Manifold Recording - Studio Construction Thread

[Clueless]

Originally Posted by llmonty

Quick question on your insulation for the ceiling -- If I recall you have an unvented roof. Are you only using cellulose in the roof rafters?

I ended up going with an unvented design as well. However, in order to meet the r-value code requirements (recently changed to r-38) and to make sure it is a tight space, 2 different insulation contractors recommended 2" of closed cell foam, followed by 7" of cellulose. On the roof we used standard roofing felt for breath-ability. This is the way I am currently going -- I know the closed cell won't help with sound...

Are you using 2x8" rafters? We're using 2x12 rafters with furring, so we can do R-38 with cellulose alone.

BTW, it was pointed out to me that it was quite a hack to change the R-value requirements so that 2x12 rafters alone were not sufficient for the required minimums. It's obvious that somebody with a product to sell had a lot of clout to be able to run almost all other competition out of business or force builders to use very unconventional building techniques!

[llmonty]

You are so right regarding code. I am in Richmond, VA so we are in the same climate. The architect's plans called for R-30, more than enough for our weather. R-38 makes it just about impossible to build a roof using code-accepted materials like 2x8s or 10s.

We are using 2x10 top chords/rafters for the trusses. Besides the r-value code requirements there seemed to be a moisture barrier and air leakage benefit to this suggested as part of an unvented roof redesign. The unvented design was a change midway through the build because of some other issues, and became a bit of a frustrating experience to research. Just want to make sure we don't create a moisture/mold problem.

[dan90joe]

Originally Posted by Clueless

We did change the program for the second building from a garage+lounge+storage to a post room+bigger lounge+smaller garage. The Harrison console was simply so awesome that we had to make a second room just for it.

Legendary! Does look like a pretty insane console, as does all the gubbins that come paired with it! Who needs a double garage anyway, much better to put a decent post room in there instead!

D

[Clueless]

Still more is happening. We had snow in March, not common for North Carolina, but par for the course given our luck with weather this past year:



Snow gave way to rain, and our lovely footings filled with water:





Perhaps I should keep it as a moat?

At least the weather was nice today. Here are the footings after a morning's work for an electric pump:



Also the annex roof was fully sheathed today:



Tons more stuff, but that will wait until Saturday for the weekly update.

[Clueless]

6 tons of cellulose insulation

10 tons of drywall

15 yards of concrete

And that's just this week's deliveries! To see what's actually happening, check out Manifold Recording / The Miraverse » Week 113 (New Perimeter Footings)

Here are two photos not on the blog...

The limit of the footing trench, with concrete right up to where the backhoe stopped:



And a fisheye photo of our insulation shredder/blower:



Enjoy!

[tubeydude]

Awesome thread. I've been watching since it started. It's going to be beautiful. One question though: (probably silly too)

Why did you pour the slab first in the main building and not in the annex?

I'm sure there is some good reason. Just curious.

Looks great. Many thanks for taking the time to document your project too!

[Clueless]

Originally Posted by tubeydude

Awesome thread. I've been watching since it started. It's going to be beautiful. One question though: (probably silly too)

Why did you pour the slab first in the main building and not in the annex?

I'm sure there is some good reason. Just curious.

Looks great. Many thanks for taking the time to document your project too!

You ask a non-silly question that I'm happy to answer. It's all about protecting finished surfaces. In the main bldg we have wood floors throughout, so the concrete slab need no be protected. That gave us a much better work surface from which to raise our 24' tall walls.

In the annex we're going to have colored concrete as our finished surface, and we didn't want to damage it as we raised up our walls. Plus, that concrete wants to be protected during a long cure, which we can easily do now that we have a roof.

So it's all about picking priorities and sequencing to give the best result to each component. Not unlike arranging a song so that it mixes itself.

[Clueless]

Two quick photos showing the rapid progress now being made:

An overview of the work being done on the North patio foundation blocks:



And a view from the west where you can see that we now have shingles on the Annex roof:



Too busy to post more right now...

[artbeat77]

Shingles on the Annex! Cool! That structure really went up quick.

[Clueless]

Some more photos showing progress throughout the Main building...

Hat channel in the Control Room:



Insulation fill in the frame walls separating the booths from each other:



The challenge of hanging 100lb sheetrock boards from a non-square grid of attachment points:



And electrical wiring now coursing through the conduits...future clean power in the Control Room:



And even more stuff is happening outside and in the Annex...

[frenkonio]

At the end of the day I'd like to know how much you spent for this fabulous operation

[Clueless]

This weeks progress has been monumental. For details, check out my latest blog posting.

Here are some worthy photos that didn't make it to the blog...

Some large coils of footing drains in "socks":



Bathroom plumbing pipes:



Two views of the Northeast edge of the North Patio footings, normal:



And wide:



An overview of the North Patio from the North...it's big!



A look at the conduits (for equipment and drainage) running across the footings:



The building walls are all defined by our grid, and all walls are placed to be "inside the grid". Our patio boundary is also "inside the grid" which means that a landscaping wall around the patio must be flipped to be "outside the grid". Here's such a flip taking place:



Here's a shot of the heavy equipment used to bore a hole for the line sets:



That's a days work, and very loud. Don't try this at home!

Here are some wall panel mock-ups. We need to be sure of our sizes before we fab these panels:





More info about the wall panels is posted on my Studio Tech Thread (see link in my signature).

[polloymedio]

excelente pics! (i was away for a while)

ill bump this thread, we want pics!!!!!!! This thread is my fav in the forum, i love this project!!

