Update on the new studio plans...
Met with my contractor again today, and we went into the build project with a little more detail this time. We discussed the whole pouring of slab thing and also the open/cathedral/vaulted ceiling...and it looks like we're going to completely rip out the roof (%!#&...it was re-shingled just a few years ago)...but I'm talking just the roof for the studio portion, not my whole house!
The new studio involves and an earlier attachment to the house that I'm adding onto, with the foyer that joins that to the rest of the house...so the roof will only be ripped off of that existing attachment.
After reviewing the construction of the existing roof, and considering the plans to go to the cathedral/vaulted ceiling...it would take too much effort to shore up the current roof per new codes, etc...so much easier, and not much difference in total cost to just rip it off and then do it right.
Plus, two of the existing walls that will remain are currently 2"x4"...so he's going to build them out to match the new walls which will be 2"x6"...then redo all the insulation with compressed, highest R value, and then do a 1/2" drywall followed by a second 5/8" drywall, all screwed-n-glued...and then there will be a final finish layer of "something"....possibly wood, or a combination of materials, that will tie in with the internal acoustic treatment.
The contractor has done builds with audio/acoustics in mind...so he's familiar with some of the special needs and extra layers, etc.
He is also going to frame out a floor on top of the slab, add a layer of compressed insulation, then over that a layer of plywood, and then the final hardwood flooring...that way the floor won't be ice cold in the winter with the concrete slab, because with the addition, the slab will be above ground for a good portion...plus, this flooring approach will allow me to run some conduit to where I need it further out in the room for running audio and electric to my racked gear "island" behind my mix position. There will probably be a few conduits, some for power, others for audio....I just have figure out in advance where things will be going when I move into the room...that way I can have easy connectivity back to the gear and the bays from any point in the room.
I told him I need the floor to be "pro basketball court solid...he said it would be.
We will also be running baseboard heat around the room, and for cooling there will be one of the new silent units, with A/C venting running through the chase at the top of the roof/ceiling. The A/C will also include a heat pump, so I can use that in the fall and spring months, and the baseboard will be there for the sub-30 degree winter days as a booster.
He's going to price it all out a bit more in detail, and let me know, but we already discussed ballpark cost, and it is all well within my budget...so this project is a 100% go right now, and this first phase will include the addition of a full bathroom, which isn't directly connected to the studio build, but it will be right off the foyer that connects the house to what will be the new studio.
I've got other work for him around the house, because as I said earlier, this studio build is part of a more broader house remodel or upgrade if you will...so those other things will be phase 2 and 3 after the studio is done (because I need to empty my current studio into the new studio before we get to phase 3).
Anyway...still looking at a June kickoff, and the studio/bathroom portion should be done by end of August...and then the other two phases in Sep/Oct, since I want to be completely finished with all this by the time the leaves come down. It will be a lot of work, but I am determined to see this through, and really looking forward to a new studio space.
More to follow....