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Home Recording Studio: Build It Like the Pros?
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Lots to go on.. but start with the Rod Gervais book
Go by this and you'll be OK. Walls with double drywall + green glue will do you right... take care with ANYTHING ELSE that goes through a wall. Doors, HVAC, electrical... that's the tricky part.
Get a copy of Rod Gervais’ book Build It Like the Pros and you’ll get some fairly detailed explanation of how to design and construct isolated rooms.
Note that it all starts with design criteria — how much iso do you really need?
Because floating a room could mean just the walls (I did this in my basement control room build), the walls and ceiling, or all the above plus the floor. Each level up increases the cost, complexity and difficult of execution significantly.
The book will also explain which details you can’t afford to mess up. Unfortunately many people run headlong into studio projects without having a really solid plan considering all elements of the build, and end up blowing a bunch of money for poor results because they messed up a critical element. Little things like shorting out resilient channel because you screwed into a stud, or failing to seal every crack and seam in your drywall, can really kill the isolation gains you fought to make.
At any rate, it’s a cheap way to learn what you’re getting into.
It covers everything you'll need to know/consider
Yup, it's a big project, even for a fairly basic build. Had to do it so I could record in a basement right next to a fairly active railway.
Your sound proofing is only as good as your weakest point. Don't neglect a really sound proof door (that was the weak point for me) and good ventilation (tricky to get enough air in an still keep quiet, mine had enough air exchange, but did get hot with multiple people inside.)
The Rod Gervais book is a great place to start.
Soundproofing is very different from acoustic treatment. To soundproof, you'll need to insulate the outer wall, build a new wall a few inches away from that wall, insulate that wall and drywall (2 layers better than 1). Make sure to only drywall the inside of the inner wall, so that the gap between the walls are just bare insulation exposed. You'll need to do the same thing with the ceiling, and you'll need to use acoustic sealant in all the corners. This is just the bare bones, you can go much much deeper with soundproofing. After this is complete, the neighbours will be happy, but you'll still need to acoustically treat the new room you built, as it will sound boxy and bad.
This book is a bible of sorts, highly recommend to anyone building a studio
If you're going new build I'd just use sheetrock instead of drywall for the shop. At least the room you're isolating. Here's an excellent book that describes options for soundproofing & new construction
Foam will do nothing for footsteps (or any sounds getting through from outside the room). You need mass (think heavy dense material) to block sound, and that mass will preferably be decoupled from the source of vibration, and ideally there will be space/air between the source and the mass you have put up.
If you're serious about putting a solution in place, please read this: https://www.amazon.com/Home-Recording-Studio-Build-Like/dp/143545717X
Buy this book Home Recording Studio: Build It Like the Pros https://www.amazon.com/dp/143545717X/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_QXEYV7DQHR87EAT9TVKS
Also follow Rhett schull on YouTube, he just went through this process and will be releasing videos on it soon
I'd try to determine where the sound is coming from first and foremost although there are things that will universally help... caulk everything (and use backer rod! caulk will crack w/o backer rod), pull electrical outlets and caulk them, pull your trim and put backer rod and caulk around all the floorboards
Most windows are framed like shit when it comes to acoustics so if that's a weak point Rod Gervais's book Build It Like the Pros has a diagram on how to frame a window to reduce sound transmission
And a weak point is almost certainly the drywall. I deal with the same issue and I'm considering ripping my 3/8" drywall out and replacing with 1/2" or even double layers of 1/2" with green glue in the middle
Another common weak point is HVAC. Make sure your vents are sealed from the attic. Sound will find any little crack and travel through
If the whir is actually the air moving through the vent you can make a baffle box. There's also a diagram of how to build a quality one in Rod's book. Plenty of pictures online to give you an idea
The Gearspace forum has many professional acousticians who give free advice and many of them are available for hire as well, I'd recommend asking there. Just follow the sticky on how to format your question you should get some good feedback
You want to read this book before making any planning or purchase decisions at all.
Seriously. There are so many issues you haven't even thought of, that will be too late to solve if you jump into it before you understand what it is you're trying to do.
You won't get anything resembling enough knowledge without reading a good book on the subject, and Rob's is the best and easiest to understand. It's written in plain language with minimal math, and if you want to go to the effort of building something usable, you want to go to the trouble of reading this book first.
You really need to either hire someone to consult you on this, or do a crap load of research, and I mean a lot because if you don't you'll just end up wasting money with on a room that behaves no better than your average room.
