Lou's Studio - Construction Phase

Finally, some Drywall, Wallboard, Gypsum, Gyproc, Plasterboard stuff.

NOOOOOoooooooooo....!!! Have I mentioned before how much I hate drywall??? :) Looking great Lou! What a project you have on your hands. Obviously very impressive, not only from a project point of view, but also from a documentation point of view. Keep the pics and dialog coming! (No "artsy" shots this group however... you are slipping there buddy!). Enjoy your day off! I will be laboring away on my second layer of drywall... Have I told you about my affection with drywall? I didn't think so! :) Best wishes Lou!

The Macallister tools are pretty good quality for the money. I have a 14.5v combi drill and it's been a workhorse thus far. The only downside is the batteries. My combi drains within 25 minutes if I'm doing some really hard work with it (such as fixing sole plates to a floor for example). And unfortunatly Macallister don't sell any spare batteries for most of their cordless gear. :roll: Fortunatly, I started work for Screwfix a couple of weeks ago (I now work at both B&Q AND Screwfix! Shame I can't stack the 20% staff discounts!) so I was able to pick up an 18v Makita combi drill for £80, with three batteries included. :twisted: My local B&Q has some insane prices on cooling gear at the moment as well. Last week we picked up a new 12000BTU mini-split system for £240 after my discount. £240!! When they first came out they cost nearly 5 times that much! :D

Lou wrote:

....... as we’re having a day off tomorrow.

:twisted: Holiday ......, holiday ......., what is that for nonsense, working .... that's what you should do. That's already more than 2 weeks you're working on this studio, yet it's still not finished. :mrgreen: Lucky I'm far enough away not to get beaten up ....

If you take this 1800 watt tool and run it on a 240v supply it will draw 7.5 amps of current. If, on the other hand, you ran the same tool on a 110V supply it would draw 16.4 amps! EG,

Lou, that's not entirely true. The power (P) is related to U and I. So with lower voltage there's just less power. Same current, same resistant. The tool will just deliver less power when voltage drops, it'll not keep the same power and draw more current. U=IxR P=UxI to use your example: U=240v P=1800W This means: I=P/U => I=1800/240 => I=7,5A R=U/I => R=240/7,5 => R=32 Ohm (just to check: P=I2xR => 7,5(2) x 32 = 1800) When U=110v (I and R stay the same): P=UxI => P=110x7,5 => P=825 Watt So the tool will deliver less power, not draw more current. But, yes, when that same tool CAN/MUST deliver 1800W at 110v THAN I=1800/110 => I=16,4A But I've yet to see that tool ;) It's a highly dangerous one. Great build logging here Lou, when ye'r dun. Can you lot come over to Holland and help me out with my project :) ?

My knowledgeable pal from the Netherlands wrote:

When U=110v (I and R stay the same): P=UxI => P=110x7,5 => P=825 Watt

Ro, That’s not entirely true my friend, because that does not satisfy Ohm’s Law. :wink: If we’re discussing the same tool, running on either 240V or 110V, then. the resistance is of course a constant ie 32 ohms at either voltage, therefore if the voltage drops then there will be a proportional drop in current drawn.

I=P/U => I=1800/240 => I=7,5A R=U/I => R=240/7,5 => R=32 Ohm (just to check: P=I2xR => 7,5(2) x 32 = 1800)

Spot on correct. :wink: :wink: Therefore working the maths through, V = I x R or as you imply, (but with different voltage), 110v = I x 32ohms I = 110V divided by 32 ohms (resistance is constant) = 3.44A Power = 3.44A x 110V = 378W (not 825!) :oops: To clarify what I was trying to say earlier, in order for a 110V tool to deliver the same wattage, then the resistance would naturally have to decrease in order to allow more current to be drawn, which would clearly require a completely different tool. I guess we're just saying the same thing from a different country! :lol: Good fun though! I think we may have helped each other here, and I’m sure our learned Gentlemen Mr Desart will be most pleased that he’s now:

An electric guy.

Regards people, Lou. 8)

Ro - Dude, just one other quick point before you pick this last one up. My next port of call is to find a product (make, model, type etc) that's identical (in appearance) but available in both 240V and 110V versions, and check with the manufactures somehow to find out if the resistance of the tools vary, (since the current drawn, and subsequent power rating, can then vary as well), after that we can both lay this one to rest, for others to peruse. :shock: Many thanks for putting me straight on a couple of points mate, I sincerely hope I've been able to do the same for you. :wink: Sure, we'll all come over and help out once we've done Keith's :shock: Blimmey - that sounds like the bones of a written contract, but that's OK Keith's helping me first! :lol: :lol: Warm regards, as always, Lou. 8)

Lou wrote:

.......will be most pleased that he’s now:

An electric guy.

