FYI: They sell a moisture barrier for use under wood flooring to protect it from the sweating cement. Works like a charm.

Our studio is located in my 100-year old house's basement. Because it's not very level (hundred year old concrete rarely is) we decided to just put in the cheapest Home Depot carpet we could find. I've replaced it once in the 4. 5 years we've been here. I REALLY like the sound of my room and get a lot of compliments on how drums sound in there.

Lots of other things to worry about for me, before I consider replacing the flooring with something else, but I definitely hear the comments about it being easier to cover a hardwood floor with a rug than it is to add wood to the floor... If I had a large enough room, I'd definitely go hardwood.

Good luck, Jeff! Let us know the results once you've finished the job!

Corey

Thanks for all the advice....

Leaving tomorrow for a well-deserved vacation....somewhere on the outerbanks of N.C. (wife booked the cabin/condo).
I'll be bored in about two days, and dont really want to go. (wife is excited of course..............zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz)

Would rather be in the studio..................OR even mowing the grass. haha

WHAT ! no internet connection :>)

Take care, see ya'll in a week.

Bored in N.C

Phil.....

Your comments are always appreciated..........

I think it might depend on just personal preferences. In my younger days, most studios (semi-pro) had carpet everywhere...walls and floors. Maybe that was because "carpet" had just been invented. :>) Those old fiber egg-cartons were used too...you saw them in radio stations and studios. I bet those old guys would be shocked to know what we pay for room treatments.......hell Im shocked !

We've probably all spent far more than is really necessary........but what the hell, we're having fun.

Thanks,
Jeff

ORIGINAL: terry1

Noah330

Its not pergo and there is zero gluing or nailing. They are not even wood. What you are recomending on a cement floor you had better make sure the cement doesn't sweat ever! The only thing Ive ever seen that should be used before laing down real wood floors on cement is this board thats about 2' x 2' and has a bunch of small black feet so the wood will never touch the cement plus it allows it to breath.

What you want to do is to install a subfloor and then have a real wood floor put over that. I have seen the material (2'x2' with feet and it may suit you as a subfloor.

If you have concrete and get any sort of condensation under it I would be hesitant to lay down anything due to mold/mildew problems. Try taping a piece of foil to the concrete for a few days. Then if there is a lot of moisture on it stay away from fake wood as it will turn to sawdust over time.

I have carpet and yes, it matches the drapes... I would never consider the expense and hassle of ripping it out and replacing it just to change the sound? Just treat the room if needed, use different FX, mics, etc. If you were building from scratch I would think it would be more of a which would you like to do better?

Just my too scents.

Hi Jeff, when I built my studio which is in my garage, I watched the local newpaper, and ended up finding used hardwood flooring that a guy had removed from a 150 year old farm house. I put it down, did a bunch of sanding, and refinished it. I saved  money doing it this way, but it was labor intensive.  

My wife and I installed the Dupont flooring I have in my basement room.  It is "fake wood" but has a nice grain texture on top and seems pretty durable - at least in my space which is mostly me and two dogs.  It has the foam back on it and also has a moisture barrier (read: plastic sheet) between it and the concrete floor. 

Also, read the instructions and make sure that you make your cuts so that the wood is actually a little too small because it can expand and you need to leave it a little room for that. 

I have some ATS Acoustics treatments on my walls and a few inexpensive throw rugs on the "wood" floor that cover probably 40% of the room, but pretty much the whole area right under my listening space.  I'm satisfied with the sound.

They were a pain to cut and put in and it took a few rounds of it, but really, not a huge deal to do.

HTH

Carpet... And it's nice when the carpet matches the drapes too.

tarsier

I used Earthscapes Resilient Vinyl flooring

Hey, Brandon. Nice of you to add your input when you move a thread.

A thought...

My 'standard' approach is to use a reflective surface, usually real wood, on the floor of any space that is going to be used for recording. I find it generally easier to throw down a piece of carpet - if I need to reduce the reflections from the floor - than to put down a piece of wood.

In a critical monitoring environment you have to look at how you treat all the surfaces, and you have to take into account the distance from each surface to your ears (and from the loudspeakers) so that's a whole nother issue, and far more complex.

And if you are building a dual use space then I tend to favor the recording aspect, because if you don't capture something well it really doesn't matter that you can tell that you didn't do a good job capturing it<G>... well, not entirely true, you do need to be able to tell when the source material isn't cutting it. But the whole 'fix it in the mix' thing is overrated!

One of the neatest places I ever recorded a guitar had a tile floor. It was a decent sized room, maybe 10-12' x 15' with a 9-10' ceiling (such precision!) The walls were wood paneling on sheetrock on metal studs, the ceiling was sheetrock with four clouds hung a few inches down, and the floor was this really nice, very hard tile. The room was lively, to say the least, and I really did not expect the recording to turn out well, but the engineer knew exactly what he was doing, and his microphone selection and placement was spot on! It sounded great!