Private studio in Slovakia

[garethmetcalf]

Makes perfect sense and isn’t far off what I did with my most recent panel.

Thanks!

[Soundman2020]

Wow! Your place is really coming together very nicely! I'm so sad I missed a big chunk of that: The workmanship on the clouds and couplers is really outstanding. Top notch: those things look great, and I'm betting the room is sounding a lot different now that you have them in place. I have a feeling your room is going to be pretty darn good!

- Stuart -

[Starlight]

Thank you, Stuart. Yes, the sound in the room is very promising.

The doors have now been hung and caulked which means I have finished the isolation phase, just in time as I start post-Covid gigging this weekend. I can now rehearse. Woohoo!

Here is the compression latch.

I have prepared a pair oak doorsteps to be the floor between the doors; practical but also maintaining the integrity of non-touching walls with a gap between them.

The green painted frame has been added so that I can staple fabric between the doors.

This is how it looks now. The grey door colour is primer.

I am impressed with those that make their own doors but I didn't want go that route. Our doors were made my Acústica Integral in Spain, model RS3 (see here).

In other news the rather small kitchen is now finished and in use ...

... as is the toilet with its own sink.

Next: painting the doors and then flooring.

[Soundman2020]

The doors have now been hung and caulked which means I have finished the isolation phase,

Congrats! And very cool. Did you manage to do any isolation testing yet, to see what your actual level is?

- Stuart -

[Starlight]

Source of the postDid you manage to do any isolation testing yet, to see what your actual level is?

Not a proper test. I used a PA speaker and sub to run a quick test. I turned up Robin Williams's Rock DJ (because of the thumping bass and kick drum) to 110dBC on my SPL meter (louder than I will ever play music but perhaps as loud as an acoustic drum set could be) and listened in the corridor. I could tell that there was some music playing really quietly. It sounded some distance away, much further than just the other side of the wall I was standing next to.

[gullfo]

very nice!

[garethmetcalf]

Nice result. Are you able to see how loud it is above (assuming there are rooms above)?

Cheers
Gareth

[Starlight]

Thank you for the compliment, Glenn.

Gareth, that is a good and necessary question. We are fortunate in that the building is on a slight slope and we are under a row of shops (whose front doors are at ground level on the other side of the building) with the flats above. The chaps that run the electrical shop immediately above us know me so I will have no problem asking them to check whether they can hear us, but the extra bonus is that it is a shop and daytime has higher ambient noises and the shop is closed during evenings, weekends and bank holidays.

We currently have everything in the studio because we are doing the floor in the corridor, kitchen and toilet areas. Our builder is coming on Monday to lay the self-levelling cement compound and then we will have a month's wait as the flooring company has the school summer holiday period full, doing school floors. When the floor is done we will move everything into the corridor, leaving the studio empty so that we can do the floor in there. As soon as we have the studio floor finished I will test the room properly - I ought to know the studio's isolation limits and I must make a start with using and learning REW.

[garethmetcalf]

I guess shops above are the perfect neighbours for a studio for the reasons you’ve explained!

It’ll be really interesting to see the measurements in a month or so.

Cheers
Gareth

[Starlight]

The last 3 weeks have been about the foundation for what will be a linoleum floor in the corridor, through the little kitchen and into the toilet (bathroom in US lingo).

When we ordered the flooring we were told to sand the tiled floor to give the contact layer something to adhere to as shiny tiles don't work well. I did one test tile and went back to the flooring shop to check that I am doing what they want, showing them this photo. "That's fine," I was told.

Doing the whole floor produced so much light, lingering red dust that I could only work for 10 mintes at a time, leaving it to settle for a couple of hours each time.

Fine tile dust went everywhere, clinging to the walls, silencers, ducts, lights - everything plus the kitchen sink!

I then spent the next two weeks with a soft paintbrush, just like an archaeologist brushing dirt from around a new discovery in the ground, in order to clean it all up. What a job!

The builder's merchant told me that what I had done was pointless as modern adhesives stick to floor tiles. That was 130 euros and two and a half weeks I needn't have spent but pointless is way better than a mistake that requires repairing or replacing and anyway, I had to wait for our builder's broken ankle to heal and I wanted an excuse to buy an angle grinder.

This red layer is called a contact layer. It feels like thin paint with added sand and gives a good surface for the self-levelling cement to bond to.

