FINALLY!! The saga begins

Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 10:08 am

MadMax wrote:

Groff, yeah, there's an overlap on the Tyvek.

My previous sentence was ... khm ... (sorry) ... a joke. Mr. Green

Failed one. I was referring on sloped image of the building. Never mind.

Besides all the work, your studio has awesome environment. Nature, trees, forest ... truly inspiring. I'm „jealous“.

Now, if your live room will be something like this...

... I will sell all my stuff and ask you to hire me. I could do cleaning, cutting the grass, training the dogs, I don't eat and drink much.... Very Happy

Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 12:31 pm

Groff wrote:

My previous sentence was ... khm ... (sorry) ... a joke. Mr. Green

Failed one. I was referring on sloped image of the building. Never mind.

HA!! OK... I get it... sorry.. I'm kinda' dense sometimes! Very Happy

Quote:

Besides all the work, your studio has awesome environment. Nature, trees, forest ... truly inspiring. I'm „jealous“.

Now, if your live room will be something like this...

Well... not to be all snotty... but I hope the room turns out better that that one! JEEEZE!! Lookie at the windows! They're on the floor! Very Happy

Quote:

... I will sell all my stuff and ask you to hire me. I could do cleaning, cutting the grass, training the dogs, I don't eat and drink much.... Very Happy

Hmmmm... G... you may not like it here then... We eat a little too well and we drink well too! I s'pose we could train ya'....

Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 5:25 pm

MadMax wrote:

I s'pose we could train ya'....

I'm learning fast too Laughing

MadMax wrote:

Just as cables are the big hidden nasty cost secret... screws, nails and caulk are the big hidden nasty cost factor in construction! So far, I've spent nearly $200 just in nails alone. Granted, I still have about half left, but I'm seeing that there's probably another $300-500 or so to buy. I'm about to run out of SC-175. I purchased 3 cases and I'm hoping that the last 8 tubes will caulk the inside of the studio's exterior walls. Maybe another 6 cases will do the studio... maybe...

Oooouuuhhhh ... don't remind me. I spent almost 80 tubes (10.1 oz) of caulk and more than 2000 screws in my room!!!! Shocked

Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 6:37 am

Rod Gervais wrote:

Max,

That isn't required -

we have plenty of isolation between the rooms proper and the attic above -

So just let it breathe and you'll be fine.

Rod

Rod,

Just found this... I didn't want you to think I was ignoring your reply

OK, that does save me a BUNCH of gruntin'!

Should I caulk the joints up there?

Thanks!

Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 9:48 am

Max,

nope - no need - save your money

Rod

Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 5:23 am

Rod,

Thanks... I'll gladly save the time and money!

On the build front...

The cabling/wall plates arrived as well as the Aurora 16's!

The wall plates are nice and clean looking! It'll be awhile before I get shots of em. I want to keep them wrapped in the bubble wrap until I get ready to install em.

Still waiting on the 8 pack of Brent Averill 1073's... but it won't be long now.

I've been holding off on doing much in the studio for the last 48 hours because I'm both tired and the pest control service sprayed the perimeter of the interior wood structure. They started from the bottom plate and came up 24" high. That meant that I had to remove all the insulation up to that height. It wasn't a real big deal since I hadn't put the banding material up to hold the insulation in place. It should all be dry by the end of the day today, so I can go on and put the insulation back up and continue with caulking.

One thing I will encourage anyone delving into this insanity to do... Get good tools to start... and maintain them!

The first thing I'll suggest is a good sliding compound miter saw. Without a slider, you are going to have to fight cuts the whole way with a regular miter saw... unless it's a 12 inch.

The next thing is a GOOD quality utility knife! You cannot imagine how much a utility knife is going to be used. Spend the extra $5.00 and get a really good one.

A good set of squares is critical. You will only be as square as the tools you buy. Don't cheap out here. You need 3 squares... an adjustable combination, speed square and a framing square.

Same goes for a good level. You don't have to buy the most expensive, but don't buy the cheapest thing on the shelf. When it comes to levels, I was strongly encouraged to get aluminum. It should last you a lifetime. I have 3 and will probably get a replacement 4th one; line bubble, 2 ft and a 4 ft. I'll probably get a 6-8" once I get into the detail work. I had a 6", but it grew legs a couple of years ago.

A 10" tablesaw with a good fence is essential for cutting sheet goods (other than your exterior sheeting) and for all the finer finish mill work.

A "RotoZip" tool is going to be a really good friend of mine before too long here. It's a great little tool for all kinds of work... everything from gypsum to ceramic tile.

Drills are essential. I have several... a corded high speed, drywall drill and a couple of cordless. My personal choices have been Dewalt. They offer the best bang for the buck in both performance and manageability. You are going to be holding these tools for extended periods of time. Get tools that are comfortable in your hands and on your tool belt.

