Hi Campers…
Okay, deep breath… At the risk of providing too much information… please forgive me if I sound like I’m rambling… It’s amazing what decades of standing in front of amps and monitors will do to your brain… LOL!
Some of you already know that I’m a Guitarist with 30+ years of professional history who has moved to a 50 acre wooded “farm” in the boonies, to live out the rest of his days away from the “public.” I’m “retired with children” in the deep south, specifically on the Gulf Coast. You’ve dealt with this kinda “git outta my yard” situation before, I’m sure, but…
But just recently, some idiot (“Sorry Kimo!” :-)) just offered me more for one of my “hand-built” Harley’s than anyone in criminal possession of rational sense could possibly turn down… It was one of three built. The other two are with collectors… 600+ pounds of Nitrous Screamin’, handlebar flappin’ fun… Can you say… YEE F’in HAW!!!? I knew you could…
I’m pretty good at keeping secrets. In fact, I haven’t shared this with many people yet, so consider yourselves “about to be clued in.” I moved to the boonies for a reason. I want to be left alone. No stresses, no hassles, no idiots (except relatives). Capish? If you come to my house uninvited, your ass better be “dawg-proof!” I’m serious!
So, here’s the deal… I’m gonna do something I was gonna do a long time ago, and build myself a recording studio, right here in my house. Well, okay… not exactly “in” my house, but right next to it.
I miss the old days, when you just stuffed insulation into walls, slapped Sonex on all the surfaces, and added enough light to insure you didn’t bump into anything! Oh yeah… and you had fire extinguishers layin around to make sure you didn’t “fry.”
In the 80’s, I paid for a house in Las Vegas, by turning three of the bedrooms into “pocket studios.” We even had a console built into one of the bathrooms! Those were the days! ‘Course, most people ain’t old enough to remember those days…
Now… you gotta sweat blood, mortgage your children, and give up women… As an “old guy…” I’m not likin’ this! Nuh -uh!
I’ve looked into the studio “forums” recently, because I’m one of those “look for resources” kinda guys. A request for help has gotten me explanations about how to build an atomic clock, when all I wanted to know was what time it was! Actually, that’s not true! I’ve learned a great deal already about building a recording studio, by watching these guys go at it. But, right now, I gotta figure out what I’m building, before I figure out where the nails go. LOL!
Specifically, I’d thought that I’d try to actually nail down the space by dimension and purpose (layout), before I dared contact a designer. You know, so I’d have a starting point.
I feel like I’m on the Yellow Brick Road to Oz…
So… here’s where it gets really complicated.
Right next to my house are (4), count ’em, (4) 40′ shipping containers (all welded together, and insulated with 9″-12″ of open cell spray-in foam insulation with a fire-retardant coating sprayed over them. 2 coats, in case you’re curious). And to make matters worse, all this steel is buried under an average depth of four feet of soil.
The guy I bought the property from was gonna use this building as a temperature-stabilized, relatively sound-resistant, warehouse. He was combining workers with heavy equipment operation.
Although they’re not “technically” underground, they might as well be. He built the complex on grade, reinforced the walls with concrete and steel, and then covered the whole thing up with dirt and topsoil.
(I guess now would be a bad time to tell you that there are actually three of these “caverns” scattered throughout the property? I’m just using the closest one to the house.) The guy who built them was “into organics,” and stored huge bags of palm husks in them… TONs of palm husks… They use them in some homeopathic cancer med’s, I’m told.
Ironically, he died of cancer… I’m not gonna laugh, but sheesh… talk about irony! I bought the property from his relatives, for “a song…” after it sat on the market for three years.
BTW: I plan on turning one of the “caverns” into a Photography Studio and an Art Studio. In fact, that task is already “on-going.”
Plus… I’ve re-started a blog about guitars, music as a business, and studio anatomy, because I’m really surprised that in this day and age, people still haven’t figured out that playing music is a business and has to be run like one, or you’re gonna end up ‘penniless on a curb.” That blog is located here:
Shut Up and Play Your Guitar!
I’d started it a while back, but “creative differences” and a computer server crash brought me back to square one. And this time I’ll “fly solo.” It’s way easier! 😉 I get several thousand views a week (I “IP Trap” to chart new IP addresses “only”), and I’ve got about 150 countries on the roster already. I’ve got manufacturers offering me stuff, and I’m creating “relationships” with pro gear sound companies… G-d knows where that will lead…
Anyway… back to business.
When I got the building, it had (10) old cars pushed into it. I sold three of them, to build the Harley I just sold. So, the original owner actually paid for all of this! I love it when a plan comes together!
“The Cave” is cut into a hillside, that is really just a berm created by piling dirt on top of the containers. It’s structurally sound, I had it checked out by engineers. There’s literally a ton of rigid insulation and then almost 6″ of steel-reinforced (rebar) concrete sprayed over the top of it. From the “front” it looks like an aircraft hangar built into a hillside. From any other angle, it looks like a soft rolling hill… with skylights sticking up out of it… 🙂
One long side of the box is exposed, with an overhang of about four feet, to provide some shade. In the center, are two big truck doors (mounted on tracks), that I’ll tear out, and replace with a big (large enough to get a piano thru) “airlock door” and windows…
I figure that my soil is about R.25 per inch (I asked a local engineer), and I’ve got 48″ inches of it, minimum depth. There’s R12. I’ve got 6″ (at least) of rigid polyisocyanurate foam on the roof. There’s R42 and change. Then, there’s 6″ of steel reinforced concrete, with it’s R value of about 1.2. So… three… carry the five… minus the square root of the diameter of my butt… I have an R value of R55+, before we get to the open cell foam on the inside of the box… which has an R value of about R38, according to manufacturers spec’s (R3.5 x 9″).
