Studio Construction: End of Week Three

This week the windows were installed and some of the siding. The interior of the studio is still bare studs.

Norman Varney of A/V RoomService was able to get us an upgrade of their IsoPad product because their supplier was out of the standard version. They provided the upgraded IsoPad for the same price. Thanks Norm!

IsoPad acts as a buffer between the walls, floor and ceiling, allowing each to be acoustically isolated from each other. In other words, the walls, floor and ceiling are not in direct contact with each other. This stops vibrations or resonance in one surface from transferring to another.

Studio Construction: The Evil Beam

I should have known things were moving forward too smoothly.  Today, our  contractor  realized that there would be no way to get the HVAC ducts into the studio as originally spec'ed because of the height of the false ceiling (9' 10").   It seems an engineered  structural  beam - essentially supporting the entire Southwest corner of our house - was blocking the entry point into the studio. Yes, the evil beam.

For standard construction, this would not have been a problem.   A standard ceiling is 8' high.   However,  A/V RoomService spec'ed out the EXACT interior dimensions  of the studio for optimum performance. Even a small  deviation  could radically change the distribution of room modes and thus adversely effect the sound of the room.   I was worried that a change in the height of the ceiling would likely  necessitate  a change to the width and length...and space was already at a premium.

After a few phone calls to Norm, we arrived at the next best ceiling height.   8' 2".   Reduced from 9' 10".  Quite a bit shorter, but still acoustically valid. 

Here is the offending beam - the joists are fastened to it.   The HVAC ducting will enter the studio below the beam, between the wall studs.

Studio Construction: End of Week Two

This week I received the final acoustic specs from Norm over at A/V RoomService. The specs include the interior dimensions of the studio and details for the electrical wiring. False walls and a ceiling will eventually be built to bring the interior dimensions to the proper size.

In these photos: the exterior of the studio and our first interior shot!