Words of Wisdom, or "How NOT to do it"...

[Ro]

38 - Don't use transparent caulk; you can't see whats happening when applying it.

And since non-transparent sealant has more mass, don't use transparent.

[lilith_envy]

I 2nd #29 jbassino-
Nearly pulled a poop muscle before I hire the chain Block!!

#39-
Make sure your end studs (double studs) are wide enough apart to get the caulking gun nozzle in to the hole. The sausage type guns are pretty wide

[jbassino]

From today:
#40 - Don't make the air inlet hole on your ceiling where the slot wall ceiling is gonna be

and

#41 - You can always put gypsum to tape a wrong hole on drywall

[brainditch]

[quote="Soundman2020"] [What he actually said is "... Make sure you plan your circuits out well with a 20% margin. i.e. if you add up all your "stuff" and find you need a 15A circuit, wire up a 20A circuit. No need to run things at the limits. ...". Good advise, indeed.

Absolutely correct there Stuart, although when in doubt and before wiiring things up, check the electrical codebook for your region, then consult an electrician. There may be many other factors than a simple 20% rule to abide by. Following the NEC here in the US the following factors should be considered: how many wires are in a chase (and the chase's size); how long the run is; and how high is the average ambient temperature for the environment the wires exist in - all these can affect how much current they can carry safely, therefore how large the breaker should be to safely trip long before the wires heat up from overcurrent . These and many more considerations are factored in the codebook and it's required calculations!

Brainditch

[Manning]

Hi all, I love this thread and this forum.

My contribution (appropriately #42):

Accept and embrace your ignorance. Being ignorant is a hindrance. However knowing you are ignorant is a great asset. When you engage a professional acoustic engineer/carpenter/electrician/etc, you are effectively renting their years of experience that you don't have the time (and/or aptitiude) to acquire.

As an analogy: If I needed to record a sax player, I'd hire an experienced session musician. I wouldn't assume I could play the sax part myself because I'd read a website and watched a Youtube video. The skill of these craftspeople is no different, and is worth every penny. I'm not saying that DIY is a bad idea, but "DIY with expert input" will always get a better result.

[xSpace]

"you are effectively renting their years of experience"

Less the renting fee...no one gets paid around here:)

It's all about getting the best product, if the poster will listen.

[Soundman2020]

Less the renting fee...no one gets paid around here:)

Maybe our cheques are still in the mail?


- Stuart -

[Manning]

LOL, very good guys. Try the veal.

Without intending any disrespect to this forum or the wealth of knowledge available here, what I meant was that nothing beats having a competent (...electrician, etc...) standing in your room. Too often I see people try to cut corners when simply enlisting a genuine professional would save both time and money.

[Soundman2020]

what I meant was that nothing beats having a competent (...electrician, etc...) standing in your room.

Actually, I do agree with you on that point. Being an electrician myself, I fully appreciate that, and absolutely recommend that untrained folks who try to do their own electrical work to save a few bucks, should get everything they did checked over carefully by an electrician BEFORE the final connection is made. Actually, in many places that isn't just a good idea: it's also the law.

Electricity can kill you. Very dead, very fast. You don't need to do very much wrong to create a dangerous situation with electricity.

There's one other place where the same advice applies in studio building: structures. You should ALWAYS get a qualified structural engineer to examine both your existing structure and your plans, BEFORE you start, to make sure that your building can safely handle the extra load you are going to hang on it by building your studio.

Those are two areas where qualified professional advice is not just nice to have: it's a basic necessity. Electricity and structural integrity can both kill you if done wrong, in some nay ways you never even thought of. Don't skimp on the few hundred bucks or so that it costs to get an engineer and electrician to look things over and give it their stamp of approval.


- Stuart -