8)

:mrgreen: :mrgreen: Anyone questions ..., .. wants a complete design of his cabling.... ??? Just ask ...... fireworks is a free bonus ....

Lou the man, you're right. I was just assuming (for the sake of the example) current and resistance would stay the same. Ofcourse the current drops when voltage drops :) Glad you corrected that. Atleast the conclusion still stand: high amp is deadly :) haha Damn, it's been too long (it's been over 10 years since I changed my profession from "electrical guy" to "IT guy") I'll stash a few cold ones when you and your handy palls come over mate.

Aloha,

Sure, we'll all come over and help out once we've done Keith's

Hey! Since you'll already be more than halfway here, how about stopping by and building one for me as well? :D Aloha 8)

Ok guys – first off, no pics tonight, but more of a relaxed ‘chill-out’ post to respond. 8) Eric – re the questions: no thanks mate, not at the mo, Ro and I are digging our own holes for you guys to bail us out of. Cable design? Well, actually, we’re pretty sorted on that as well thank you, kind sir. Now, FIREWORKS – Yes please, Eric, many thanks – Studio 4’s grand opening just has to have fireworks. I would, of course, like them synchronised to something like Madonna’s ‘Vogue’ with a 500ms pre-delay so that they explode in time with the music but 300 feet in the air (yes Eric they'll be bloody quick off the ground!) – I would also like the colour of the explosions to match the frequency – Red for sub 60hz and yellow for plus 16khz - sound OK? Answers on a postcard please!! Much gratitude and respect to you, my friend. :wink: Ro – Hell bro! – Me? ‘the Man’? Come on, Dude! Many thanks and all that but, like I said, we’ve helped each other out here. You put me right by jogging my memory from schooldays to sort a couple of points out, which then gave me the ‘ammo’ to correct you! Whichever way you look at it, people will see you and I helping each other to reach a common ground (sorry Rod – Earth!). Now that’s gotta be cool. (Keep the beers on ice!) PS Current is, indeed, deadly (you are so right on that one)! :shock: :shock: :shock: Ken – Studio 4's construction team is now fully booked until April next year. First we gotta do Keith’s, then your OTHER facility (since we’re already halfway there), then Doublehelix (as if he’s not doing a fabulous job on his own), then give Ro a hand before stopping by to pick up as much of Eric’s knowledge as we can. :wink: :wink: Chaps – you all take care. More pics soon, ‘cos it’s all coming along just fine. Regards as always, Michael Faraday. NOT! 8)

Well, I might as well chime in on this traveling group of studio builders... by all means, stop by mine ... heck, it's mostly complete... minus a windowo... some acoustical treatments...floors... lights... Lou, outstanding build post. thanks for the good read. kevin

doublehelix wrote:

Keep the pics and dialog coming! (No "artsy" shots this group however... you are slipping there buddy!).

What? No artsy shots? :? That's it -- I'm outta' here! ;-)

