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Manshed studio build **ADVICE ON INSULATION PLEASE**


Beedster
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Pretty much since I can remember I've wanted a self-contained studio. In the past I've had the odd spare room with a music workstation, but it's not really the same, and with kids, there's no such thing as 'private space' in the house.

So, last year was a bit crap, and around November I thought "If I don't do it now, I never will", so decided to just do it. It's as much about the kids learning to love and play music as it is about me recording my own stuff and that of my mates, so it's not a 'studio' in the true sense, bit I thought I'd keep y'all posted on how things develop over the coming months.

First things first, the wrecking crew. We had to get rid of a rather old and rather rotten shed on the site, and it was pretty clear that the roof weighed a ton, so I got some strong-arm in. From let to right pedal steel, idiot (me), fiddle and, looking rather menacing with the crowbar, not only a great mandolin player but one of the UK's top acoustic guitar builders (who almost lot his right hand when the roof of the old shed came down somewhat prematurely). Shed down in about 4 hours.

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A couple of days later, three extremely hard working chaps arrived and did the below in two days

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And at the end of day two I had this.. It's around 20 feet by 15 feet (although it looks much smaller), and is bloody lovely...

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... although it looks like a giant sauna, so I got to work with a paintbrush

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This the undercoat, and whilst it doesn't show well in the photo, it's translucent so shows the grain of the wood really nicely, in fact I have something of a boutique shed.

Also had to get to work with a spade to get the electric in, trench had to be 24 inches deep.

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Next instalment will be the interior, followed the gear, and you never know, in the fulness of time, a few recordings :)

i'm gonna need a name also, as I was recently living in Aberystwyth Greg (Shaggy) suggested 'Aber Road', but I guess if geographical it's now gonna have to be something more Canterbury/Kent/South-East. But hey, doesn't have to be geographical. Suggestions on a postcard please :)

Edited by Beedster
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Looking great. As someone who has already trodden this path I can tell you it's the best thing I ever built. You will get so much out of having recording, rehearsal and general quiet time space at the end of the garden.

Do you have plans for insulation (heat and noise) and humidity control? I get stick from her indoors as I spent far more money on security and air conditioning in the shed than I did in the house. That said, she loves the fact that all my guitars and amps no longer live in the house.

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That's something I'd love to have, my house can be so noisy sometimes.

The only thing is I tend to work through the night sometimes, and I'm erm............................scared of the dark :). I'd be imagining all sorts of things outside while I was inside.

Edited by ambient
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Thanks for the above comments guys (and funnily enough, it is a bit spooky in there at night...). Re insulation, there is substantial insulation under the floorboards (pics to follow) and in the roof, but none on the walls. Having said this, the walls are thick, really thick. Humidity is something I'm going to wait and see about, although I will probably simply use a portable unit in the short term and deal with any serious problems as and when they arrive. Sound insulation is a different matter and something that, again, I'm going to deal with as things develop. Whilst it's at the end of a pretty long garden it's still in a suburban residential area and noise will cause problems. However, I don;t want a dead room acoustically so I'm going to trial some impromptu jams/rehearsals and recordings (it'l be a combination of acoustic instruments e.g., DB, mandolin, guitar, cajon, and electric instruments e.g., pedal steel, guitar), and see how much noise comes out and how the room records. I'm going to work on the principle of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' and go slowly, it would be all too easy to start adding acoustic treatment only to find the room less pleasing. At present, on both DB and hifi it's quite bass-tolerant with no obvious resonance, and seems to handle higher frequencies quite well also. No doubt once we start recording there'll be a few surprises however :)

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I went for an audition last week which turned out to be at a small terraced house in a densely-populated urban area.

The rehearsal room was a large shed at the bottom of a short garden. There was some rudimentary soundproofing. The band have been playing there weekly for about a year and have yet to receive a single complaint.

I will say it's a country band... might well be a different story were it any flavour of rock band. So you could be OK.

Edited by discreet
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Looking good. I'm about to do something similar for my work office (but there might have to be my gear in there too :) but I was going to add insulation (sound and temperature) on the outside, not thicker than the corner overhangs, then cover that with marine ply and reclad this with cheap, thin wood cladding. That way i still have the lovely wooden inside that wont be dead acoustically and, as long as I do the outside well, it shouldn't look too different.

