Studio Build Documentation

just as long as you don't run the fans while tracking or mixing. I housesat for a friend who didn't have a/c but the vaulted ceiling living room where I set up my gear had a fan. I was getting ready to record when I heard this weird fluttering sound when I was playing. I was freaking out thinking my beloved Princeton Reverb was sick, but then the Marshall and the Roland also had the same affliction. That's when I realized it wasn't the amps but what could it be. I was sitting in a recliner gazing up at the ceiling in deep contemplation when my eyes focused on the fan. The fan. Nah, it couldn't be that simple? It was. Stopped the fan, no funny warble.
 
bluesfordan said:
just as long as you don't run the fans while tracking or mixing.
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The fans are not going to be that close to create a problem (about 12'-13' straight up)...and they have 6 speeds, so the on the slower settings, they are barely moving, and not enough to cause any "whoosh" problems...but that's what the remote control is for. :)
 
bluesfordan said:
just as long as you don't run the fans while tracking or mixing. I housesat for a friend who didn't have a/c but the vaulted ceiling living room where I set up my gear had a fan. I was getting ready to record when I heard this weird fluttering sound when I was playing. I was freaking out thinking my beloved Princeton Reverb was sick, but then the Marshall and the Roland also had the same affliction. That's when I realized it wasn't the amps but what could it be. I was sitting in a recliner gazing up at the ceiling in deep contemplation when my eyes focused on the fan. The fan. Nah, it couldn't be that simple? It was. Stopped the fan, no funny warble.
Click to expand...

funny story.. sometimes sitting and pondering is the answer
 
DAY 52

No pics today...just boring stuff getting done.
The HVAC power was roughed in...and the plumber showed up to get the final plan sorted out for the bathroom and the hot water baseboard.
Tomorrow the electrician arrives to start his rough in, and I think there's some of the remaining outside work will be getting done...it's just been bitter cold, and tomorrow will be only a little better...but then Sat/Sun/Mon...the temps are going to moderate back up to the 40s, so some of the siding will go on.

I'm also expecting a lumber delivery Mon/Tue which is for the sub-floor...and that installation is slated to start the day after Xmas...and should be done by the end of the weekend, which is good, because that following Monday, on the 30th, my hardwood flooring is getting delivered.

My contractor hopes that it will all be done by the end of January...finished and walls painted....and then the hardwood floor will go in after everyone is gone, since it needs to sit for at least a couple of weeks to get acclimated with the sub-floor.
Of course...the weather is still a bog factor, especially until all the outside work is 100% done.
 
DAYS 53, 54, 55

So the last three days were mostly about the roughing out the electric. Along with that, my skylight was installed in the back hallway, the roof over the bathroom/hallway was also shingles...so the entire roof is now 100% done. Also the siding has been underway, with the fascia/soffit work, and hopefully in the next week or so, in-between the holidays, the bulk of the siding will be completed.
Work has also started in my foyer...and I expect the plumber will be back on Monday to start his rough installation. In the mean time, I've ordered all the fixtures for the bathroom...boy, what a PITA trying to pick out faucets and toilets, not to mention the lighting and the peripherals that normally go in a bathroom.

I also started my wiring of the audio power distribution...I still have some more to do (so does the electrician), but now waiting on my contractor to fur out the old wall to a 6" stud wall, since the old wall was only done with 4" studs. Once that's ready (he should be doing that tomorrow) the rest of the power lines will be run.

In the picture, the blue boxes are for my stuff...the black ones are the electrician's power layout. He also hung a bunch of lights, and ran some extra power to the 4 beams that will be exposed...so that at some point I can add some track lighting, or whatever, without having to worry about running lines.
Monday the electric inspector should also be coming to check the rough-in of the power. After the electric is done and the plumbing, the insulation phase is next...which I hope will be NLT the 2nd week of Jan...and then the last 2 weeks should be the drywall.
Of course...there is also some floor work to be done in the foyer and bathroom/hallway...not sure when that will fall into place.

