FINALLY!! The saga begins

Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 10:55 pm

Well... this afternoon, I will finally get some of the castle block for the HVAC pad... only a week later than I expected... man, it sure seems like small delays at this point are huge. It's probably just perception, but they seem like they're double or more in terms of time.

The curve in the ceiling is comprised of two curves. One on each side of the main LVL beam. The long curve is a beautiful slow, sweeping undulation. The short side is yet to show itself fully. It looks like it's going to be a fairly aggressive curve. (I can't wait to see it form out with the decking!)

Tomorrow being Saturday, and not having any gigs, I hope to spend the day on getting the castle block done and continuing with landscaping. Then I'm hoping tommorrow evening that I have enough energy to keep on keepin' on with the OSB.

If nothing else, I'll move back into the tracking room and get the upper bass trap done... and maybe start with the caulking and backer rod.

I WILL get pix tomorrow... hopefully I'll have them up by Sunday.

Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2008 4:08 pm

I don't think you can get a real perspective on it, but at any rate, some pix...

It got dark before I could get pix, but I snagged the castlewall block and the HVAC pad is ready and waiting for the compressors and the Isolation Transformer!! WOOO HOOO!

Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 1:05 am

Its been something that I looked forward to. To read this thread I mean.
I started a while back and would read a few pages at a time then have to come back to it. It was a pain in the aas to go to the middle pages that are listed as dots (1,2,3,4,....35,36,37) but such is life; you had the hard job. I was surprised to see the extraordinary lengths that you went to. I really liked the two separate walls and the isolated concrete slabs which I thought was genius. The fact that you have been at this build for so long is another amazing thing. I started my basement build about the same time and still haven't finished, with only a sliver of the work you have put into this project. My hats off to you, really. I question the thickness of the OSB, but I assume that it is for density and room deadness? some day max I hope to have the land and room to attempted such a build and look forward to the continued saga.

Brad Haugen

Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 5:24 am

Brad,

Thanx for the kudos and understanding... and the patience! (heheheh)

I started on the concept for the studio, gosh... maybe 7 years ago. Way back then, I seriously started digging into what it takes to gain the greatest amount of isolation, and then how to do it the most economical way.

When I found this property and the building that has now become the studio, I was able to apply a great deal of what I learned along the way.

The reason for the thickness of the OSB is two-fold. First is the structural rigidity that the 3/4 adds to the internal framing. The 2nd is an added benefit of additional mass. Rod actually discusses this earlier in the thread... maybe a couple of months ago just before I started adding the OSB... (back when I was calling it MDF... DOH!)

Be careful... if you keep after it, you might just get what you ask for... I know I did... and now there is proof positive that I'm positively off my rocker for building this thing!

Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 2:17 am

Slowly progressing through the OSB.

The stacks of OSB have finally dwindled down to under 20 sheets! After starting with 100 sheets, it's feeling good to get down into the short rows.

Over the last couple of days, I've managed to get several small-ish sheets up as well as finally starting on the isolation booth. I've timed it out again, and it's still taking about an hour per sheet to finish off.

The curve of the ceiling is still a serious challenge. It's a serious puzzle to put together. There are a couple of different ways to do some of the sheets. It's usually a shorter wide piece vs a longer narrow piece... and they have to go up in a pretty meticulous way.

If you put a piece in, how will it affect the next two (or three) pieces??? ... ooof. Mainly because the edge angles will make it difficult to get the next piece in place... and then screwing it to the curve gets to be fun too!

No two pieces are going up the same. Some you start screwing in the middle, some from the adjoining edge, some from the open edge.

The middle section of the short side of the tracking room ceiling is going to be the hardest. The angles are sharper, and the curve is the pretty dramatic. I think I'm definitely going to have to enlist some help getting those pieces up.

I've got a couple of other things to do today, so I'm not sure how much I'm going to get done. But the plan is to get the ceiling of the booth done today.

