: convert a big tin/zincalume garden shed (or in my case, two sheds), or build using timber frames? The garage is painted weatherboard, and while it would be good to match apparently the same size board isn't available anymore. Tin sheds are reasonably cheap though I have friends who can build stuff and own timber mills so cost either way isn't really a factor, nor is council approval which both would still need... so what matters is sound proofing and insulation. We're in suburbia and while my next door neighbours have no right to ever argue about noise given their dog barks constantly, it would be good to be able to track drums during the day/early evening without pissing off people.

Seems to me that timber would be better, as you're gonna have to build false walls in a tin shed anyway and insulate, etc., losing internal space as you go. Right?

i was going to say a tin shed would get hot in the summer heat... then i noticed you were in hobart :P

[headwerkn]

Originally Posted by Daniel Antix

i was going to say a tin shed would get hot in the summer heat... then i noticed you were in hobart :P

hahah... hardly an issue at the moment, more likely to freeze to death!

more seriously though, I'd get a small reverse/cycle air con system installed, so for comfort tin vs timber wouldn't be an issue, I'd have thought.

[Daniel Antix]

Originally Posted by headwerkn

hahah... hardly an issue at the moment, more likely to freeze to death!

more seriously though, I'd get a small reverse/cycle air con system installed, so for comfort tin vs timber wouldn't be an issue, I'd have thought.

thought about renting a small office unit/warehouse? i used to do that... infact i still do i just decided to move in with my studio... would be a better structure... i just don't like the idea of putting my gear in a tin or wood shed e.

[Kiwiburger]

Soundproofing is hard. Tin sheds are not soundproof at all. You basically need lots of mass, and/or double walls of differing resonant frequency.

The floor and ceiling is just as important for letting sound in or out.

Concrete is cheap. I also love the concept of adobe or straw bale houses.

Then again, if you basically just need a midi suit and a vocal booth, you could get away with a tin shed. I think they look cool - just have to consider your actual soundproofing needs.

Don't shy away from windows. If you use double glazing, different thicknesses, with a good airgap in between (say 6") then windows don't leak sound.

[headwerkn]

Originally Posted by Daniel Antix

thought about renting a small office unit/warehouse? i used to do that...

thought has crossed my mind; a friend does the same thing, though recently lost his lease and now have has to find somewhere else which is proving difficult. we already rent out rehearsal space for a couple of bands I'm involved in. the rent is not unreasonable but to be honest I'd rather put several grand into building on our own property than in dead rent.

i realise full soundproofing is going to be impossible. it would be more than a MIDI studio, being able to record acoustic instruments would be important, though not necessarily a full band at once (not enough room).

i like the idea of using self made mud or clay brick. lately i've read some stuff on Steve Albini's studio (Electric Audio) which uses Adobe brick in one of the live rooms, apparently it is a great sound absorber. my recording rooms are never going to be big enough to get a decent 'live' room sound anyway. Adobe or puddled mud could prove a bit cheaper too as it would save a lot of timber framing. Would it be wise using it throughout the studio though? Would it work ok exposed inside a control room with just bass traps and acoustic tiles?

anybody ever made a mudbrick studio before?

[Sigma]

Originally Posted by headwerkn

thought has crossed my mind; a friend does the same thing, though recently lost his lease and now have has to find somewhere else which is proving difficult. we already rent out rehearsal space for a couple of bands I'm involved in. the rent is not unreasonable but to be honest I'd rather put several grand into building on our own property than in dead rent.

i realise full soundproofing is going to be impossible. it would be more than a MIDI studio, being able to record acoustic instruments would be important, though not necessarily a full band at once (not enough room).

i like the idea of using self made mud or clay brick. lately i've read some stuff on Steve Albini's studio (Electric Audio) which uses Adobe brick in one of the live rooms, apparently it is a great sound absorber. my recording rooms are never going to be big enough to get a decent 'live' room sound anyway. Adobe or puddled mud could prove a bit cheaper too as it would save a lot of timber framing. Would it be wise using it throughout the studio though? Would it work ok exposed inside a control room with just bass traps and acoustic tiles?

anybody ever made a mudbrick studio before?

hey did you ever see those walls that are built around bales of hay? a wall on either side with baled hay in the middle would be cheap and i would imagine quite

[Kiwiburger]

I love the asthetics of adobe or strawbale. Straw would be a great insulator, acoustic and thermal.

