Aaron's "studio" build

I had originally planned for a gable vent fan, but decided i didn't want to have electrical running through. I am now putting in ridge and eave vents. I started on the shingles yesterday and worked some more on them today. Went and got roof brackets this morning. Fell off the ladder yesterday :oops: No broken bones, just a bruised ego. I was about 10 feet off the ground when the ladder slipped. Totally carelessness on my part. I certainly will take more precautions from here on out. Lesson learned!

Greetings Aaron: Hope this finds you well! How's the Build going? Any updates? Stay Gold, Ken

Ok, it has been a little while, but that seems to be the standard for me. Today I passed both my veneer and my insulation inspections. I got my framing inspection a few weeks ago when I failed my initial veneer inspection due to a novice oversight on my part. I went back and did the necessary blocking, which would have been so much easier to do at the appropriate time. I used acoustical/fire caulk to caulk all seams/intersections of sheathing and studs and around the baseplates, etc. R19 Insulation installed in the "exterior" walls and ceiling. Faced r13 on the interior walls and faced r19 on the interior ceiling. Hanging insulation on the ceiling by yourself is not something I would ever seek out to do again if I didn't absolutely have to. And wearing jeans, long sleeves, hat, gloves, glasses and a mask is not awesome on a 80 degree day. I got a quote from a heating and a/c company we were really happy with when we renovated our house a couple years ago for a samsung minisplit. 2900.00 for everything. I'm thinking i want to have the professionals do this so that the warranty is good and so that I don't screw it up and waste a lot of money. I would only save a 500$ or so doing it myself. $500 is not a drop in the bucket but is worth it for peace of mind i think. i did take a financial hit during all of this that i was not really expecting, which was having to replace a sewer line to the tune of nearly $6000. OUch!! But no more backups, so what's done is done, right? Now I need to order gb and hardie siding. I'll post some more pics soon.

Ok, the mini split was roughed in and passed inspection today. My buddy who is an electrician is coming on Sat. to put the appropriate through the wall electrical stuff in place for the exterior outlet and light. I should be getting a really good start on the drywall this weekend as well with the help of a band mate. Here are some pics.

Exciting...looks promising for sure!

Friday afternoon I had the drywall delivered: 56 sheets of 5/8" 4' x 8'. The help I had fell through, so here I am carrying it by myself from the alley to the garage. Probably 50 feet or so. That stuff is HEAVY. I knew it was heavy, but man! I had about 30 or so in when my awesome neighbor was taking out some trash and offered to help. All the while it was thundering with some dark clouds overhead. Never got a drop of rain thankfully. I almost completed the first layer today with the help of two of my bandmates and the wife of one of them. Hopefully, I will get the rest of the first layer and the second layer of the ceiling up tomorrow.

I have started on the second layer of the walls and received the trunk rubber yesterday. I ordered it from JC Whitney on the 26th of May and received it the 5th of June--and it was the correct order. Hoping to get the rest of the drywall up before the weekends over, but we'll see.

Halfway done the second layer on the walls. Going to need assistance with the second half--upper half running horizontally. Using 3 tubes of green glue per 4 x 8 sheet of 5/8" gb.

Green Glue has a new recommended application pattern:

lol...oh man, that is funny:)

So the gypsum has all been hung and caulked and the mudding is beginning today! It feels so close to completion. So much happening all of a sudden after months of slowness. I would like some feedback on a concern of mine. I have specked all along to use hardie board siding for the simple reason of increased mass. As the time to side comes near and money really low I am wondering if there are any other low cost options. I am assuming nothing is going to add the mass benefit of the hardie board, but what cost to isolation might another choice be. Vinyl siding, while it would be worthless as far as isolation goes, would be cheap and easy to install. I've got two layers of 1/2" osb on the outside, a total gap of 10" and two layers of 5/8" drywall with green glue between on the inside. I don't want to shoot myself in the foot after all of this hard work, but I don't want to overextend myself financially any more than I already have.

What about the insulation in the air gap? How much did you pt in there? That's an often-overlooked factor that can make a big difference in isolation. Did you just put a couple of inches of fiberglass / rock wool between the studs on one leaf? On both leaves? Or did you fill the cavity? I guess the real question is: how much isolation do you need, and how much will you lose by dropping that extra mass? Reducing mass will also affect your resonant frequency, and since you are going to play drums in there, that might be an issue. You once figured your resonant frequency at 29 Hz, IIRC, which means you start getting some isolation around 40 Hz, and good isolation around 58 Hz. A kick drum is somewhere in the general region of 80 Hz, give or take a dozen or so: so you would probably not want to let your resonant frequency go above 32 to 34 Hz, max. Would dropping the Hardie siding do that, or would you still be OK? This is all just theoretical anyway: Are you at the stage where you can actually measure how much isolation you have already, and see if you need more? Reality is always better than theory for learning the truth!. I guess I didn't answer your question very well, did I? But maybe the comments will help you take a decision. - Stuart -

Thanks soundman, For the insulation, there is r19 on the exterior wall and ceiling, r13 on the interior walls, and r19 on the interior ceiling. when i calculated the resonant frequency before i did not even include the siding into the equation. so, if my calculations were correct i think i am looking pretty good going into the siding decision making. I'm pretty close to being able to actully set up and play in order to measure. I'm planning on getting the door on within the next week. I need to talk to my electrician buddy to see about running exterior outlet/lighting/hvac without having siding on---not sure if that is possible. One thing I don't completely understand is that if with all of the exterior sheathing and gb needing to be attached without voids or gaps, why can you have plank siding that has little gaps/voids all over and have that mass still be effective?

One thing I don't completely understand is that if with all of the exterior sheathing and gb needing to be attached without voids or gaps, why can you have plank siding that has little gaps/voids all over and have that mass still be effective?

I'd say that the mass is still effective since it is directly coupled to the rest of the leaf. The air gaps might do some strange stuff with resonance, but the major point is the siding is directly coupled to the rest of that leaf, since it is in direct contact along its edges, and also directly nailed or screwed in place. - Stuart -

5+ hours, several blisters, lots of sweat and a little sunburn later I am left with an 80 foot long ditch--20" deep and 4" wide.

Aaron, Hope this finds you well. Any updates, Pics Please. Thanks

Wow, it has been a while. Mostly done. Moved in and practicing since August. Still need to paint the outside and I want to add another layer to the door with the magnetic stops. I'll take some more/better pics and try to do a real update with more details soon.