FINISHED IN 2020! Sharward's Partial Garage Conversion

More good progress to report. 8) I made a quick and painless trip into the attic to drill a couple of holes and feed the refrigerant and electrical lines down into the studio, and I mounted four layers of plywood on the rear wall studs with Green Glue sandwiched between each of the layers. The plywood is staggered so that each subsequent layer is slightly smaller than the previous one, so that the sheathing and drywall (once installed) will slightly overlap the seams, resulting in stability and a good seal. I then mounted the indoor unit of the mini-split air conditioner to the plywood. I've chosen to do it this way because of the fact that I have to install the mini-split before doing insulation and drywall installation. It's kind of backwards, because mini-split systems tend to be installed in retrofit scenarios because they're so well suited for that. I'm very close to a golden spike type of moment on the mini-split install, which makes me very happy. :) I hope to have everything fully wired up and ready for an HVAC pro to charge by next week. Pictures will follow soon, once I'm done with wiring the indoor unit. 8) Unfortunately, the batteries on the cordless drill and flashlight combo I bought last July are totally shot, so I have to replace them... :roll: ...I'm actually heading to Home Depot right now to do just that. --Keith :mrgreen:

Interesting couple of exchanges I had at work today...

DUDE #1: So, last weekend, when I ran into you at Home Depot, in the electrical department, what were you doing there? KEITH: Oh, I'm building a soundproofed room so I can play my drums... D1: Oh yeah? Cool! That Soundboard stuff works great! K: (scoffing in elitist tone) Uh, no it doesn't. D1: What?! :shock: Sure it does! K: Doesn't. It sucks. D1: Sucks? :? K: Edge to edge suckage!

I then wanted to refer him to the sticky threads and tell him to buy Rod's book, but then I came to my senses that we weren't on the forum! ;-) Then an hour later...

DUDE #2: You're building a soundproof room, eh? KEITH: Yeah, slowly but surely... In my garage... D1: Cool! I just built my own house. Went through permitting process and everything. K: Cool! Yeah, I am too -- fun, eh? D2: Dude, you don't need a permit if you're building in your garage! K: Uh, yeah I do. D2: No you don't! I know for a fact! K: I know for a fact that I do! D2: Don't! It's a garage!... K: ...Being converted to habitable space though... :roll: (Back and forth a while... but I know I'm right!) D2: Are you using soundproofing foam?! K: Uh, there's no such thing... :roll: D2: Yeah there is! I soundproofed my office with it! It works great! K: Uh, no it doesn't... Foam doesn't stop sound... It just keeps the room from being "echoey"... D2: Well, I sure paid a fortune for mine and it turned out great! It's between the walls... K: Well, to be honest, I don't think your foam is doing much for you at all... It might keep the drywall from resonating a little...

What a blessing this site is... There's sooooooooo much misinformation out there........ :roll: --Keith :mrgreen:

Man-O-Man... Doesn't it feel GREAT to be able to stand "toe-to-toe" with people when you have KNOWLEDGE of Studio Construction??!! You don't have to worry about "CRAP" being thrown your way that's just myth or hearsay! :wink:

i had one the other day when i was at work. was just playing around with a few design ideas on a piece of scrap when the guy next to me ask what im doing. i reply by saying its a recording studio design, to which he replied. ''you know what you should do init is put egg boxes on the walls to sound proof it'' . however my reply was oh yearrrrrrrrrrrrrr. because i diddnt have the energy to put him right.

...and yet, I remember being clueless a few years ago, doing Google searches for "soundproofing foam" and at one time thinking that a futon mattress covering a bedroom window would prevent the sound of my drum set from getting outside... :roll: :lol: I guess I misspoke on the "soundboard is crap" remark. What I should have said to Dude #1 was, "yeah, soundboard works somewhat, but substituting a second layer of drywall is cheaper and more effective." I'll clarify that next time I see him. :-) --Keith :mrgreen:

Too funny. I've had similar exchanges; I imagine many of us have. "Oh, you're building a studio?" "Yep, once I get settled in to the new place I'll start the build." "Oh, cool, I've built a studio before. The hard part is finding enough egg crates....." "Ummmm...... never mind." :shock: :)

yeah that was a funny moment in "hustle & flow" when they put up all those egg crates. of course the rest of the movie wasn't too believable either ... and where was it i heard the story about the band whose members were so sick of eating eggs while building their "studio?"