This book is has just about everything you'd need to learn to do it right.
https://www.amazon.com/Home-Recording-Studio-Build-Like/dp/143545717X
Treating a space is one thing and doesn't take a lot of planning to get good results, but PROOFING a room takes a lot of planning and specialized construction to make it actually work, miss one thing and have leaks and all the work you did was for nothing.
I'm not sure exactly what you're asking but I used this book as a guide building my home studio and would recommend it.
It tells you exactly what you need to know about what materials, dimensions you need to get the best sound for recording/playback.
oh my god I found this at a used bookstore for 10 dollars so I figured I'd pick it up not thinking much of the book at the time. Thanks for calling it the bible. What an epic synchronicity.
My recommendation.
Nice work! But I'm questioning why you went with dimmer switches, since they often are problematic for any nearby audio - do they work fine with LEDs? And I'm wondering why the sheetrock was done sideways.
Link to Ron Gervais' book, which I had never head of before.
Basically, lots of drywall, and as few physical connections to existing structure as possible. Get a dB meter if you can, and measure the existing situation (use a PA or something) to see what kind of reduction your existing structure gives you.
Buy this book and read it. When your done, read it again. When your finally done that, read it a third time.
https://www.amazon.ca/Home-Recording-Studio-Build-Like/dp/143545717X
Then join this forum;
http://johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/index.php
And read all you can and ask your questions. You can also upload your design and the community there is very good at giving honest feedback.
Gearslutz.com is a great resource as well.
Studio building is 90% planning and 10% construction.
I'm over in the Austin area. I tried to find a company that would do it all for me (design and construction) and I also failed.
I did some of the design myself using this book: https://www.amazon.com/Home-Recording-Studio-Build-Like/dp/143545717X/ref=sr_1_2 I also consulted a local acoustics firm with elements of the design I wasn't comfortable with. You can find a reputable acoustician in your area at http://ncac.com/
The firms that do this sort of thing are likely to be working on large commercial projects and are likely to be specializing in noise control. Unless you luck into sombody who specializes in recording studios, you'll be too small potatoes for them to get involved in the actual construction. For that, I DIY'd what I could and hired contractors for what I couldn't. Contractors are going to look at you like you're crazy when you describe how you want things built. Be specific and when you find a contractor that is willing to trust you and just do what you tell them to, keep using them!
Books!
Home Recording Studio: Build It Like the Pros: Gervais, Rod: 8601406362468: Amazon.com: Books
Hope you didn't expect someone to ELI5 it. Your topic is large and doing the wrong things will be useless *and* expensive.
My best advice would be to buy and read this before you move any farther:
https://www.amazon.com/Home-Recording-Studio-Build-Like/dp/143545717X
Next sketch up your design and post it here after you read everything you can find in the forums that relates to your design.
http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/
I can almost guarantee someone has already built your room.
Based off your post I can already tell you’ve missed a few big things.
(Friendly note: stop using the term STC. That standard is no where near thorough enough to mean anything when building a studio. It doesn’t take into account low frequencies and those are the biggest culprits when soundproofing for Recording/Music)
Isolation is only as good as the weakest link... and the weakest link is almost certainly your door
You may not want to do any of this in an apartment... depends on your ability and desire to put things back (or lose your deposit)
You'll want a solid wood door (~$100), some sort of rubber threshold or an automatic door bottom to seal the bottom ($50-100), and build a gasket like detailed in Rod Gervais's book Home Recording Studio: Build It Like the Pros ($30) + gasket ($50) + staple gun, staples, table saw or hand saw and router, and furring strips. You could get by mounting the furring strip without a nail gun if you had some extra hands but I would highly recommended using a brad nailer. An adjustable strike plate ($5) will make setting the depth of the door close easy.
