How To Build A Recording Studio In A Garage
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A garage is an excellent place to build a recording studio. In this article we will look at the process and a simple design showing how I would build my studio in a garage.
The Studio Design
Below is a mock up of how I would design my studio. This is not to scale, but it gives you an idea of the major elements we will talk about in this article.
1) Room Size
First, I chose my room dimensions using the Sepmeyer room equation. The sepmeyer equations are based off room dimensions that will reduce the amount of room modes in a room. Room modes are bad when it comes to acoustics, so starting with an ideal room size to begin with will make acoustically treating the room that much easier.
For my studio I chose 18.64ft x 12.8ft x 8ft (celing height). You can use the calculator at this link: https://www.odometer.org/misc/ht/.
This room size also leaves space in the garage to be...well a garage for storage, parking a car and extra space for my ERV and baffle boxes. More on that to come!
2) Concrete Floor
The floor of a garage is usually concrete. This is all you need to soundproof a floor. Yup, no floating floors here. Just lay down a carpet, some laminate flooring or hardwood flooring and you are good to go.
3) Walls
For my walls, I would use a double wall system. This would offer excellent soundproofing. I would use nice wood paneling on my front wall and left side wall for both acoustics and vibe. You can trade out drywall for wood whenever you want. It is all about the mass. As long as you get mass on your walls you will be fine. I would put green glue in between my drywall layers to maximize the soundproofing.
4) Ceiling
For the ceiling I would use a hat channel system. I would want to make sure that my ceiling height is truly 8 feet when the hat channels and two layers of drywall are installed. If my ceiling height ends up being less than 8 feet then I would want to change my inside wall dimensions.
To install my ceiling I would install I-B1 acoustic clips wit 7/8" furring channel and attach the two layers of drywall with green glue to my ceiling.
If I had the space I could also build a free standing ceiling off my inside walls using new bracing and this would be the most soundproof option.
5) Door
I would use a communicating door system to soudnproof my entryway. The comunnicating doors use two solid core doors that open opposite to each other. It is important that the doors are airtight. I would buy a door sealant kit from acoustical solutions. You could also maybe save some money buying door seals directly from zero industries too.
6) Heating and Cooling
For heating and cooling I would install a Mr. Cool Minisplit. For a room this small I would install a 1200 BTU model. I would run the lines for the Mini Split through my walls and connect them to the compressor outside.
7) Ventilation
Many people forget about the need for fresh air. The mini split doesn't provide fresh air, so we need a separate system. I would install an ERV to provide fresh air in my studio. I would run the fresh air and exhaust air through two separate baffle boxes attached to the outside wall of my studio. This would ensure that the air is not heard and that the two big holes in your wall won't ruin your soundproof room.
8) Bass Traps
Once I finish building the soundproof shell of my room then I will install the acoustic panels. First, I would put bass trap panels in all four corners of my room spanning from the floor to the ceiling.
9) Reflection Free Zone
Next, I would create a reflection free zone or RFZ. This is around the area where I will be listening, mixing and mastering my music. To create the RFZ I will hand acoustic panels on either side of me on both walls and hang an acoustic cloud over my head. This will ensure that the sound I am hearing from my speakers is not distorted by reflections off my walls and ceiling.
10) Diffusion Panels
Next, I would put diffusion panels across my entire back wall from roughly 2 feet off the ground. This will ensure that any sound-waves that hit the back wall will be evenly dispersed back into the room. This will make my speakers sound clearer and more focused.
11) Set Up My Desk
Then I would set up my desk so that my listening spot is 38% of the length of the room. This is the ideal location to listen to your speakers in a rectangular room. In my room that listening spot would be at 7.08Ft.
12) Set Up My Speakers
I would then set up my speakers to they create an equilateral triangle from my listening spot. I would angle them so that they are pointing directly towards my listening spot. It is important to make sure that if your speakers are say 5 ft apart that both speakers would also be 5 feet from your listening spot. It is important to note that your head will most likely sit just in front of the peak of that equilateral triangle. Use your ears to dial in the exact spot. You will know when it sounds perfect!
13) Speaker Calibration
Lastly, I would use Sonarworks speaker calibration software called Sound ID to calibrate my speakers to get them as flat as possible. This will make up for any problems in my room that the acoustic treatment couldn't fix.
After that my studio would be finished and ready for recording, mixing and mastering.
Conclusion
If you found that to be a great overview, but feel like I should have gone more in depth, well you are right. The devil is in the details as they say. So reach out to me if you would like to learn more and need some help building your professional DIY home recording studio.
