Cyeazel's project studio...... planning and preparing

I for sure will keep you posted. I'm still following your thread too. Looks like your getting really close. Wish I could send some advice your way but you are already way ahead of me. Steve, so what if the engineer can't read and spell, big deal. What's the worst that could happen? :mrgreen:

At the risk of sounding foolish, I have a question about the design sketch that I drew. Since MAM is best (two leafs with one airspace), would isolation from the Live/tracking room be better inside the air-lock or outside the airlock in front of the stairs? Standing outside the airlock in front of the stairs makes isolation from the live/tracking room a 4 leaf system right? This probably isn't even relevant, I'm just curious.

I think the answer to your question is in this thread. I'm glad you're following my thread... And by all means, even though you may be "behind me" (in the sense that I started this turtle race before you), I will appreciate any observations or questions you may have about my project. That's the great thing about this forum -- even though many of us have our own individual projects, it's almost like we're all in the same "neighborhood." Now that would be cool! We could call it... Studio City! Oh wait -- that name's already taken... :evil: ;-) --Keith :mrgreen:

Thanks Sharward for the link. So I guess I won't need to worry about that issue anymore. That has been nagging me for a while now so I'm glad I got that cleared up.

I almost forgot that my door should be coming in within the next few days. I ordered a sound rated door from IAC about a month ago so it should be arriving in the next few days or so. This door is awesome, really expensive, but worth it. I'm having it put in at the bottom of the stairs. I'll post some pictures of the installation process as soon as work starts.

Still waiting for the door. Should be here by now but arrival dates are never accurate. Oh yeah, I just got married on Sept. 10th. It was cool seeing all the new posts and new info. I haven't been on here in quite a while.

:mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen: Congratulations! :mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen:

Thanks a lot. I'm leaving for the Bahamas on thursday morning. The door should be here by the time I get back, hopefully before (tommorow). We'll see. God has been blessing me. Thanks again and I look forward to seeing more progress with your project (Keith) after I get back next week. And on the rare occurances that I give some advice to other guys, please, correct any mistaken information I may give so I don't make things worse for anyone. :wink:

I'm just curious.I haven't read any talk of a permit for this project. I would think that a permit would be a must in commercial building as this. Jon

I'm sure I'll be needing permits, but I just want to wait until I finalize a plan first. I finally got the door. This thing weighs like 1000 pounds. I'm having the rough opening built tommorow(saturday) and then the guys from the door company are gonna come out and install the frame and door. I'll try and post some pictures.

Here are a few photos of the rough opening. This will be finished this weekend with the addition of 2x6's lining the 2x10's. The actual frame and door will be installed later next week by the guys from Industrial Acoustics.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that door installation won't meet code. I see two problems right off the bat -- the bottom of the door will be too high, and there's not enough clearance (zero, or actually less than zero) between the bottom of the stairs and the door (i.e., a "landing" at the bottom of the stairwell). There may be other issues too, but these are the two that jump out at me after wrangling with this issue myself for quite some time. Those who were tuned closely to my project thread know that these landing requirements are one of the main reasons I decided against floating a floor in my space. Visit your local building officials to determine what model codes they use. If UBC, you'll find the relevant code at:

• 1003.3.1.6 Floor level at doors
• 1003.3.3.5 Stairway landings

I urge you not build anything more without a permit -- this is especially true in your case, since it's a commercial building. Most likely you will not be granted a permit if there are obvious code violations in your plans, so you'll keep yourself from making any mistakes that will be difficult/expensive to undo later. I realize there's a strong urge to do something on our projects, and that "doing" usually means "building." But as has been said time after time on this forum, our projects are 90% planning and 10% building. Believe me -- I understand the magnetic pull towards wanting to do -- but the more I learned in my planning stages, the more I appreciated the fact that I didn't "put the cart before the horse." Transfer all that do something energy to learning the building codes, learning acoustics, drawing plans, posting them here, getting criticized, drawing better plans, getting criticized again, drawing yet better plans, ad nauseum, until you have something that you're sure will hit the ball out of the park at the building department. Then be prepared to get criticized some more ;-) -- but you'll be in good practice by then! :lol: Ultimately you'll have a plan that everyone loves -- us, the building department, and most importantly, you.

