Len Morgan's Studio Build Diary

The Ukraine! I know it's a long way to go (and expensive as hell) but well worth it. She is a real "mail-order bride." We "met" and "dated" on the Internet (using ICQ and a Russian <-> English translation program she had). Neither of us spoke the other's language but she's picked up English VERY well. I have more pictures available but that's on my other site: only $29.95/month. :-)

got all giddy just looking at the flex duct and drywall. :) looking nice dude.... Ok so the red one I avoid like the plague and buy the $600.00 model. Done Deal. :)

I met my bride in the personal ads in a tabloid weekly here in Sacramento -- I love telling people I met my wife of 12 years via a 900 number! :lol:

Well my story is boring, I met my Bride at FOH during a show. :) She came by, spoke, then sang and I was hooked. :) http://cdbaby.com/cd/kristal Only pic I have of her online, not a shameless promotion.

len-morgan wrote:

I have more pictures available but that's on my other site: only $29.95/month. :-)

Uhhhh, OK -- I'll bite -- what the heck are you talking about?! :shock:

giles117 wrote:

Ok so the red one I avoid like the plague and buy the $600.00 model. Done Deal.

Avoid it like the "Avian Flu." It's easier to remember. :-) len

sharward wrote:

len-morgan wrote:

I have more pictures available but that's on my other site: only $29.95/month. Smile

Uhhhh, OK -- I'll bite -- what the heck are you talking about?!

You obviously have better spam controls on your email than I do!! Just a joke. :-)

Whew! For a minute there I thought you were going to tell me that you had another site with . . . ahem . . . "photos" . . . of your bride and that there's a subscription fee (if you know what I mean)! :lol:

I hope not. She might not be smiling as much...

Well, that's exactly what I meant but only as a joke. Maybe I'd better avoid humor and stick to construction. No, no, that won't work....stick to programming - yeah, that's the ticket. You know, it's seems to go much better on This Old House than it's going for me. I wonder how many sheets of DW they chuck to get the one (easy, perfect) sheet up for the show? len

Holy crap -- we just posted 19 replies in the span of about 80 minutes! :shock: I'll shut up now! :lol: Edit: Does editing previous posts count? :P Another Edit: Len, all things take practice to get good at. :-) You'll feel less like a newbie and more like a mentor when you post an account of what you learned. 8-)

Yeah right. LOL. I'll believe when I dont read it. LOL But back on track... Looking good....

Sorry gang, I've been busy working on my studio and haven't been too good at updating the progress. Yesterday, we finished up the first layer of drywall in the drum booth, vocal booth, and got about 1/2 of the control room done. Today we hope to finish the control room and get the main room all done. I've put off even starting the main room because with the ceiling exposed, I can still get to the space above the other three rooms in case I forgot something (that saved my bacon a couple of times!) Before I get to the construction pictures though, I've got two from Thanksgiving. The first is a virtual turkey for shaward. I got the impression that with the house to himself for the entire holiday weekend, he ate more cement dust and and dirt than turkey. The second picture is of "my ladies" since the pictures with my wife in the studio went over so well the last time. The two other ladies are my stepdaughters.

Ok, now here's the pictures you all want to see. :-)

And a couple more...

Beautiful -- all four of 'em! ;-) Thanks for thinking of me with the "virtual turkey," Len! :D Actually, I did take a break on Thursday from the impact hammering to go to my uncle's (where my mom was also hanging out) and had a nice Thanksgiving dinner with them. 8) So, you ordered a wife and got two daughters for free, eh? ;-) Wow, look at your progress -- that's remarkable! :D I hope that once my slab situation is put together that I can move as quickly as you have been. Thanks for sharing the pics, as usual. Any lessons to pass along? You mentioned your "bacon" being saved a few times. (For those around the globe who don't quite get that expressioin, it kind of means "being lucky." :) ) I want to save as much bacon as I can! :lol: --Keith :mrgreen:

sharward wrote:

So, you ordered a wife and got two daughters for free, eh?

Beware of discounts and freebies! Be very afraid. :-) The older daughter is turning 20 in December and is every bit the terror that teenage daughters are perported to be. Being a gentleman, I will refrain from expressing my true feelings. Let's just say that I'd wear out my punctuation keys. :-) I have no one to blame but myself though. The original plan was to have only the little one come to the US with Mom. The older one was going to stay. U.S. Immigration laws being what they are, if the older one had not come at the same time as my wife to be, she would have NEVER been able get a visa (well, maybe after 5 or 6 years on a waiting list. Young single women have a very difficult time getting visas. So I pushed my case and convinced her father to let her go long enough to get her green card (not to be confused with green glue). :-(

sharward wrote:

Wow, look at your progress -- that's remarkable! Very Happy I hope that once my slab situation is put together that I can move as quickly as you have been.

