FINISHED IN 2020! Sharward's Partial Garage Conversion

I can only hope and plan to put in some effort on the studio here and there,

I know the feeling well Kieth :roll: Been there for 5 yrs and counting. It sucks when you are so close, yet no time to deal with it.

But my community is dying and I feel a genuine calling to try to save it.

I'm from Sacramento Kieth. I know about Sacramento communities. Mine was Citrus Heights. The government there was one of the main reasons I moved to Oregon. I had one experience in the lobby of the Citrus Heights City Hall where the local police surrounded me to intimidate me into being quiet about their "Code Enforcement" gestapo. Because I refused to shut up, two reporters who happen to be there, wrote articles in local papers about not only the incident, but their little team of Code Enforcement goons and practices as well. From that moment on for four months, I was harrassed, stopped in my car, threatened, followed by the local KGB :cop: and was forced to indure an invasion of privacy via their Code Inforcement gestapo again. That did it. I sold my home and moved the hell out of California. I'll NEVER go back to that hell hole. If you think your rights mean anything there, you better think again. The government there LAUGHS at you in your face. I KNOW. The LAUGHED at me when they invaded my home. The "code enforcement" goons actually carried weapons and had a local cop waiting outside. Hmmm, they ought to rename Citrus Hieghts.."Little Moscow" :roll: Once I moved to Coos Bay Oregon, I found a peace here that cannot be imagined by people in Sacramento. Its like another country. What people don't realize, is Sacramento has become a breeding ground for tyrannical government psycopaths and theives. I don't know about your community because I don't know where you live, but I wish you all the luck kicking out the incumbant cockroaches. :yahoo: And with your studio. fitZ

Good luck with everything Keith, I'm always thinking of you. Hey you might not have a fire station, but at least you have a Starbucks right? haha

sounds like your town needs a good stir up Keith - go for it :) My fire chief lives directly opposite me :)

argh 96 pages and then this! You're killing us not finishing it. I wanted to build studio then started reading 'home studio.. build it like the pros' and have blocked the idea from my head! seems like the planning and researching is about 1000x more work than the building. even if you isolate a new slab! Also was wondering did you calculate the weight of all your walls, ceiling and potential contents? I understand you made a new slab to support your room, not just for sound transmission reasons? What's the grand total?

Uh oh. Sharward's thread has been polluted by spam..... ;-)

Sharward forever!!

Can't let this die. This thread is EPIC! I hope he comes back to finish up. He was so motivated and detail oriented, I hope he can finish.

Sharward, it's been 4 years since your last post here. Any news or updates on your neighborhood or the studio??? Hope things are well with you & yours. Chime in and say Hello if you get a chance. :wink:

I plan to pick up the project again in a matter of weeks, actually. It's depressing to think about (and see every day) how much I did and how hard I worked, only to stall out. As usual I have a couple of things I'd liie to get out of the way first, like a back yard fence replacement (mostly done) and a back yard relandscape (underway). I also would like to do a master bathroom remodel but I am absolutely committed to NOT starting that until the studio is done. Thanks for the nudge. I'll get there. And it will be awesome.

I should point out (for those who care?) that in 2009 and 2010 I was heavily involved in a political campaign to oust our entrenched and well-funded 10-year incumbent councilperson. We were victorious and made history. The heart and soul I put into that campaign was every bit as intensive as what I put into my studio project and is perhaps the biggest reason I stalled out on this. Winning the campaign however, as it turned out, was the end of the beginning of my community involvement. A neighborhood association I co-founded also keeps me really busy. In fact, I'll be attending a Parks & Recreation Commission meeting this evening. It's hard to pull out or pull back from these things, especially when there are successes and the issues always seem to be more pressing. Oh, and we adopted a retired racing greyhound two years ago and that takes up quite a bit of our time these days as well! Maybe my next batch o' photos will include some of Onyx the greyhound.

Just really nice to hear from you Sharward! Wishing you the best in your endeavours, and thinking of you! Lou. 8)

Lou wrote:

Just really nice to hear from you Sharward! Wishing you the best in your endeavours, and thinking of you! Lou. 8)

This. Totally agreed..... And Sharward, it sounds like you are doing good work, fighting the good fight, etc etc. Just don't forget to make space in your reality for teh rockage.