I guess all I can say is thank you Keith. I honestly thought that putting a door there would be okay. Have you ever felt anger and gratitude at the same time? Lesson learned. Where did you find those code numbers?

cyeazel wrote:

I guess all I can say is thank you Keith. I honestly thought that putting a door there would be okay. Have you ever felt anger and gratitude at the same time? Lesson learned.

You're welcome, and I do understand what you're feeling. I've been tuning in on and off today, empathetically wondering what your reaction was going to be. :roll: I'm only sorry I didn't catch the issue with this photo that you posted on August 9: I missed the "bottom of the staircase" clue. :oops: So, what will you do now? Does not putting a door in that location really mess up your plan? The bottom of the stairs represents the entrance to your future studio -- correct? I can't reconcile your latest photograph with this "possible design" drawing from your introductory post: Figure on at least a 44" unobstructed area at the bottom of those stairs -- no walls, no doors, and no door swing paths (i.e., the swing path in your drawing wouldn't meet code either).

Where did you find those code numbers?

I found them by some creative Googling. I translated my concern into keywords that I knew would fetch some relevant results. But I should point out that I wouldn't have even known about the issue had I not sat down at my city's building permit office back across from their senior inspector back in April with a stupified look upon my face when he asked, "Where's your landing?" See my post about that experience. (Note that you will probably have a 44" clearance requirement, not the 36" required in residential construction... But don't take my word for that.) Unfortunately, I have not found it possible to access code books via the Internet. They're copyrighted publications, so you'd need to either purchase a set for yourself (very expensive), study them at a local library, or just try to "wing it" with your plans and be prepared to need to make corrections in the permit application/approval process. Note that California Building Code (CBC) and Universal Building Code (UBC) use the same section numbering scheme -- as best I can determine, CBC is a derivative of UBC -- just more explicit and more restrictive in some cases, mostly due to our seismic challenges. One more thing... Just because you've been inside a building done a certain way doesn't mean you'll be able to legally duplicate it. The building may have been originally built under older, less restrictive codes, or it may have been modified after the fact without permits and such modifications would have been out of compliance with codes in effect at the time the modifications were made. :roll: I think it's time you get very closely acquainted with your drawing program so that you can post some plan images! Hang in there, my friend! We'll help get you through this. --Keith :mrgreen:

Thanks again for the encouragement. I'm gonna need it. Sometimes I step back and think to myself, "what am I doing? Am I seriously trying to put a studio together?" I've never done anything remotely close to this before. Yet I have this strong desire for it and these rooms seem to be crying out "turn me into a studio." Maybe I'm starting to lose it. Anyways, yes, the bottom of the stairs does represent the easiest, most direct access to the rooms meaning that there is another less direct way in which involves going out of the offices and into the factory, up another stairwell, through another door and into my brothers "tool" room which lies directly east of the studio rooms. I did a search on codes too and I noticed the same thing. Anything available you have to buy. The library sounds like a good idea or maybe I'll just buy one of those books. I have a DeltaCad program but I'm not to good at it yet. Is that a good drawing program for something like this?

cyeazel wrote:

Sometimes I step back and think to myself, "what am I doing? Am I seriously trying to put a studio together?" I've never done anything remotely close to this before. Yet I have this strong desire for it and these rooms seem to be crying out "turn me into a studio."

Imagine hundreds of heads nodding in agreement. I'm sure many who read that can relate!

Maybe I'm starting to lose it.

