This is a rough guesstimate, but I firmly believe that a majority of the drum kit population in the United States lives in basements. The problem with this is basement flooding. One flood can ruin a lot of very expensive very quickly.
Having just moved into a new house, I have been blessed with my own basement office/studio where I can set up my kit and computers and cave-dwell to my heart's content. We received good news about the house in that the basement only flooded twice in about ten years. But, again, it only takes one of those to ruin a lot of stuff. So, I needed a drum riser for the kit. Nothing major, just something to lift off the floor by at least a few inches to buy me enough time to get a sump pump going. I'm down here most every day, so it's not like I wouldn't be aware of anything.
I looked into pre-made systems, but that's obviously a market for pros who have gigs worth purchasing equipment that expensive, which I'm not. I'm just a hobbyist (who doesn't totally suck) that enjoys playing to blow off some steam and indulge in those rock and roll fantasies every once in a while, usually after a long day at The Day Job. I work on new techniques from time to time, but mostly I just play along with whatever comes across the iPod and keep a groove. It's a good time, but not worth hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars for a riser that would be too big for the space anyway. So, I decided to build my own.
Having never really built anything from scratch, I searched the web for drum riser instructions is an exercise in frustration. The plans run the gamut from very over-designed, under-designed, and insanely expensive. So, in consultation with a couple of people and few research trips to Lowe's, I came up with a plan that supports the drums and didn't break the bank at the same time. I think all told, I spent less than $200 and built it on borrowed equipment over two days. It's an awesome weekend project.
Disclaimer
I'm sure there are better ways to build something like this, but this is the one I made and it works great for me. I made some mistakes along the way that you might want to read before building (detailed towards the end), so, build at your own risk. Also, this riser is not designed to be portable, go on stage, recording, or anything other than getting a kit off the basement floor to protect it from most flooding. It is merely a simple, pragmatic solution to a simple problem.
The Plan
A friend of mine who more or less builds things for a living gave me the basic idea and I just fleshed it out. It's straightforward in design. Essentially, the project is four sturdy square frames that are held together with big bolts topped with plywood and covered in carpeting. It is semi-permanent, easy to move once disassembled, and still looks good. I built an 8'x8' platform, but you can alter the numbers to suit your needs. An image is shown here, but you can also download the plans in EPS and PDF formats.
The Materials
15 2"x4"x8' pine. Be sure these are all straight when you buy them
2 4"x8"x.5" plywood
5 lb box of large 2.5" bright common nails
1 lb box of 4d 1.5" bright common nails
8 5"x3/8" bolts, with nuts and washers
32 good sized wood screws
10'x10' commercial carpet, and a friend to help with installation
Total: Around $200 + a pint for your friend.
And the blindingly obvious...
hammer
circular saw (borrowed)
utility knife
work gloves
safety glasses
drill with bits and screw heads
Building The Frame
I'm sure there are all sorts of technical terms for the different pieces, but I don't know them so I'll just let the pictures show the steps. Here is building a single frame...
Do this three more times, and you'll end up with this...
What I recommend at this point is that once you sort out how the four frames will fit together, drill the holes for the bolts that hold the whole thing together now and mark which pieces sit against each other. This will make for easier construction later.
By this time, I was done for the day. The first frame took me something like an hour and a half to build, not taking into account the 2x4 measurement mistake (detailed below). By the time I got to the last one, I was building them in a half hour.
Placing The Flooring
I think regardless of what you have on the floor, that you really ought to have some kind of protection between the riser and the floor, so that when you move it, the permanent flooring underneath doesn't get damaged more than necessary. I have a concrete floor, so I got this awesome vinyl interlocking tile that's used in garages and in workspaces. It's designed take a beating, is mildew and mold resistant, I can replace only those bits I need to, and looks pretty cool, too.
Combining the Frames
Lay down the four frames and bolt them together nice and tight.