Oh...the day after Xmas, my floor installer should be here for 3-4 days putting in the sub-floor...and Monday the lumber for that should be arriving.
It's been a busy few days for me...I've been working a lot and up late every night getting my shit together for the next day.



Day55A.jpg



Day55B.jpg
 
DAY 59

So the day after Xmas and also today, work on my sub-floor started. So far it's going good...and should be almost done tomorrow, but probably the last few sections will be finished on Sunday.
There's a layer of 6mil poly covering the slab...then pressure-treated 2"x4" framing on the flat, 1" Styrofoam insulation in-between, and then 3/4" tongue-n-groove sub-floor plywood. The plywood is both glued and screwed to the framing.

It's been a bit of a bitch screwing the framing into the cement...first a pilot hole is drilled, than a long (1/4" x 3 1/4"), coated screw (Tapcon) is driven into the hole. They go in OK most of the time, bit every few there is one that just stops with the head of the screw sticking up above the wood...so it has to come out, and usually a new screw is needed, since they get chewed up once the go in. The problem is mostly the pressure treated wood, because it's wet, and grabs the screw at the top where there is no thread. Overall though, it's moving well.

Other than that some of my plumbing has been roughed out for the bathroom and my baseboard heat...and I should have the shower base on Monday, so after that the plumber will come back and get that installed.

Tomorrow and Sunday, the other crew should also be here working on the outside installing siding, while the floor is getting installed inside.

I've been so tired the last couple of weeks. Even though I have the contractors working...I'm also doing a lot of stuff to help move things along...and it's been exhausting some days. I mean...just picking up 46 pieces of 16' pressure treated 2-by-4s and moving them from the outside to the inside is enough to kick my ass. I've moved so much lumber around the last several days...my hands are blown out. Not to mention the wiring I've had to run, and I still haven't done the network and phone lines...but I think that will happen tomorrow. I need some extended rest tonight.
Monday my hardwood flooring also arrives...which should be both good, and a PITA, since we will have 45 boxes of flooring to work around for the nex few weeks before it can get installed.



Day59A.jpg





Day59B.jpg
 
For future reference if you didn't already know: when having to drive screws into wet wood or similar dense materials i was taught to use bar soap, or in a pinch, paraffin as a "pre lube" on the screws to keep them from sticking.. It sounds odd but it usually works.
 
Gtoboy said:
For future reference if you didn't already know: when having to drive screws into wet wood or similar dense materials i was taught to use bar soap, or in a pinch, paraffin as a "pre lube" on the screws to keep them from sticking.. It sounds odd but it usually works.
Click to expand...

I do that when building guitars. Works great
 
Gtoboy said:
For future reference if you didn't already know: when having to drive screws into wet wood or similar dense materials i was taught to use bar soap, or in a pinch, paraffin as a "pre lube" on the screws to keep them from sticking.. It sounds odd but it usually works.
Click to expand...

Yeah...that would have helped, but there was a lot of floor to do, and it was mostly about driving them harder for the ones that wouldn't go in, which was mostly the Tapcons, and it may have been part wet wood, but also just trying to drive a 3 1/4" screw into concrete with a smaller pilot hole, ain't easy. :)

It took over 400 Tapcon screws for framing...and we are halfway into a second 5lb box of wood screws for the plywood...a LOT of screws! :D
It's almost done...there are 5 more sheets of 4'x8' plywood...and then 6 smaller strips around the perimeter, and it will be finished. Should take no more than 2 hours tomorrow.
 
Looks like your making lots of progress. Still makes me want to build something! I'd love to start a downsized retirement home but the wife says "Never building again" lol. We have some skylights and I love the extra light they let in. I like the rhythm when it rains on them. If its in your studio you might consider a temporary plug of some kind if rain sounds would hinder the creative process. Just imagine the ambient sounds it could add.

Adding a bathroom to your house during new construction is just good sense if you need one. Some people can't add a bathroom to their studio for space reasons but mine is detached from the house and when I have to go I don't want to jog.

