Cost of constructing a building

alexthecheese

alexthecheese

alexthecheese

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My parents suggested I look for this online, as they hinted that something would be available. I've had a look myself, but can't find anything that seems to be any good.

I'm thinking of constructing a building in the garde of a house we'll eventually be buying, hopefully, in order to turn it into a music studio, for jamming/recording and so forth.

What I'd like to do is get a rough idea of how much it would cost to put it together, a back of a fag packet guesstimate, just to give me an idea of whether I could afford it or not.

It'd be just a single room, rectangular in shape, about 4m x 8m in size. Would have to be brick, tiled roof, insulated, wired and all that jazz.

Does such an online calculator exist for this? Like I say I've had a look, but can't really find anything that actually works. Any experience on buildings (or building studios! :D) would be really helpful. Cheers. :cool:
 
As soon as you start wiring up & insulating a building in the garden then the planners will class it as a habitable building requiring planning permissions, even if you keep it quiet you may find a neighbour deciding they don't like the look of it & contacting the council.

The very size of it being 4X8m will cause concern for some as it can hardly be classed as a garden tool shed :p
 
There is an online calculator for this.

I can't remember the link, but basically you have to know how much you're going to spend on materials and parts, plus any planning/legal fees you need to pay for then add that to the cost of labour.

Easy.

*ninja*
Found link
 
izzy eckerslike said:
As soon as you start wiring up & insulating a building in the garden then the planners will class it as a habitable building requiring planning permissions, even if you keep it quiet you may find a neighbour deciding they don't like the look of it & contacting the council.

The very size of it being 4X8m will cause concern for some as it can hardly be classed as a garden tool shed :p
Click to expand...

Yeah, planning permission would need to be sought. My first job was actually in Town Planning, but you'll be surprised how little I know about it. :o It would be in excess of the 'given' allowance of space you need though, yeah.
 
With all the recording equipment and proper install techniques (e.g. floating box, neoprene joints, acoustic absorption) or basic shed with a mixer?

£20,000 for the former, £8,000 for the latter.
 
I would forget brick and also build it near the main house to avoid planning problems.
 
EVH said:
With all the recording equipment and proper install techniques (e.g. floating box, neoprene joints, acoustic absorption) or basic shed with a mixer?

£20,000 for the former, £8,000 for the latter.
Click to expand...

I was thinking literally a brick shed, that we'd soundproof and then worry about anything more advanced later.

You done this before EVH?
 
Are you going to annoy any neighbours with this? If you are you need to think this through because you wont get permission for a recording studio full stop and if you just apply stating its a shed it will only last till you get a few complaints anyway.
 
I've been involved in it, as part of a placement on my degree (Sound Tech) and I've retrofitted a building for use as a personal studio.

There are things you just can't do on a retrofit, like ensure the joints of the building sit with neoprene or at least will cost a significant amount.

Your best bet is to double up on plasterboards (different thickness each skin), use decent absorption materials, build the room as un-uniformly as possible e.g. avoid parallel walls and ceilings, and try to think about the amount of kit drummers, guitarists etc have.

If doing brick, I'd look at floating rooms. The goal is to stop the sound travelling through the studio and cause you recording problems / complaints from neighbours. Calculating the room's reverb time is also key and can be done before building. Pointless getting it built then chucking money at it to solve a problem than can be sorted as you go or with clever furnishing. However, too dead and you can compromise the mixing / atmosphere when recording / mastering.
 
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Well perhaps maybe I'm going about this the wrong way, judging by your responses.

The gf and I are buying a house together, as soon as her flat sells, and after going to her band practise yesterday thought it would be a cool thing to have - a place where friends can come and we can all play together without fear of annoying the neighbours, like you say Mark.

If it is more reasonable to either convert an existing room, or extend and convert a new room, then perhaps that's the way to go (depending on the house we buy). I'm reading about the floating room idea at the moment EVH, so maybe this is more about the requirements of building a studio than creating an entirely new building...
 
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