Wow guys – so many replies. Thank you all very much. :shock: Ro – as I implied, you the Man, too, Buddy. Kevin – would love to Mate, but would probably end up trying to steal your wall on the basis that ‘Rockwall’ keeps being mentioned as a necessity up here all the time! :twisted: :twisted: Keith – DH – sorry Dudes, read on! Ken – As always my friend, many thanks. Well this update might unfortunately look like nothing much has happened, which is a bit of a shame really since it’s been a really hectic week, ending up in a two-day, 17 track, guitar session for some nerd from Hampshire. Anyway, good people, enjoy. :roll: I mentioned in my last post the skill and speed of my screeder Andy, regrettably these pictures don’t do him justice. The first shows his straight edge by the rear studio door set as level on a pile of muck. You can just make out his level point from where he’s knelt, the straight edge and the manhole. Another view of his meticulous reference levels. Now, when you bear in mind he’s working in an 8.12m x 4.8m space, this is how it all ended up. :D :D :D Audio and mains ducting box now set in the screed. Studio ‘restroom’ waste. (‘Ark at my newly-found cosmopolitan vocabulary!) :roll: Manhole. I, of course, couldn’t resist - this is my 6’ level placed randomly somewhere on the floor. Chaps, the whole area is like this – absolutely spot on. (great news for the sole-plates). Meanwhile, Ian makes his mark again with some terrific lead work. Don’t you just love straight lines that are straight because they’re supposed to be? 8) Weathering this area is, as we all new from the start, going to be a bit of a pig! The other side however, was a stroll in the park for the ‘man on the roof’ Me and Trev get going on boarding up the rest of the upper floor that we removed a couple of weeks ago. Quite a simple job, but takes ages as it’s a bit of a brainer to make sure you don’t leave yourself with too little space to work. I’m nearly 15 stones, and am quite comfortable crawling around up here – it ain’t goin’ nowhere! :shock: Proper shot of the nailgun in case any of you are thinking of purchasing the same. Bloody awesome. :wink: Then, bits of plastic start to arrive. Introducing Steve- Another totally top bloke who has the unenviable task of finishing around all Chris’ timberwork, and make it look as if it’s always been like this. Very fiddly! We still have two more grab loads of crap to get rid of. The first real glimpse of how it will look. Steve almost makes this part of the job look like a magic trick. :) I start cutting back the chill-out area upstands ready for Andy’s return on Friday morning. Top of concrete to underside of door seal is 90mm, less 7mm tile thickness, and 3mm under floor heating mesh = 80mm. That’s how much screed’s going in. :? My instant work bench. (Not Festool, but free!) We’re pretty much as far as we can go here for the moment, otherwise we’ll have no room to get materials up into the store area. Arty shot no 1 of the store area taken from the loft hatch to be, and making use of the floodlight instead of the camera’s flash. Remember that the bass trap area is behind the block wall of bedroom 4 and to the left. All nice and level. My timber has even got my name on it now! :lol: “No Dude – there’s no tools hidden in here anywhere” There’s only one way to go with this little lot – and it has to be lead. Arty shot no 2, showing not only the incredible properties of this ‘one-way’ breathable paper stuff, but also the reflection in the water it’s holding of my mate Ian. Chill out area screed shows up 8.00am Fri morning. Action shot of mess! How will this ever look neat and tidy? The bottom centre area shows Andy’s level 80mm above the concrete. Which matches perfectly with the small ‘pad’ of screed below the left hand window. Ian ‘mucks out’ the 'undercloak' on both sides of the new roof. Steve’s plastic is really starting to finish the job off. And, guess what, Andy’s screed sits exactly 10mm below existing kitchen floor. (Through the doorway). Damn clever! For any newcomers who don’t have the inclination to read the whole thread, here’s a couple of nearly self-righteous ‘before and after’ shots to round off the update side of this post. :wink: :wink: Before – 15.07.07 After – 23.09.07 Before – 21.07.07 After – 23.09.07 Right then, so to conclude for this post at least, something that I’ve noticed since last December is that none of us actually ever mention money. I mean, hard cash, or if you kind folks prefer – what our hard efforts are drawing from our pockets :shock: . Now don’t get me wrong, I totally understand why - after all it’s somewhat personal – however, I thought it might be prudent to illustrate to any newcomer, exactly what our sort of ventures can cost. More importantly, in the words of one Mr Len Morgan, – ‘The hidden costs’. With this in mind, here then follows an accurate breakdown of the total cost of my isolated slab, (not including drainage, footings, brickwork etc). I fully appreciate that this may only apply to UK builds, but I sincerely hope it will provide something of an eye-opener for anyone considering the same. Please bear in mind that, rightly or wrongly, I have site-managed the job thus far, and am a total stickler for landing a deal. It’s what we call over here being – ‘Self-employed’ Here goes: Jack-hammer/compressor hire. £88.03 Labour for excavation of original floor. £160.00 Grab lorry to remove spoils. £180.00 Labour to prepare oversite. £400.00 6 Tonne 40mm down rejects. £80.00 1 bag bulk builders sand. £35.80 1 roll 300 grade membrane £54.60 14 sheets 2400mm x 1200mm x 70mm Celotex £379.53 Gaffer tape £7.04 6 sheets steel mesh + binding wire £144.21 Audio ducting (green tubes) F.O.C. Mains conduit £27.62 1 roll 2.5mm twin and earth mains cable £42.92 Labour for pour £270.00 Concrete for slab £490.00 Labour for screed £380.00 Screed £450.00 Total £3189.75 Floor area – 8.12m x 4.77m = 38.73m Cost/sq m (for properly engineered isolated slab) £82.36 There you have it, guys. Thanks for reading. Break out your wallets. Stay tuned Regards Lou 8)

Lou, as usual, a bang-up job all around. It is exciting to see the progress you make every weekend, I look forward to the Sunday evening posts. If you need help with the drywall when you get there... uh... er... sorry. I'd love to help, but I'm a bit tied up that day! ;) Congrats on the great progress!

