VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Rick Riley · Posted: Sat Nov 29, 2014 11:04 am Post subject: Need Vocal Booth Build Help

I know some of you have built some nice studios and I’d like to tap into what you know and what you’ve learned, if you’ll allow me.

I’m moving my work area out of the second floor of the house into a four car garage. The right side of the garage is going to be my office / studio. I have plans on size, wall placement and such, but I don’t know anything about floating a floor, putting spaces between walls for isolation, etc.

I know a nice studio is going to take some $$’s, so I’m prepared for that. And I have construction friends who have offered to help me with framing, drywall, taping and such, of which I also know nothing. I’ve done a lot of woodworking, so participating and learning won’t be a problem, but the guys I know have never done studios, which are a different animal altogether. I know there’s special hardware made for walls regarding sound isolation and such, but don’t know what it is or where to find it. And I need to know that stuff.

This is my room design and that’s all I have. Any help with where I need to go from here would be most appreciated.

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Bruce · Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2014 7:28 am Post subject:

I'm not a design expert, but I've been around the block a time or two. I'm thinking a floating floor is needed only if there's going to be a lot of vibration coming through the floor from nearby traffic. If you're in a quiet residential area you may just want to make the floor comfortable with padding and carpeting.

Of course what's happening vis-à-vis the other 3 bays? I can just see you having to take a pause in a session while Mom and the girls come home from a shopping trip.

George Whittam of this board has designed and built studios for some of the biggest VO names in L.A. Worth a chat-up I'd say.

B
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Lee Gordon · Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2014 10:14 am Post subject:

As a refresher, here is the link to my post about building the floating floor for my booth. It seems to be working well. What little sound that gets in from the outside seems to come through the doors, not the floor.

http://www.vo-bb.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=16939
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Rick Riley · Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2014 10:59 am Post subject:

Thanks Bruce and Lee, (wow, Bruce Lee!)

Lee, I've checked the thread of your build and that's great info. Thanks!

Bruce, we're in the process of buying a house where the owner has two outbuildings. One, a three car garage with a workshop, which is the one I'm converting and another that is a five car garage. That, plus the two car garage attached to the house, leaves a potential for ten cars, and while I had sports cars before I was married, all we have now is a van and a truck. Oh the irony.

The house sits about 800 feet off the street and the nearest neighbor is 300 feet away. So I wondered if I would need to float the floor, but I believe it's standard practice, so I was going to do it. As far as the girls coming home from shopping, that won't be a problem because A) There will be no money left to shop with after this project, and cool

I've included the rest of the picture so you can see what will be next the studio / office.

We plan on making this a multipurpose facility as my wife is constantly making things involving fabric and fiber, and teaching our girls to do the same. Here's the plan.

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Jen Gosnell · Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2014 2:49 am Post subject:

Holy schmolies, Rick! That's quite a plan. I'm impressed!

I am not personally experienced with a studio build but here's a couple pointers that may give you some useful info:

Here's Monk's thread with a ton of details about his own home studio build.

And here's an Oregon manufacturer of custom sound booths and other acoustical products. It's far south in the state - about 6 hours away from our area - but they may be able to provide you resources and support or advice as you go through this process.

Good luck!! I may request a tour in the future! Wink

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Scott Pollak · Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2014 5:29 am Post subject:

I can't help you with any of your questions, Rick, because I was fortunate to be able to convert a basement room to my studio without having to do any special build out.

But after looking over your plans and reading about your new digs you're moving into, I did have a question: Want to adopt a grown man as your son?
Wink

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Rob Ellis · M&M Joined: 01 Aug 2006 Posts: 2385 Location: Detroit

Okay it's official. This year's Superbowl party at Rick Riley's !

We'll probably get to also go "hey that's Rick!" during some of the commercials cool

todd ellis · Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2014 6:53 am Post subject:

uh ... wow.
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Scott Pollak · Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2014 8:45 am Post subject:

Frank F · Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2014 9:01 am Post subject:

Rick, The only thing I can suggest from looking over the plans is that you take a good look at the size of your "booth". Set up some walls made of anything yoou have handy and see if the size really fits you and your needs.