Thanks, guys. If we had lost that election, then I'd have not wanted to stay in this community. We won 51% to 42% (a third runner got 7%) and we did it with a fraction of the money and nobody on the campaign was paid except for the bookkeeper.

I am really, really glad to see you back, Sharward! It was actually your thread that inspired me to join up here, all those years ago. I actually spent a few entire days reading through your entire thread, every single page, sharing your triumphs and heartbreaks. And I felt sort of "robbed" when I got to the last page, and it wasn't finished. So this is exciting! I'm really glad you won your election, but even gladder that you are going to pull out you tool box again, and your camera! I am SO looking forward to this! It's like finally getting to watch the end of a great movie that I missed out on! :snack: Welcome back. - Stuart -

Hai Shar! I totally missed your visit in march. Who said building a soundroom would be a matter of weeks... I know, same struggles here. But, we'll get it done. and when it's done, it's gonna rock. sure it will!

Wow. Can't believe the man is back!! Without this thread, I'm not exactly sure how my own build would have turned out. Kinda scary, actually. Because of this thread I managed to start and finish my (permitted/legal) soundproofed garage/studio and it is 100% awesome. I'd rate it up there with one of the best accomplishments of my life, in fact. Took me a good 5 years (HAHAHAHAHAHAH! Seriously!) but I did it and it totally works. I have practiced with a very loud band at 2am in a very residential area and it is virtually silent 10 feet from my walls. Welcome back, Master of Soundproofing/King of Documentation! You were missed.

I can relate. I was planning on starting up again myself this summer until I got laid off a month ago. I'm also still trying to pay off those thousands of dollars I already invested to date. Speaking of politics, I've been somewhat involved there too the last few months trying to help save our constitutional rights. I keep getting this burning urge to run for President. LOL

Just a BUMP to see where things are...

Well I see it and think about it on a daily basis. I am so incredibly busy right now with work, plus I am very involved in a mayoral campaign. I really hope to get going on this again later this year.

Hey, I think that's a wonderful idea! I love playing the drums. I imagine you have already created your studio. If so, how did it turn out?

Well, believe it or not, it is not done, and the latest photos are pretty indicative of where things have been left. I definitely was consumed with a lot of other activities that got in the way of this intense project. However, I am pleased to report that over the last several months I have been very motivated to pick it up again and finish the darned thing. The space had been used as storage for my wife's business for over a year, and after much effort on both of our parts, the space has been cleared and I no longer have a physical barrier to progress. We just returned from a week-long vacation in Austin Texas and I resolved to resume work upon our return. I intend to make an appointment with the city's Building Department within the next few days to reapply for my permit that had expired years ago. I am especially interested and a bit nervous about some changes in building codes that could possibly affect my build. I am hoping that I can be exempt from them on the basis that this is expressly not a sleeping room. I will be posting updates again here soon. Thanks for your interest.

I am pleased to report that over the last several months I have been very motivated to pick it up again and finish the darned thing.

:yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: Woohoo! This is gonna be GREAT! It was actually this very thread that induced (seduced?) me to sign up on the forum, all those years ago. I was severely disappointed after reading through nearly a hundred pages of posts, only to find a non-conclusion :( But now, there finally WILL be a conclusion. This is also one of the most-viewed threads on the entire forum: believe it of not, there have been over HALF A MILLION views, so far! :shock: To be more precise, the view counter stands at 516,325 at present... and I'm betting it will soon climb again, rapidly. Deservedly! Welcome back, Keith! I'm REALLY looking forward to see your place completed. I hope your meeting with the authorities goes well, and it's a simple, painless task to reactivate the paperwork. - Stuart -

Thanks! So much has happened since I started. It's hard to start up "the machine" when it's been idle for so long, but it needs to move forward. :shot:

Been reading this thread for a while, often thinking about a reply only to remind myself the thing is over a decade old! Glad to see you may be back on track. As inspirational as this thread has been it's also manifested my own fear of going full bore on a project only to have it fizzle as life gets in the way -- and it always gets in the way. To be honest the only thing worse would be to finish 100% and then forget how to do all the things you were going to do in there. I haven't played much guitar or done a serious mix in about 3 years but I'm becoming a pretty decent general contractor in the meantime. :?

I'm back and things are happening! Video of Current Status