Yes, you are! :twisted: Get used to it!! You're in for a wild ride!! :lol: And you'd better warn that new wife of yours that you're going to drift in and out of sanity over the next year or so! :shock: ;-)

I did a search on codes too and I noticed the same thing. Anything available you have to buy. The library sounds like a good idea or maybe I'll just buy one of those books.

You know, there is another option that I intended to make clear but didn't. That is, sketch something fairly basic and pay your city's building department a visit. Tell them what you're planning to do, make it clear that you intend to pull permits and follow code, and ask for some advice. They get paid to help you get things right -- at least how it's supposed to be. They should be able to spot obvious things (like that door issue), call you on it, and show you the relevant codes that are in your way. They can then advise you on ways to get around the obstacles. That's what I did and I don't have any regrets. (Yet! :roll:)

I have a DeltaCad program but I'm not to good at it yet. Is that a good drawing program for something like this?

Personally, I use Microsoft Visio because it happens to be installed on my work laptop. Most of the 3D renderings you see on this forum are from Sketchup, which is available in Windows or Macintosh versions. There's also SmartDraw (Windows), which is widely used here. Are you canceling the door installation? --Keith :mrgreen:

[/quote]Are you canceling the door installation?

I'm a little worried about this because I've already paid the labor fee (required) and I don't know if there are refunds if I cancel. Worst case would be that I cancel the installation but do not get refunded. I'd still have the door and frame already assembled though. Or, I risk it and install the door anyway. I know that sounds not wise but I just don't know yet. I'll have to find out what the policy is on cancellations. I guess it depends on what's worse, wasting 1500$ or carelessly risking a code violation.

Can't they just deliver the door but not install it?

I'm sure they could if I asked. The question is if I'll get refunded on the labor fee that I've already paid in advance. I already have the door and pre-assembled frame here now sitting in a wooden crate in the factory. What have I done? :cry:

Oh, and I meant to ask, is that Microsoft Visio program you use super expensive? I've been meaning to ask you about that program for a long time now.

Perhaps you can just cancel the install and ask them to allow you keep the reschedule "open-ended" -- as in "I'll call you when I'm ready for the installation, and then we can arrange a mutually convenient time/date." You'll probably have use for the door, just not in that precise spot. As far as Visio is concerned, I think it's about $500 for the full license. You're welcome to download a 30 day trial though and see how you like it. I don't necessarily recommend the Visio for this though. I only chose to use it because it's already installed on my company-issued laptop (i.e., free for me). I'm pretty skilled at getting inadequate drawing programs to do what I need them to do -- this from experience I had in the late '80s and early '90s when I operated a small desktop publishing business.

So that explains where your skills came from huh. Yeah, I did a search on Visio and noticed the free trial too. I registered and stuff but I need to wait for some email link to there download page. As far as the door is concerned, I for sure plan to keep it and use it wherever I can, it't just that they custom fit it for the opening at the bottom of the stairs. I know that a new opening can be built to fit it no matter where I install it though. I'm gonna talk with the city of Northlake. I admit that I didn't take following code seriously. We'll see what happens.

Aside from my door issue, I wanted to ask this before I forget. Is it practical or worth the trouble to take my existing partition walls and detach them from the existing floor and then use them later in conjunction with new walls and whatever floor system I end up going with? Or am I better off just knocking down the old walls and building everything new? I'm hoping to basicaly just mirror the existing framing with new framing. Or......... should I just leave the existing walls as they are (in reguards to being fastened to existing floor) and compensate for floor/wall flanking some other way (if there even is one)?

Man, I'm not very good at keeping this thread updated. I cancelled my previous apointment with the engineer a few weeks ago because I realized a friend of mine is an engineer too and he said he would help me out for free. He's scheduled to come next weekend. It will be good to finaly know what my floor can hold.

Has anyone ever used quickrete (not sure if that's how you spell it). They have it a home depot and is advertised for repairing cracks in concrete. I was wondering if this stuff would also work for leveling off minor dips and valleys on a concrete surface.