And finally, probably the most important tool in the whole process... the circular saw. To say you get what you pay for is an understatement. I have two. I have a fairly lightweight one that's good for handling in odd and difficult situations. It's also my sacrificial saw. I don't want it to just crap out, but it's expendable if I drop it or if it burns out. My other one is a heavy duty direct drive. I use it where the cuts have to be accurate, or the wood is thick/heavy. I would recommend a worm drive, but for me (I ain't exactly a big dude) the worm drives are just a bit too awkward for everyday use.

Get a good caulking gun, or two. Again, don't buy the cheapest thing on the shelf. No matter what the brand, you WILL have tubes of caulk that will fail. You're gonna' have caulk blow out the back end. Just prepare yourself for that fact. So, you need to resolve yourself to needing to clean your gun every now and then.

I'm a bit of a glutton for punishment, in other words, I call myself a woodworker. So, there are three other tools I call indespensable... bandsaw, planer and jointer.

Again, good stuff ain't cheap and cheap stuff ain't always good. I would recommend getting models and sizes that are pretty much standard. That way, when you need blades, parts, etc., they are readily available;

14" Bandsaw, 13" planer and a 6" jointer.

I'm not paid to endorse ANYTHING, so these are MY opinions...

You just don't get much better than a Delta 14" bandsaw. It's probably the best known bandsaw in amateur woodworking. The bed tilts and there are plenty of accessories to do some very accurate and pretty work.

My planer is the new Dewalt 13" planer with self aligning guides for the blades. My reasoning behind this purchase is that while the blades are more expensive than other brands, and yes, I'm locked in purchasing those blades, my time is worth more than the time it takes to align and set the blades. Again, I am an amateur woodworker and fairly new to planer operation. When I looked at planers, I was fortunate to speak to both a LONG time woodworker and a cabinet maker. Both of them were looking at new planers at the same time I was. Evidently, the amount of time it takes to PROPERLY align a planer can be hours. They both looked at the Dewalt and we all 3 walked out with one. If you have the patience, time and skill to learn the proper alignment for a regular planer, then by all means, save yourself some money in the long run.

Jointers are another fairly new tool for me. There are a few different sizes out there, but the standard sizes are 6", 8" and WHOA NELLY! THAT's a BIG-UN'! Since I'm not expecting to do board larger than 2" thick/wide, a 6" will probably do me just fine.

Nailguns are a lifesaver tool! Without them, I would be spending a lot of time at the chiropractor! Not only that, but the time it would take to do the build would be 5-10 times longer... if not more. I can pull a trigger on a framing gun for 10-20 nails in the time it takes to align the lumber and drive 1 nail by hammer alone.

Again, I would recommend getting standard sizes of tools and get good quality of tools. Also, read the manuals and follow the safety guidelines! Use safety glasses and ear protection!

Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2008 7:53 am

Too tired and too dark to snag pix Saturday night... we ran out of daylight.

But, I did get 1-3/4 walls up on the lounge!

The lounge exterior wall is 2x6 stud. All bottom plates are Pressure Treated lumber by code.

When I went to pick up lumber, I found out that any change in roof line requires that lag bolts or through bolts/nuts be used to attach the change to the structure. No biggie, just gotta add em. Same goes for the ceiling joist header that will attach to the existing studs in the exterior wall next to the Control Room. Of course a single picture will convey more than 1000 words.

You'll see the pic and go... "Oh yeah, no kiddin', that makes sense... and why didn't he already logically know that?"

Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2008 7:53 pm

No pix today... the lens kept foggin' up... but I have been busy... No, really... I have been!

Saturday morning, I went to Builder's Discount for lumber and insulation. I ordered a boatload of lumber for framing the studio walls and the lounge. The lumber prices are far better than the other national chains. What I couldn't fit in the Excursion (Short Bus) will be delivered on Monday.

Thomas stopped by, about noon. He helped me unload the R19 and 2x6x8's I brought home, and then we finished caulking the North and South walls. We got those two walls completely stuffed with R19 insulation in the bays!

We got about and inch or so of snow Saturday, and it really did turn cold. We broke off about 4 and called it a day, since I didn't want to see Thomas end up having an accident because of bad roads and the idiots it turns people into... (See previous Old Man Winter blog entry)

The low was like 17 last night. It didn't get to 23 degrees until noon today. That's when I decided it was worth trying to get down there and get some work done. I was really surprised at how comfortable the building is. It was windy and 23 degrees outside, and it was probably 35-40 degrees in the building! (Work insulation.... WORK!)

I've been working on the gypsum in the stud bays of the west wall. I've got about 2/3 of it done. It's kind of slow going. There's so many small bays that it just takes a lot of time to cut the pieces to size... and use the gypsum efficiently.

