Thinking differently about the studio project

[gullfo]

maybe you can wrap the exposed duct to dampen it and cut some of the noise?

[triplej333]

maybe you can wrap the exposed duct to dampen it and cut some of the noise?

That's going to have to happen. I'll definitely wrap the part of the duct that is going to be covered by the soffit. For a seal, I was thinking I'd cut strips of 1/2" neoprene, caulk them to the duct and then frame + caulk tight. I'd attach 2 layers of drywall (strips 3 5/8" wide) to each steel framing member, caulk it, then assemble it around the duct (into the soffit framing).

That would help take care of a problem that couldn't be fixed down the road. We'll have to see how the CR sounds with the AC running after it's done. The owners like the look of the exposed ductwork. I prefer the idea of building a soffit. We'll see.

It's almost 100 degrees here today. Heat index of 134 in Moorhead, MN yesterday. It was the hottest place on the planet (literally). We broke a 120 year old dew point record with 82 degrees yesterday. I'm glad I'm not doing exteriors anymore!

[triplej333]

Update - I tore off the rest of the drywall in the LR and am going to install resilient channel on those walls. It's a good thing I did, there's not even any insulation there.

I'm really bummed out about the permit process. The landlord never told us that our occupancy was under review, and the process started in April. I could have been dealing with it this whole time. The fire marshal inspected the building and we have to make some corrections in the basement where our stage/performance area is. It sounds like we'll just have to build some fire rated walls to create a hallway.

So, that's holding up the permit. I'm not going to give up, staying resilient. I asked the landlord to hand all issues with the building over to me so they are dealt with. They gladly obliged and it seems like they'll write out the checks if I do their jobs for them.

We've had some intense rain that showed a few water issues in the back of the building. It's sort of a good thing that the studio isn't done, as we would've found out about the water the hard way. The landlord is paying to have a small flat roof re-done, and some excavation and a new concrete slab in the back exterior.

I've been tinkering with some small projects in the meantime. I'm about to start an LLC and I've created a website. Learning HTML and I'm going to build the site with Joomla 1.6 (I know Joomla quite well, but not much HTML).

The LLC will be consulting and design, specializing in residential remodeling and construction, but also offering acoustics and isolation. I'm going with Vibrant Spectrum as the creative part of the business name.