VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[cyclometh]

OK, so there's an interesting situation brewing at the Snow household.

Firstly, some background: We purchased our quite lovely home a couple of years ago. It's a nice, quiet dead-end street with the nearest major road a good block away, and situated between two ravines- it's essentially built on a ridge that lies between two sections of a major watershed and park. So other than freeway noise which is only audible outside, it's very quiet. There are only homes on one side of the street and there's almost no traffic. Ideal for recording.

When we first looked at the place, I was startled to find that there was a house next door. There's a large shrub at that end of our yard blocking the view, and the lot next door is heavily wooded, leading me to believe it was just another vacant lot.

Not so, he said. When I saw the house I was in shock- calling it "dilapidated" is to insult dilapidated houses. I assumed it had been abandoned for at least 20 years, but there was a gentleman living there with his dogs. A very nice man, it turned out, but quite old. The house is in terrible shape but he apparently refused to leave it. There's ferns and moss growing on the roof, and I'm pretty sure some portion of it (maybe the garage?) is collapsed but covered in blackberry brambles. It's truly astonishing.

He refused to leave it until recently, that is- when I heard from a neighbor that he was forced by some form of health problems to move to an assisted living facility. I sincerely hope he does well, he's always been very nice.

However, that leaves me with a possible opportunity to potentially acquire the parcel. Given how bad the place is, I'm hoping I can aquire it for the value of the land minus what it's gonna take to raze the place and remove the old septic system. This assumes he or his family wants to sell the place at all, but I'd say it's a good bet that they'd at least be interested in hearing offers.

Now, that takes us to the "pipe dream" portion of our story, kids. Let's assume the stars align and I manage to get this piece of property and clean it up.

I want to build a recording studio/office/workshop on the space. Let's assume I want to be able to start simple and grow in increments, so as to manage costs. I would also be doing the bulk of the construction work myself. Building something to code is no problem. Between myself and my stepfather we could probably build a complete house. He's built a detached office space for my mother, and it's as solid as a normal house, just smaller and without plumbing. He's also a fire marshal, so it's up to code.

I have access to tools, strong backs and a lot of experience in building things- My work career has ranged from typesetting to paratrooper to construction to software engineer and now working toward voice acting. I definitely know how to build things, but I don't know what one should do for a building one intends to record in.

What I'm looking for is a basic set of "these are the things you should do" if you're starting off with a bare lot and want to create a kickass recording space, but you can't sink massive amounts of cash into it at one time. What should I make sure happens during the planning and initial building phases so that there's no need to redo stuff later?

(and maybe I could add a garage to finally have a space to restore that Karmann Ghia I've had in the garage for 20 years and no room to work on)

I told ya it was a pipe dream. But it's a nice one. Thoughts?

Clarification: I'm not looking to build a dedicated studio building. I'm looking for the best techniques for creating a building you could have a good recording space in. This isn't intended to be a commercial studio, if I wanted one of those I'd use some of the ones around here.

Edit 2: Sorry for the double post, I removed the other. Silly PHPBB software.
_________________
Corey "Vox Man" Snow
http://voxman.net

[Jeffrey Kafer]

If I wanted to make a kick-ass studio in Redmond, one just as good or better than those already available in Seattle, I'd hire a professional designer and builder.

I'm not saying this to be a smart ass, but honestly and truthfully, you couldn't afford to screw something like this up.
_________________
Jeff
http://JeffreyKafer.com
Voice-overload Web comic: http://voice-overload.com

[cyclometh]

I live in Olympia. Assuming I can manage to acquire the space I plan to put a small detached building on the site, with an office and recording space. I'm not interested in creating a commercial studio space (the place isn't zoned for that type of thing anyway).

With the idea that I'm planning to build an office space for myself, what I'm looking for is what options to take during construction that one might not otherwise do if one didn't intend to have a space for recording in the building.
_________________
Corey "Vox Man" Snow
http://voxman.net

[Jeffrey Kafer]

[cyclometh]

[KaseyKruz]

Cinder Block for the outer walls may be a good start. The mass will help knock down alot of noise from the outside if it's a loud area. If it's a quiet area, then just disregard my post and call me an idiot, most others do.
_________________
Does life start at 40?

[Bruce]

We have a couple of experts around here who can give you detailed ideas, and you'll want to subscribe to magazines and websites that specialize in studio design and start soaking up ideas, but I'm betting isolation from the rest of the world for your studio space will be a key element. Maybe 2x6 wall construction for walls and ceiling filled with the right sound deadening material. Double drywall, too. Irregular room shape might be something to consider. Isolation booths for VO or drummers. A control room? A separate air controlled room set up for computers and equipment? Have fun.


