We recently finished building a new home. I spent a lot of time with our builder to design a custom home that would provide ample living space for my family, as well as space for a recording studio that could operate stand-alone from the remainder of the house. The house is a two story colonial design. The studio would occupy the basement. The basement is roughed-in for a toilet and sink, so that a bathroom can be provided for the studio. There is an additional entrance to the basement from the garage, so clients do not need to enter the house. We made sure that no drain lines cross the ceiling. All drains are straight vertical drops to minimize that “swishing” noise. The basement walls are 14 course concrete block, which yields a 9ft ceiling. All mechanics (Furnace, septic lines, water softener, water heater, data rack etc..) are placed close to perimeter walls to provide maximum usable space. The air conditioner is outside of the house. The furnace and blower are located in the basement. The air conditioner and furnace chosen by the builder are capable of supporting the main house and a recording studio in the basement. The floor joists are 12 inch engineered “low noise” I beam type joists. In retrospect, my only regret is that I did not find this web site before we built the house. There are a few things I would have changed. But that ship has sailed, so having described my environment, here is a summary of my “goals/wishes”.
1) Ability to record and not interrupt other activity in the house for my wife and children. Basically, minimal sound transfer to the main floor and upstairs. I may be mixing late at night.
2) Minimal transfer of outdoor noise and noise in the house, to the recording studio.
3) A nice size control room. Big enough for two at the console, couch in the back, equipment rack, flat response. I will use NSM10s on the console and speakers to be flush mounted, which have not been determined yet (any recommendations under $1,200.00?).
4) Maximum isolation between the control room and other studio rooms.
5) Good size main recording room. Not sure yet if it will be a live room or absorptive.
6) Two vocal/guitar Isolation booths
7) One more isolation booth which could accommodate drums.
I have 5 solid core wood doors that I would like to use if possible. Two of them have lead lining on both sides. I realize I would need to modify the doors with glass for visibility.9) I would like to keep the ceilings as high as possible in the recording rooms, but not at the risk of sound isolation.
I mostly record Christian music. Southern Gospel, Soloists, Christian Rock, Praise and Worship etc..
After the studio funds were recently depleted by the unexpected absorbent fees to have a yard put in. I am forced to fund the project month to month. Which I am determined to do. I will have two thousand dollars to get things started.
The short term goal is to have the control room and one Iso booth completed by summer. I have a project starting then that will work with just those two rooms. After that project, construction would continue on the rest of the studio.
I am an avid wood worker and have access to additional folks with wood working and framing skills, so labor and skills are available at a minimal fee (Pizza and Soda!). My goal is to start construction as soon as I have a solid set of floor plans, acoustical treatment construction plans, materials list, and sequence of events documented.
Below you will see a picture of the front of the house. The house sits on 2.5 Acres, and there are no neighbors in close proximity.
I have decided to keep the studio in the main portion of the basement. The other side of the basement will house the bathroom, and a pool table for our family and for customers. When the children leave this may become a kitchen/dining area, as I have seen included in many designs on this site. The dimensions for the studio are 31ft x 34ft. I have indicated where the support posts are, and any drain lines coming down vertically from the main floor. Also shown is the duct work, only where it protrudes below the floor joists. All of the mechanics (softener, water heater, furnace etc...) are out of the studio area. As mentioned before, the walls are concrete block. The small push-out area (1’ 7” x 6’ 6”) is at the front of the house. Not sure how or if this space can be used for anything (maybe for storage). Also, the stairs come down from the center of the house to the landing in the basement at the side of the house. Maybe the area under the stairs will be storage as well. I plan on using the room within a room construction as discussed many times in this forum. I would like input on the ceiling approach. There are obviously a number of ways to do this. I want to float the floor in the control room, and the Isolation booths. I am not sure where reflectors, traps, absorbers etc.. will be placed, and need help with this, as well as the ceiling in the control room. I’ve read most of the information on construction of the various acoustical devices, but still feel I do not have the full understanding that is required for implementation (need to keep researching this). I will be happy to provide additional information as requested, and appreciate all of your input. I am very excited about this project, and thank you all in advance for your assistance.
Below are the following attachments:
- Picture of completed house
- Full floor plan
- Clean floor plan of studio area without dimensions
- Studio area with dimensions
- Studio area showing duct work
Joe Kurtz
). I decided to call our local building department. I described what I was doing. I did not say I was building a studio, because I knew they would have no idea what I was talking about. I explained that I was finishing out my basement and would be adding walls and rooms, electrical and vent/duct work. I explained that it was a new house and that the furnace and air had been sized to support the basement. While I was waiting for the worse, the response came back, "All we want to do is an electrical inspection". I re-stated that I would be adding walls, and duct work. They said that if these rooms were not living spaces such as bedrooms or bathrooms and in the basement of the house, they just do an electrical inspection, period 
. So I guess that is what I will do. I am hoping this does not raise my taxes (my worse fear). Anyway, I will still have the assistance of a pro Heating and Air person, as well as a framer even though their will be no inspection for that (pays to have friends in the trade). 