The secret to progress is simple: Competent help and knowing when to get out of the way! :-)

sharward wrote:

Any lessons to pass along? You mentioned your "bacon" being saved a few times. (For those around the globe who don't quite get that expressioin, it kind of means "being lucky." Smile ) I want to save as much bacon as I can! :lol:

Lessons I've learned so far: 1) Don't trust estimates of material useage provide by design programs. My first (computer) esitmate of 2x4s was 99. Ended up using 207! And we didn't have more than 10' total of scrap. Drywall looks like it will be off by about 25%. I think I would have done better with a dart board and blindfold. 2) Related to #1, it will cost at least double (and more likely and order of magnitude) what you think it will. Things like screws, cool tools you find at Home Depot while shopping the stuff you REALLY need, etc all add up. Those "little bits here and there" can consume a lot of your budget. 3) Mark where your studs and joists are before you cover them with drywall. I have not been able to locate a stud finder that worked reliably through 5/8" drywall although I have tried many (see #2 above! :-( ). 4) No matter where they end up laying, make sure that your studs/joists are on some sort of consistent center spacing. This is exceedingly difficult with splayed walls and such but even if at the end of a wall you end up needing a stud 4" away from the end to keep spacing consistent all the way down the wall, DO IT. This is not something you can fix in post production. :-) If you don't you end up shaving and inch or two here or there which really slows down the work. 5) Don't be afraid to return wood that is warped - Better yet, go pick it yourself (and mark it, preferably with an odd color and in a way that is difficult for the supplier to copy). 6) Don't buy (and have delivered) more material than you have floor space to put it on. If you want to be really good, plan on having a little space to work too so you can actually us up the stuff you bought. 7) Take the time to think about how you're going to build. I know, I know, the smell of sawdust and joint compound bekons like a long lost lover but resist the urge! When putting up the last sheet of dry wall across the door way in my vocal booth both my carpenter/electrician helper and I got in there - him to screw it down and me to hold the sheet in place (it has to be raised about 3/4" or so off the ground to meet the ceiling). Don't get ahead of now. As soon as we put in the last screw, he asked me to hand him the Dremel tool to cut out the door opening and I said "What Dremel tool?" I took quite a while with his pocket knife (the only other tool we had besides the drywall screw gun) to cut a big enough hole so I could get out and get the Dremel. Now while you are all ROFLing, at least I didn't paint myself into the corner! Perhaps a better way to do this would have been to put up the door opening FIRST so that we could have just pulled down the insulation and walked between the studs. I guess what I'm advising here is that you "build" in your head before you take hammer to nail (or driver to screw as the case may be). Make sure you don't have material where you need to build something or that it is at least easily moveable. Note that 75 sheets of 5/8" inch drywall stacked too close to a wall you need to cover does NOT meet the burden of "easily moveable." 8) Probably most important: Remember that you have (had) a family, bills (not construction related), mortgage, .... job, etc. You probably have a significant other that does not share your lack of concern for drywall dust in bed. She KNOWS it's not baby powder! Your family will serve you better and far longer than ANY recording space you could possibly build! If you choose to ignore them, then build it really well because you may end up living in it! :-) I guess that's enough wisdom for one post. len

8) 8) 8) 8) 8) Outstanding! 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) I'm sure I'll have lots of wisdom of my own to share as I get deeper into my own construction project. --Keith :mrgreen:

Keith, Do you know if there is "sticky" with words of wisdom like this? I know there's lots of theory and "best practices" but sometimes little things (like having ALL the tools in the room before covering up the door) don't seem to fit any where. That might be a good resource for others (like myself) that don't have a lot of construction experience. I've discovered that it doesn't work quite the same as on "This Old House." And to think I was going to have it all done in one thirty minute episode! len

9) "Plumb" is not a fruit. "Square" is not the guy with thick glasses you knew in high school. Yes, Virgina, it really DOES matter. 10) Do not listen to the radio while working if they are playing songs with numbers in them! (1999 - Prince, 1,2,3 - Gloria Estafan, 12 Days of Christmas - Various Artists). It really makes it hard to remember that wall you just measured. :oops: 11) Turn off your telephone and/or cell phone and disconnect your doorbell BEFORE going up the ladder to put up the next sheet of drywall. 12) When putting up your calking, plan on releasing the trigger a good 5 minutes before you get to the end of the current bead to prevent losing 1/2 a tube on the floor. :x UPDATE: I just ordered a large size (29 oz) ergonomically designed (i.e., a paded trigger grip + 20%) DRIPLESS calk gun to be sent UPS Overnight. Supposedly, when you let go of the trigger, it stops. I will report back. BTW: $19.99 from Dripless, Inc.

In my zeal to list what I've learned so far, I forgot my latest pictures. Here they come!

Look at you go! I have a spring-loaded suppsedly dripless gun, and it's better than the standard gun, but it's hardly dripless. Not only do I "stop squeezing," but I also release pressure on the tube by partially ejecting it.

I think the one I'm getting actually sucks back a little when you release the trigger. We'll know for sure tomorrow.

Sooo, Len, now that my sides aren't hurting as much, tell me; was your vox booth well enough isolated so no one could hear you yelling for help??!? :lol: All seriousness aside, your request for a "sticky" on this subject is an excellent one; I'll start one, and you can cut/paste your excellent beginnings into it. I'm sure more will follow. I may even share a couple of my more profound boo-boo's eventually... Steve