Manifold Recording - Studio Construction Thread

[JoaT]

I don't know if it's supposed to be final look at all, but if it is I might have some points for you to consider considering to the general feel of the place, expecially the live room.
I realize there is a lot of different tastes and/or it could well be just a rough sketch focusing only to the layout of spaces. But if you are interested in getting input of this, I will be glad to give it. I just don't want to force feed them to you.

[Clueless]

There's been more progress on the studio, including a potential schedule of actually pouring the slab. Hooray!

Here's a photo from the latest blog posting. It shows the container that will hold the slab of the loggia:



Once the slab is down, the walls go UP!

[Clueless]

Virtually all of the studio conduits are going to be embedded in block walls, meaning that they are not going to move at all when the slab is poured. However, there are a few conduits that will come up in frame walls. And there are four 20A circuits that will come up below the console, from the floor. These all need to be locked down in cement before the slab is poured, lest they move around and miss their targets.

Here you can see what will be two of the four 20A circuits in its own little mound of cement:



More photos and details at the blog...

P.S.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

[Clueless]

Finally, a change you can really see!



The pink foam means we're getting closer to pouring the slab. Assuming we get some good weather this coming week I think we'll finish placing the foam, chairs, rebar, and then we can lay in the pex to provide the radiant heating. Once that's all in, we call the cement truck.

More photos/explanations at the blog.

[mwagener]

Glad to see it's moving on

[limestudio]

holy sh.t man thats huge!

[Clueless]

We've got all the rebar laid in, the mesh wired on top, and now we're starting to lay pex. Here's the latest image at the top of the fold on my blog:



And here's a photo showing the aforementioned pipes that will feed into the manifolds of the utility room when the time comes:



Many more photos and details over at the blog.

[Clueless]

...for the slab, anyway. We got all the radiant floor conduit installed (over 6000') and if the weather holds next week, we'll be pouring the slab(s).

Here are two new photos that are not in the blog:

The first illustrates how the contractor marked the control room wall locations so that we can keep the pex clear of the wall. Although it's going to be buried in 2" of concrete, there are tolerances that allow for pex to float up, and we don't want a hose getting cut by an equally just-barely-in-tolerance wall clip penetrating the slab. Here's how we gain a margin of safety, not by making the slab thicker (which would reduce the thermal efficiency of the heating system), but by thinking horizontally:



Here's some of what that mile of conduit looks like now:



More photos and commentary are at the blog (as are other rants and raves not related to construction).

[Clueless]

The forms are going in for the pouring of the slab. The last bit of work is the construction of the cable trough under the console. Here are three pictures: a photo from the actual site of where we plan to put the trough, a rendering of what the control room floor might look like (with console and many walls conspicuously absent), and finally a composite of the two showing us how our field grid and CAD grids agree.

Note that because the rebar is 5" below slab height, and because the grid of the control room floor is not exactly a multiple of 2' (the module of the rebar), there's some apparent disagreement between the two. The main concern is the the console legs, the floor outlets, and the trough all play together nicely. Here's the sequence:







Here's hoping we get it right!

[mwagener]

I sit up in bed in the middle of the night thinking about getting my measly 8 pipes right, I can just imagine what's going on in your head about this

[Clueless]

The majority of the slab went down today, 45 yards of cement. There will be a second pour on Friday. Much later in the process we'll pour the garage and patios. Here's a photo for the diary:

[Greg Curtis]

Incredible. Simply incredible...

Congratulations on this project. It is going to be wonderful.

You can really see how strict attention to detail at these stages pays off.

Greg

.

[Clueless]

Originally Posted by Greg Curtis

Incredible. Simply incredible...

Congratulations on this project. It is going to be wonderful.

You can really see how strict attention to detail at these stages pays off.

Thanks! Your facility looks pretty nice, too! I am in awe of the size of your control room.

[Clueless]

Two days before Christmas and the slab has been poured! At least most of it...

Still to go are the slabs in the bathrooms, loggia, and garage.

Here's what I call some serious outboard gear:



For more pictures and text, see the blog.

[mwagener]

Man, I know it was probably a pain in the ass, but I still had to laugh when I saw the picture with the dog and the paw tracks in the concrete on your blog.

[Demonslave]

I admire your courage, and wherewithal, to build a studio as grand as this in 2009!!! You are an inspiration to all Gearslutz, with large bank accounts/good credit!!! LOLthumbsup Congtrats!!!

[Clueless]

2008 was all about going down--digging the foundation to be precise. 2009 will be all about going up, starting with the walls. Here's a picture of what is going to be a very busy workshop as we move, dry, prepare, and place the blocks:



More text and photos on the blog...

[Jaques Beraques]

I wish you luck for 2009!
May things speed up a bit.

[True North]

I have been following this thread almost from it's inception and all I have to say is WOW!!!

I have had a very similar vision for a studio in a rural area on a big peice of propertly like the one you are building on. It is inspiring to know that someone is actually living out part of my lifes dream.

We seem to know a lot about this studio build but not a lot about you. There are many on this board who are anonymous (myself included) but perhaps you could tell us a little bit about your background, experience and most importantly your motivations for building an extremely impressive studio by ANYONE's standards.

ALSO

Even prior to the economic donwturn, many people considered the studio business a dogs breakfeast. As with any industry, there are always those that manage to remain competitive and profitable, but this appears to be more the exception rather than the rule in the studio biz. Could you tell us a little bit about the business rationale/plan behind this build. Do you have a built in clientele ? Is it a "build and they will come" philosophy.

