The Randolph Rooms!

[mellowsouls]

Hello friends!

Following ten years of dreaming/reading, I suddenly find myself in a position to be able to construct a studio!

Unfortunately, this is only possible due to the passing of my father in law, and the subsequent sale of his house. But out of sad bits of life, one should seek out and treasure the good. This is why I’ll name the place after him.

I very nearly bought a former car garage with plans to turn the first floor into a flat (to have a sensible investment), leaving space for a couple of rooms below. Alas, the walls were shot and the rebuild costs out of budget. So on to plan B, the garden!

I have a smallish garden, and being a newbuild, the garden is a waterlogged waste of space. So my plan originally was to go the permitted development route, using less than 50% of the garden space, staying under the height restrictions.

My wife also needs a space for her meditation business, and I might as well incorporate the garden shed on the end so I’m looking at one long building across the back of the garden, leaving basically a courtyard between it and my house.

I really want to make a good drum recording in the room. I like a dead sounding space, so I’ll be going for a lot of absorption internally. The external walls will be block built, as I really want good dB reduction (mind you, no one has complained about my son learning to play drums in his bedroom).

Time for some piccies...

[mellowsouls]

Probably an important point I missed off there - as I don’t want to waste money by making mistakes, I have asked Studio Support Gnome for his assistance in getting it right!

I think I know how to approach a build, and I’m ok with a hammer and stuff, but I need to be respectful of the source of the funds, my wife and my neighbours by getting it done proper. Decent thought out plans from an experienced designer will be so much cheaper than fixing a flawed build.

I’ve followed enough threads to know Max is the Man.

[Hugh Robjohns]

Yes, external host and links in your post.

H

[mellowsouls]

Ah, cheers Hugh! I guessed that might be the case then edited my post so I didn’t look quite so incompetent. Busted!

[mellowsouls]

Let’s see if this works then...



https://www.flickr.com/gp/168269195@N07/H97ZV1

[mellowsouls]

https://www.flickr.com/gp/168269195@N07/Vd31o3

[Drew Stephenson]

Probably an important point I missed off there - as I don’t want to waste money by making mistakes, I have asked Studio Support Gnome for his assistance in getting it right!

All the feedback suggests that if you follow his advice (and make sure the builder does!) then you should be fine. Good luck with the project, naming it for your father-in-law is a nice touch.

[Wonks]

You need to use the 'share' option (for BB Boards) otherwise you are linking to the page, not the image.

First thoughts by peter haines, on Flickr

[James Perrett]

It might be worth checking all the permitted development regulations and also the building regulations requirements as, when I build my studio, I had to keep it more than 1m away from any boundary and, as I didn't want to go through the hassle of gettiing building regulations approval, it had to have an area of less than 30 sq m. There is also a limitation on height too.

[mellowsouls]

Thank you for sorting the picture out Wonks! You can see the gradual decline in posting quality directly correlates to the kids bedtime - at the end of the evening I’m done in!

I should mention that although I was initially thinking of going the permitted development route, I’m going to chat to the local planning office to see what I can do - eg, going up to the boundaries, getting a bit more height, etc.

The scale of what I’m able to do now is a relatively new concept, so all the ideas are fresh and perhaps will need tweaking/sensible moderation.

I mentioned that I’ve contacted SSG about getting some plans together, but I want to have a clear idea of what I want/can realistically do before handing over, and also I’m just so excited about the prospect that I couldn’t help but post - even if I am still at the ‘on the back of a fag packet’ plans stage!

[mellowsouls]

In reference to permitted development regs, I have a slight incline of around a foot and a half from one side of the garden to the other - would the maximum height be taken from the highest point, or mid-way?

[Sam Spoons]

I think that your roofline must be no higher than (IIRC) 2.5m above ground level at any point on the building/boundary (but I'm not sure the precise details).

I guess you'll have read the various studio build threads on here along with the Studio SoS series for pointers. I guess many of us will be interested to see how your and the Gnome approach the build so please keep us posted.

Good luck.

[Music Wolf]

Probably an important point I missed off there - as I don’t want to waste money by making mistakes, I have asked Studio Support Gnome for his assistance in getting it right!

Could I remind you that there is no space for common sense on internet forums. May I suggest that the correct question should be somewhere along the lines of "I wish to build a studio but I only have a budget of £12.50 so, in fine disregard for the laws of Physics, I intend to build it out of cardboard - what analogue signal processing do I need to guarantee that my recordings are an instant, commercial, success?"

Seriously, excellent approach and I hope that it all works out for you. I'm looking forward to progress reports. It seems that you've already overcome the first, and most difficult, planning approval - that of your wife. Truly inspirational.

[Drew Stephenson]

Could I remind you that there is no space for common sense on internet forums. May I suggest that the correct question should be somewhere along the lines of "I wish to build a studio but I only have a budget of £12.50 so, in fine disregard for the laws of Physics, I intend to build it out of cardboard - what analogue signal processing do I need to guarantee that my recordings are an instant, commercial, success?"

You missed the bit about reading the advice on the other threads but choosing to ignore it because of what your mate / someone on the internet said.

[Logarhythm]

Isn't one of the important steps the "I found a local builder who says he can do it for 80% less than the experts so I'm going to do that and then try to fix it afterwards" stage?

[Studio Support Gnome]

Isn't one of the important steps the "I found a local builder who says he can do it for 80% less than the experts so I'm going to do that and then try to fix it afterwards" stage?

that surely is the default position of every self designed and managed build ever ??

[Martin Walker]

Isn't one of the important steps the "I found a local builder who says he can do it for 80% less than the experts so I'm going to do that and then try to fix it afterwards" stage?

that surely is the default position of every self designed and managed build ever ??

Sad but true

[mellowsouls]

I am going to get on with this soon, honest. Just getting Christmas out the way then it’ll be finalising budget then speaking to the local planning office to see what sort of things I can get away with.
Merry Christmas all!

[Sam Spoons]

Good luck and keep us posted,

And, of course, a Merry Christmas to you too

[Peevy]

If you plan to have others using your studio and your wife’s meditation business, I’d recommend you put a small toilet in there somewhere.

[mellowsouls]

If you plan to have others using your studio and your wife’s meditation business, I’d recommend you put a small toilet in there somewhere.

Already on the spec from the Mrs!

[mellowsouls]

This is all a bit Chicken or Egg - I need something to take the the planning office, but I also need to have parameters from them to know what I can work with, and I want an idea of what to submit to SSG but that could all be changed to make it work properly!!!

I accept all this will likely change, but the plan is to use “Golden ratios” for the inside measurements and work outwards.

I’d say I stand a reasonable chance with the planning office, as many of the houses around me have detached pitched roof garages, so I’m hoping height won’t be an issue.

So, what’s the minimum height I should be aiming to hit or exceed for a dead sounding drum room (I like dead sounding rooms)? 8ft?

[mellowsouls]

Soooo... plans have changed!

The planning dept weren’t particularly warm to the idea of my ambitions, and outlined what they would be happy with, which is a lot smaller than what I wanted!

SSG has been bloody fantastic - gave me a shed load of advice and really highlighted the realities of my plans - the man thinks of everything! Resale value of my house, whether it would be more prudent to go for an extension to house the growing family - literally Everything! Way above and beyond.

So given the budget/time/planning constraints, I have reduced my (current) ambitions to a writing room stuck on the side of my wife’s meditation room (it’s her money and her business after all!)

I will of course keep you updated on what’s going on.

Once again, thank you to Studio Support Gnome for your time and massively comprehensive and thorough advice!

One day I’ll get my drum room!

[Sam Spoons]

Just a thought (and I know it will probably go down like a lead balloon if suggested) but could the meditation studio be made dual purpose? I would benefit from sound proofing and acoustic treatment for it's primary purpose anyway (just like a 'live room' )

[Wonks]

SSG is a super helpful chap and a fount of all knowledge studio-wise, plus a billion other things.