Randomness is an excellent quality in an acoustic space. For mixing and mastering you ideally want a symmetrical space, on the large dimensions, but some randomness in the walls will still be desirable.

Here's a cheap idea - not sure about building permits and stuff, but I was talking to somebody recently who used waste 200L drums to erect pole houses. The drums are used as moulds for concrete, which holds up the poles.

I imagine if you could build a sturdy structure that could support a solid (soundproof) roof, then filling in the walls with bales of straw and plastering inside and out sounds like a fun DIY project.

[headwerkn]

Originally Posted by Sigma

hey did you ever see those walls that are built around bales of hay? a wall on either side with baled hay in the middle would be cheap and i would imagine quite

actually adobe bricks usually have a bit of straw mixed in, presumably for extra structural strength. i'm wondering whether it is better to use a single thick row of brick or two thinner rows with an air gap/insulation in between? i won't pretend to be well versed in studio design concepts (something i need to change) but i've read that standard good practice is to decouple your interior and exterior walls... but one would imagine a 300-450mm thick wall of unfired clay and soil would be pretty effective. decoupling the floor from the concrete slab and insulating the roof would a greater concern.

[Sigma]

Originally Posted by headwerkn

actually adobe bricks usually have a bit of straw mixed in, presumably for extra structural strength. i'm wondering whether it is better to use a single thick row of brick or two thinner rows with an air gap/insulation in between? i won't pretend to be well versed in studio design concepts (something i need to change) but i've read that standard good practice is to decouple your interior and exterior walls... but one would imagine a 300-450mm thick wall of unfired clay and soil would be pretty effective. decoupling the floor from the concrete slab and insulating the roof would a greater concern.

poyurethane pads on anything that touches the floor if you have the money..

cheapie way is to put asphalt over concrete then flooring and layer the flooring so no seams match ...footers and headers can be decoupled by poly washers and pads

check out my friend nicks site at acoustics first on the web

[Daniel Antix]

i just remembered i have something you might be interested in

it's a demountable room, 2ue (john laws... you've prob heard of him beingfrom tassie) used to use it for outside broadcasts. they were throwing it out last year but i grabbed it before they did, put it in the back of a truck and now it's sitting under tarps out the back of my dads work. a mate was going to buy it but never did... now it's just sitting there. there were only 2 of its kind built and it was worth over 5k... I'd be happy with $1000 or so.

it's demountable so you wouldn't need council approval, it's big enough to set a drumkit up in, or a studio control room with enough room to record some gtrs.

it's a bit of a pain in the arse to assemble but you only need to do that once.

worst came to worse you could always use the big thick fiberglass windows (4 or 5 of them) on a shed you build insted.

seriously i'll be glad to be rid of it because i have no where for it and would love to see it go to good use.

if you're interested pm me. we could work something out.

[stuntbutt]

Here's something that you could take with you when you move.

Marks Container

[headwerkn]

thanks for the offer mate, my first idea actually was to fit out a shipping container, as obviously it would transportable....but putting that sort of thing in our backyard would require a big helicopter... it isn't accessible, our driveway is difficult enough for cars let alone a truck mounted crane long enough to reach over the garage.

my father in law always talks about making a 'bunker' studio at our shack, by fitting out a shipping container and burying it out the back. problem is that you just can't get the things big enough... yeah a 40 footer is enough length but they're still only 2.5-2.8m wide, which just isn't practical, especially if you want a decent analogue desk and a couch!

[Daniel Antix]

Originally Posted by headwerkn

thanks for the offer mate, my first idea actually was to fit out a shipping container, as obviously it would transportable....but putting that sort of thing in our backyard would require a big helicopter... it isn't accessible, our driveway is difficult enough for cars let alone a truck mounted crane long enough to reach over the garage.

my father in law always talks about making a 'bunker' studio at our shack, by fitting out a shipping container and burying it out the back. problem is that you just can't get the things big enough... yeah a 40 footer is enough length but they're still only 2.5-2.8m wide, which just isn't practical, especially if you want a decent analogue desk and a couch!

pretty sure you could fit an analog desk and a couch in this thing... and it's in pieces so you don't need a crane.

this was also an alternative to the shipping container idea, but then my mate didn't need it anymore so i'm stuck with it.

any other aussies want it? :P