The odd angles can be a plus or a minus depending upon the treatment inside the booth and studio area.

Other than that, I like it!

Frank F
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Rick Riley · Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2014 10:18 am Post subject:

Foog · Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2014 5:42 pm Post subject:

I'm pretty sure I got the link to the John Sayers site's forum from someone here. It is a great rabbit hole of studio construction tips and advice.

http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/index.php

I think most people there were saying that floating a floor isn't usually necessary, and is even counterproductive if done incorrectly (with the floated floor acting as a drumhead for vibration). Then again I could just be jealous since my space has such low headroom that the idea of floating a floor was moot.

And I'm with Lee (and his fantastic floating floor, grrr!) on the door being the weakest link. Best add a second layer (drywall or plywood) to it and a second set of seals in the frame/jam/whatever.
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Rick Riley · Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2014 11:02 pm Post subject:

Wanted to say that I've been following all the links provided and gaining a LOT of knowledge. Monk's documentation of his build out is excellent (all 14 pages of it), as well as all the other places I've been pointed to in this thread.

I'm making lots of notes and comparisons, as I'm discovering studios are kind of like snowflakes. No two are alike and each environment demands its own fixes. No need in addressing problems that don't exist.

I'm reading and writing and hopefully will be building in the near future, so thanks all for your input!

And Scott, my wife and I have been Foster Parents for a number of kids, and while adopting might be tricky, I think I can legally foster you. Just bring along a nice beverage!
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DeadDillo · Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 11:27 am Post subject:

Just wanted to chime in and say how insanely jealous I am of someone that has this much room to work in.

My closet studio works great, but the old joke "I have to step outside to change my mind" is always on the tip of my tongue.
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vkuehn · Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2014 9:47 pm Post subject:

Rick, I have a couple of suggestions to toss into the collection you have received.

(1) Let's talk HVAC. How is this building heated and cooled? (Or it it?) There is nowhere in the floor plan where heating or A/C equipment lives. Let me tell you from my personal experiences, you would prefer NOT to have that equipment in the attic.... even at the far end of the building over the craft room. When I want to record, I go down stairs and set the thermostat so that nothing is going to happen until I come back after the recording session and re-set the 'stat. That can get interesting if you need to do a recording in the afternoon during July in Georgia!

You may want to consider a stand alone building about the size of a gardner's potting shed and tool storage placed maybe 6 or 8 feet away from your present building with the ductwork overhead in a breezeway cover space or buried and coming up through the garage floor somewhere to feed a distribution system in your attic. (Make sure the breezeway roof is NOT attached to the garage. Otherwise the vibration of the the little furnace house just becomes part of your existing attic.

(2) I tried to figure out the overall thickness of the walls you plan to install. It looks like the dark brown walls around the booth may be a bit thicker than the two walls that create the three different activity areas. I would suggest that all the walls be thick enough to use 2x6 studs rather than 2x4s, and there are arguments both ways on using 2x6 studs every 16 inches, or alternate 2x4 studs every 12 inches, with the studs staggered between the inside and outside. With a lot of dense insulation inside thicker walls, you not need any isolation clips and other exotic things that some studio builders use.

(3)Make sure you don't end up with a refrigerator or other device that hums, buzzes or whirs placed against the wall that separates the TV room from your office/studio space.

In my recording space I have a small panel of switches so that I can KILL certain little electrical devices in my house that even though small and inconspicuous, they can vibrate the entire house from their hiding place. (That tiny little electric pump on the hot water heater that makes sure you can get instant warm water at the sink or tub in the far bathroom was a real surprise. You can stand in the closet where the hot water heater lives, and not hear it running.... but there are places in the house where the CONCRETE SLAB becomes a sounding board for the tiny vibrations.)

Keep doing what you did here. Invite people of all kinds to tell you what turned out to be the surprise noise in their house, their office or their studio. Much easier AND CHEAPER to fix during the design stage than after the fact.