Assuming you've got MSM walls with drywall and studs, kind of standard construction, this will make a massive difference
On the flip side, anything else you do will make little to no difference because the sound will still be leaving through your hollow door and the gaps around it
If you decide to go through with that, then pull the covers on your electrical outlets and use putty pads or caulk to seal the gaps
Again, if you're not going to seal the door and replace it with a solid door, don't bother with anything else
If you do want to go through with this, lmk and I can snap some photos of how to cut the groove and mount the gasket and can probably dig through my email for a source on gasket material
You won't be completely sound proof, but with that setup I have to yell to communicate with people standing right outside the door
Also keep in mind unless you have a return air vent in the room, the room will be pressurized and at that point you won't get any more air conditioning... so it'll get pretty hot. Also if you manage to get a perfect seal (unlikely) you'll want to open the door at least once every few days
This is my go-to for home studios
https://www.amazon.com/Home-Recording-Studio-Build-Like/dp/143545717X
This is worth a read: https://www.amazon.com/Home-Recording-Studio-Build-Like/dp/143545717X
>children shack
>_>
<_<
Is your pro designer a pro studio builder or a contractor? If the former, they should be the ones to have the answers and provide the plans. Have you seen their other builds and results (REW graphs or similar)? Lots of designers out there that can make a space that looks like a studio, far fewer that can make a functional studio
What's the thing on the right? HVAC?
I'm not an expert but the consensus seems to be build as big as allowed by physics and permitting for maximum internal volume until you reach a certain L x W at which point the angles then play a large enough role to consider. Doing the ceiling "inside out" i.e. exposing the joist and filling in between the joists with drywall will gain you a bit of volume, but it will no longer a MSM boundary... not sure which is better for your situation
Also consider Invisible Alpha™
Have you read Rod Gervais's Home Recording Studio: Build It Like the Pros? I'm not sure he addresses roofs (I know he has answered this exact question on Gearspace--of course answers vary based on the individual project) but he addresses a million other little things you'll need to do (or verify your contractors do correctly)
The answer also depends on your goals. It looks like you're in a decently quiet area... but if you want to meet the background noise criteria of EBU Tech 3276 while the children are out on yard time you might have to beef things up considerably. Can you deal with the occasional search and rescue chopper noise?
You'll get more useful information asking on Gearspace and John L Sayers (RIP) forums than here btw. This subreddit is fairly new while talented professional studio builders frequently give advice on the others
The only advice I feel like I'm qualified to give would be to consider adding more window... or at least add tube skylights. Glass on the back wall is going to be much more of an issue than glass on the front wall
Beautiful space you've got there. Good luck with the build
In the words of the great Avare, "good studio building is 90% design and 10% construction".
Please read this before beginning any construction efforts: https://www.amazon.com/Home-Recording-Studio-Build-Like/dp/143545717X
Buy it - read it: https://www.amazon.com/Home-Recording-Studio-Build-Like/dp/143545717X
It will save you a lot of headache and trial and error.
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I would be looking to adapt the plans for an air conditioning baffle box from Rod Gervais's book
He's even known to help adapt the plans to suit people's needs
Scrap the gym mat, it's not a good sound absorber. Line it with Owens Cornering 703 (or similar). That diagram shows 1" but for lower frequencies, which I'm sure the generator has, thicker will be better. but even 1" of OC703 will be night and day vs gym mat. Please don't waste money on gym mat lol
> From my research, the high mass of the drywall is good for isolation, and the foam is good for absorption on the way out.
Line the whole thing with 703. Every surface is an opportunity to absorb sound. Any sound absorbed anywhere in the box is a sound that won't make it out
Drywall is great for isolation but lower frequencies are just going to bend around and exit the box anyway so at some point more layers won't net a better result.
I believe you could use the mass of the drywall to figure out it's resonant frequency, anything above that frequency won't pass through, then some math I don't know to figure out what distance a sound can travel before it dies out and you could apply that to your path to figure out what's going to exit the box anyway and use that to size the drywall layers appropriately. But as cheap as drywall is... this is probably way out of scope
If you want to increase the drywall's effectiveness by another sheet of 1/2" drywall, you can use Green Glue in between layers
The porous absorption calculator can be used to determine effectiveness of your absorption layer. Use these numbers for flow resistivity:
OC 701 8000 OC 703 16000 OC 705 30000
705 or 707 would be more effective but generally not worth the extra cost when you can just layer 703. If you find a deal on it though....
And lastly seal all cracks and ensure the generator doesn't couple with the box. If the generator will be resting on anything without a huge mass, decouple it with sorbothane bumpers
https://www.amazon.com/dp/143545717X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_M3QF4T67BRB7Q82N2423
I always recommend this book.
If you want to build an actual home studio, read this book: https://www.amazon.com/Home-Recording-Studio-Build-Like/dp/143545717X
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If you just want to spruce up a mixing station with some better gear and better acoustic treatment, this forum (and a dozen others on the internet) already have LOTS of advice if you just search for it.
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Good luck!
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