Let me tell you...this studio build is turning into a real rollercoaster ride.
OK...so today I meet with both the contractor and the architect...we have a nice talk for about an hour, review everything, makes some minor adjustments, and suddenly I feel like this is going to really pick up speed, especially when the architect says he'll have the plans ready in no more than two weeks.
I'm all happy...and then about an hour later the contractor calls.
He says he has good and bad news.
The good news, we can get the initial permit process going with out the architect's plans, just the basic survey and how far we plan to go toward the property line, so that they can go through the formality of denying the permit...which then sets up stage two, and we go before the town board for the variance request, by which time the architect will have the plans, etc.
The bad news...the contractor tells me he ran into the building inspector, and he asked where things are at these days going before the board...and he was told that they've become more strict, and are mostly granting variance requests for hardship cases.
Well, I can certainly be a hardass...but I'm not sure what kind of hardship story I can put together to sway the town board...???
I mean...do I tell them I gotta have the studio, because I've got hits all written and need a place to record them?
Would they buy that as a hardship?
Worst case...I shell out $3k-$4k for the architect's work, and they deny the variance...and I kiss that money good buy. Which would piss me off, but not being able to do the build would be a big letdown.
Now I do have a "Plan B"...and it's not bad, it would be an addition right from my currant studio space. I would practically not need to move all my audio gear...but then it would be a different layout. My current studio space would become a dedicated control room, and I would probably rotate my mix position 90 degrees, which would be OK, because then I would be firing down the length of the whole room.
Then the new addition would become the live room...roughly about 16' by 23', maybe even push it out to 18' by 23'...and it would sunk down lower than the control room by about 2'...which would let me have a 10' walls and with a soft peak on the roof, the center would get up to about 12'.
It's not a bad option, it just whacks out some other things....like I don't know how to make the new bathroom thing work, since the original plan made it all fit just right.
The positive side...it might cost me much less, especially if I have to abandon the addition of the new bathroom...which wasn't a must have, but it just made sense to add a full bathroom since the original plan made it possible.
I told the contractor to give me until Monday, that I wanted to let this other option settle on my brain so O could really see it in my minds eye...and I would let him know. There are moments where I feel like just forgetting the whole thing, and simply making my existing spaces work. Heck, I could even appropriate the adjoining bedroom to my current space (something I thought of a few times)...call it Plan C...and just make that part of my studio. I wouldn't have the big open space with the high ceiling...but that would cost me almost nothing to do, and I could use all the planned building budget on other remodeling, not to mention...more audio gear.
I still would love to do the original build plan...that would be the finest studio space.