How To Build A Soundproof Studio In A Shed - Part 1

concrete slab drums studio floor design log cabin shed soundproof floor soundproof walls soundproofing Feb 13, 2023

When I was first thinking about building my own home recording studio I wanted to build it in a pre-fabricated shed. The reason? It is cheaper and easier to just have a shed delivered and then soundproof the inside of it. In theory this is a great plan, but there are two main things we will talk about in this article that make your shed design potentially a disaster.

1) Case Study - Nashville Shed Recording Studio

Currently, my friend and builder, Henry Thompson, is building a soundproof recording studio here in Nashville for a drummer/producer. The studio is a big barn style shed. The goal is to soundproof his pre-fab shed so that he can play drums without bothering his neighbors and produce clients in a professional home recording studio.

2) The Problems With A Shed

This shed was placed on an existing concrete slab in Taylor, the owners, driveway. The company who sells the shed came in and built the full shed in a day or two.

That is an incredible deal, but there are two big problems with using a shed that was built on site.

First, the shed was built with a wood deck floor on top of the concrete driveway.

Second the shed walls or sheathing are very thin. This is part of the reason it is cheaper than traditional building methods, but this is also why it is not ideal for soundproofing. In soundproofing we want mass, and thin walls mean way less mass.

3) So What Are The Solutions?

The first thing you must do is remove the wood deck floor. To do this you must remove the plywood from the floor and cut out all the wood cross bracing on the floor. You must use the concrete slab as your floor for it to be properly soundproofed.

For the the thin walls the key is to add mass to those existing walls. To this I recommend adding two layers of 5/8" drywall to the inside bays of your existing sheathing. To save money, I would have taken the plywood from the original shed floor and cut it down to size to add mass to the outside walls.

Below is a diagram from Home Recording Studio: Build It Like The Pros by Rod Gervais.

Notice in this diagram that he recommends adding two layers of 5/8" drywall with a small gap around the drywall. Fill the small gap with backer rod and acoustic caulk to seal the added drywall to the sheathing. Then you can add a 1" cleat over the backer rod and caulk to ensure the new drywall is fully sealed and airtight.

This method will ensure your outside walls match the mass of your inside walls and is crucial to achieving the STC ratings we need for recording studio design.

Conclusion

You can build a professional recording studio in a pre-fabricated shed, The key is to build it on top of a level concrete slab and to beef up the interior walls and ceilings of your building so that you are starting with an excellent structure. Then when you add the soundproofing techniques on top of that structure you will get professional results.

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