Once I get the tracking room ceiling done, I need to get back into the control room and finish off the OSB in the bass trap area. There's a LOT of complicated cuts around the duct work that are gonna eat up a lot of time unless I can dedicate a couple of full days to it.

The equipment room ceiling will be the last thing I do as far as the OSB. I don't want to limit my options as far as pulling any wire I might have overlooked.

I spoke with the salesperson about the counter top for the lounge. It looks like it's about a 5 week lead time on delivery. That means I need to get my butt in gear and get the lounge mud/taped as quickly as possible... if I have any hope of being done before the end of the year. Additionally, there's a special where you get a free sink with your counter top, until the end of the month.

Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 2:53 am

Salesperson: "Look, I'll do you a deal, I can't do anything about the lead times... But I'll tell you this, every counter sold this month comes with a free sink."

Shopper: "This deal has everything... Inclu..."

Salesman abruptly: "Don't say it and I'll give you free delivery."

Shopper: "Sold."

Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 3:30 am

Uhh... right.

I don't really care to shill for a national chain, but Lowe's has this as an advertised regional special, if not a national special, when you purchase their Zodiak line of counter tops.

We used the Zodiak in the kitchen and we're gonna use the same thing in the studio.

The reason for the long lead time is the fact that so many people are doing renovations that they want completed by Christmas. It's fairly typical this time of year... go order flooring, counters, lighting, roofing, etc... It ALWAYS happens this quarter of the year. It's happened to me before, and will likely to happen again, and again, and again.

Posted: Fri Nov 21, 2008 12:23 pm

WOOOOO HOOOO!

(OK, I'm really just trying to psych myself, here)

The wide side of the tracking room is done!

The narrow side is STILL proving to be a bear to get done. Definitely gotta have some help with those last 4 pieces.

Only 3 pieces in the iso booth and 3 on the big wall of the tracking room. Then, it'll be off to the server room ceiling!

I'll probably go ahead and tackle the iso walls and the tracking walls since I can actually do those by myself.

I've got to pull one more cat6 and one RG-6 in the lounge then I can finish buttoning up the walls with gypsum.

The electrician was here today. They got all of the grounds and neutrals tied in to both panels. They about got the unistrut frame for the exterior breaker box done. The #2 & #3 has been ordered for the run to the isolation transformer.

With the weather turning so cold so quickly, I'm not quite used to it yet.... so I'm only working a couple of hours at a time before I gotta' take a break from the cold, and warm up a bit.

Posted: Sun Nov 23, 2008 11:56 pm

Well, not as much accomplished as I had hoped, but quite a bit really did get done yesterday... and I've got the pain to prove it. oh man.

The OSB in isolation booth is completely done. The gaps at the corners are caulked and backer rod stuffed in place. The 2nd layer of backer rod is ready for the 1st layer of gypsum.

I've stopped the majority of the cold air falling out of the ceiling/attic in the server room. I've gotten all but two pieces of OSB up on the ceiling in there. Unfortunately, one piece is slightly shifted, and it'll have to come down and moved 1/4"... ARRRRGH. But such is life when yer doin' this kinda' stuff w/o help and can't quite see to the edges.

Gotta hit the day gig today, so tonight, I'm hoping to get that sheet shifted and the last two pieces up.

The electrician is due to pull the #2 & #3 wire, and hopefully wire the external breaker box.

Thursday, is obviously a Holiday here, so not much will get done, if anything, but somewhere before then, I hope to get more pix up.

Posted: Sat Nov 29, 2008 5:27 am

OK, I'm slack... no pix yet... but a buttload of stuff done!

The HVAC guys must have stopped in on Wed w/o calling me... I walked in Friday morning and noticed the beginnings of the boots to the HVAC returns being cut in.

I was pretty surprised and wondered why they would have only gotten the boots formed, and only the insulation on one return hole trimmed out... so, I walk outside and saw both of the compressors in place! WOOOOO HOOOOOO!

