Things NOT to do...

  • Thread starter Thread starter frederic
  • Start date Start date
Michael Jones said:
Don't leave a hammer on the top step of an 8' step ladder. :(

Not... not a good thing to do. hmm mmm. nope.

Same goes for a box of crews, a cutter or a drill.
 
More Tips (HD Special Edition)

Make sure there's actually 25' of AC duct in the 25' box you purchase at the HD. Two 4' pieces of different diameter won't do.

Keep all your HD receipts, you may need to return something one day. Ahem ...

Specify you want your sliding doors delivered in the afternoon, this way you can be greeted in your pyjamas by the HD delivery dude at 7:15AM.

Live a mile away from the nearest HD.

Use the self-checkout registers at HD, they rule.

Do not use the self-checkout registers at HD, they suck (esp. if one of your items misses the SKU).

Be ready to spend much more $ that you'd initially thought at the HD.

Purchase HD stocks.
 
frederic said:
3. When falling off piano stools, do not keep three multi color sharpies in your back pocket, unless you want to stain the floor, your jeans, your underwear, and your ass. Ass Mosaics are not fashionable.
"Ass mosaics" -- I just about spewed my pepsi all over the console after reading that..........!!!!!! ROFLMAO

:D :D
 
That would make a good band name....

I think you're on to something Frederic!!

A brand new type of "gimmick" for the stage and studio...

"Come record at Midimonkey and get your tush tattoed for free!"

Velvet Elvis
 
knightfly said:
BTW, those Laminating screws working OK for the sheet rock layer? So far, I've yet to even SEE one, only saw them mentioned in the USG handbook and couldn't find them locally... Steve

Steve - i thought i dropped you a link for those over at John's site.


Rod
 
You did, Rod, and thanks - I should have said "held one in my hot little hand" - At this point though, I'm still mostly gathering info and working on beaucoup drawings, as opposed to going out and buying materials I have no storage space for... I'm looking at probably 2-3 years before I can get serious enough to actually break ground on my new facility, so by then the ducks will not only be in a row, they'll be singing 5-part harmony and sweeping up their own doo-doo...

Meantime, I've been scheming on making one of the bedrooms behave well enough acoustically to maintain at least partial sanity and continue writing songs - small house, big land, never enough shelter for everything I'd like to do - Nothing new that way, I think most of us here are in similar boats... Steve
 
Few things I can add from doing the interior of my studio:

1) When measuring the sheetrock to cut out the hole for a light, be sure you have your bearings straight as to which side will be left and which will be right. Otherwise, you hol dwill be in the opposite corner of the sheet it needs to be.

2) Do not try to handle a 12 foot piece of 1/2 sheetrock alone. Your back will thank you for following this rule.

3) Spend the extra money to get a .22 cal hammer if you are nailing into a concrete slab. Otherwise, get alot of nails and ask forgiveness for you language later.

4) If someone has never rolled insulation in an attic before, do not let them help you. They generally do not hear the words "Step only on the top of the rafters!!!"

5) Wasps in the attic will only attack you if provoked. This includes your friend up there with you whose sees one and turns into an instant 4 year old flaining around and losing it....the wasps will not get near that, they will sting you. Meanwhile, your friend is still flailing around so reference #4 - again.

6) Studs on 18" centers suck for insulating.

7) When setting the screws into sheetrock, do not turn to see what your buddy wants lest you drive the screw all the way through the sheetrock.

8) Do not let anyone set a plastic cup atop a lit kerosene heater.

9) When asking your wife to remove the splinter you acquired in your ass while shifting among the rafters, it is best to do this out of earshot of anyone but your wife as she instinctively want to view the situation right then.
 
1) When measuring the sheetrock to cut out the hole for a light, be sure you have your bearings straight as to which side will be left and which will be right. Otherwise, you hol dwill be in the opposite corner of the sheet it needs to be.

