Light of Day Studios Garage Build San Diego

[lodstudios@gmail]

Seems like it has been forever, but it is finally underway.

Bought this house with a detached garage in May of this year, garage measures 15X11.5 FT with an additional room of 6.5X6.5 FT to be used as a vocal booth/amp room.

Budget, well...I have it set at $2,500 at this point but it is really about $7,500 when you look at the electrical work I already had done and the new roof on the house and garage. I will be doing all the work with a skilled and experienced buddy of mine, this is saving me a TON of money and I will be eternally in debt to this guy. (All he asked is that he have a cold beer and a cig at all times...I don't think that will be a problem.)

Location- I am in a residential area of the City of San Diego, my neighbors are all wonderful and know what I am doing. (Two of my neighbors actually play full time in a symphony)

Isolation- I work mostly with programmed drums, I could get away with recording a drum set on the odd occasion but that certainly won't be something I do regularly as I have a few places I can track drums here in town. My main focus is the vocal booth/amp room, I want to make that as solid and isolated as possible without actually building a room within a room. I am very aware of the results I can expect, complete isolation won't be happening.

The current construction is 2X3 framing at 24"OC, I will be beefing up the inside walls with 1/2" plywood, plastic wrap, R13 Insulation and 2 layers of 1/2" drywall...I am still deciding whether or to go with RC Channel, for both the added isolation and the added spacing for the insulation since I am dealing with less than a 2X4 stud.

The ceiling will get at least a 2X6 at 16"OC or 2X8 at 24"OC joists...this is based on span loads...I honestly think I can get away with 2X6 at 24" because of the extra bracing we will be doing because the building was originally built in 1926 and we are wanting to be as thorough as possible...on the other hand, the price difference is minimal between the two different lumber sizes and, more importantly, there obviously can't be a price put on saftey.

HVAC-I have a limited budget so I will be using portable air conditioners for both rooms...they have worked wonders in my NON INSULATED 1926 Craftsman so I am very confident in the performance.

I will be using pre-hung doors, possibly two in the entry and two between the ISO room...is this completely un-needed since I don't have a traditional air lock?

Framing will start this Tuesday, will need to do the ceiling joists and build a wall to close the wall with the VERY old garage doors. I will be re-surfacing the slab as well, there are some raised areas...I guess is to be expected in an 83 year old home. I have laminate hardwood to lay down, should look very nice.

I have the electrician coming in when framing is done, planning on 2 or three lights in the studio and one in the ISO room. We are also thinking of cutting the concrete to make an area for a floor box to eliminate cables behind my desk.

Sorry for the long-winded post...did I forget anything?

Here are some pics of the process so far, had to take down the plywood and insulation that the previous owner put up, also put in completely new power to the whole house with an under ground feed to the garage for the studio's own sub-panel. I have a 1 circuit for lights, 1 for outlets and 1 20AMP breaker powering my workshop. I may put in another 20 AMP circuit to power the AC Units, I have plenty of space and I don't want anything tripping the breakers.

Here is how it looked before the "demo".

Back Again...with a garage now!

Cheers!
Keith

[lodstudios@gmail]

I am focusing some attention on the slab now, I have one area of concern that I may need to cut into. There is a long crack that I can certainly fill with epoxy, but the ridge will need to be dealt with. I am thinking of cutting out a small section and filling it with epoxy but I am unsure of the "right" way to do this. Obviously cost is king here, but I certainly want to make sure it is done right. My main concern is that I will be framing a new wall right over this ridge as well as putting down laminate flooring when all drywalled. I am thinking there are areas I will need to re-surface as well. Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions? We are putting up the joists tomorrow, excited!

Keith

[lodstudios@gmail]

Well, another day of work and the ceiling is completely framed out!

My buddy came and did almost everything, couldn't have done it without him.

The pics will show the framing we did, it is pretty basic as we tried to go with a truss like structure with two king posts as the ridge in the middle was in the way. The idea was to evenly distribute the load so we could use 2X4, in the end with all the bracing and blocking we were both able to hang from each joist with VERY minimal flexing. (he weighs 190 and I am 6'3" and pushing 300lbs) Needless to say we are very happy with the results and were able to use most of the original rafters, some of them we laminated to a fresh 2X4 due to termite damage. (House and garage were tented 5 Months ago, but they failed to repair the garage damage)

The blocking we did was on purpose, we wanted more rigidity, while giving the drywall something else to screw to when we get done. We measured 4FT OC from the top plate on each joist and placed a block, then another 4FT OC from that one for the second plate. Our estimations show this should provide a very sturdy ceiling and plenty of screw real estate.

Any questions? I am anxious to see what you all think!

Gonna start beefing up my outer leaf tomorrow with plywood, then will be caulking the HELL out of this place!

PS. the beer was from the night before...we had an 18Pack and talked about the plans.

Keith

[lodstudios@gmail]

Anyone have any thoughts suggestions?!