Thats actually less than I was expecting in terms of costs. But then knowing the right people helps. Me & my studio partner only just found out that we paid more for the lower-density "loft insulation" slabs that we used in our rehearsal room build than we have for the proper high density mineral wool that's going into our studio build. And all because of our choice of supplier :roll: Live and learn.

its only money. just think how good the outcome will be. looking good louie.

Hey – Chaps! How you all doing? I thought at the start of this update that there wouldn’t be much to say, until I saw how many pictures I’d taken this week and remembered exactly what’s been achieved. Also – over 10,000 views! Many thanks guys. Hey Keith, only 230,000 to go buddy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :lol: :lol: Firstly though….. DH – real sorry about the toe my friend! What a bummer! I hope it starts to feel better soon. :cry: Phil – Many thanks, mate, I actually agree with you. You and I know that, in the UK at least, Indian Stone (for patios) comes out at around £20.00 per square metre, but by the time you’ve paid someone to lay it, it works out more like £50.00 per square metre, (and it’s only up to 30mm thick!) A Wilton pure wool carpet could cost anything up to £135.00 per square metre so, as you say, an isolated slab that is, in total, nearly 600mm thick (inc hardcore) for £83.00 per square metre doesn’t sound that bad. I’m very lucky though, knowing ‘The Right People’ :wink: Joey – Thank you Dude, hope your project is progressing nicely my friend. O.K my fellow builders, here it comes – some apparently off-topic shots, a detailed report, some anecdotal remarks of the week, followed by a couple of really urgent questions. Why on earth would anyone on a recording studio design forum photograph their kitchen and try to present it to you guys as if it’s important to the overall build? Well, because it is. Please excuse the mess but our home has been a building site over the last two and a half months. This kitchen is being re-fitted as part of the project; it will also house the new boiler, and be an integral part of the chill-out area. The reward of course, is that we as a family, can do the same ‘chilling-out’ when the musos have gone home. The new boiler will be fitted here, where the tall cupboards used to be! Again, Simon is back on the job and starts to rip-out the ‘bug bear’ boiler that was really starting to get in the way. :evil: Trev and I get on with removing the ‘noggings’ that were inside the front steel to hold the vertical tiles on the old roof. Simon cuts in the new flue outlet. And the existing gas and water pipework gets terminated. Our new Worcester 24Ri condenser boiler sat upside down in our hallway, next to my handmade azba baby congas! :wink: Especially for Keith and DH – Arty shot no1 of the hole left in my single skin rear of studio wall. (This, and the wall to its left, are going to need some serious ‘beef-up’ :shock: This old washing machine waste is now starting to annoy me, it’s unsightly, noisy, and downright wrong! However we’re only moments away from it being right. :evil: :evil: Arty shot no 2 – existing back door removed. Then it’s straight into the framing that used to house it. (This will all make more sense in a minute!) New boiler in position. Back door removed, but I so want to get this tidy again. :oops: Too late – time for the 110V SDS drill to ‘stitch drill’ the remaining brickwork. This is really starting to open everything up whilst still maintaining a natural ‘screen’ between the areas. Presenting – ‘Painstaking Annoyance of the Week’. The firm I’ve been using for the ‘grabs’ told me they’d only take brick, soil and rubble, (bearing in mind I’ve spent over £1,300.00 with them so far!). So guys, we had no alternative but to separate the crap they wouldn’t take… from the crap they would. Over-engineering again on my part. The new washing machine waste is cut ready for final installation, but notice the ‘rest bend’ on the bottom of the pipe on the right to further minimise the noise of water entering the underground drainage. Simple, cheap, and effective. :wink: New boiler flue has to come back out into the studio to be far enough away from chill-out area to meet regulations, but at least it’s above the ceiling of the rear soundlock, and just the other side of what will be the loft hatch to the store area. Leaving a small job for Phil – Not Simon’s fault. Then, at last, on Thursday afternoon Grab no 6 shows up. My new Mate (from this project) John, gives it the thumbs up saying “I’ll do what I can, Lou” Backdoor glass, plastic and brickwork now completely removed. And we now have a properly insulated and very quiet waste system (still to be boxed in within the new studio toilet of course). Poor