And so to today. Jozef, our lovely builder, is on his first day back at work decided to slot us in before the outdoor jobs he prefers to do during the good weather.

That's the toilet done. We forgot to turn off the light so Jozef had to step in his nice work in the kitchen to get to the toilet light switch. For something that is called self-levelling it seemed to take a lot of work to get it perfectly level throughout.

And that is the floor done. It's time to close and lock the door for at least 4 days to let it dry thoroughly.

The place will now stay shut for at least 4 weeks, until the flooring company is free to come and lay the lino. Time for a break and all those administrative jobs I have been putting off.

[gullfo]

better late than never - having someone with you with a shop vac to suck up the dust as you go. some rental sanders have a port for the shop vac to connect to, some have collection bags which collect probably 90%... aw, well. next studio build

[Starlight]

Source of the postbetter late than never

Call it an initiation of some sort!

Source of the postaw, well. next studio build

I am hoping there won't be a next studio but if there is maybe I can work cleaner by avoiding unnecessary jobs.

[Soundman2020]

Source of the post The builder's merchant told me that what I had done was pointless as modern adhesives stick to floor tiles.

When I saw that first tile and the angle grinder, I was kinda thinking the same thing! Don't you just love it when suppliers just aren't up-to-date on supplies?

I then spent the next two weeks with a soft paintbrush, just like an archaeologist brushing dirt from around a new discovery in the ground, in order to clean it all up. What a job!

Hopefully you didn't find any fossils down there! But more seriously you should probably consider getting yourself a "shop vac": Basically, a heavy-duty "industrial strength" vacuum cleaner: They do wonders for this type of job, and don't clog up in 2 minutes like an ordinary household vacuum cleaner would. I have a Craftsman "Wet/dry" vac, which is great as you can suck damp and wet stuff with it too, even liquid water, with no problem (just take out the paper filter first!). Shop vacs are usually also "reversible", in the sense that you can pull the hose off the "suck" side and attach it to the "blow" side, to get a powerful stream of air. Which brings us to the next point! ...

All that dust has very likely coated your walls, ceilings, doors, windows, seals, HVAC system, and every tiny nook and cranny: I would REALLY suggest that you get a powerful blower, and blow all of that out (while wearing a suitable mask and eye protection!). Of course, that will then fill the air again, and settle over your beautiful new floor, so you'll need to vacuum it up again, then blow again, then vacuum again.. blow again, then vacuum again.. It could take a while, but it's important to get all of that nasty dust out: that stuff is abrasive! You don't want it getting into your door seals, hinges, electrical outlets, and DEFINITELY not in your DAW or other gear(!), nor your HVAC fans, AHU, filters, or ducts.

For something that is called self-levelling it seemed to take a lot of work to get it perfectly level throughout.

Yep! They do tend to omit that minor detail from the advertising... it sounds so easy "just mix and pour"... yeah right! That said, some are better than others in that respect: some do spread quite well by themselves, and don't need much extra work. But many do...

And that is the floor done. It's time to close and lock the door for at least 4 days to let it dry thoroughly.

Looks really good! Seems like your guy did a nice job on that.

- Stuart -

[Starlight]

Source of the postAll that dust has very likely coated ... every tiny nook and cranny ...

Too right, Stuart, it did. I had my initiation with plaster dust so I appreciate how it gets everywhere and again the next day and the next for about a week of cleaning.

Source of the post(while wearing a suitable mask and eye protection!)

I am wearing a FFP2 (N95) mask and a Buff on the outside to pull the mask tight against my face around the edges. When I finished, the outside of the mask was tile dust red while the inside was pure white, proving how good these masks are for fine dust and how a Buff is not a fine enough weave to be used as a mask.

Source of the postYou don't want it getting into your door seals, hinges, electrical outlets, and DEFINITELY not in your DAW or other gear(!), nor your HVAC fans, AHU, filters, or ducts.

You are right! I am so glad we bought the doors we did as the cam lift mechanism kept that door tightly shut. No dust got through.

[SoWhat]

Greetings Starlight (and Stuart),

When you acquire the shop vacuum, do make sure to get the "Fine Dust" filters. The general purpose ones that are included with the vac can't filter the kind of dust you've generated. They're expensive but worth it, as they also work wonders for the dust generated from sanding drywall.

I wanted an excuse to buy an angle grinder.

Funny how we (as musicians) are now looking for excuses to buy power tools instead of that next guitar, snare drum, synth, etc.

All the best,

Paul