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Great project! Really looking forward to seeing how this develops :)

You'll likely need at least some acoustic treatment if you want to record in there, all depending on personal taste, priorities, etc. Some corner bass traps would certainly help to tame the low end in what is a fairly small space.

If/when the time comes, contact these guys:

http://www.bluefrogaudio.co.uk

...very friendly and knowledgable, with expertise in kitting out home studios/ practice rooms as well as professional set ups. I have no affiliation! ;) I used them for my own (very humble) music room and got great results on a modest budget.

PS: forget soundproofing. Virtually impossible in a space like that unless you want to build a suspended 'room within a room'.

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Mmm, not sure 'Pinewood' is what I'm looking for.....

Thanks again for the above comments guys. Re alarm, any suggestions of what I should be expecting to spend and/or a good model?

Noise is an interesting one and to my mind kinda relates to the alarm issue. I want to retain the goodwill of my neighbours. In this context, my old band used to rehearse quite loudly in the singer's flat, albeit a basement, and I always felt quite uncomfortable about it. No one ever complained apparently, but more than once I was on the receiving end of a very hard stare from a neighbour as I left (it's hard to pretend you're not responsible for the noise when you're carrying a double bass in one hand and an amp in the other). So yes we can play loud in the shed, it's whether I want to risk it p*****g people off. I quite like the idea of external cladding as I really don't want to reduce the room size further, but then again I'd rather everything goes into the desk and we do things at moderate levels (hence my questions re electronic drum kits elsewhere on BC.....).

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[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1453194729' post='2957186']
I quite like the idea of external cladding as I really don't want to reduce the room size further, but then again I'd rather everything goes into the desk and we do things at moderate levels (hence my questions re electronic drum kits elsewhere on BC.....).
[/quote]

External cladding will dampen some of the noise… but the kick drum and bass will still travel far and wide across your neighbourhood. I looked into this myself when I converted our garage at home into a music room. The two options for soundproofing boil down to:

1) Mass: thick layers of dense stuff. Like, several feet thick if possible.

Or…

2) Suspension: creating a suspended ‘room within a room’. And then surrounding that with more layers of dense stuff.

The average cost for properly soundproofing a typical domestic garage is around £10K (to do it properly). Hence I abandoned the idea.

Everything else: cladding, acoustic plasterboard (which I used), duvets nailed to the walls… will do something to reduce the external noise level, but not markedly so. Certainly not sufficient to justify the extra cost (acoustic plasterboard does however make a great heat insulator, hence my decision to use it).

So your best option for ‘soundproofing’ is probably a social one: talk to the neighbours and ply them with alcohol :)

PS: this is a useful book... albeit quite technical in places:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Home-Recording-Studio-Build-Like-Pros/dp/143545717X

Edited by Skol303
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[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1453194729' post='2957186']
...we can play loud in the shed, it's whether I want to risk it p*****g people off. I quite like the idea of external cladding as I really don't want to reduce the room size further, but then again I'd rather everything goes into the desk and we do things at moderate levels (hence my questions re electronic drum kits elsewhere on BC).
[/quote]

You could always pre-empt the situation by telling the neighbours what you're going to do and ask them to let you know if it's too loud... as regards shed-type rehearsal rooms and electronic drum kits, the man to speak to is Happy Jack, who did something similar a while back I believe... now, where is it..?

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/149816-creating-my-own-rehearsal-space/"]http://basschat.co.u...ehearsal-space/[/url]

Edited by discreet
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[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1453194729' post='2957186']


Thanks again for the above comments guys. Re alarm, any suggestions of what I should be expecting to spend and/or a good model?


[/quote]I bought this one, I put the dummy box on the shed, and the real one on the house. I can`t guarantee it is the best, but it works. Only problem with it, you need to buy a separate remote control, although not essential. They cost around £18
http://www.screwfix.com/p/yale-premium-wireless-alarm-kit/54473

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How about "Manshed Music Emporium"? :D

Noise abatement-wise, I'd be inclined to put Rockwool in the walls & roof and then clad the insides with either plasterboard, ply or MDF with a neoprene strip on the structural members. Likewise the floor, a slightly raised false floor, with Rockwool insulation & neoprene strips.

As for the alarm, it depends on how "risky" the area you live in is, and what gear is going to be left in there. If you're putting power in there, then get the shed wired into the house alarm & bury the cable with the electric.

Edited by Skybone
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