old John’s got a job on. But, as usual he just gets on with it. A bit of precision driving! This gear’s not even touching the sides. Timing has been everything for me on this project so far. Graham shows up in a spare ‘dead hour’ to wire up the new boiler. :wink: New gas supply now complete, and this is all I will have to conceal in the rear studio soundlock. Nerdy shot, of new boiler in position, and fully functional. (System ‘power flush’ booked for Tuesday morning). John managed to get everything in apart from this little lot – Nice one! Now we’re just left with this. Time to get rid of the existing kitchen window. Much more open plan. And yes, my friends, this will eventually become designer kitchen/chill-out area. Hopefully, as much of a ‘client puller’ as the studio itself. I, meanwhile, crack on with calculating all my control room geometry, so that I can make a template to mark out the control room soleplates. (p990i Keith!) Arty shot no3 – Yes guys, the roof of the chill-out area is weatherproof. Steve showed up again yesterday morning to really break the back of the plastic work. I urge you Gentlemen – do not take short cuts at this stage, it is after all the final bit of the ‘shell’ build and has to be done properly to really look the part. The way he’s done this is awesome – the hardest part of the roof in every aspect – carpentry, tiling, lead work, and plastic! Spot on guys! Plastic trim above existing porch window. Well, chaps, that kind of wraps up the update part of this post, so now on to the anecdotal bit. I’m well aware that the whole issue of HVAC/Air-Con is something that has to be thought about sooner rather than later. When you consider that my outer studio doors and windows are being fitted/replaced as of 12th October, and my studio rendering will hopefully be done before that, I wanted to get the air-con side sorted before I really crack into my outer beef-up. With this in mind, I arranged an appointment with my Mate’s Son’s boss for Wed morning. He’s been in the HVAC game for over 25 years so he’s bound to know his stuff – right? He arrived bang on time. (Good start). He studied my plans that Ken and John gave me so much help with, and said “Yeah – no problem, I understand where you’re coming from,” and then get this, (Rod – you’ll absolutely love it!) he said, “Of course, you do realise that, you’ll have to turn it off when you record?” To me, that’s like being told, “you’ll have to turn the light off when you want to see what you’re doing!” Or, alternatively, the Bank Manager who loans you an umbrella, and then asks for it back when it starts raining!! I couldn’t believe it – totally frustrated, I got rid of him as quickly as possible, and, luckily have someone local who is well aware of the forum coming to see me next week. Finally then good people, the questions. Rod – if you’re watching this, I’d really appreciate your input on these. The following two pics are of the studio ceiling as it stands underneath bedroom 4. I have, as you can see, two obstructions (wiring and hot water pipe work) If I attach my plasterboard layers to the existing floor above (working around the obstructions but still maintaining the airtight seal) what happens if I ever need to lift the floor of bedroom 4 to get to the pipe work or cabling for repair? In other words can I attach a batten system 2” below the chipboard (particle board) flooring above to the existing joists, then put my 3 layers of plasterboard/rockwool etc on to that? Or will this create a 3 leaf system? This is a pic of the current new pitched roof that falls over the new iso booth and part of the new control room. Same question really, except that building regs require me to leave a 1” air gap below the felt, followed by 100mm of insulation, then…………..beef-up? And to finish……………no I mean finish, honest. This, and the areas that Trev and I have already reinstated will be beefed up exactly as per Rod’s design on page 68 of the Bible, am I correct on this one? Guys, if you’re still with me, many thanks as always for reading. The whole thing’s really hotting up now and I probably have the most hectic three months of my life ahead of me, since,,,,,,,,,,,,,and yes you heard it here first,…………..due to NEW and existing work commitments, :D :D :D :D Studio 4 has to be fully operational as from the second week of Jan 2008!!!!!!!!!!!! :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: Wish me luck, :wink: Stay tuned, Regards, Lou. 8)

I wish you luck :D

John Sayers wrote:

I wish you luck :D

With the speed this chap is building, he don't need none! I think every one here on the board, including me, is as exited about this project as you self are. Your palls work with great precision and every detail seems accurate. Thumbs up for you and your crew!

good luck.