The high ceiling will be great. I once did an impromptu session in my dining room that is open to the kitchen and living room volume wise. The ceilings are 8' to 12' vaulted and it sounded great!
 
I remember the first time I got to use a variable speed drill to drive screws. Late 60s, and we were reglazing greenhouses. There were about 4000 windows per greenhouse, and aluminum caps that were screwed down for each one. I can only imagine what it would have done to our wrists to drive those with a manual screwdriver!

Thank heaven for the powertools.
 
ronhar said:
We have some skylights and I love the extra light they let in. I like the rhythm when it rains on them. If its in your studio you might consider a temporary plug of some kind if rain sounds would hinder the creative process. Just imagine the ambient sounds it could add.
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The skylight has nothing to do with the studio...it's in the hallway, next to the bathroom.


DAY 61

Today the sub-floor installation was completed. It came very well...and it's solid. With both screws and glue holding down the sub-floor plywood...it's like a rock.
When the hardwood flooring goes down, it's only going to get even harder...the flooring I picked out is more than 3X harder than oak.
I jokingly kept telling the installer I wanted it to be like a basketball court...and I think it will be.

Tonight I finished adding the two layer of foam backer rod into the 1/2" gap we left between the sub-floor and the walls, so it's completely decoupled around the perimeter, but of course, everything shares the common cement slab, though I don't expect for too much transfer via the slab.

My hardwood flooring is now arriving in a couple of days, on Tuesday...and it will sit in a pile for at least a month or more before it's time to install. There will also be the rubberized underlayment between the sub-floor and the hardwood flooring...so that will add another decoupling treatment, while simultaneously giving the finished floor a nice thick dead sound...none of that loud "clack" you get with a lot of wood/vinyl floors.

Picture is a bit dark...the temporary lights don't provide enough when it's nighttime, even with camera flash.


Day61A.jpg
 
Can I comment on "screw lube" ?

My old dad swore by soap or candle fat but beware of soap on 'finishable' woods such as mahogany as soap will leave a stain.

A quick and dirty way to lube large numbers of screws is a silicone spray, the stuff they sell for tarting up car plastics.

Otherwise, very interesting!

Dave.
 
ecc83 said:
Can I comment on "screw lube" ?

My old dad swore by soap or candle fat but beware of soap on 'finishable' woods such as mahogany as soap will leave a stain.

A quick and dirty way to lube large numbers of screws is a silicone spray, the stuff they sell for tarting up car plastics.

Otherwise, very interesting!

Dave.
Click to expand...

Water based tire mounting lube might be a non staining alternative.

The latest pics of the space look like Miroslav is going to end up with a place he never wants to leave! I know once I got mine all kitted out, well, I completely lose track of time there now. The only thing I didn't enjoy was paying for and installing all the wires and cables !
 
Gtoboy said:
Water based tire mounting lube might be a non staining alternative.

The latest pics of the space look like Miroslav is going to end up with a place he never wants to leave! I know once I got mine all kitted out, well, I completely lose track of time there now. The only thing I didn't enjoy was paying for and installing all the wires and cables !
Click to expand...

Now, there you see 'different strokes' Were I 20 yrs younger I would be very happy to come over and do all the audio wiring for ham n eggs and a camp bed in the corner!

Dave.
 
ronhar said:
The high ceiling will be great. I once did an impromptu session in my dining room that is open to the kitchen and living room volume wise. The ceilings are 8' to 12' vaulted and it sounded great!
Click to expand...

Why s that? in lamens terms..this high ceiling thing seems so important.
Reading the BRadly brothers studio they ripped out the first floor of the house so the basement ceiling was then the 2nd floor,,,,seems like a lot of unused space.
 
CoolCat said:
Why s that? in lamens terms..this high ceiling thing seems so important.
Click to expand...
Bigger is always better in every direction. Partly to make the first reflections longer and therefor quieter and less likely to create comb filtering and partly to push the standing wave frequencies down lower and out of the range of (more of) the things we want to record.
 
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