Basement studio construction on limited budget - HELP!

[Space]

The search for acoustic panels can be performed here at recording.org and at johnlsayers.com. These young guys in the videos got their information from these two places.

[MadMax]

Advice is worth what you pay for...

In my mind, I'd rather have a structural engineer give me a piece of paper that I can hand to my insurance company, than a "verbal promise" from a sub-contractor.... call me silly.

But, if you're good with it, you want to cut the 5/8" FR gypsum just about an inch smaller than the cavity. Center it in the middle of the cavity. Use a coupla' drywall screws to snug the gypsum to the floor. Next, lay a bead of acoustic caulk in the bottom of the gap, and stuff that ~.5" gap with 3/4" backer rod. Once it's in there, seal the top with another bead of acoustic caulk. (I HIGHLY recommend OSI's SC-175 caulk for OH work!)

If you feel brave enough, lather, rinse, repeat a 2nd layer of gypsum.

Next, take a 1x2 furring strip, and cleat that gypsum in place. Caulk the seams along the furring strip, as well!!

Why do all this caulk, you ask?!?!?

For a VERY good reason, actually...

Wherever air goes... so goes sound!

You can't actually make a room completely air tight on your budget, but the more you can stop, the more isolation you'll have.

After you deal with the ceilings, and the walls... yes, you'll need acoustical treatment... but for the life of me, I seriously don't think you'll need nearly as much high frequency attenuation as you will LF attenuation (trapping)... so thankfully, you probably won't have to use any of that nasty looking foam crap that costs a LOT more than a nice piece of silk wrapped around a wood frame.

[Space]

...and gearslutz.com and studiotips.com



Forgot to mention them...well, didn't forget...just, OK, fine...I forgot!!!

[Noam Studio]

Ok, I get what you're saying about having a piece of paper for insurance purposes. Now, if I can't afford to have a structural engineer look at my basement (although I will find out how much that would cost), and I don't add layers of drywall between the joists, is there anything I CAN do to help with sound isolation, other than recording when no one is home with the air conditioning or heating turned off? I was looking at it again, and there is ductwork that would interfere with placement of some of the drywall up there. Still, would it be better to do some sort of isolation rather than none, or would that be an exercise in futility? Plus, I would have to put 2 or 3 layers of drywall around other ductwork because the sound travels thru the ductwork easily.
Any comments?

[MadMax]

The way I would approach it, is to come up with a plan and THEN ask a structural engineer to look at the design... not the other way around.

The way that many folks approach the task is the wrong way, IMHO.

They just dive in, then 3-6 months down the road... they realize that they really had no business trying to do this on their own.

Either a disaster happens, they run out of money, or the end results are pitifully inadequate.

Once again, lemme state this;

Start with the environment you have. Assess the maximum square footage you have to possibly start with.
*Part of that assessment is to get a detailed picture of that environment... either in photo's and/or drawings. Try Sketchup... it's free, and there's plenty of help available here.

Pinpoint your weak points in the existing structure using any number of different methods. Direct observation, or ask family and friends to take measurements for you.

Once you know how much sound you need to contain, you can now establish a "budget" as I suggested earlier.

I would seriously suggest using a nominal figure of approximately $120-$150/sq ft to get you to a completed project.

So, maybe you need to move a duct, or encase it in other ways... there's always a solution... the problem still comes back to your budget, and how much can you afford to do?

Make an initial plan to resolve the issue, see how much it costs, then modify as you have to.

You'll likely do this at least a half dozen times before you settle in on a final design.

Once you have a final design, you get your permits and get started... Get your inspections done and finish it off...

Viola! You're broke, tired and happy to finally have it done.

[Noam Studio]

Thank you all for all your suggestions and input. I truly appreciate the time you take to help a complete stranger in this forum. I find that musicians and others who share a passion for their craft are most generous with their knowledge to help others who are just starting out in a new venture. However, having said all that, based on your figures of $120 - $150 per sq. ft., it would cost approximately $14,000 for my little 120 sq.ft. studio. While this may sound like a modest amount for a proper set-up, it's just not something I can afford. I would have to scale back A LOT. Just as an aside, the reason I have so little to work with is that I lowballed my price to get a job, which will pay for much needed hardware and software upgrades, as well as other equipment. I probably could have asked for an extra $1,000 - $2,000 or maybe more, but then I risked not getting the job, and then I would be stuck with my 8 year old computer that can't be upgraded anymore, and is starting to have a difficult time processing audio when adding in effects. In short, I would be stuck with what I have now, with no hope of improving the situation.
I should also mention that I am renting, and real estate in Canada is insanely expensive, and I don't want to sink so much money into a rental!! Putting up a wall with some insulation, no problem, but embarking on a $14,000 project may not be so wise if I don't own it (never mind the fact that if you own your house, you can use it to help pay for such a project). While my desire for a proper set up is real and sincere, I have to deal with the budgetary reality that I cannot carry out such a plan. I also don't have the time as the project I will be working on must be completed in 18 months.
I will have to work through the inconvenience of recording vocals only when no one is home with the HVAC turned off. I am hoping that it won't stifle creativity too much, but such is life.
Thanks again guys for the input, I have learned a lot. No doubt I will have more questions during the recording process.

[MadMax]

My best advice... now that you finally mention an imperically fundamental flaw in your problem resolution...

Do yourself a favor... Get a Zoom H2, set up your bed tracks in the Zoom, then transfer the tracks to your old box. Dealing with them the best you can... don't mess with it too much.

Call a studio fairly close to you. (At least in Canukistan, your first time doing this) Arrange to have the engineer at said studio put the final product together as a two track.

You want to start the process by sending the mixer, stems of consoldate wav files. Send them all from the same start. It won't matter what your system is, at least 90% of the honest to goodness, full time professional studios will prefer to have the wav's as least touched as you can. (San's FX plug-ins is ideal)

Give them a budget and a deadline, but I would think you should get a decent shop to glue your files together for a few square feet of studio space... with NONE of the design headaches, none of the sawdust, drywall, insulation, caulk nor even a burned up skillsaw.

Damn cheap if you ask me...

You'll get a pass or two at the mix before you have to pay for recalls... so, be careful. You might end up having to pay for 6 or 8 square feet of studio space you can't build anyway.

In a onsie/twosie situation, it's pretty silly to spend much more than a six pack of beer to paint your room. You're not going to do squat to that property... If you do... in most cases, you're a fool.

It's not yours, you won't be there very long and anything you do to the property is now the property of the owners... so it better be to code and had all of it's inspections... Otherwise... it's your ass on the line, mate. Most are lucky, some are not... how brave do you feel?

Just hire a good studio to work with you to get your mix... build a creative garret a bit later, when you've actually got property under ownership and can spend the time to make it worth the effort.

My humble $.02