Studio Build Documentation

DAY 6

They came real early this morning...I peaked out the window, and then went back to sleep! :D

The wall forms were removed, and now I expect on Monday the back-fill will be done to get things ready for the final, slab pour...hopefully before the end of next week.
It's starting to take shape now, and I'm beginning to see what the whole studio space will be like. :)


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That's a lot of extra square footage.

Total square footage of the whole studio space when done with the room-within-room will be just over 800 sq. ft.
Total volume will be around 9000+ cubic feet...not sure exactly what height the second "roof" of the inner room will be, but it should top out at about 13'+ at the peak.

This will certainly be a "nothing to complain about" size room. Almost triple the size of my current room (which only has an 8' ceiling). :)
 
DAY 7

A day of rest. :)

No work done today, though my contractor has said that if the weather forces it, they will work both Saturdays and Sundays to stay on track.
I was exhausted anyway...and appreciated not having to wake up at the crack of dawn to construction noise.
I spent the last couple of days/nights emptying out the existing space before the demolition. There was way too much stuff that had to be moved somewhere...but I managed to get it done, and I spent most of today sleeping it off.

I expect tomorrow the construction process will continue along.
 
DAY 8

Busy, busy day! :)

All kinds of people working today. A couple of guys were started the inside demolition of the existing space. I also met the electrician and went over some of the basic stuff with him. Then later the plumber came by, and we also went over the basic stuff.

Meanwhile, during all that, the excavation crew was doing the back-fill, to get things ready for the slab phase. I was a bit surprised that they ended up bringing 3 loads of fine stone for the back-fill. I knew there would be a stone layer, but I thought some of the hole would be fill with some of the dirt they took out initially, but they only used a small amount of dirt in one deeper area, otherwise the back-fill was all done with stone.

I think the will be laying out the rest of the rigid foam insulation, a poly vapor layer, some rebar, and then the slab pour...but they can't pout until the plumber cuts in the bathroom drain, which shouldn't be a big problem, considering that there was an existing tap into the septic for any clog cleaning purposes that was reveled during the excavation...so all the plumber needs to do is to cut off the top and put in some type of collar, etc...which will be up above the final slab.

I was told that they hope to pour the slab by Friday...they just need to building inspector to come by and check the rebar when it is installed.
Also, my main contractor said that barring any really consistently bad weather...he expect the roof will be on by Thanksgiving.
Oh...we also kinda decided to go ahead and remove the 3rd, exterior wall too, and do it all fresh, since there was going to be a need for some repairs to that wall...so it made more sense to just take it out and build the whole thing from scratch (except the 4th wall which joins to the foyer).

Here's some pics of the day:

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there's going to be insulation under the slab? interesting. not sure I know or understand what's the purpose is.

Well...the purpose is to minimize heat loss with the slab. :)

With a slab, in the winter, the cold from the outer wall and ground will come up and make the slab cold, so you end up heating the room that much more.
It may not be common in warmer areas when building, but it's apparently the norm (not sure how many years now) in colder winter climates.
Up here, there's a need to put the footings 4' down to avoid the frost depth during the more severe period of the winter. So with a couple of feet of frozen ground around your slab...the cold will come in.

TBH, I wasn't even thinking about it, and at first I thought they were just going to place foam against the cement wall, which they did...but then I realized it was going to be under the whole slab...at least, I'm expecting it to be. They just got started today, so we'll see tomorrow.
It has nothing to do with soundproofing insulation...strictly for heat insulation.

When my floor goes in...we're putting another layer of poly on the top of the cement slab, and then building a 2'x4' sub-floor frame, on the flat...and there will be additional insulation placed in the cavities of the frame...then 3/4" plywood...then the hardwood floor.
So in the end, my floor will be well insulated...and with the room-within-room build, it will be a pretty efficient room AFA heating and cooling. I actually don't think it will take much to heat it up and then keep it warm considering all the layers and double room build. I think once warmed up, my audio gear and lighting will probably maintain the heat even in winter.
Cooling will also be much more efficient, since the outside heat will not come in as much...though with the gear going, a studio usually needs a bit more cooling than your typical living room/bedroom, all other things being equal...but the extra insulation makes a big difference.
 
ok, the slab makes sense to have it insulated. I can guarantee you the gypsies who put my parents' porch on didn't insulate it worth a darn. That floor is c, co, cold in winter.
 
