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Since no one here seems to know of any contractors in the area where I live I have decided I am going to just build it myself and when it comes time to do electrical then hire someone. What I need to know are the steps in building a basement studio. What has to be done so I can make a chack list and get myself oranized so I do this project right the first time and get some good quality out of it. I somewhat know how to frame and drywall but I need to know how to do it and get the room soundproof (so the rest of the house doesn't hear the music). If anyone here is a contractor or has experiance such as building a basement studio that would be great if you can help me out.

Many Thanks,
Will

Comments

MadMax Sun, 01/29/2006 - 20:38

lessthanwill22,

I'll do what I can as far as a quick overall run-down...

1. Plan your space out. You don't need AutoCAD, but a CAD program of some sort makes the job easier... A LOT EASIER! (Just figured that out myself!)
2. Get your permits
3. Electrical rough-in
3a. Signal chain rough-in
4. HVAC rough-in
5. Physical Soundproofing construction
6. Studio structural construction (can be/usually is part of 5)
7. Finish interior work
8. Final electrical
8a. Final Signal
9. Final HVAC
10. Final Inspections
11. Acoustic measurement
11. Acoustic Treatment
12. Repeat 10 & 11 until satisfactory results

This is all considering that there's no plumbing involved.

Try the acoustics forum, on this site... good folks over there. Rod and Steve know their stuff.

Do some searching in this forum... LOT'S of good stuff.

Try these links as well:
[="http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/index.php"]John L Sayer's[/]="http://www.johnlsay…"]John L Sayer's[/]
[[url=http://="http://forum.studio…"]Studio Tips[/]="http://forum.studio…"]Studio Tips[/]

Please realize that this is a statement that's NOT supposed to tick you off. So don't let it do that, OK?

From the way your statement sounds, I don't think you know how much you don't know.

What I mean by that is this. When I started out, I thought that it was a pretty straight forward, 2 or 3 week prep, and 2 or 3 month construction project. Man, was I rudely awakened! Granted, I'm not building a home/basement studio, but even if I were, I'd not be happy if I rushed through it and did a half assed job.

Slow down and really educate yourself a bit before you jump in and end up with a poor performing space that you end up VERY unhappy with. Either that, or hire a firm that specializes in recording studio design and construction. There's quite a few good firms out there, but they AIN'T cheap. Wes Lachot, Russ Berger, Francis Manzella, Richard Oliver, Philip Newell, and John Sayers are a few of the "bigger names" off the top of my head. There's plenty more out there that are quite good.

Take your time. Do some extensive research here and on other boards. There's plenty of good folks, with plenty of good help to offer!

Looking forward reading about your build!

Max

anonymous Mon, 01/30/2006 - 10:31

Max,

Thanks for the tips. I am quite aware of my lack of knowlege of what I am doing here. I don't plan on starting for a month just so I can learn a bit more about sound proofing and acoustics. The links you gave me were also a big help in my search for knowlege on this subject. As for updates on my progress, what I will do is set up a freewebs website thing and put up pictures and whatnot to my progress and what I'm doing, what equipment I am getting/have and when it is up I will post the link.

Thanks alot for the advice,
Will

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