I'm breaking out of my doldrums. It seems that something as a 20 year overdue visit from family and a design change have been the tonic I've sought. In approaching the wall treatment, that is the covering that was to go over the resonator panels, I've come up with a different approach. I looked again at some videos of the inside of the Bartok concert hall in Budapest. The bit about the light wood bisected with strips of darker wood, or the reverse was not executed like I remembered. Rather than cover the entire walls like I thought, it was only on the faces of the balconies or rings. When I saw it again, it made much more sense as the approach I was taking might actually disorient people walking into the room. I have since decided that instead of removing the loft, I will find a way to work it into the acoustical design of the room facing the front of it's floor with the same striped wood effect as done in Budapest, but instead of white alder and whatever the dark wood was, I'll be using birch (a cousin of alder) and black walnut. There will be a total of 3 strips, at the juncture of the wall and ceiling, the face of the loft floor and midway from the loft floor and the building floor. They will encircle the entire room with the exception of the front wall. The new approach will require far less wood and leave a really exciting possibility for the remainder of the walls. I'm looking at a combination of 13 foot vertical boards on the rear wall and the side walls enclosing the loft area as well as the front wall and about 4' of the side walls extending from the front. They will be sanded and oiled but not varnished, or I may go ahead and varnish them if they don't cause the sound to meet my expectations. The remainder of the walls will be covered with randomly sized square panels of wood with rounded corners. They will be placed pseudo randomly with their corners overlapping so to completely obscure the plywood underneath. They have to be thin enough (about 1/8") to prevent too much distortion.
The ceiling, my ultimate challenge has also had a change in direction. I've let go of the barrel vaulted ceiling that I wanted. It will just be too difficult to install. Instead, I will put up gypsum board, have someone else joint and mud it, and then I will prime it and follow up with a melamine enamel to give a rock hard surface. I will put a curved bit in the top gable so to tame the sharp corner. The metal trusses and columns that support the building will be framed and enclosed with the gypsum board and covered with same wooden panels as are the walls. The forward most truss will have remotely positionable lights installed in it, a couple video camera for IP streaming, mics that can be lowered and positioned, and wiring for whatever else I may want in the future. Might as well do it all at the start then to have to go back and do it later. I'm hoping that the condenser mic fairy informs me of some affordable ones that will work well in the space.
I put up an 8'x8' door in the front to enclose the double doors that exist there. When I installed it, I was pleased at how it looked, but operating it left a lot to be desired. Fortunately a friend of mine has given me pointers on how to make it operate smoothly. If it was not for the fact that I will need a wide door from time to time, I would just take it out and be done with it. However doing so would be something I would soon regret.
I went out and did some picking up to get ready for some photo taking this week. I need to post some images of my progress, mainly to convince myself that I have indeed made headway.
The ceiling, my ultimate challenge has also had a change in direction. I've let go of the barrel vaulted ceiling that I wanted. It will just be too difficult to install. Instead, I will put up gypsum board, have someone else joint and mud it, and then I will prime it and follow up with a melamine enamel to give a rock hard surface. I will put a curved bit in the top gable so to tame the sharp corner. The metal trusses and columns that support the building will be framed and enclosed with the gypsum board and covered with same wooden panels as are the walls. The forward most truss will have remotely positionable lights installed in it, a couple video camera for IP streaming, mics that can be lowered and positioned, and wiring for whatever else I may want in the future. Might as well do it all at the start then to have to go back and do it later. I'm hoping that the condenser mic fairy informs me of some affordable ones that will work well in the space.
I put up an 8'x8' door in the front to enclose the double doors that exist there. When I installed it, I was pleased at how it looked, but operating it left a lot to be desired. Fortunately a friend of mine has given me pointers on how to make it operate smoothly. If it was not for the fact that I will need a wide door from time to time, I would just take it out and be done with it. However doing so would be something I would soon regret.
I went out and did some picking up to get ready for some photo taking this week. I need to post some images of my progress, mainly to convince myself that I have indeed made headway.