Recording Studio Build - Part 1

by Daniel Dennis · 2 comments

This isn’t exactly a “how-to” article, but if you have plans to convert a bedroom, basement, garage or any other existing space into a recording studio, this might help you with planning.

I’m going to take you through the process of how I converted a 960 sq/ft, four-car garage into the studio of my dreams.

Preparation

The garage was basically a blank canvas. The first step was to figure out how I wanted to lay it all out. I knew that I wanted a tracking room big enough to record a band, a fairly large control room, a bathroom, and a storage closet. I spent some time arranging scraps of wood to help visualize the layout, and once I felt good about the room sizes, I drew chalk lines on the garage floor, and then measured out the dimensions.

Four Car Garage: Future Control Room View

Most of my “how-to” knowledge came from reading Home Recording Studio: Build it Like the Pros. When drawing out the blueprints, I knew that in order to achieve maximum sound isolation, I would need a Mass Air Mass wall system. This would consist of two walls:

Building Walls: Mass Air Mass

I also knew that caulking would be crucial in creating an airtight seal in the rooms. This meant caulking the bottom of the framing, drywall connection points, around the window, and anywhere else air might be able to pass through.

Knowing how much space the walls take up will help with your floor plan dimensions being more accurate. Here was my final floor plan:

Prime Cut Studio Floor Plan

Framing and Electrical

The existing walls of the garage were thick and well insulated, so I considered this outer shell to be one wall. Liquid Nails was used between the frame and concrete floor, and then caulk was added along the bottom of the framing on both sides.

Framing: Control Room

Double Wall Frames

Double Wall/Door Frame

Framing: Inside the Tracking Room

Once the framing was up, electrical wiring was ran for outlets, switches, air conditioning, and lighting. “Airtight” insulated can lighting, the kind you can buy in bulk at Home Depot, was used throughout the studio (except storage and bathroom). Looks great and is a lot cheaper than most other can lights.

Air Conditioning

From studying Home Recording Studio: Build it Like the Pros, I figured out that I would need a 1.5-ton heating and air conditioning unit, and large, insulated, flexible air duct work. The duct work was bent in various 90-degree angles to help slow down the velocity of air, which helps reduce air flow noise inside of the rooms.

Here’s a diagram of how the duct work was laid out:

Air Flow Chart

Large Insulated Air Duct Work

Smaller Insulated Duct Work to Air Vents

Most of what I learned came from reading “Home Recording Studio: Build It Like the Pros”. If you’re thinking about converting any space into a studio or even just interested in how studios are built, then I highly recommend this book. It’s one of those books that you really can’t put a price on - it’s that valuable. From wall construction to acoustic panel placement, it’s all there and then some, in an easy-to-understand writing style.