One word... "WOW"! :) And since you posted a few artsy shots, I will not have to come over there and beat you senseless! You are saved!!! ;) I am really liking the idea of the kitchen linked to the chill out area. Great concept, and as you mentioned, adds to the attraction of the studio. I am pretty disappointed in John however that he couldn't finish getting the garbage pile with the grab lorry. He still had some room in the front seat next to him, right? That will be 30 lashes with a wet noodle! Keep up the faith brother! I know how painful it is when it seems that it will never get done, and the mess will never go away! That is how I am feeling at the moment as well. One day, we can look back at this time and feel proud of our accomplishments. Best of luck Lou, it really is turning out quite nice.

Hi Lou Its looking totally awesome mate, great job. My builder is due to start on Monday so looking forward to adding my own build thread :D Here is a link to the Daikin Air Con unit i've been considering. The FBQ60 is the unit i'm looking at. It would be good to know your thoughts on it or what other choices your guy comes up with, as its the one area that is exercising the Search engines a lot at the moment. http://www.daikin.co.uk/airconditioning ... /fbq-b.jsp I'd also be interested to know who you use for ducting supply and what part no/model etc of the materials I'm tempted to do all the fitting of ducting myself to keep costs to a minimum and use "a friend of a friend" to pressurise the system when the time is right. BTW - Are you planning to use your nail gun for 2nd fix as well (ie plasterboard ?) cheers John