I came in to call the contractor and do an entry here, when the electrician drove up the driveway and down to the studio... HUH??? What are they doing here unannounced?

I haul butt to the studio and the guys are here to work ALL day! (SCHWEEET!)

They made up the connections to the compressors. In addition, we got the wire pulled for the isolation transformer, and got all of the circuits rung out to check for pinches, etc... We got both the outbuildings trenched and the PVC glued up. They called for the inspection last thing.

Andy and I discussed the final needs list for the electrical so I can get ready to apply for temp power service. We've got the duplex outlets, but had to order the GFI's for the wet areas.

We also agreed on the emergency exit signs w/lamps. The inspector wants me to have two, but we're going to go ahead and put one at the top of each door. That way, there cannot be any question or issue with the fire marshall on these.

We've got maybe another 3 days of electrical and we should be able to call for temp service inspection... however... Since this is a unique situation/structure, I need to call the inspection's office to find out what they want me to have completed before they'll give me approval.

I've gotten the big wall done in the tracking room. Man, what a chore! The last bit of ceiling is what I'm working on today. Got a briefcase gig tonight, so... not sure how much is gonna' get finalized there.

Pix later!

Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 11:11 pm

I got in touch with the county inspector who would be signing off on the temp service approval.

The good news is, I found out what all it takes... the bad news is, I found out what it takes.

I have to pay the inspection fee and bring in a letter of explanation for the request. All of the HVAC system has to be ready to fire off, including the filters in the HVAC returns.

Now the bad news... all of the electrical must be 100% completed. Including all of the light fixtures being in place and terminated.

This is a major PITA! I need the heat on in the building to get the caulk, mud/tape and green glue to dry so I can do the finish on those layers and to let the finish lumber acclimate to the building... so I can get ready to put up the finish track lighting. But I can't put in the track lighting until I get to the finish layer.... ARRRRRGH!!! Gotta love a Catch22 situation.

So.... here's the question of the day;

According to the green glue website's instructions, the first layer does not require that the 1st layer of gypsum be mud and taped, nor does the 1st layer necessarily need to be caulked. So, dare I only caulk that 1st layer?

The second question of the day... In the hallway, the exterior wall calls for 1 layer of 5/8" gypsum. If I can scrounge enough cash to afford the extra green glue, would it be worth it to put up 2 layers of 1/2" with green glue?

Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2008 11:47 pm

Oh yeah....

I forgot to mention that on Sunday, I went to order the counter top for the lounge.

I got a call from the installer yesterday. They want to come out Monday afternoon to take the measurements! WOOO HOOO! This is GREAT news! (kinda')

I just have to purchase and install the cabinets before Monday.

So... I'll got pick them up either this evening, or tomorrow morning, so I can get them installed this weekend.

The work still goes really slow on the narrow side of the tracking room ceiling. The bottom line is that in trying to put up as large of pieces of OSB as possible is taking 3-4 times longer.

The compound curve formed by the rafters is almost best described as a partial double-helix? In that in the span from one rafter to another, the OSB has to make a bend in two directions. Across three rafters, it takes 2 more bends, and across four rafters, it takes 2 MORE! (The process is additive) I'm finding that while the OSB has enough flex to make 2 bends, it just don't like more than that if it goes much beyond a 1.25" flex.

So, when I started with an 8' piece, I've come across 3 rafter pairs that barely ended up being able to make a 16" span. Those were the worst three points, and at least they're done now! WHEW!

I'm hoping to get the last two pieces cut and installed today. Then I can start caulking the 2nd half of the tracking room!

With the cabinet bases needing to go in this weekend, I might not finish the caulking/backer rod until this is done.

Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2008 11:06 am

Uhhh... wow...

I just popped in a few minutes ago and noticed sumpin' kinda' startling.

There's over 100,000 views on this thread...

How many people are really readin' this insanity?

Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2008 11:39 am

I stopped when the pix stopped!!!

Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2008 11:59 am

I am tracking it, following it, admiring your dedication, and several other things.

Andre

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