More progress to show off. :twisted: With the exception of the final hook-up to the electrical service panel (something I'm considering saving for a pro), the condensation drain line, and final charging of the system, plus sealing up some holes, I'm done with the mini-split air conditioner (and heat pump) installation! 8) 8) 8) Behold! You can clearly see the multiple layers of plywood I used as the "foundation" for mounting the unit. Again, my intent is to have a durable surface on which to mount it while also providing an opportunity to sturdily transition from sheathing and drywall when the time comes to install those materials. I had a bit of a challenge deciding how I would handle mounting the service disconnect switch. I decided to use a two gang steel box mounted to the surface of the plywood stack. The switch is rated for 20 amps and has two poles on it -- one for hot and one for neutral, just like what is called for on the wiring schematic in the installation manual. I had to use a two gang box because it had to be large enough to accommodate all of the connections as per NEC: 2.25 cubic inches per "connection" -- each wire (not counting ground wires) entering the box counts as one, all the ground wires together counts as one, the switch counts as one, and each clamp counts as one. The largest single gang box I could find at Home Depot had insufficient volume. I could have used a shallower "square box," but the cover would have to have been "less pretty." I intend to eventually do some kind of trim around the edges of the box so it will look nice. Another challenge I had was clamping the NM-B ("Romex") wires to the box. The clamps that would have hung off the back of the box would have made it difficult to mount it to a flat surface. I decided to turn the clamps around so that the bulkier sides are inside the box, and I drilled a larger hole through the first layer of the plywood stack to accommodate the threaded part. I assume inverting the clamps is not prohibited by code (I'll find out soon enough I'm sure! :lol:). After it passes inspection, I intend to use acoustic sealant or silicone caulk to fill in the hole. I'd rather not make a mess, just in case I have to redo something. I've learned my lesson on making things too final before inspections! :lol: --Keith :mrgreen:

This past weekend was nice climate-wise. I got a little bit of work done (emphasis on "little" :roll:). I finally ran the condensation line from the indor unit of the mini-split between the leaves around the south and east walls, out to the garage vent. It's not too exciting or photo-worthy though. I'm holding off on using PVC cement on the connections until the inspector comes, as I want to be sure he's OK with the hook-up. I'm just about decided on having a pro do the service panel hookups... Few things on this project have threatened me with actual death if I make a mistake, so I figure it's better to be a hundred or two bucks poorer and alive than dead. There's a licensed electrician who works at Home Despot that I've gotten to know a bit, so I'll probably ask him to do it. I was hoping I'd run into him this weekend when I went there for some stuff, but no luck... :roll:) I've been rhinking a lot about the recepticle/switch boxes... After lots of time in the electrical aisle at HD, I think what I'll do is run a pair of horizontal 2x4s above and below where I want my box and attach three layers of drywall pieces to the back of them. Counting the studs on either side, that makes a 5 sided box. Some acoustic sealant will make it air-tight. Then recessed boxes won't leak sound. Technically that's three leaves in those small areas, but that's OK. As for the boxes themselves, after toying around with lots of possibilities, I'll use old work boxes after the drywall is up. I'll need to replace the screws on the "wings," but that's not a problem. One advantage with this approach is that I can stop at 2 layers and do some tests to see if a third is even necessary, and I won't have protruding boxes all over the place like the one next to the air conditioner. :-) I'll probably work on those boxes this weekend, heat permitting. We're up for some 100°F+ temperatures this week... :evil: --Keith :mrgreen:

Hey, look at that -- my thread now has over 200,000 views (most of which are spiders and robots, I realize... :roll:) and I have passed the 4,000 mark in number of posts. 8) But besides that...... I have great news! 8) I had a certified electrician hook up my studio circuits to the service panel today! "Long Island Bob," a certified electrician I ran into at Home Depot I paid him $150 to hook up the five circuits. I already had the breaker switches and the cables were ready to insert into the panel, so it was a pretty quick and easy job... Yet I wasn't entirely comfortable with the prospect of doing that work on my own. Now I don't have to worry about it anymore. :twisted: Although... He did have to double-up on some of the ground bar connections, which he claims is OK as long as they're the same guage wire... But he said if the inspector rejects it, he'll fix it by adding another ground bar for me. Perhaps I'll drop by my friendly neighborhood city building permit counter to see what they have to say about that little shortcut... :roll: :lol: Here's a shot of last weekend's work -- the indoor unit of the mini split with the insulated condensation line in place... See the ivory hose thingy? And here are those electrical box enclosures I made on Independence Day... ...which was a very hot day! :-( I'm ready for an HVAC contractor to charge the system up now. :twisted: Actually, in studying the documentation for the system just now, I just realized that it's already charged with refrigerant, but it needs an extra 4 ounces due to the length of the refrigerant lines (50 feet). I put together a simple bid sheet for contractors to complete and fax back to me if they're interested in the job. We're in the middle of a nasty heat wave out here -- our first triple digit temperatures this season, so I'm sure the HVAC companies are running themselves ragged and are not likely to be available right away... :evil: ...which could be a problem because I must have an inspection in the next 30 days in order to keep my permit active! :shock: I'm also pretty excited about the next steps, which are starting on the fresh air ventilation system. :twisted: Last night, instead of counting sheep to get to sleep, I envisioned the way I'll build the silencers. I'm actually making a pretty drastic change in my initial design -- whereas I had originally intended to build soffits inside the room and alongside the room in the laundry room and garage, I'm instead going to conceal the silencers between the inner leaf joists and inside the attic. 8) They'll be quite a bit smaller than I had originally envisioned, but they'll still be pretty large -- and heavy! :shock: I don't have any drawings to share, nor am I able to describe it in too fine detail at this point... But I will take lots of pictures along the way, that's for sure. 8) --Keith :mrgreen:

Another milestone reached -- the mini-split is blowing cold! And warm! :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: In cooling and heating modes, respectively! 8) Today I had a licensed/certified HVAC contractor come by to finalize the hook-up, pump the air out of the refrigerant lines, and charge the system with some additional Puron® (due to the long length of the refrigerant lines). I'm so pleased with the price too: $89 for one hour of labor, plus $75 for 4 ounces of Puron (actually got about 4.7), and $20 for an adapter: $184 total. That sure beats the $300 to $400 estimate I got from some other clown on Monday! :lol: I'm amazed by how quiet the thing is -s inside and out!! :D The indoor unit has has three fan speeds, plus there's a "full power" mode that temporarily bumps the fan speed even higher for 30 minutes. I just need to do some final touches in the area of insulating some exposed sections of the refrigerant lines, cementing the cndensation line fittings, etc. I have also come close to deciding on some shortcuts on the ventilation system. Rather than building four beefy silencers (two inside the room and two outside the room), I think I'll build just two. I'll put them (as I described a few posts back) between the joists between the ceilings, and I'll skip the ones I was planning to put in the attic. I can always add the two silencers in the attic later on if it becomes necessary. --Keith :mrgreen:

Thaz some great stuff, now innit?!

congrats sharward. That's really cool! *groans at the bad pun*

Congrats on the AC man. Glad your putting those silencers between the joists and saving some head room. 8) Marc

Cool man, if for nothing else than the fact that you'll have something to keep you cool when you start drywalling and installing them doors :twisted: :mrgreen: (yes I have read it all!) So what's next on the checklist?

Thanks guys! 8) I'm really excited about having A/C out there now! :twisted: I've scheduled an inspection for Wednesday. I hope to receive final sign-off of the mini-split system at that time. Unfortunately I haven't even started on the fresh air ventilation work, so it's going to have to be a "partial" mechanical inspection, and then I'll have to get them back for the fresh air part. I have to do it this way because if I don't get an inspection within six months of my last inspection, my permit will expire! :shock: This weekend I finished installing the 14 electrical box enclosures I described earlier. I'll take some pictures of that once all the wiring is routed to them and the enclosures are sealed. This is an example of my having to undo some work I had done previously since changing my mind on how to mount the electrical boxes. At first (on paper) I figured I'd use putty packs. Then I changed my mind and decided to use surface-mounted boxes, and I ran the NM-B (Romex) cable accordingly. However, I have since changed my mind again, deciding to do flush mounted boxes with several layers of drywall on the back of the frame, as per a post that John wrote somewhat recently (that I cannot find right now :x, else I'd link to it). --Keith :mrgreen:

:-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( I can't believe it... :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( My mini-split isn't working. Both indoor and outdoor units operate, but there's no cool air blowing inside and no warm air blowing outside. I fear a leak in the refrigerant lines somewhere... :roll: I tried to be careful not to kink or overbend the lines when working with them... Maybe the compressor is defective, in which case I'd have to ship the outdoor unit to Sanyo at my expense... And pay for the labor again to evacuate and charge it... :x I'm very sad right now. :-( I spoke with the HVAC tech who did the hook-up. He told me to call him after 10 AM to get on their calendar. He said it shouldn't impact my inspection -s that they just care about the hook-up and not the actual functioning of the unit. I hope he's right... :roll: Did I mention that I'm sad? :-(

Oh man i don't believe it. Have you ever heard of Murphy's Law? It seems to be working overtime in your case. Well, at least you're well overdue for some good luck now :mrgreen: Hope you get it sorted anyways.

Damn, Keith... Can I say that sucks.? Well, it does. I know you were looking forward to have your place cooled. If only to finally do some indoor work on yer studio ;) Major bummer!

Hey Keith, hang in there man, it won't turn out as bad as you think...(just a feeling). Anyway, are you still planning on putting in the HRV unit? I'll be installing my ERV next week if all goes according to plan. If you are still going to use a HRV there are some good tips the tech at Fantech talked to me about concerning your ductwork...ESPECIALLY the duct length from your HRV to the outside (both supply & return) Hit me up if you haven't already talked to them yourself.

I haven't bought my HRV yet, but I will be in a few days. I do intend to talk to Fantech soon. I plan to use oversized ducts. The unit I'll be getting will have 6" ports, but I figure I'll use reducers (enlargers? ;-)) to bring them up to 8", possibly 10". I plan to use insulated metal round duct, except for the short connection between the leaves which will be insulated flex. I realize that the longer the duct run, the more static pressure build-up and thus the lower throughput. I'm hoping the oversized duct diameter and the fact that the unit will be oversized for the need will suffice in my case. --Keith :mrgreen:

The inspector came by today. He said there's really nothing for him to officiially inspect because there's no natural gas line on the mini split system, and there are no ducts. He said that system actually falls within the realm of "final electrical" and since I'm not past rough electrical on the rest of my build, he can't sign off anything. After some amount of respectful pleading from me to register something on the record so that my permit doesn't expire... Well, let's just say that he's helping me out with a bit of creativity by "reinspecting" some stuff that I "probably" had to mess with since the last inspection. ;-) So, with that, I'm good to go on my six-month permit extension. :-) As for the mini split not working :-(, I reached the tech who did the hook-up, and he said he'd be out sometime today. Wish me luck... :roll: --Keith :mrgreen:

good luck man. i cant wait to see how your fresh air works out im trying to get my head round it, but as with most of your posts it all becomes clear after reading.

:D :D :D :D :D :D WAHOO!!! :D :D :D :D :D :D There was a leak in the flare connection on the 1/4" refrigerant line at the indoor unit -- my tech didn't connect them tightly enough the first time! 8) 8) 8) We were both suspecting one of the lines had sustained damage, but his leak sniffer detected a problem at the connection. Once he tightened it up, the leak sniffer was happy! :twisted: Whew!!! That was a close one! :shock: Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll resume my feeling awesome about my mini split again! :lol: Thanks for the bestg wishes and the kind words, Joey. :) Several of us are on the verge of installing fresh air ventilation systems and silencers, so hopefully this area will abe more effectively covered once we have them up and running with all the requisite pictures to go with them. 8) --Keith :mrgreen:

Aw damn, and I had just found this useful page :twisted: :lol: That's good to hear about the fix man. Got any pictures of the tech tightening the connection? ahaha