Good afternoon, Gentlemen – I hope, as always, that you are all fine and well. It’s been an interesting week to say the least, with my first totally frustrating day (all day) of the project so far, but more on that in a moment. Firstly the responses: John – Many thanks, kind sir. :wink: Ro – A very kind sentiment, but, more importantly, a really nice thought. What you wrote was nothing short of ‘heart-warming’ thanks Man! :oops: Joey – Hang in there Dude, and thank you. DH – Glad you liked the ‘arty shots’ - a couple to come here too, and very many thanks for your kind remarks. I’m still way behind you, but thoroughly enjoying your success – (apart from the foot injury of course!) PS - Glad you like the kitchen ‘knock through’ gag! :wink: Johnp – Hey Man, great to hear from you. As for Air-con, I can’t get to that until Mon 15th since my bloke is on holiday. As I mentioned in my last post, still thinking about this one (and don’t need any more ‘goons’ visiting) so can’t really comment with authority on the Daikin system, but I am organising all that side of things before the end of the month, so stay tuned, buddy. Re: ducting – like I said, it turned up for free. It’s called ‘pipex’. Where you would buy it? No idea, my friend. I’d suggest finding a cable installation near you (McNicholas/Clancy Docwra/whatever), and bunging the boss a few quid for a freebie. :shock: RE: nail gun, NO I won’t be using it for second fix. I’ve done a bit of ‘nerdy’ research on this tool since I bought it, and being the ‘big-gun’ pneumatic compressed gas device, I’ve found out that it actually fires those 90mm ‘D’ cup nails at near on 300 m.p.h.!!!!!!!!!!!! Whilst I could, of course, use much shorter nails, it would still be far too over specified for plasterboard. I’ll be using standard plasterboard screws of various lengths depending on which layer in the ‘beef-up’ I’m fixing. Thanks too for the comp! So then my friends, to the update. As promised, bang on 10.00am Tues morning, and Malcolm turns up to ‘powerflush’ our heating system. For U.K. builders at least, if you have a new boiler fitted, it is now a legal requirement that it must be a condenser boiler, and furthermore, it’s very wise to go through the expense of this procedure, or your boiler’s warrantee will be invalidated. This is also the one area of the build so far that I couldn’t do a deal on, since the boiler has to be government registered as a ‘corgi installation’ by a corgi engineer. This is what came out! :shock: :shock: :shock: Needless to say, the whole system is now crystal clear and the temperature of the house would make Ken and his good Lady feel more than at home! Introducing for the first time – Bryan. A really great bloke that I met five years ago. He’s an ex newspaper printer and more, importantly, an excellent (but retired!) painter and decorator. The man who will be, (as of 31st May next year), my father-in-law!! He gets on with insulating the store area roof space. Quick shot of the tool collection that IS hidden in the studio! Then Bryan and I crack on with ‘battening out’ the storm porch ready for Steve’s final plastic. You should be able to see the packing that I put behind the top batten to compensate for the ‘weathered’ twist in the beam timbers, (the wood that was delivered was slightly twisted!). The center batten here is to provide a fixing point for Steve. Since there will be no visible wood, the underside pitch of the plastic will be slightly shallower than the timber. Store room now boarded out ready for Andy’s skim and render next week. Nearly ‘arty’ shot of store area boarding. Stapled fibre glass on ply test – Bad! :twisted: Stapled fibre glass on ply test – Good! :D More explanation in a mo. Chisel out rear of studio hole (where the old flue outlet was) ready for filling. Wednesday turned out to be the most totally frustrating day of the build. I had Bryan and Trev here ready, able, and more than willing to give me a hand with whatever needed doing. However because I’d been a total droid, I had completely forgotten backer rod. We had plasterboard, batten and acoustic caulk, but no bloody backer rod. All my usual sources didn’t even know what I was talking about. I spent most of the day trying to source it, and finally turned to a mate who works for my local IAC who said, “yeah, no worries Lou, it’ll be here Mon morning” (tomorrow). Bryan and Trev were left with twiddling thumbs, and we all had a wasted day. :evil: :evil: Thursday, on the other hand, was a completely different story. Presenting the Travis Perkins instant bass trap kit! – well, sort of. :wink: Some careful marking. Some serious clamping. (Trend – full length saw-guide system available from Machine Mart, £50.00) Set the skill saw cut depth. And then cut the bloody things! Voilá – 14 triangular bass trap cores. Mark out ‘eye’ system on rafters. Employ some musical dexterity to install. And here we have the finished eyelet hangers in position. Time to accurately fix all the hanger hooks, so that they line up with the ‘eyes’ on the rafters in the upper bass trap area. Job done. First piece of insulation is fixed. Presenting the best tool to cut any fibre glass or rockwool insulation – a bread knife! :oops: :oops: I now have my first giant ‘cod in batter’/’hash brown’ bass trap thingy! Only 13 to go. Thanks Ken/Glenn! Seriously, great idea, guys. I read recently of a fellow builder’s disgust at the ‘most useless piece of shit’ he’d purchased. An electric staple gun. This shot shows (on the left) my new heavy duty Stanley staple gun. It’s great! ‘Cod in batter’ production line going well. The third trap gets the full install. ‘Arty’ no2 all 14 traps secured into place. :wink: :wink: Bryan thankfully offers to get on with the crappiest job of the project. If you all recall, the back and left walls are only single skin. Therefore, they have to be damp proofed (to the power twelve factorial :evil: :evil: ), to ensure that any penetrating moisture never becomes a potential problem. I give you….. ‘Synthaproof’- a totally awful ‘chicken-shit’ smelling tar-like stuff that sticks like hell and ruins anything it touches. It does, mind you, waterproof walls. (Both inside and out of these two walls have already been water-sealed) :roll: :roll: The aftermath of Bryan’s fantastic efforts. Thanks Mate. :D :D Yet another tidy-up. :roll: The current tool collection including 4 cases of fire retardant acoustic caulk. :wink: :wink: Mark out corner trap ‘cores’ Then cut ready for insulation. Conceal tools again – windows are being fitted Thursday, and I’ll just bolt a sheet of ply to the door opening to make the place secure. Well guys, that’s it for the moment. Bryan’s coming back in the morning to finish off the Synthaproof up in the store area back wall. I pick up the backer rod tomorrow, and both Bryan and Trev are with me from Tuesday to start the outer ceiling ‘beef- up’. As I said, windows go in Thurs/Fri, and hopefully Andy’s back Mon 15th to render all the walls in the studio prior to outer-leaf wall beef up. Air con guys should be with me sometime next week as well. Other than that, there’s not really much going on!!!!!!!!!!!!! :roll: :roll: (Also ordered new oven, fridge, and freezer yesterday, and gave Chris the preliminary ‘all-clear’ on the new kitchen. I’ll show you all that little lot when it’s all in place – sometime in November!) :wink: :wink: So to finish for today – the big question. Here once again, are a couple of shots of my new studio pitched roof rafters. The white stuff is of course the felt leading down to Steve’s plastic. Can I put battens on the rafters and secure my plasterboard layers to those, leaving enough space for my required (by Building Regs) insulation above? Also, as per my final question in my last post, can I adopt the same approach underneath the floor of bedroom 4, to make it possible to still be able to access the pipe work and electrical cable if ever necessary? I need these questions answered rather urgently since we start the ceiling ‘beef-up’ on Tuesday! Any help gratefully received! Many thanks for reading, guys, Kind regards as always, Lou. 8)