[flute player]

Originally Posted by lodstudios@gmail

Anyone have any thoughts suggestions?!

yeah, with all the wood you might consider a good relation with the fireman.

greetz,

Paul

[lodstudios@gmail]

Just ordered Backer Rod from this company...5/8 Soft Cell at $81.00 for 1,550 feet. This is compared to Home Depot at $7 for 20ft.

Check this company out, I found them on this forum and I am very happy I found them. I will let you know if anything goes wrong.

[VoiceManMike]

Originally Posted by lodstudios@gmail

Anyone have any thoughts suggestions?!

Since you have 4" clapboard as your exterior finish, you'll never be able to completely
seal out the sound on those walls, it's also a good idea to add rigidity to the structure.
Two things I would do on the exterior walls. 1) Make sure they are retrofitted to the
slab, with anchor bolts -if not already. 2) Shear-wall the structure with 1/2" OSB.
This being Earth Quake country, if you don't, you'll wish you had after the next good
shake. Another thing you can do is insulate of course, but before you install the OSB
cover the walls with DuPont™ Tyvek® HomeWrap®. It should go on the outside but I
don't think you want to re-clapboard the structure.

There are a few things you can do with the crack. Leave it alone. Cut it out and repure
it (this maybe a waste of time). Or clean out as much of the dirt and crap out of the
gap, an fill it with a flexible material like SikaFlex.

There is a White Cap Construction Supply in San Diego, tell them what's going on and
they can give you some real options with the slab.

[lodstudios@gmail]

Thanks so much Mike!

Couple questions on what you said.

I was under the impression that I could simply use a vapar barrier, just before drywall, and not do the Tyvek...this is based on what I had read on this forum by Rod. Maybe I misunderstood, I was thinking that because this isn't new construction that I could use a vapor barrier and be done with it. NO?

The structure is not attached to the frame, neither is my house. It was build in '26 and it simply sits on the foundation....I am looking at bolting it down for sure.

Inside the studs is a hard deal. Because it is so old, it is not plumb in most places. I had a hell of a time so far cutting the 1/2" plywood to go between the studs, there were some pretty nasty gaps in some places so I am caulking the $*%& out of it. (after the backer rod) This is what you were suggesting with the OSB, right?

Keith

[VoiceManMike]

[QUOTE=lodstudios@gmail;4704709]
I was under the impression that I could simply use a vapar barrier, just before drywall, and not do the Tyvek...this is based on what I had read on this forum by Rod. Maybe I misunderstood, I was thinking that because this isn't new construction that I could use a vapor barrier and be done with it. NO?[quote] The Tyvek is the vapor barrier.

The structure is not attached to the frame, neither is my house. It was build in '26 and it simply sits on the foundation....I am looking at bolting it down for sure.

White Cap should have the really cool epoxy foundation bolts. Much easyer to install
than red heads

Inside the studs is a hard deal. Because it is so old, it is not plumb in most places. I had a hell of a time so far cutting the 1/2" plywood to go between the studs, there were some pretty nasty gaps in some places so I am caulking the $*%& out of it. (after the backer rod) This is what you were suggesting with the OSB, right?

Sounds like you are trying to add mass to the exterior wall (between the studs) with the plywood. Doing that might add some rigidity but could could pop out if the structure racks. Shear-walling is placing a sheet product (OSB) on the face and nailing it with 8d nails 2" from the edge and every 6" on the studs. This is done on every new home and stick frame building in CA.
Here is what it looks like on the exterior of the wall,
http://www.odellconstruction.com/fre.../17backshl.jpg

[lodstudios@gmail]

Yeah, that makes total sense. Problem is I would have to take off all the clapboard in order to do that, I don't think it would go back on very easy and that would put me WAY over budget.

I will check into those anchors.

Thanks!

Keith

[lodstudios@gmail]

Busy weekend, didn't get a ton done.

I did some demo today in preparation for building the wall and installing a door to the ISO Booth. This was pretty easy but very messy, glad that is over.

I scored a window yesterday, $450 Pella Double hung for $85. This was very nice, it was a return special order from Lowes.

I am finishing up the wall beefup, here are some pics of some recent work.

This week I hope to get the new doors up and the studio wired so we can Insulate and drywall on Thursday/Friday.

On a side note, I stepped on a rusty nail and am about to go get myself a nice tetanus shot.
Thanks!

[lodstudios@gmail]

A lot has been done since the last post. I am happy to say got my new window and door hung, started insulating, finished all the electrical wiring and am working on getting ready to throw on the vapor barrier so I can install the RC1. I am VERY lucky to have my good friend doing most of the work, I would be completely lost without his help.

The entry door is a 30" prehung steel cased door that is very durable and very nice. I wasn't concerned about the sound leakage so much on this door so I didn't go nuts with it. The door into the iso is a mammoth Prehung 32" door that is SOLID wood and VERY dense. (and very heavy) Each door isExterior Grade so they have all the vynil seals and weather stripping in place. The entry door almost creates a vacuum when closed, very happy with it.