Placing the Plywood
I recommend cutting the plywood in half so you have 4 4"x4" squares. It'll make them much easier to carry and manipulate into place on top of the frames. I screwed the plywood into place along the edges, two to a side on each frame. Don't use nails, because that will make disassembly difficult later.
Laying The Carpet
I got simple commercial carpet that's built to last. It is stain, mold, mildew resistant, and dirt cheap ($0.59 per square foot). Color really doesn't matter here because the whole thing it going to be covered in rugs and drums anyway.
This is where you are going to need your friend. The idea here is to cut the corners out of the carpet to end up with 8' long "tab" on each side and lift the platform just enough to tuck the tab underneath. Both people will need to lift and tuck, and it's hard, hard work with two people, so I wouldn't recommend it doing it by yourself.
One thing I recommend is take some of the excess and cut small strips to place arond the corners that that any gap left by the tabs only shows carpet and not the bare wood underneath. It only take a minute and looks really good when finished.
At this point, I hammered in the smaller nails to keep the carpeting in place while tucking in the tabs. I also put in a couple near the corners on the sides to neaten it up a bit. Dark grey carpet hides the nails so you never see them again.
Et voila!
Once you I had the carpeting on top and shoved it into the corner, it was officially done. I placed a small kit on the platform (just to be sure) and then added the rest.
Yes, I am an unabashed Neil Peart fan. Why do you ask?
The Mistakes I Made Along The Way
The Ol' Chick-BOOM
I was eventually able to tone down the kick drum with a blanket, but some insulation inside the cavities in the frame would have been a good idea. Maybe some day...
"2x4" doesn't actually mean "2x4" inches
As my friend told me after I built it "The lumber industry went metric even though the rest of the United States hasn't." I had to adjust my cuts accordingly and add in some extra wood to accomodate the 5" bolts I purchased. It all worked out in the end, though.
It doesn't need to be perfectly square, but it doesn't hurt
So, a couple of the corners don't line up perfectly, and a few of the support beams don't exactly touch on the ends, but it's sturdy when laid down. Just don't do any disco dancing on it.
Having just moved into a new house, I have been blessed with my own basement office/studio where I can set up my kit and computers and cave-dwell to my heart's content. We received good news about the house in that the basement only flooded twice in about ten years. But, again, it only takes one of those to ruin a lot of stuff. So, I needed a drum riser for the kit. Nothing major, just something to lift off the floor by at least a few inches to buy me enough time to get a sump pump going. I'm down here most every day, so it's not like I wouldn't be aware of anything.
I looked into pre-made systems, but that's obviously a market for pros who have gigs worth purchasing equipment that expensive, which I'm not. I'm just a hobbyist (who doesn't totally suck) that enjoys playing to blow off some steam and indulge in those rock and roll fantasies every once in a while, usually after a long day at The Day Job. I work on new techniques from time to time, but mostly I just play along with whatever comes across the iPod and keep a groove. It's a good time, but not worth hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars for a riser that would be too big for the space anyway. So, I decided to build my own.
Having never really built anything from scratch, I searched the web for drum riser instructions is an exercise in frustration. The plans run the gamut from very over-designed, under-designed, and insanely expensive. So, in consultation with a couple of people and few research trips to Lowe's, I came up with a plan that supports the drums and didn't break the bank at the same time. I think all told, I spent less than $200 and built it on borrowed equipment over two days. It's an awesome weekend project.
Disclaimer
I'm sure there are better ways to build something like this, but this is the one I made and it works great for me. I made some mistakes along the way that you might want to read before building (detailed towards the end), so, build at your own risk. Also, this riser is not designed to be portable, go on stage, recording, or anything other than getting a kit off the basement floor to protect it from most flooding. It is merely a simple, pragmatic solution to a simple problem.