There use to be a time when they never did that. They keep upgrading codes and put a lot of focus on efficiency and "green" these days.
TBH, in some states, it's hard to build a house anymore...you have to meet all kinds of codes that may make some sense, but that make the process complicated and more costly...but it is what it is.
I'm lucky in that this is just an addition, so they don't apply all the codes because of that, and some codes only to the addition portion.
If I was building a complete house, it would be way more involved.
Like these days, most houses have to be super air-tight and sealed...something I don't buy into, because I think as much as there is a concern for heating/cooling efficiency, it helps to also let a house breathe a little too...plus because they are sealed air-tight, there is more technology needed to prevent rot/mold in case any moisture does get in, and is trapped in between layers that don't breathe.
 
DAY 9

Yesterday was busy...today, not so much.

Everything was waiting for the plumber to come by and set up the drains for the bathroom shower/toilet/sink before they could move forward with the slab pour.
He came by at the end of the day, and took care of that.

So now I wait for the slab pour...maybe tomorrow though NLT Friday from what they said.
Hopefully tomorrow, since it will be a nice day, and Thursday also looks pretty good until the afternoon when some rain showers are possible...but come Friday, the temps are supposed to really drop through the weekend.

I'm not going to bother posting a picture of the bathroom drains. :D
 
I think bathroom plumbing is important! won't apply here, but running through the space between my inner and outer studio walls is a single 15mm copper pipe that feeds the toilet in the room two away from the studio. I have an air lock in the damn pipe where it does and up and over one of the joists, and if anyone flushes the loo, in the studio I hear a bang bang bang noise that continues until the cistern is full. I've tried everything to move the air bubble on and failed. "I'll just go to the loo...." from the singer means an all stop if we have live mics on the go. One of those tiny things that get to annoy you - same as the loud bang from the radiator. I spent ages insulating the heating pipes where they come into the studio and I got that one right, but the stupid thing goes bang loudly when the metal cover expands!
 
Miro - you must be somewhat near my location, snow predicted here for Thursday night into Friday morning.
 
Miro - you must be somewhat near my location, snow predicted here for Thursday night into Friday morning.

Not sure where you are at, but I'm in southern NY, the lower Hudson Valley (that small tip that goes down toward NJ and NYC)...and all we have is some rain coming tomorrow afternoon. I think that rain will then move east and it will get colder...so any snow will be out in NH or eastern CT and MA.
 
DAY 10

Today was a no-work day. Well...I was outside working all day doing leaf clean-up. :facepalm: :D

OK...one of the contractor's guys was here hauling away some of the demolition debris from the existing space that's coming down...but nothing new was done with the build out.
I know that they have to drop some foam/poly and wire mesh before the slab pour, which I thought would happen today, but nope.
Hopefully tomorrow, and maybe the pour comes right after...or by Friday...?
We'll see...it is what it is, but I know they are all wanting to push on, because every day we get closer to the real winter weather. :)
 
It seems like here in the Midwest, it went from summer to winter in short order. A month ago, it was 97F outside. Until last week, I still had petunias and begonias in full bloom. Now we're looking for temps in the teens come this weekend.

Hopefully you'll get the slab poured, and then they can get the walls up.
 
It seems like here in the Midwest, it went from summer to winter in short order. A month ago, it was 97F outside. Until last week, I still had petunias and begonias in full bloom. Now we're looking for temps in the teens come this weekend.

Hopefully you'll get the slab poured, and then they can get the walls up.

Yeah, that cold blast is coming this way too...it looks like this weekend the east 2/3 of the country are going to feel it for a couple of days.
I'm sure if the pour in the very cold temps, they will adjust the cement mix as needed...or they won't pour if it's a concern.
 
DAY 11

As expected, it's a rainy day today...started of as light drizzle in the late AM...but now more like a steady light rain.
They came this morning and put down the poly vapor barrier and the wire mesh for the slab pour...but I don't think they are pouring it today seeing how it's getting late in the day, and there the rain.
Maybe tomorrow...though I wouldn't be surprised if the held of until Monday, since tomorrow there is a substantial temperature drop, but then it will moderate back up by Sunday and Monday.

I'll see what happens tomorrow. :)


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On permits, here in East Tennessee I'm in the county (but just 1/4 mile from two city limits, best of both worlds!). No building permits, just an electrical permit. One allowed to the owner if your doing your own. I did the grunt work but had my cousin, an electrician finish and make sure we were up to code. Built the entire house except for the concrete. You can do a much better job when it's for yourself. A few years later added a two story bedroom extension that wasn't appraised for three years so taxes didn't go up. Then I added a 24x36 garage/studio. And finally a couple of bedrooms, a monster sized bath and elevator for my wheelchair bound son. No near neighbors so guns,music and peeing off the porch disturbs no one. Now I've retired and the wife wants to move to town and downsize. I'm stalling. LOL. (Dang, this makes me sound like a hillbilly!)
 
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