Which means that I have a shell with about R88 insulation value with about R86 (7.04 x 12 inches of foam + 1.5 for the 12″ of concrete according to the docs I’m reading) in the floor slab…
So, we won’t freeze, or drown evidently… as there is waterproof membrane sprayed on both sides of the concrete walls.
There are several skylights (okay, about 12) built into the warehouse, that are basically just concrete boxes 5+ square, 5′ feet tall, capped with irregular “venting” 4′ x 4′ skylights. These extend up thru the earth roof. The skylights are dome-covered, like you’d see on a commercial roof, but a triple-pane (argon gas filled) glass panel has been added directly (4″) beneath them. The skylight sits on a motorized riser that opens via thermostat, to vent air.
According to the builder’s family, the glass panels were added to prevent someone from falling thru them, as the roof is a hillside that allows foot traffic. I’d have just used a shotgun, or big dogs, but… LOL!
The builder got them “surplus” from a library build in the SF bay area. I presume that they were built to spec, and then not used because of change orders.
I haven’t taken a Sound Meter into the cave yet. The only information I have is paperwork from a (Mobile AL) Sound Company that states the “room” possesses an STC (Sound Transmission Class?) of 80+, and a pal who is a senior install tech with a sound company tells me that “it would be perfect as a movie theater.”
I’m curious to see what we’ll have to do with the skylights. Believe it or not, they provide a LOT of light and that is something I’d love to capitalize on, if we can find a way to peacefully coexist with them. The only place that isn’t insulated with “foam” is the truck doors, and they actually have insulation built into them. The guy that built it wasn’t taking any chances, evidently.I know that “isolation” is really important, but I’m underground, essentially.
The rough measurements of the space are: 32′ x 40′ x 9’6″
The inside measurements are: 30’6″ x 38’6″ x 9′ with a slab floor that is 12″ of steel-reinforced concrete, with a foot of rigid insulation beneath it. (The original builder was gonna drive tractors over it.)
It’s completely open inside. He used beams, the existing container steel framing, and enough welding rod to build the Eiffel Tower to build one big open space. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been in lots of studios, but nothing like this “space.” And frankly, as a guitarist, I haven’t been as attentive as I should have been, to “the technical bits…”
(‘Cuz that’s what techs, geeks, and ponytails are for, god love ’em…)
It’s got its puzzles. The inside of the box is solid foam insulation. I mean… solid… in some places a foot thick. Massive skylights all over the place. NO HVAC and just a “wee bit” of power. Except for the bounce off the floors, it’s a dead zone.
And then there is actually coming up with the layout. It’s only about 1300 square feet. An extension could be added to the front of the building, if necessary. But I’m thinking 1300 sq ft has to be big enough for my purposes, unless I’m missing something. And with some help, it could be fab.
I’m thinking a nice control room (NOT small, cramped, dark, dingy, and despicable), an equipment room, a nice studio “space” with room for a Boston GP195 Grand Piano, a podcast booth that doubles as an ISO booth, and a Drum room (for a Roland TS20 or Pearl Studio kit), some kind of “production lounge seating,” an HVAC closet, and a decent sized bathroom.
The studio is designed to be basically a “family place,” not a “Suits studio.” I’m not interested in trying to impress the Jone’s, or the Diddy’s, or anybody else. You don’t like what you see? Easy. “Get the f#ck out!” It’ll be used for writing and producing jingles and scores, doing some podcasting, voice-overs, and interviews, and other assorted projects, primarily by myself and a few drunken hooligans who call themselves “a guild of guitarists and musical miscreants.”
I figure I need to allow for space for no more than about 6-10 musicians at any given time.
Beyond using the space to pay bills, what I’d like to do is build a place where “new talent” can go to record without suffering the slings and arrows of the “ponytails.” As a guitarist, I’ve had a pretty good run, I’ve invested wisely, and it’s time to give something back. My kids futures are already secure.
I’ve done some rough sketches (remember I’m a guitarist, and not an architect or engineer) and I’m gonna keep you all posted as I get help and suggestions. All this is going to lead to a contract with a “real” sound designer to actually build the beast.
But… I need to understand what I’m building, or it’s a no-go. I figure that unless I understand it, I can’t evolve. If I can’t evolve, it won’t either.
I have about $50-70 grand to spend on the actual “building.”
I know it’s not a lot, but it’s what I have to work with. I gotta be careful, because at my age, it ain’t likely that I’ll meet any rich widows (my wife wouldn’t like it), and I ain’t gonna come into any money from relatives. Heck, I probably won’t even get Social Security, cuz’ it’ll be broke by then!
So I invite you to follow along with me as I venture down “trails yet uncharted,” to build my version of:
“A box that rocks while the neighbors gawk!”
And keep this on the “low-low…” Huh? If my wife finds out about it, she’ll wanna buy (gasp!) shoes!
See ya next time…
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