This is the fourth post in a series of blogs to teach you about the six key things we have done to make sure the music studios at Royal City Studios are completely isolated from each other. Most music rehearsal and recording studios are built on a tight budget, resulting in sound getting in and out of the studios easily. At Royal City Studios, we have invested heavily to make sure both sound waves and sound vibrations stay in the individual studios where they belong. The six major aspects to control this are:

  1. Subfloor and floor treatment
  2. Double walls and drywall mounting
  3. Soundproof doors
  4. Hung ceilings
  5. Vent socks
  6. Duct insulation

Part 4: The Ceilings

The Problem

We have built the foundation and walls of the studios to be islands. The one thing they all still share is the air above them. If sound can escape out the top, it can also penetrate back in. If all eight of the music studios are being used simultaneously, they all are sharing airspace above and the noise up there could get pretty loud. That combined noise then could come back down and disturb the musicians.

The Solution

Similar to how we built the walls, we also created a double ceiling. The one on top is a solid ceiling covered in drywall to block the sound waves. The one on the bottom is also covered with drywall. However, there’s an additional secret weapon hiding behind the whiteness: a mounting frame suspended by springs.

Why springs, you ask? The answer is to allow the lower ceiling to move up and down slightly. This allows the lower ceiling to absorb the sound energy being generated inside the music studio. In turn, it will prevent vibrations from passing through. Otherwise, the sound energy would transfer directly through to the next ceiling, and out into the shared air space above. Here’s an image of what those springs look like mid-construction:

Here’s another fun fact: there are three different spring strengths used in every ceiling. There are a few different things that determine which ones get placed where in the ceiling. For example, how close they are to the wall, the door, or a ceiling vent. This detailed level of engineering design ensures that the ceiling absorbs a maximum of sound without letting any through.

The final piece of the ceiling puzzle is the flexible seal between the walls and the ceiling. It needs to be flexible so that, when the ceiling vibrates on the springs, the seal doesn’t crack. We wouldn’t want any sound sneaking through the cracks!

What’s Next?

Now that we have made sure the Studio floors, walls, doors and ceilings are superbly soundproof, where else should we look? Stay tuned for Part 5: The Vents, where we look at the unavoidable holes in the ceiling and how to keep them from leaking.

We will be opening our doors on April 15, 2019. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn for the latest updates!