I'm hoping to finish off the gypsum this week and get it all caulked in. I'm about out of caulk, so I'm going to start caulking on the Isolation booth end of the studio. That way, if I do run out before the next shipment arrives, I can start framing the Isolation booth!

Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2008 7:04 pm

OOOOPS! No lumber today! (But for a darn good reason!)

I had a bit of a surprise this morning just before I headed out for the day gig...

Duke Energy's contractor showed up, unannounced, to put in the power and cable lines! While I'm happy to see em', I'm kinda' miffed that Duke Energy didn't call like they were supposed to. They were to give me time to have things ready for the install! Namely locating the well water line and clearing the gravel in the parking area out of their way.

I've had to do a quick scramble to call the plumber to give them a heads up that I might be calling for emergency repair. I also called the electrician and gave him a heads up.

Next, I called the and postponed the lumber delivery until tomorrow.

It was brutally cold out there when they first got started, but like the pro's that the guys from Pike are... they forged ahead... despite cold hands and feet. Brrrrr... 18 degrees....

http://www.dmmobile.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/dscf0287.JPG

http://www.dmmobile.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/dscf0288.JPG

They really were a bunch of nice guys. They took their time in trying to be careful in locating the water line. The well is at the front of the property (The big green box in the background) and the water line and power runs up to the house... somewhere.

http://www.dmmobile.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/dscf0289.JPG

We found the water line right next to the phone line. But we didn't find the electrical line to the well pump. They started to dig with the hopes that the well electrical was indeed below the water pipe.

http://www.dmmobile.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/dscf0290.JPG

http://www.dmmobile.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/dscf0291.JPG

http://www.dmmobile.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/dscf0293.JPG

Safety is paramount. And my hat's off to linemen and electricians in general as well.

http://www.dmmobile.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/dscf0294.JPG

While the guys on the ground were looking for the phone, cable, water and well power lines, the air guys were busy prepping the new transformer.

http://www.dmmobile.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/dscf0295.JPG

http://www.dmmobile.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/dscf0296.JPG

http://www.dmmobile.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/dscf0297.JPG

http://www.dmmobile.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/dscf0298.JPG

Out with the old...

http://www.dmmobile.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/dscf0299.JPG

http://www.dmmobile.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/dscf0300.JPG

Still looking for the water and well power...

http://www.dmmobile.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/dscf0301.JPG

http://www.dmmobile.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/dscf0302.JPG

http://www.dmmobile.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/dscf0303.JPG

http://www.dmmobile.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/dscf0304.JPG

...and in with the new... The new transformer is a 50KVA. It should be more than adequate for what I'm gonna put it under.

http://www.dmmobile.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/dscf0306.JPG

Guess what?... they found it alright... about 6 feet north of the actual water line. Ooops.

http://www.dmmobile.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/dscf0307.JPG

http://www.dmmobile.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/dscf0308.JPG

http://www.dmmobile.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/dscf0312.JPG

http://www.dmmobile.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/dscf0313.JPG

Moving right along....

http://www.dmmobile.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/dscf0309.JPG

http://www.dmmobile.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/dscf0311.JPG

The first shot is the repair; 500V heatshrink tubing around each of the tripped lines, a UC underground splice with 4 wraps of 600V electrical tape for added measure. I tested the well pump before they covered it... viola! We got water! The second shot is aligning two trees to locate the break should the repair ever fail. What's amazing is that had I moved the location of that tree a few feet in another direction, I would have hit that electrical line, water line or possibly the phone line.... talk about lucky! (Now I need to talk to the mrs about possibly moving it... )

http://www.dmmobile.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/dscf0314.JPG

http://www.dmmobile.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/dscf0315.JPG

http://www.dmmobile.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/dscf0316.JPG

http://www.dmmobile.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/dscf0317.JPG

Almost finished! I had to bail out to meet with a client, so I left shortly before they were done.

I just want to say a special thanks to the two crews from Pike Electric for the job they did today. The brutal cold was bad enough, but they also endured my constant pictures and endless questions. Thanks Guys!

We only had the one mishap with the well electrical line and a small oops with the trailer. So I thinks it was a pretty darn good day... The oops with the trailer was a bit of minor damage that I'm pretty sure can be fixed with a good gob of marine caulk. I'm not worried about it.

Again, my hat's off to you guys! I know it wasn't fun dealing with the cold or digging in one of the finest rock farms in Alamance county!

Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2008 10:01 pm

"Brrrrr... 18 degrees...."
Celsius?

In Scotland, 18 degrees has the shorts out of the wardrobe. It was 1 degree about 7pm on Monday.

Glad seeing it all coming together I take it, regardless of the glorious weather?

Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 10:00 am

Codemonkey wrote:

"Brrrrr... 18 degrees...."
Celsius?

