DEBRIS.COMgood for a laugh, or possibly an aneurysm

As previously reported, I’ve taken the first steps toward construction of a rehearsal and recording space for my drum kit. We made a detailed plan, worked up a detailed estimate, and now we’re making a detailed plan. Again. The estimate was too high, about $6000; it’s time to compromise.

The initial design called for a freestanding room to be built within the garage. The walls and ceiling would be built from metal studs, with a layer of sheetrock on the outside, mineral fiber (aka rock wool) insulation in the stud bay, a layer of soundboard on the “inside” surface, then resilient channel over the soundboard, and a layer of sheetrock hung on the RC. If necessary, we could add a second layer of sheetrock inside the room.

The floor would float on a layer of Auralex Sheetblok. All sheetrock joints would be taped and sealed. Silicone caulk and expanding foam would be used throughout. The studio would be airtight, except for an exhaust fan to be built into a soundproofed corner closet (which would also house noisy computer and recording gear).

The surrounding room would have been sealed (more caulk and foam) and treated to a layer of soundboard prior to construction.

But this plan has a problem, even beyond the price tag: the garage has an 8' ceiling, so the studio would have finished out at 7'2'' — too claustrophobic, especially considering the cost, and potentially restrictive of tall boom stands (whether for mics or cymbals).

The only way to cut the budget is to change the architecture. We’ve dropped the room-within-a-room idea, even though that approach offers superior isolation (aka transmission loss). The new plan hasn’t been fully spec’d yet, but in general, we’ll do this:

• seal existing walls and ceiling with caulk, expanding foam, and soundboard
• hang resilient channel, possibly using strips of Sheetblok under the RC for additional isolation
• hang a layer of sheetrock on the RC, forming tight joints and taping all seams

We’d still need to build two freestanding walls (because the studio doesn’t fill the garage, but is stuffed into one corner), and these would be framed with metal studs and insulated with mineral fiber.

This approach should cut some materials and even more labor from the budget. Also it buys us back at least 4.5'' of vertical clearance. But the final estimates aren’t in yet.

The problem with soundproofing is that it requires so many layers of materials, and a lot of time to assemble them all. There’s no cheap way to do it.