Framing and setting the outer walls of the studio

Part 12 — Designing and building a DIY home recording studio

The whole story — part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10, part 11, part 12, part 13, part 14, part 15, part 16, part 17, part 18, part 19, part 20, part 21, part 22, part 23, part 24, part 25

With the new double LVL beam system carrying the ceiling load over the studio, this wall — originally the load bearing wall — is temporarily just hanging out in the wings waiting for me to figure out the final outer dimensions of the studio space. Once that is determined, this will become the new outer wall.

Figuring out final room dimensions

Now that the beam system is in place of the wall, It’s time to quickly figure out the dimensions for the studio. My mind wants to maximize the room size and originally I was thinking I may extend the studio all the way to the wall pictured with the lumber stacked under it (in the first picture). After running as many calculations as I could, I noticed that the larger I made the space, the worse my mode and node response became. As I narrowed it down to what would likely sound the best, I found that the room size that suggested would actually be quite nice for me still and the modes and nodes were looking fantastic actually. My wife was really happy about that, because now she could have the space on the other side of my front wall for a game room. The location of the wall even gave her the side window pictured above.

Made a wall layout template. It represents the double wall with double 5/8" drywall and green glue construction that I’ll be using.

Finalizing measurements became so much easier when I could “see” the space the various wall layers would require.

Wall template

While trying to figure out the best room dimensions, I found my self measuring and marking the wall system on the concrete as a place holder while I made other measurements. After doing this several times, it occurred to me that I could mock it up on paper. It took me 5 min and I was back in action. It has become a fantastic tool and helped me very quickly find the optimum dimensions for the space I am working with.

This is the wall construction I am using for all the perimeter walls that are not part of the concrete foundation. In the case of the foundation walls, the concrete foundation IS the second wall — rather than two wood framed walls. More info about this image can be found HERE. This website has awesome pictures and info that makes planning the level of sound proofing you want to use much easier. Plus they offer free consultation — no strings attached.

Dimensions are figured out and the wall is being moved into the correct place. VERY exciting, because this is officially the first wall being put into place. It’s nice that this wall just happens to already be built, so we just have to slide it over and tap it level.

Just a few more taps and the 1st wall is SET!

It’s much easier to visualize the room now with the beam in and the front wall in place. With the framing done for the day, now it’s time to just sit in this chair and start the mental gymnastics of planning out everything from the new desk — which I have discovered/realized i’m most likely going to have to build — to the lighting, acoustic treatment (including a cloud system above) and figuring out some sort of cozy place for the clients to sit.

Finishing the perimeter wall framing

Just some quick framing and the short wall is done and the doorway.

Things are happening quickly now. The 2nd wall is up.

Framing above the door for the outer wall.

The outer shell of the studio is complete!

Time to put in fire blocking

I’m sure my son’s will LOVE to spend some time learning to use power tools/do all the blocking for me.

Adam (left) and Grayson (right) doing a great job learning to frame in fire blocking on the outer wall/shell of the studio.

They are doing great! No one lost any fingers

Blocking is done!

With the outer walls up, it’s time to start looking at what I need to do to the ceiling. At first glance, it’s kind of a mess. It looks like there are several things that instead of being running up along inside the holes in the joists, they were run underneath the joists. At first glance this includes the refrigerant line set for the home’s air conditioner, the furnace’s 2" PVC air intake/exhaust pipes to a handful of electrical lines. It looks like one person ran a line in the wrong place and everyone else got lazy and did the same thing. This is going to be interesting, because either I find a way to move/reroute things, or I’m going to have to drop my ceiling down a bit to be able to cover them up. Well, here we go!

The whole story — part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10, part 11, part 12, part 13, part 14, part 15, part 16, part 17, part 18, part 19, part 20, part 21, part 22, part 23, part 24, part 25