The Plan
A friend of mine who more or less builds things for a living gave me the basic idea and I just fleshed it out. It's straightforward in design. Essentially, the project is four sturdy square frames that are held together with big bolts topped with plywood and covered in carpeting. It is semi-permanent, easy to move once disassembled, and still looks good. I built an 8'x8' platform, but you can alter the numbers to suit your needs. An image is shown here, but you can also download the plans in EPS and PDF formats.
The Materials
15 2"x4"x8' pine. Be sure these are all straight when you buy them
2 4"x8"x.5" plywood
5 lb box of large 2.5" bright common nails
1 lb box of 4d 1.5" bright common nails
8 5"x3/8" bolts, with nuts and washers
32 good sized wood screws
10'x10' commercial carpet, and a friend to help with installation
Total: Around $200 + a pint for your friend.
And the blindingly obvious...
hammer
circular saw (borrowed)
utility knife
work gloves
safety glasses
drill with bits and screw heads
Building The Frame
I'm sure there are all sorts of technical terms for the different pieces, but I don't know them so I'll just let the pictures show the steps. Here is building a single frame...
Do this three more times, and you'll end up with this...
What I recommend at this point is that once you sort out how the four frames will fit together, drill the holes for the bolts that hold the whole thing together now and mark which pieces sit against each other. This will make for easier construction later.
By this time, I was done for the day. The first frame took me something like an hour and a half to build, not taking into account the 2x4 measurement mistake (detailed below). By the time I got to the last one, I was building them in a half hour.
Placing The Flooring
I think regardless of what you have on the floor, that you really ought to have some kind of protection between the riser and the floor, so that when you move it, the permanent flooring underneath doesn't get damaged more than necessary. I have a concrete floor, so I got this awesome vinyl interlocking tile that's used in garages and in workspaces. It's designed take a beating, is mildew and mold resistant, I can replace only those bits I need to, and looks pretty cool, too.
Combining the Frames
Lay down the four frames and bolt them together nice and tight.
Placing the Plywood
I recommend cutting the plywood in half so you have 4 4"x4" squares. It'll make them much easier to carry and manipulate into place on top of the frames. I screwed the plywood into place along the edges, two to a side on each frame. Don't use nails, because that will make disassembly difficult later.
Laying The Carpet
I got simple commercial carpet that's built to last. It is stain, mold, mildew resistant, and dirt cheap ($0.59 per square foot). Color really doesn't matter here because the whole thing it going to be covered in rugs and drums anyway.
This is where you are going to need your friend. The idea here is to cut the corners out of the carpet to end up with 8' long "tab" on each side and lift the platform just enough to tuck the tab underneath. Both people will need to lift and tuck, and it's hard, hard work with two people, so I wouldn't recommend it doing it by yourself.
One thing I recommend is take some of the excess and cut small strips to place arond the corners that that any gap left by the tabs only shows carpet and not the bare wood underneath. It only take a minute and looks really good when finished.
At this point, I hammered in the smaller nails to keep the carpeting in place while tucking in the tabs. I also put in a couple near the corners on the sides to neaten it up a bit. Dark grey carpet hides the nails so you never see them again.
Et voila!
Once you I had the carpeting on top and shoved it into the corner, it was officially done. I placed a small kit on the platform (just to be sure) and then added the rest.
Yes, I am an unabashed Neil Peart fan. Why do you ask?
The Mistakes I Made Along The Way
The Ol' Chick-BOOM
I was eventually able to tone down the kick drum with a blanket, but some insulation inside the cavities in the frame would have been a good idea. Maybe some day...
"2x4" doesn't actually mean "2x4" inches
As my friend told me after I built it "The lumber industry went metric even though the rest of the United States hasn't." I had to adjust my cuts accordingly and add in some extra wood to accomodate the 5" bolts I purchased. It all worked out in the end, though.
It doesn't need to be perfectly square, but it doesn't hurt
So, a couple of the corners don't line up perfectly, and a few of the support beams don't exactly touch on the ends, but it's sturdy when laid down. Just don't do any disco dancing on it.
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