All my drywall materials and RC1 arrived on Friday, I was able to get REALLY good pricing from a drywall supply locally. If anyone in San Diego needs supplies go visit the people at Squires Belt Material Company. I walked in off the street, was out within 15 minutes and had the materials delivered 4 hours later that VERY SAME DAY! Talk about service! On top of that, they were very knowledgeable on products and very honest about pricing on certain items. They directed me to buy insulation elsewehere as they charge close to double the normal price because they rarely sell/buy any.

I purchased my lighting, I went with 6in can lights that will be installed once the drywall is in place. They will be on dimmers, I was concerned about these but my electrician assured me it will be fine. I can always switch them out if they are noisy. One thing we did, which was also the electricians advice, was install a breaker for each individual outlet...they are all 20 AMP circuits. The theory is to isolate every single source to avoid any issues. I don't have a ton of outlets so it made it easier. The lighting is set in pairs. Two cans per 15AMP breaker, total of 6 lights. (4 in control room, 2 in iso booth) We used all steel boxes, they are foamed in the back to prevent vibration. We will be using extension plates to make up the size we lose from the RC1 and the 5/8 Drywall.

I am working on the HVAC situation, at this point I am thinking of using a dual hose Portable air conditioner in the iso room. I don't have many people in the booth longer than an hour so I can open the door and run the AC during breaks. This isn't ideal, but it will work for my situation. I am going to run a single hose portable AC in the control room, I have a door that I can open periodically to let some fresh air in the room.

Attached are many pics of the door, window, electrical and insulation installs.

Best,
Keith

[lodstudios@gmail]

Drywall is all in, except for the last short wall we need to build to close the garage door...need to wait to do this last so we can get the materials in.

I did have some Green Glue on hand so I used what I had in the iso room, that stuff is pretty amazing.

We decided to double layer the wall inside the Control Room that is shared with the iso room, without even sealing it the difference in performance was stunning.


Here are some updated pics. Gonna address the floor and put the lights and outlets in next, as well as my xlr wall panels. The floor is still a bit up in the air, I already have the hardwood to lay down but I need to grind down some peaks to get it level enough to make the floor flat.

Anywho, enjoy!

Keith

[silverking]

Of course every studio must have a dog.......or two!

[lodstudios@gmail]

Well, this weekend I had a big hang up with the floor. I hired a concrete specialist to come grind down the peaks and level out the floor, as we grinded the floor began to break up rather than dust away. Further inspection revealed MANY areas that weren't solid so we tried just breaking out those specific areas and would patch those later, this is where my weekend went downhill. We found NO solid concrete and it was basically an inch of concrete here and there and as little as 1/4 inch in some places. The place was built in 1926 and someone had patched the slab over the years and made it LOOK solid but it was VERY unstable. There were some areas that had 1/4 inch of concrete over large river rock, other places had close to 12 inches of concrete. (mostly near the corners) We decided to demo the whole thing out and level and pour a new slab, we took special care to preserve the original footing as it is in perfect shape and is VERY deep. Needless to say I was very bummed, this basically cost me $1,000 more than originally expected. No matter, it has to be done or I would have larger issues in the future. I will be staining and sealing the floor when finished instead of using the laminate hardwood, I guess there was one good thing that came out of this. Anyways, here are some pics of the demo...I will post some of the new slab very soon, we will be pouring this Friday.

[lodstudios@gmail]

New floor is in, going to let it dry completely and then stain and seal it. Obviously I need to do a few more things but I am VERY happy to have this done and have a nice new floor.

[lodstudios@gmail]

Hey All, a lot has been done since my last post. I have begun working in the studio and have neglected to update here...so here goes.

I still have some touch up painting and cosmetic issues to finish but I had some people wanting to work so I couldn't pass it up as I haven't made money in 4 months. So happy to be working again!!!

I will be taking some better professional photos soon as well as having a grand opening.

Thanks!

[Tonio Ruiz]

looking great and awesome...!!!

[soundrick]

Originally Posted by lodstudios@gmail

Just ordered Backer Rod from this company...5/8 Soft Cell at $81.00 for 1,550 feet. This is compared to Home Depot at $7 for 20ft.

Check this company out, I found them on this forum and I am very happy I found them. I will let you know if anything goes wrong.

This might be a dumb question, but what do you use this stuff for??

nice work BTW!!thumbsup

[lodstudios@gmail]

Not a dumb question at all, I had no idea what it was for before this project.

It is used to seal all gaps in walls, where the wall meets the floor, under door thresholds...basically everywhere there is a gap. The idea is to make the room air tight and the backer rod makes it so you don't have to use as much caulking product, it also gives a nice edge for the caulking to adhere to. It is also something I am going to use in my house, the wife and I are doing some remodeling and it comes in handy when sealing gaps in there as well!

And thanks for the compliments!

[Vodski]

Hey, I was gonna use that skull pattern to cover over my bass traps. Nice work btw. I've almost finished my home single garage in the box studio. Keep going , it will give you many happy hours at the end of all the work.