Floating floor over basement concrete. (Artifact Recording)

And now Taped and Mudded...

And removal of the cabinets. Getting ready to demo the wall there and redo it w/ new framing, insulation, and drywall.

And hopefully tonights project will include taking this piece of drywall and installing the second layer into the soundlock ceiling...

It's amazing how "night and day" the difference is between pictures of framing and pictures of drywall -- this phase has got to be very satisfying in a "we're really getting somewhere now" sense. 8)

Yeah. Although, another thing I see is it's about to cost me an arm and a leg for the finishing touches (trim, acoustic materials, etc). Cha-Ching!! Talk about nickle and diming me to death. My rough estimate to date for building materials is about 14k. Also, it's official. I started full fledge construction on the studio 2 years ago today.

I don't know whether to congratulate you for your "two year" milestone, or to offer you my condolences, as I imagine that's longer than you had anticipated originally! :lol: Having gone through the One Year Mark myself on my own project thread, let's choose to celebrate. Cheers! :D --Keith :mrgreen:

My original time frame when I moved into this house, and everbody asked..."how long is the studio going to be down?", I said 4 MONTHS! Here it is...2 1/2 years later. (Moved into the house in June '03). :roll: :shock: :? :cry: :)

We moved into our home in late May 2004, and I wanted to get started with construction before the hot summer, and hopefully be done before Thanksgiving! :lol: I didn't even start my thread here until the following January and I didn't get my permit until August! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I feel the pain. Fortunately I work a full time job too, so that's allowed me to take my time, do it right, and hopefully be debt free of it all (except the mortgage) when I'm done w/ construction. Of course, by the time I finish construction, then I have to buy some new toys, such as a nice console like a Trident or something. Plus a 2" machine, mics, outboard, etc... It'll be nice to spend money on those things again. :D But, for now, I've gotten refocused on construction phase. Walls go up fast, it's all the other tidily wink stuff that takes forever! Not to mention the money factor of the fine details.

OK, feeling lazy to get my camera out of the truck. I finished the 2nd layer on the ceiling in the sound lock last night. Now I can finally build the ramp! :D

OK, here's the pix...of the sound lock...

...and some additional stuff I hung last night...

Hi Aaron, I am really enjoying your work.It looks great! I have a couple of questions what are you using under your steel (floor plates/top plate) ? I also do not see any wood framing under your door frames or window openings? Is this something that you are adding to the openings or I am just missing it? I also am working with steel and thank you in advance for your answers. Have you seen this new steel product called Track lock, you snap it in and it has an extra telescopic 1 foot length added to every stud. No cutting! You just snap in the stud to the sole plate and slid it up to the top plate, lock it in, and it is the right length! It comes in 20 and 25 gauge and the price of the 20 gauge is actually less than Home Depot's price in my area. I am seriously considering it to build my next walls. Again Thanks for the great work you are sharing with us all. Best regards, Greg. (gccon)

Hello Greg,

what are you using under your steel (floor plates/top plate) ?

On the bottom along the concrete, I'm using 1/8" thick, by 4" wide Neoprene. Mostly just to keep it off the floor in the event of moisture, but also trying to reduce some flanking noise. The top plate/track depending on the room (tracking rooms, I'm using isolation brackets I've built and the entry room I'm tying directly to the structure.)

I also do not see any wood framing under your door frames or window openings? Is this something that you are adding to the openings or I am just missing it?

Right now, this is just the rough in. I haven't even begun to do the frames/trim out for the windows or doors. This will probably happen after I finish framing and drywalling the tracking rooms so I can do it all at once.

Have you seen this new steel product called Track lock, you snap it in and it has an extra telescopic 1 foot length added to every stud. No cutting! You just snap in the stud to the sole plate and slid it up to the top plate, lock it in, and it is the right length! It comes in 20 and 25 gauge and the price of the 20 gauge is actually less than Home Depot's price in my area.

I have not seen it, but there are several different options out there that can be done. I've seen a few. I'm actually having to trim the studs, not extend them. I'm using 8 footers. And the price of steel has more than doubled since I started this project 2 years ago. It used to be cheaper than wood, which was partially the reason for my use, among a few others. The Home Depot's and Lowe's here no longer carry the steel, so I have to go directly to the suppliers here (which typically is cheaper, but the stuff I bought a couple weeks ago...too high...) (Avoid Wallboard & Supply here in Nashville if possible).

Hi Aaron, Thanks for the info.Greg.

Woo-hoo! :mrgreen: That, and you slipped over the 1,000 post mark recently as well! 8) I'm a rather distant second to you with >31K, but nobody's threatening me. :twisted: Care to take a guess how many views will be on your thread at the time you grace it with your official "All done!" post? :lol: --Keith :mrgreen:

Yeah, I noticed that late yesterday w/ the posts, and forgot to metion it.

Care to take a guess how many views will be on your thread at the time you grace it with your official "All done!" post?

Maybe 80-90k? For construction. Over a 100k w/ new console. :wink:

OK, Here's the update for today. Didn't do much over the weekend (helping someone move), but I did manage to at least get the MDF for the first layer in the case...

And finally, last night, I got around to the demo work of almost the last wall. (still have the one on the other side of the stairs).

I've been crunching numbers. And with the rough educated guess, it looks like it will be about $14k-$17k in building materials to finish out the recording studio. :shock: That price includes the remainder of the framing, conduits, electrical wire, insulation, sealant, drywall, finish materials (trim, acoustics), glass, more doors, flooring materials (sander, stain, sealant), and numerous other misc. stuff. Also includes the 9.25% sales tax. But doesn't really include the cost of Multi-pair cable such as Mogami. However, there's some fudge factor built into the $17k. So, here's a little more specific date based on the numbers above... Oct/Nov. 2007. But, if I'm lucky, it may only be 2/3rds that rough number. I went on a pricing spree last night to get some of the numbers (although they change weekly here). That's the latest. Not any new work, but I did figure out and scribbled out a rough plan of the new framing between the tracking rooms. There will be another soundlock getting installed. Looks like it's going to work out just fine for the layout. :D Aaron

I have a quick question. I havent started construction yet but I am curious as to whether a solid concrete floor will be sufficient OR will I need a floating floor. I am planning on having about 1/2ft of concrete on top of the foundations and then laying some flooring straight on the top, will this be sufficient or would there be a sound leak?

I have a quick question. I havent started construction yet but I am curious as to whether a solid concrete floor will be sufficient OR will I need a floating floor. I am planning on having about 1/2ft of concrete on top of the foundations and then laying some flooring straight on the top, will this be sufficient or would there be a sound leak?

A lot of it depends on your isolation needs/requirements. As well as budget. Floating floors can add thousands to your construction. The floating floor I built just for the control room was about $1300.00 USD.

Aaronw wrote:

Also includes the 9.25% sales tax.

:shock: Jumpin' Jehosephats!! :shock: That's an outrageous rate!!

So, here's a little more specific date based on the numbers above... Oct/Nov. 2007.

Hang in there -- we're staying tuned. --Keith :mrgreen:

Yeah, we can thank the previous Governor Sundquist and the corrupt TN government which is under severe scrutiny right now. :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: