Hi again. JF, WARNING...Long reply here.
Let's review some things
Changes? ummm, I thought you were still in the PLANNING stage at this point? Regardless, don't you have to get a Building permit? And if so, don't you have to submit plans for approval?
Q2. What are the proposed basement walls going to be made from..ie..Concrete, Cconcrete block, brick, wood framing or what? And are all these walls below grade?
Answer.
This still doesn't tell me how deep the basement is below the ground(grade). And in regards to the "framing"...where and what are you framing? Do you mean in the area adjacent to the Studio/control room? I'm trying to get a handle on EXACTLY what you are going to build WHEN you build the house. I "assume" when you say framing, this means around the stairway, but how about the wall dividing the studio area from the ...hmmm, let's just call that area the "lounge" for now. You mentioned a bathroom too. Is that still part of the design that is going to be built when you build the house? If so...WHERE???
Jf, I really need to know this stuff. For instance, when you say .
You see, I can't show you specific details if I don't know what is actually going to be done. In this case, IF, the concrete walls are below grade, I ASSUME the contractor will SEAL and INSULATE these walls on the OUTSIDE..which usually means a thick exterior foam insulation over a waterproof seal on the concrete. HOWEVER, you mention "sprayed"..is this on the INSIDE or OUTSIDE? Another quesiton is..IF these walls are below grade, that means they have to remove enough dirt to frame up the concrete forms...which means also...after the forms are removed, then they have to seal and insulate. And THEN backfill with dirt. Is this what's happening? Please, I need to know WHAT is being planned for the interior surface of the concrete walls IN THE STUDIO AREA.
Q-3. Has your designer/architect drawn any details/sections of the basement footing/foundations/slab/wall construction and connections? If so, can you post them?
Answer..
Q4. Has anyone decided on what type of HVAC you are using?
Answer...
Regardless, since you are in Canada...and I assume it get's pretty cold there, WHAT are you using for heat? This is what I meant by HVAC...remember..."HEATING,VENTILATION, AIR CONDITIONING"!
5. Has a location for the unit been decided? Or a ducting scheme?
Again..IF you have a Heater...where is it going to be??? And is there any duct work? If so...where???
Answer..
Jf, this is very important. I assume you want heat/ventilation in the studio. Afterall, since studios are "soundproof", that means the are also.."airproof". Even musicians like to breath and be warm. Which means, IF there is no heater with ductwork, you need to provide a ventilation pathway, AND some form of heat. Hence my questions. Furthermore, you need to seperate these systems as they become flanking paths for sound. Which also means you need to figure out how and where these things physically penetrate the iso shell. As far as I see right now, for both the live room and CR, the only place I see to place SUPPLY and RETURN ducts is in a soffet over the Live room "entrance", with some kind of plenum/baffle to seperate the two systems, perhaps in the area below the stairs. This is WHY I'm saying...now is the time to plan this stuff. Even if you don't plan on Forced air heating, you still need some kind of heat. So...what is your plan...even "eventually"? Btw,
6. I would like to see the actual upstairs plan, as the stairway that is planned may or may not work according to other ideas, which untill I know your answers, I can't be sure of.
(note how my "idea" moves the stairs whereby you may have to have an "L" shaped Stairway with a landing at some point. This is what I am referring to. The reason was to allow a door under the stairway, without increasing Live room length while decreasing CR length, of which framing of this may or maynot be possible due to prior design limitations/upstairs elements. Also, I percieved the possibility of using the space under the stairs for HVAC/Plenum/ducting requirements)
Answer
.....moving it wasn't what I was thinking. Just modifying the framing. And now that I can see approximately(not in exact inches)where it starts and ends, take a look at what I was referring to.
But this has to do with something else. The support of the first floor across the width of the "lounge" area. More on that later.
7. Is there any plan showing the first floor framing schedule(nominal lumber size)/layout? If so, can you post it? If so, can you include any details/sections? Are there any beams?
The floor framing/support/details/layout/ is all I care about. Again, more on that in the next reply.
8. Are you still working with your designer/architect?
Ok JF, one more question.
Do you know anything about what slab visqueen/hydrostatic water intrusion prevention the contractor is going to use/do to keep basement dry..through slab and walls. Any plans for a sump pump or anything of that nature?
Well, that's about it for now. As soon as I get some answers, I have a TON of pics and more questions ready for the next post. Later.
Let's review some things
Ok
Changes? ummm, I thought you were still in the PLANNING stage at this point? Regardless, don't you have to get a Building permit? And if so, don't you have to submit plans for approval?
Q2. What are the proposed basement walls going to be made from..ie..Concrete, Cconcrete block, brick, wood framing or what? And are all these walls below grade?
Answer.
