Apologies in advance...

Perhaps it's not so much that the control room was too big, but rather, all of the other spaces were too small and to make those spaces bigger, the footage has to come from somewhere... :roll: I'm not at all knowledgeable about control room sizing and such... I just wanted to say that I think this layout is really cool. :) Oh, except that tiny little airplane lavatory thing. ;-) Ozzy, I hope you can get a permission slip from The Man here. Surely your fire safety officer will be impressed. :) --Keith :mrgreen:

Hi Guys. I think Keith answered the question best. In the original layout, the control room seemed a perfect size, but due to the problems most of you already know about, i couldnt use that plan, so John came up with another plan, where the control room was bigger, and all rooms had direct access to the stairs. The problem was, the live/recording areas suffered, and was wondering if i can get the balance of the use of space back. Dont get me wrong, i know this space isnt massive, but instead of a really big control room and a small drum room and booth, i was trying to explore the possibilities of a medium sized control room, and a medium sized live area and booth. The owners of the building have said they are cool with any modifications to the toilet layout, as long as theyre not too extreme, so i was trying to use the waisted space of the toilet area, and use it for a bigger control room. As kieth noticed, the toilet is tiny, but hey its only for....:wink: I hope my intentions are clearer now. Keith, thanks for the encouragement. I think the Man will except this one too, but i just hope im not making a massive mistake with the CR. I honestly cannot sleep as im going through differrent layout options in my head!! Any help is much appriciated. oZ

Ozzy - why not use all the space - you have to go through the studio to get to the control room but you get to use all the space. cheers john

John, the fire safety officer won't allow that. All rooms must have direct access to the stairs, period.

What if you put in an escape window - there's a name for it but I can't remember it.

Hi all. Yeah, Keith is right. The reason your previous plan (which was absolutely perfect for me :cry: ) was refused was the lack of access from the live room to the stairs. If there was a fire in the control room, you wouldnt be able to get out... aparently :wink: Same applys with the new design. If there was a fire in the liveroom, you couldnt get to the stairs (which is the only access point for the WHOLE basement) from the control room. Im interested in this escape window you mentioned. Can you give me some details? If its a no go, whats your view on this plan? I drew it out, and it all seems to work. Thanks guys. oZ PS ignore dimenion lines on the control room. if was to be built, the interior dimentions of the CR would be 440cm x 335cm, and the corridor/ hallway would be minimum regulation 80cm. Using as much space as possible 8)

Ok, so what i wanna know is; :?: John, is the plan above usable? :?: What are the details on the escape window you mentioned. oZ :? [/b]

OZ - it's called an "Egress Window" - do a google and you'll find plenty of info on them. Otherwise your plan is fine :0 cheers john

Hi Jon. Checked out the possibilities of an egress window, but i dont think its worth it, as the onlyplace i could have it would be the back wall (the 5.5m wall the toilet is on), which doesnt really help. Think im gonna roll with this plan. Im sure ill be back shortly to annoy you all some more about the control room :wink: The help has been amazing. Building in the new year, so ill keep you updated on any development. Many thanks. oZ

Your annoyances are very enjoyable, Ozzy. Annoy at will! 8)

Ha Ha :lol: I might just do that Keith!! Thats alot for your time and help mate. oZ

Your not going to believe this.... I had a meeting today with the foundation that owns the building. The floors above me, and the whole building next to me is going to be turned into an adult education centre, and they've decided they want use of the basement next to mine for storage, e.t.c. The people who are designing the education centre have sugested putting access to my neibouring basement from the rear street (mill bay rd). This will include lift access. They have suggested knocking through and giving me access to this, then taking out the stairs to my basement from the main road. Pros :arrow: More floor space :arrow: Better access with use of lift :arrow: Use of education relaxing area/ vending machines e.t.c for studio clientelle. Ive included a few diagrams to explain all of this. Any help on the studio layout would be amazing as im really struggling!! Id really like to get back to johns original design, as now we can use the stair space as our corridor. Whats your opinions? Cheers in advance guys. oZ

Very interesting indeed! 8) You forgot another "pro" in your analysis: :arrow: Room for your coffee cabinet against the wall between the restroom and control room! 8) That should clinch the deal, eh? :lol: You may want to touch base with your friendly local fire safety officer to make sure you don't run into any other issues with that plan though... Technically, if a fire broke out in the basement of the adjoining space, wouldn't that mean that the occupants of all of your studio space would have "no chance of escape"? :shock:

Hey man. Its a good point bout the fire planning, mind you, this idea was developed by the same property section that "noped" me, so what they say goes obviously! :wink: Will definately raise this issue with them though. Ha Ha yeah i can have the sink and coffee cabinet back! Woohoo 8) 8) Do you think this is the best layout though? I just feel there must be a better way of using as much space as possible. Whenever i feel like im happy with a plan, something comes along and f*cks it up!! Its so frustrating, I just want it to be finished!! oZ

Assuming it's all fire-legal and all, I think you should aim for the shortest cooridors. That's where you're "wasting" usable space the most. Along those lines:

• Can the entrance door be moved? Having the door in the corner guarantees at least some wasted floorspace.
• Any chance you can have multiple doors to the adjacent space? If so, perhaps you could have a door from the live room to the adjacent space, thereby eliminating your need to have a door to a hallway inside your space. I would imagine that would be helpful for loading/unloading.

Those are some immediate thoughts I have... I'm trying to "think outside the box," literally -- right into the neighbor's box! :lol: --Keith :mrgreen:

Hi Keith, Yeah, I agree the corridors are the waisted space. Im not sure how feasable the option of having different entrances is, as i presume the in their basement, towards the front wall (tontine strt) will be storage. Will look into it though. Cheers buddy, oZ

If they're not very warm to the idea, maybe you can try to sweeten things by offering to help on their project somehow. :)

Hi all. Come up with a layout i think is ok. My trial smartdraw ran out :cry: so i used a trial copy of sketchup, and have cobbled this pretty awful pic together :lol: Some feedback would be great, kinda gets back to johns original plans, so i guess it should be ok. It involves some modifications to the toilet! :shock: Oh, and how the f*ck do you draw walls in sktchup?? as you can see i struggled!! oZ

Hi all. Just to keep you updated, this is the design i hope to use. Everyone who has seen it so far likes it, and it almost exactly the same as johns original plan, so hopefully that means its the best solution. 8) :D Will keep evryone updated as to any progress. Ta for now. oZ

egress?

Egress means "the action or right of going or coming out" -- another word for "exit." Ingress is the opposite. Windows for emergency exit are often a challenge for those with basement projects.

Hi all Just popping my head in.. Good thread! Sharward, you're like a living dictionary! Paul

Humbly, I must confess to my favorite online dictionary -- complete with sound samples for pronunication! 8)

If you move your bathroom door up and have it open out you could have the sink in the front of the bathroom, or you could install a pocket door. It would make the bathroom more homey and give you room for a guitar stand or magazine rack. :lol:

I second that! :)