I haven't cut any holes for lights or outlet boxes ahead of time. Since these items are essentially a hole, I just measure from one corner how far away it is from the edge, then once the sheet rock is mounted, I "stab" it with a sheet rock saw, then shave it out, then hand rasp the opening so its nice. Its worked well, and saved a lot of sheet rock because I suffer from the same defect. This was due to my measuring on the BACK of the sheet rock instead of the face. I was "snapping" partial cuts off the front too, which resulted in ragged, crappy edges. I've since learned thats studio LOL.

not let them help you. They generally do not hear the words "Step only on the top of the rafters!!!"

Nooooooooo kidding.

wasps will not get near that, they will sting you. Meanwhile, your friend is still flailing around so reference #4 - again.

Since I'm highly allergic to wasps, I'd kick off the sheathing and the slate roof and jump out. Thats how allergic I am. I even have to carry around a prescribed survival kit "just in case".

6) Studs on 18" centers suck for insulating.

So does 12"... the insulation doesn't bunch right !!!

9) When asking your wife to remove the splinter you acquired in your ass while shifting among the rafters, it is best to do this out of earshot of anyone but your wife as she instinctively want to view the situation right then. [/B]

Thats as hilarious as my "ass mosaic" comment earlier!!!! Thanks for sharing.
 
A few more hints...

1) Shower off the stray bits of insulation from studio construction BEFORE getting in bed with the lady.

2) The ultimate secret to DIY sheetrocking: low lighting when complete.

3) Home Despot sucks. Lowe's sucks. Accept it and sally forth.

4) Find your comfort zone on the continuum of perfectionism and aw-screw-it-that's-good-enough-since-I'm-just-gonna-spill-beer-on-it-anyway. Blaze ahead.

5) Don't move your gear in at some bogus milestone then try to cover it up with plastic when spewing more sawdust (I actually did this like a dumb*ss)

6) Lavalamp looks cool perched precariously over your console? Rethink.

7) Calculate carefully the number of outlets you might need. Multiply by twenty.

8) Build plenty of storage space for all your crap, plus ample beer surfaces. If you build enough beer surfaces, your drummer and bass player may actually avoid the teetering bottle over the console.

9) Just buy the bigass caulk gun with a bigass supply of caulk. Airtight is nothing to scrimp on. Not now.

10) Prepare to go your dayjob (if you don't have one, then you're purloining materials from a nearby jobsite) with flecks of paint on your glasses and forehead, polyurethane stains on your hands (although 50 grit sandpaper begins the removal process) and sneezing pasty white buggers of sheetrock dust (mask won't make much difference).

11) Make sure you cut off an unimportant finger for playing your instrument. Toes are no biggie.

12) When it's finally finished and ready to make music, make sure you sign up for music lessons, since your chops have atrophied in the 4 years it took you to do all this.
 
When it's finally finished and ready to make music, make sure you sign up for music lessons, since your chops havehave atrophied in the 4 years it took you to do all this.

:( Ain't that the truth. Makes you wonder "what was I thinking" :rolleyes: Its one thing to be in a position to just get in and get it done. It's another animal to hold a day job to pay for it, study how to build it, use every available momemt to actually do the construction WHILE learning all the trades, and when finally done, discover you've totally lost all ability to play what it is you wanted to record in the first place. But just think, now you have a PHD from the DIY Homerecording university and are fully qualified to instruct all the young lads in todays class......."Things NOT to do"!


fitZ:D(just kiddin around)
 
Lets add "do not cut a hole in sheet rock for an outlet box, while the outlet box is live" :D
 
Ain't that the truth. Makes you wonder "what was I thinking" :rolleyes: Its one thing to be in a position to just get in and get it done. It's another animal to hold a day job to pay for it, study

I'm not being terribly anal about how I'm constructing the home studio. I didn't angle the walls other than the "1941 everythings off just a hair" original construction was, though I'm using screws and glue and chaulk, trying to do reasonable.

Once I acquire a commercial building, I'll just pay John Sayers for a design, then project management, then visit the studio once a week to see progress.

I'll let John suffer contractor woes and supply hassles. I'll show up when its time to do the electrical with a crew, slap it and the audio wiring in, then leave and come back when the paint dries.

Right John? :D

I'm all for doing a pro studio right, and just writing checks.
 
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