This still doesn't tell me how deep the basement is below the ground(grade). And in regards to the "framing"...where and what are you framing? Do you mean in the area adjacent to the Studio/control room? I'm trying to get a handle on EXACTLY what you are going to build WHEN you build the house. I "assume" when you say framing, this means around the stairway, but how about the wall dividing the studio area from the ...hmmm, let's just call that area the "lounge" for now. You mentioned a bathroom too. Is that still part of the design that is going to be built when you build the house? If so...WHERE???
Jf, I really need to know this stuff. For instance, when you say .
Again, WHERE???
You see, I can't show you specific details if I don't know what is actually going to be done. In this case, IF, the concrete walls are below grade, I ASSUME the contractor will SEAL and INSULATE these walls on the OUTSIDE..which usually means a thick exterior foam insulation over a waterproof seal on the concrete. HOWEVER, you mention "sprayed"..is this on the INSIDE or OUTSIDE? Another quesiton is..IF these walls are below grade, that means they have to remove enough dirt to frame up the concrete forms...which means also...after the forms are removed, then they have to seal and insulate. And THEN backfill with dirt. Is this what's happening? Please, I need to know WHAT is being planned for the interior surface of the concrete walls IN THE STUDIO AREA.
Q-3. Has your designer/architect drawn any details/sections of the basement footing/foundations/slab/wall construction and connections? If so, can you post them?
Answer..
That's odd. How does the designer specifiy to the contractor and building inspection department, EXACTLY what/how things are to be built and or approved, if there's no details? Who is building this? Who specify's the nominal size of structural lumber...like the floor joists???
Q4. Has anyone decided on what type of HVAC you are using?
Answer...
HAVE?? Now??? ummm, I'm a little confused.
Regardless, since you are in Canada...and I assume it get's pretty cold there, WHAT are you using for heat? This is what I meant by HVAC...remember..."HEATING,VENTILATION, AIR CONDITIONING"!
5. Has a location for the unit been decided? Or a ducting scheme?
Again..IF you have a Heater...where is it going to be??? And is there any duct work? If so...where???
Answer..
Putting what in the garage?
Jf, this is very important. I assume you want heat/ventilation in the studio. Afterall, since studios are "soundproof", that means the are also.."airproof". Even musicians like to breath and be warm. Which means, IF there is no heater with ductwork, you need to provide a ventilation pathway, AND some form of heat. Hence my questions. Furthermore, you need to seperate these systems as they become flanking paths for sound. Which also means you need to figure out how and where these things physically penetrate the iso shell. As far as I see right now, for both the live room and CR, the only place I see to place SUPPLY and RETURN ducts is in a soffet over the Live room "entrance", with some kind of plenum/baffle to seperate the two systems, perhaps in the area below the stairs. This is WHY I'm saying...now is the time to plan this stuff. Even if you don't plan on Forced air heating, you still need some kind of heat. So...what is your plan...even "eventually"? Btw,
6. I would like to see the actual upstairs plan, as the stairway that is planned may or may not work according to other ideas, which untill I know your answers, I can't be sure of.
(note how my "idea" moves the stairs whereby you may have to have an "L" shaped Stairway with a landing at some point. This is what I am referring to. The reason was to allow a door under the stairway, without increasing Live room length while decreasing CR length, of which framing of this may or maynot be possible due to prior design limitations/upstairs elements. Also, I percieved the possibility of using the space under the stairs for HVAC/Plenum/ducting requirements)
Answer
Ok, got the first floor plan and already worked a few things out from that. But..
.....moving it wasn't what I was thinking. Just modifying the framing. And now that I can see approximately(not in exact inches)where it starts and ends, take a look at what I was referring to.
But this has to do with something else. The support of the first floor across the width of the "lounge" area. More on that later.
7. Is there any plan showing the first floor framing schedule(nominal lumber size)/layout? If so, can you post it? If so, can you include any details/sections? Are there any beams?
The floor framing/support/details/layout/ is all I care about. Again, more on that in the next reply.
8. Are you still working with your designer/architect?
Unpleasant huh? Wonder why? Your a client, no?
Ok JF, one more question.
Do you know anything about what slab visqueen/hydrostatic water intrusion prevention the contractor is going to use/do to keep basement dry..through slab and walls. Any plans for a sump pump or anything of that nature?
Well, that's about it for now. As soon as I get some answers, I have a TON of pics and more questions ready for the next post. Later.
Does that mean the contractor is "manufacturing" the concrete walls OFFSITE? And then lifting/dropping them in place? If so, for residential, that seems a little offbeat. Never encountered that in residential construction before. 
OK! That's exactly what I needed. Thanks
You're entirely welcome. Lot's more to come. Btw, we'll have this nailed down soon. At least to the point you can actually make some decisions before this is built.
God do I hate the "attachment" process. The size in the "preview" is NOT the same as it appears when you finally "submit". I don't know who the webmaster is, but this whole attachment thing sucks.
Even the "stickys".