I am interested in the business model needed to support such an ambitious project. Maybe this is more information than you are willing to share, but I think I won't be the only one interested in hearing your story. Regardless of what you are willing to share with this group, I wish you all the best in your build.

Cheers!

[flute player]

Looking to all this a burning question came into my mind.
What budget do you have to cmplete this project.

greetz,

Paul

[Clueless]

Originally Posted by flute player

Looking to all this a burning question came into my mind.
What budget do you have to cmplete this project.

greetz,

Paul

It's too soon to say for sure exactly what the costs will be, but the rough numbers are $2M for the building, including all audio treatments and not including any audio gear. We certainly could have spent more, and we could have spent less.

I'm not going to say anything about the cost of gear, except to say that one reason we're building such a nice space is so that we can get the full benefit of the gear.

[Clueless]

Originally Posted by True North

I have been following this thread almost from it's inception and all I have to say is WOW!!!

Thanks!

I have had a very similar vision for a studio in a rural area on a big peice of propertly like the one you are building on. It is inspiring to know that someone is actually living out part of my lifes dream.

We seem to know a lot about this studio build but not a lot about you. There are many on this board who are anonymous (myself included) but perhaps you could tell us a little bit about your background, experience and most importantly your motivations for building an extremely impressive studio by ANYONE's standards.

Well, there's certainly some information about me on my website and blog, though it's not a completely open book. Suffice it to say, twenty years ago I believed that the software industry's methods of development worked against their own best interests and their customers'. I proposed that instead of keeping software a secret from users, software companies should share their software with users and work collaboratively with them. Everybody thought I was crazy, so I started a company to prove I was right. Today, Open Source Software is a mainstream concept that runs everything from Google to the New York Stock Exchange.

ALSO

Even prior to the economic donwturn, many people considered the studio business a dogs breakfeast. As with any industry, there are always those that manage to remain competitive and profitable, but this appears to be more the exception rather than the rule in the studio biz. Could you tell us a little bit about the business rationale/plan behind this build. Do you have a built in clientele ? Is it a "build and they will come" philosophy.

I am interested in the business model needed to support such an ambitious project. Maybe this is more information than you are willing to share, but I think I won't be the only one interested in hearing your story. Regardless of what you are willing to share with this group, I wish you all the best in your build.

Cheers!

I hope to do for the recording industry what Alice Waters did for lunch, what Thomas Keller did for dinner, what Cirque du Soliel did for the circus, and what PIXAR has done for movies. In every case it means a rebirth and a new beginning, a complete reimagination. If successful, I hope every great studio in the world copies the model, and I hope that every music lover in the world is able to have a transcendent and transforming musical experience that informs the rest of their relationship with music and musicians.

[Keldog]

Are we there yet?




Just kidding.
Nice to see things happening and it's lookin good. That's one helluva project.

I tilt a beer to you, sir.
May 2009 be ever so kind to you.

[Greg Curtis]

Originally Posted by Clueless

It's too soon to say for sure exactly what the costs will be, but the rough numbers are $2M for the building, including all audio treatments and not including any audio gear. We certainly could have spent more, and we could have spent less.

That's pretty damm good. A bit less than my project, for sure, and I started with a building already built! Nice! How did you do that?

Greg

.

[Clueless]

Originally Posted by Greg Curtis

That's pretty damm good. A bit less than my project, for sure, and I started with a building already built! Nice! How did you do that?

Dunno. We'd probably have to compare notes. Your live room is 20% larger in area (1656 vs. 1380 sq ft) but equal in volume compared to mine (20 ft vs. 24 ft ceiling). Your control room is almost 70% larger than mine (800 vs. 475). When it comes to cost, sometimes size does matter...

Perhaps the other trick is that we're integrating acoustic and architectural design, so that most of the wall space in the facility is doing the job that would normally require two walls--an inner structural wall and an exposed acoustic wall.

[resound]

Very elegantly put, Clueless.

I guess I figured right when I guessed RH, but I also spent a number of years in those parts so it was an easy conclusion.

Best of luck!

[Greg Curtis]

Originally Posted by Clueless

Dunno. We'd probably have to compare notes. Your live room is 20% larger in area (1656 vs. 1380 sq ft) but equal in volume compared to mine (20 ft vs. 24 ft ceiling). Your control room is almost 70% larger than mine (800 vs. 475). When it comes to cost, sometimes size does matter...

Perhaps the other trick is that we're integrating acoustic and architectural design, so that most of the wall space in the facility is doing the job that would normally require two walls--an inner structural wall and an exposed acoustic wall.

True. We are building walls within walls, whereas you have the luxury of not being in one of the busiest cities in the world, with an active train line running 1.5 blocks away...

But you have a much more exotic design, with more corners and angles. Your contractor is going to love you!

Greg

.

[blim]

Originally Posted by Clueless

I proposed that instead of keeping software a secret from users, software companies should share their software with users and work collaboratively with them. Everybody thought I was crazy, so I started a company to prove I was right.

Red Hat?

Originally Posted by Clueless

I hope to do for the recording industry what... PIXAR has done for movies.

I sure hope you don't. Unless your goal is to cheapen the art of recording.

[andyspiller]

Originally Posted by blim

Red Hat?




I sure hope you don't. Unless your goal is to cheapen the art of recording.

I think the idea is to create a whole new genre and division of the industry. Expanding the market can only be a good thing.

[Clueless]

Originally Posted by andyspiller

I think the idea is to create a whole new genre and division of the industry. Expanding the market can only be a good thing.

Andy, you get it.