Hi Guys – As usual, I hope you’re all Ok. It’s been a pretty hectic week with comfortable progress and plenty to report so, here goes. :wink: “Ta daaaah!” :D Monday afternoon and two hundred metres of neoprene extrusion (backer rod) falls off a lorry and lands on my doorstep! Corner trap cores get the hook treatment. Hanger no 1. Hanger no 4. Production line shot of all 5. A great nerdy view of a product that I cannot say enough about. ‘Aqua-proof’ Although totally dry to the touch, it’s still very sticky and perfect for Andy to render to next week. Hanger no 1 goes in. Arty shot of all 5 corner hangers in place. This is the end of the store area which will eventually have a stud wall to seal off. Timber work from edge of studio flat roof to studio pitched roof which is really causing me headaches concerning outer leaf ‘beef-up’. :shock: These have to be clipped into place before Andy can render. Wednesday sees the final arrival of replacement door and new windows. Terry and Joe rip out the rear door and window. And the side windows, which will eventually be boarded over from the inside. Studio 4’s new rear entrance. The ‘out of plumb’ central panel is being replaced! :roll: Frosted glass to the side windows. Iso booth (front) window in position and looking great. Time for me to crack on with the loft hatch timber work. X2! Having the right tools is already proving to be a totally worthwhile investment. :wink: Take a break and order Andy’s materials. Assemble pre-made loft hatch opening. Note double width joist hangers, Offer into place. All in, square, level, and plenty big enough. Then, a good friend at an acoustics company organised this little lot. I’ve no idea what it’s called, but can tell you it’s a dense as hell, fire retardant, and a total bitch to cut!. It was however, totally free! Following some very important advice from a distinguished Australian Gentleman, I’ve totally re-worked my outer–leaf ceiling approach. :wink: Here then is a cool truck that sits on the back of another truck carrying my additional 28 sheets of drywall, 38 lengths of resilient channel, and 5 rolls of 6” crown wool insulation. It’ll come in handy somewhere! :roll: Trev and Bryan kindly relocate above materials. I get on with finishing the loft hatch floor. Very dusty! But, we’re there. The loft hatch opening is directly above what will become the rear soundlok. The first length of RC gets the install. They are staggered to maintain structural integrity. And also ‘packed’ where necessary to even out differences in joist depth. Coming on now. One slight drawback with having free insulation drop on your door is…………..well, this is the dry stuff. :D And this, my friends, is the wet stuff. :cry: It’s so dense that it really is a two handed job to get it in. Red spray marks are for joist positions. My first piece of plasterboard is finally in position. Only another 41 sheets of material to go – and that’s just the outer-leaf ceiling! :roll: :roll: Trev creates a cutting bench! Andy’s materials show up – the red dot denotes plastering sand. Also, yet more cement, corner and end-stop beading, and MDF, which will be the middle layer of my outer-leaf ceiling. Starting to come together. Chalk marks show the RC location ready for the transverse MDF layer. All joints are staggered. Steve showed up again yesterday to finish the downpipes, a nice tidy job. :D Bryan’s enthusiasm provides arty shot no 2! Already we can here a massive difference in the lack of noise from above. I told you this stuff was dense. We’ve tried scissors, Stanley knives, garden shears, and even a hacksaw, but the only way to get through it is with a wood saw and some brute force. :shock: :shock: :shock: Going in really well, and a view on the left, of Bryan’s cool idea of ‘packing the RC to lose the ‘step’ in the steels. A totally essential tool for the job. All lining up nicely. And, totally level with no ‘step’. The 4 bolts are of course supporting the perpendicular steel, A spell of sunshine today suggested the perfect drying area – our front drive! :? That’s it for now guys – this week hopefully sees the completion of layer 1 outer-leaf ceiling, and Andy’s complete rendering of all the walls. More soon, stay tuned, Regards, Lou. 8)

Wow, Lou. As always, great work, and I'm amazed at your rapid (rabid?) progress.... ;-) That insulation looks like Ultratouch Cotton. Perhaps that's what it is? I love this stuff, good acoustics specs, easy to work with (except maybe cutting), and no itch. Good for you, you got some for free.... :-)