[Clueless]

Originally Posted by polloymedio

excelente pics! (i was away for a while)

ill bump this thread, we want pics!!!!!!! This thread is my fav in the forum, i love this project!!

Thanks for the bump. I've published another blog posting full of photos. I'm sorry I wasn't in town during the week to post intermediate results.

Here are two bonus photos not on the blog for your enjoyment...

A boiler in the Utility Room:



And the latest progress photo of my Harrison Trion being hand-built right now in Tennessee:



Just imagine how good it's going to look sitting in a properly lit control room!

[Musiclab]

Originally Posted by Clueless

Thanks for the bump. I've published another blog posting full of photos. I'm sorry I wasn't in town during the week to post intermediate results.

Here are two bonus photos not on the blog for your enjoyment...

A boiler in the Utility Room:



And the latest progress photo of my Harrison Trion being hand-built right now in Tennessee:



Just imagine how good it's going to look sitting in a properly lit control room!

WOW!!!!!!!!!

[Makinithappen]

Originally Posted by Musiclab

WOW!!!!!!!!!

Yeah... Really nice boiler, huh?

[Dan Phillips]

Originally Posted by Clueless

And the latest progress photo of my Harrison Trion being hand-built right now in Tennessee:

I particularly like Harrison's surround pan display, which shows the relative levels from each speaker. Very nice.

[muziekschuur]

So. A Harrison Trion & a API Vision? I'm confused...
How many consoles will be present in this facility?

[Clueless]

Originally Posted by muziekschuur

So. A Harrison Trion & a API Vision? I'm confused...
How many consoles will be present in this facility?

Well we have two control rooms, so two consoles seems about the right number to me!

[Clueless]

Originally Posted by christosm

simply the hugest mega best thread i have ever seen in my life so far

You are not kidding. My contractor wrote me last night:

As we are now getting quite a bit of total terrace I think it would be advisable to have grade elevations, drain systems, drain pipe sizing, fountain details, grade and surface transitions, stair specifics, etc. performed by somebody like a landscape architect. We usually do have plan directives for our exterior work, especially when it gets this extensive. We won't totally screw things up if we don't have a total site design, but we do run the risk of getting things not quite right in a whole lot of areas if we don't approach it in a comprehensive way. Let's talk more.

Translation: he's telling me "you're going to need a bigger boat".

Paraphrasing from that same movie, I hope that a studio project like this doesn't swallow me whole!

[Washington]

I know somebody who lives in the same street as a guy whose cousin married a girl whose former boyfriend was, while in college, close friends with a nice guy named Dexter. And Dexter had a roommate whose brother-in-law had once ordered a Eurodesk.

Therefore, I'm in a very good position to imagine how impatient you must be to have the postman deliver that Davisson desk (or whatever it is) !










Or maybe i just meant to say thanks for sharing and subscribe to the thread

[Musiclab]

Originally Posted by Makinithappen

Yeah... Really nice boiler, huh?

they don't get any better, as far as boilers go, the console aint too bad either

[Clueless]

The linesets for the condenser units are going in, and there's a whole bunch of new trenches everywhere.

Here's where the linesets come into the Annex:



And here they are headed to the Annex equipment corral:



And a reverse view from the corral:



Here's the Bobcat that did all this digging:



And here are the linesets headed from the Utility Room to the Main equipment corral:



All that sunshine is giving me a sunburn!

Here's what's going on inside: the second layer of drywall is going up in Booth A:



Every day there's just a lot of work going on.

[Clueless]

I posted a new blog entry and forgot to announce it. Here are some new photos from this week's progress:

Concrete dams in the Annex:



Cutting out our corner joints in the Annex so we can fill half the joints and rake the other half:



The loggia roof is finally framed and partially sheathed:



Here's another view as the loggia roof is sheathed:



All the sheetrock in the booths are up, and the Music Room looks surprisingly empty, except for this pile of wood:



This means that the framing of the Control Room will start any day now!

And finally, for you analog synth slutz...my upgraded and expanded Buchla 200e:



Not pictured is the multi dimensional kinesthetic input module...it was hiding. I've already had one sound designer request its use on an upcoming major motion picture. Yay!

[papanauta]

Thanks man keep it coming

[johndykstra]

Envy. Thanks.

[nek]

Awesome! I have been following this thread from the beginning. I might have to make a road trip when it is all finished.

[Clueless]

Here's another intermediate report...

The electricians have settled into their long slog of pulling at least three--often more--electrical wires per conduit through the 1+ mile of conduit we have laid into the concrete slab of the main building. Here you can see the reinforcements waiting to replace the exhausted spools of wire:



They've been at it so far for 2-3 weeks, and you can see that the electrical panels are barely half full:



Inside the building, soffits are going up in the booths and the Music Room:



Outside, the Loggia roof is finished and wrapped, but not yet shingled:



The symmetry and craft of this framing job is exquisite:



Here you can see that the Loggia blurs the distinction between lookouts and rafters:



Here are two views of how the Loggia's newly defined shape is redefining the look of the exterior:





I hope to take a few more photos tomorrow and give a more complete update on my blog.

[Doc Vigilanti]

Looking really good! The good part is the exterior work is getting almost completed, then comes the real fun part and watching the interior get completed. Can't wait to see it finished, especially with it all the equipment put it.

[Clueless]

Originally Posted by Doc Vigilanti

Looking really good! The good part is the exterior work is getting almost completed, then comes the real fun part and watching the interior get completed. Can't wait to see it finished, especially with it all the equipment put it.

Thanks! I've got a new blog posting up. Here are some photos not on the blog...all of a model of a piece of the cloud structure we're going to be building in the Music Room:











Next week Control Room framing begins!