In Scotland, 18 degrees has the shorts out of the wardrobe. It was 1 degree about 7pm on Monday.

Glad seeing it all coming together I take it, regardless of the glorious weather?

HA!

But by the same token... not so sure how you would enjoy 105F heat w/75 percent humidity.

It's all what you get used to. I lived in Milwaukee for a few years... I loved always having a white Christmas, but a white Easter and when opening day of baseball season is cancelled because of 6" of snow.... time for this ugly mug to get back where 18F is the exception... not the rule! (heheheh)

Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 5:56 am

I had a couple of personal comments made to me about the fact that electrical work was done on a national holiday; Martin Luther King Day. The way that they explained it to me was that the utilities NEVER sleep or get a day off. They INDIVIDUALLY take days off, but as a rule, the company only takes a couple of holidays each year. (My guess is that the installation crews get New Years Day, 4th of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas) I hope that clear it up a bit as to why they were working on a holiday.

What a bonus... it warmed up a bit today... then it started to drizzle rain.

The lumber yard called to ask if I wanted to wait until it stopped raining to deliver the lumber and insulation. Of course I said yes and then looked at the weather reports. The rain was supposed to end late this evening, so I resigned myself to a Wednesday delivery. No biggie. Better to have a day delay and dry lumber.

About 4pm, I get a call letting me know that the lumber was on the truck and the driver would be on his way shortly! OOOOPS!

I haul butt from the day gig only to arrive home just as the driver is leaving.

He tells me he dropped it just at the top of the hill by the big tree, because his truck would have gotten stuck in the mud.

"Stuck in the mud?... hmmmmmmm"

I changed to boots and ran down to at least get the insulation put in the studio before it got wet. Sure enough, I've got a HUGE muddy mess all the way down to the studio. The rain thawed the excavation soil and it's one heck of a mess all the way to the studio.

I snagged the first bundle and carried it to the studio. I drug an extension cord to the new temp power pole, plugged it up, and turned on the breakers... uh oh..... no power!

I swapped the extension cord... no luck.

I called Duke Energy and told them the deal. In the meantime, I re-ran the extension cord from the house so I'd have light to work as I was trying to beat the dark and rain.

I managed to get all the insulation in the studio before it got wet. It was a serious scramble slogging through all that mud trying to get the the insulation in the building and the lumber covered in plastic sheeting. It's not on skids or cross pieces, so I'm worried about the bottom boards sitting on the ground. Once I got it covered, I got all the insulation stacked nice and neat and hopefully out of the way.

Within 30 minutes of calling, a Pike Electric truck's in the drive and the guy's looking at the pole. I explained the situation and he gathers a few tools and heads for the service pole at the studio. I start to snag him a work light, then he says; "OK... that should do it."

HUH!?!?

"Seems like they set the meter base in a set of plastic "disconnect" pins instead of the regular pins... thus, no power. We're pretty sure that it was due to the cold that the guys just quite have the feeling that it was in the wrong set of pins. Evidently this is a somewhat common deal and at least it was an easy fix!

WHEW! I now, 100 percent, have saw service at the studio! YEA!!!!

I managed to get all the insulation stacked out of the way and went on with getting gypsum up in the stud bays of the west exterior wall.

I have four more short bays in the new wall and 6 really small pieces above the door header, to put gypsum in. Then I can start caulking. Once that's done, it's time for R19 insulation.

We've got some rain in the forecast for the next few days, so I may end up just working inside for awhile longer.

The ceiling joists in the lounge are going to be a challenge for sure... A 2x10 ledger board that gets lagged into the 2x8 studs with 5" lag bolts with 2x10 ceiling joists. So why's this a problem? Well, there's a pretty healthy amount of cutting of the studs in the exterior wall for equipment racks that has to occur. That's going to make all of the cutting pretty tricky unless I want to take some really scary chances with that exterior wall collapsing.

The plan is to put in the ledger and joists. Then install the rafters and get the lounge dried in. Once that's done, put in jack boards to hold it all up. Then proceed to cut the studs and put in the headers and reframe the exterior wall.

What's your opinion of that process Rod?

Thanx!

Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 8:09 am

MadMax wrote:

What's your opinion of that process Rod?

Max,

it was exactly what I was thinking...........

Looking better all of the time kiddo............

Sincerely,

Rod

Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 2:01 pm

Rod,

THANX!!!

One more of these incessant questions...

In getting ready to find a solution to hold the insulation in the stud bays of the exterior wall, I know we had discussed using strapping material as is used in shipping palletized items.

It's not that it's expensive. It's like $35/roll... it's what to do with the extra 2700 feet of excess material?

Anything else more efficient that you would recommend?

I'm afraid that rebar wrapping wire would end up rattling or buzzing, and doubt that any type of nylon "twine" or string would pass the inspector... or am I mistaken?

Thanx again!