B
_________________
VO-BB Member #31 Enlisted June, 2005

I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. .

[SkinnyJohnny]

Double walls for the recording space is the way to go!
_________________
John Weeks Voice Overs
www.johnweeksvoiceovers.com

[todd ellis]

floating floor?
_________________
"i know philip banks": todd ellis
who's/on/1st?

[Mike Sommer]

Well, there are a lot of things to consider.

First, if you've never even built a house, or a structure of this kind, yours should not be the first. And an addition is not the same as building a house.

I'll also tell you that if you try to build it by yourself, it will most likely ending up costing twice as much, and take three times as long had you hired someone to do it. And no matter how much you think you can do, there comes a point that you discover you can't do what you think you can do. So be realistic, and plan on hiring a contractor that will do it right the first time.

And if you got the money to do it, now is no better time to build. Because everyone is hungry and material is cheap.

Let's also consider that building is stages, is VERY expensive.

OK Now, the next thing you need to do is come up with a plan. Some kind of a general layout. Figure out what you need and how much of it you need.

Next, find a architect. Because you're going to need plans to submit to the planing department. And those guys can make your life a living hell. Because if you don't know what you're doing they'll have you running back a forth for a year making changes- and that's just to get the plans singed off and approved. Then you get to apply for a permit. HELLO!

I'm not trying to crush your dream, I'm just letting you know what you're up against, because I've seen it all in the construction biz. When I was a punk kid I built studios, commercial buildings and custom homes for college money.

There is one thing in the design that could help you build and expand in stages, that is to build in the structural style of a commercial building. Most commercial structures are just a shell and the interior/partition walls are free standing i.e. not load bearing. This way you can dice up the space as you need when you need too.

EDIT

If you're just looking to build a studio, you need to consider what you want to use it for. Is it strictly for VO, or will you be using it for tracking investments and music production?
_________________
The Blog:
http://voiceoveraudio.blogspot.com/

Acoustics are counter-intuitive. If one thing is certain about acoustics, it is that if anything seems obvious it is probably wrong.

[KaraEdwards]

Are you friends with Stephanie Riggio? She's a VO in LA who built a dedicated studio on her property last year. She used a Tough Shed and put it on leveled ground with double, insulated walls. It's incredible- I've used it.

She might be someone to contact if that's a way you could go. I have no idea what the details of her build out were.

Sounds awesome- fingers crossed for you!
_________________
Threadjackers local 420

Kara Edwards
http://www.karaedwards.com
kara@karaedwards.com

[cyclometh]

Thanks for all the advice and feedback. As to crushing my dreams or whatever, I'm a big boy. Don't worry that you're raining on my parade.

I should not have used the phrase "in stages" as it doesn't come across as I intended. I fully intend to build this structure complete from the start. The equipment I use, etc is what I referred to there. I want to have a good space, one can add equipment to it in later stages.

I envision a single-story building combining a workshop, office and recording space. I'll whip up a simple floorplan later today and post it. The recording space I see as being a relatively small space with a recording booth plus space for a DAW, mixers and the like. It would be used for VO work, not for music production.

As to difficulty, things I'm not aware of, and all that- rest assured that not only am I capable, I have experience in both residential and commercial construction. This isn't my first rodeo. I'm also aware of my limitations.

To put it in perspective, I'm not planning to run down to Home Depot this weekend and buy a ton of lumber and start doing something. I'm thinking about having something ready to start in two years at the earliest. That means that I'd like to get a handle on what features I'd like the building to have so I can make sure they're in the design of the place.

I still will need to design the layout, engage an architect, ensure I have all the permits I need and all that. And ALL of this assumes I can even acquire the property in the first place, something not entirely certain by any means.

As to how hard it would be or expense- I'm not unaware of the issues, but I'm also a guy who likes doing things himself for no other reason than, well- I can, and it's fun.

The reason I wanted to ask about it here is because the experience people have will let them tell me what features you would want in a building you intended to use as a recording space.
_________________
Corey "Vox Man" Snow
http://voxman.net

[Dan-O]

...

[asnively]

Ah! Dan beat me to it! And Kara, actually. I also think you should message Stephanie.
_________________
the Amy Snively family of brands for all your branded thing needs.
Amy Snively
Faff Camp
FaffCon
TalkerTees

[cyclometh]