The Parlor Recording Studio - New Orleans - Construction Journal

[nukmusic]

updates?

[Matt Grondin]

Sorry for the lack of updates, dealing with permitting right now. I could go the rest of my life without ever talking to another architect again and die perfectly happy.

[nukmusic]

I can understand having lived in the city most of my life. Things just are done in a different way. "Louisiana Methods"

But keep pushing..

[wesarvin]

Hey Matt,

Glad to see that you're doing well! I'd love to stop by sometime to check the place out and hang. Take care and best wishes for you and your build.

--Wes

[Kris]

Good luck Matt!

[Jesse Mangum]

Matt! Wes told me about your build... that place is gonna be killer! I've been building a (much smaller) studio for the last 3 years now... should be finished in a few months.

I'll be in New Orleans in the fall... I'd love to swing by and check the place out/catch up!

Cheers,

Jesse

[Matt Grondin]

To my former high school friends who have posted here, thanks for the kind words and just get in touch with me anytime you're in the city and want to check it out. matt@theparlorstudio.com

And to inquiring minds, we are hoping to break ground in September. Basically what happened was... we have a designer from Nashville who is also a contractor. He could do this whole thing himself without ever involving a Louisiana architect or contractor (engineers are a necessity though).

He is not allowed to do any work down here without a license and cannot get any of his drawings approved even though he is licensed in Tennessee and so is his architect from up there. So basically we have to pay people down here to take on some of the workload and be responsible for certain elements of the project.

Despite not wanting to do this originally due to financial constraints and the fact that most people are idiots down here when it comes to a specialized project of this nature, we found some good open-minded people to collaborate with who amazingly enough, are helping us get historic tax credits that we didn't even know we were eligible for (the original architect firm we'd worked with, realtor, and previous tenants all thought the building was too new to qualify, turns out that there are expansions added to it that are newer but the core of the building is at least 70 years old)... this could help pay for almost half of the construction.

Anybody who is interested in building in Louisiana, I'm available to try and answer any questions you may have, this has been a learning process for sure, very frustrating at times, but things are moving forward and hopefully we can have the shell of the building done sans technical wiring and gear installation before year's end.

Thanks!

[Syncamorea]

Originally Posted by Matt Grondin

this could help pay for almost half of the construction.

Awesome!

Keep on keepin' on.

[Anti-FairyDust]

Itching to see final gear list and floor plan. Knowing matt lots of vintage pieces

[nukmusic]

Cool deal
It's a standard requirement is most places that the designers/contractors/etc be licensed in the state of construction. Mainly because safety requirements vary from area to area. Glad something good has come out of the confusion. I'm sure you can't wait to be up and running. Keep pushing.

[Matt Grondin]

Things should start moving forward very smoothly now with the addition of John Williams Architects to the team. They shouldn't have any issues pushing our existing plans through the city permitting office with the addition of some extra electrical and mechanical drawings. We hope to have a building permit in the next 1-2 months and be done with construction by early next year. Fingers crossed for no more snags!

[Matt Grondin]

Originally Posted by nukmusic

It's a standard requirement is most places that the designers/contractors/etc be licensed in the state of construction.

I knew it would be like this, we were just in the hopeful state of mind that we could find someone who would sign off on our drawings and a contractor who would help us with permits and supply some supplementary labor without wanting to take over the job and basically getting paid for redundant things that we really don't need. However, no one wants to stick their neck out there or they are control freaks who don't want to trust someone from out of town and they want to take over and start changing things. Architects and contractors for the most part are insanely inept at thinking outside the box and learning new "studio-specific" building techniques. You can't even imagine the amount of dumb questions I've been asked. Anyway, the people we just hired are cool, pretty hands-off, and willing to work with our Nashville guy... they are just getting paid more than we preferred, but that's ok if we get the tax credits that we didn't even know we were entitled to if it weren't for them. Only seems fair.

[Matt Grondin]

Just wanted to let everyone know that we are going to undertake a complete restoration of our Neve 8078 by the tech shop at Vintage King Audio. Here is the rundown of everything that's going to be done to the desk:

Thorough deep cleaning of console frame (inside & outside), cleaning of internal wire looms. Repair any damaged parts, paint or repair blank panels in need of attention

Replace factory type Mahogany wood panels (side, rear and meter bridge)

Replacement Mahogany meter bridge and side panels

Replace and recover arm rest material, recover and fill in grills of rear panel

Replacement vinyl for arm rest and rear panel including filling in of current rear grills

Strip, paint and rescreen worn center section panel (master volume)

Strip, paint and rescreen worn 31105 and 32264a module faceplates

Replacement knobs and caps for broken and mis-colored knobs

Fabricate and replace blank panels above faders that currently have black plugs

Recap, service and calibrate 31105 Input/EQ Modules

Recap, service and calibrate 32423 Routing Modules

Recap, service and calibrate 32424 Routing Select Modules

Recap, service and calibrate 32425 Tape Return Modules

Install Flying Faders

Service and calibrate manual Monitor Return Faders

Recap, service and calibrate 33415 Summing Amps

Recap, service and calibrate 32264 compressors/Filter units

Recap, service and calibrate Center Section, Meters and Power Supplies. Service and clean Patch Bay points/connections. Re-create patch labels if necessary

Final Testing, calibrations using Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) analysis of all modules, buss amps and center section, meters, etc

Replacement power capacitors for power supplies




Should be a really beautiful and reliable desk when all is said and done. Very exciting. Here is what these guys did with Electric Lady's 8078 that came from Clinton:

Neve 8078 Restored for Electric Lady Studios | Vintage King Audio

[Matt Grondin]

Had a really positive meeting today between our builder/designer and our local architect. Much clarity was accomplished and a schedule is starting to materialize. Fingers crossed, should be pouring the footings within the month!

[Matt Grondin]

Couldn't figure out how to delete posts with outdated information so I replaced them with nifty little emoticons

[nukmusic]

[Matt Grondin]

Application for rehabilitative tax credits APPROVED

Louisiana Historic Preservation - Frequently Asked Questions about Tax Credits

[hobson]

good news Matt!

[Matt Grondin]

Installing cabinets, tile, and wood floors in the client kitchen/bathroom this week. Looks really great. Should be working on the foundations for the big room within a week or two (I hope). Finally.

[Matt Grondin]

Our kitchen floor, finished by yours truly. Antique reclaimed heart pine with Waterlox sealer.


IMG_0032 by MattGrondin, on Flickr

[Kris]

Purdy!

[Matt Grondin]

Pending that we ok the price, this is what should happen starting next week:

Installation of foundation per plans and specifications to include:
Rough-in plumbing and installation of one water closet, lavatory, shower floor drain and water heater Construction of block wall 8’ high
Saw cutting of concrete (approx. 163’ x 6” deep)
Demolition of concrete (approx. 1169 SF x 6” deep)
Excavation (approx. 358’ x 3 ½ to 4’ wide x 24” deep)
Install, form, tie steel for grade beam (approx. 358’)
Install concrete with pump truck (approx. 48 yards)
Install and compact sand to backfill around footing (approx. 60 yards)
Rough grade 5116 SF to accept 4” paving with 40 yards of sand
Install concrete with pump truck (approx. 71 yards)

Should actually have a shell of a building and a visual for the space once it's done!

[soundesign]

Originally Posted by Matt Grondin

Our kitchen floor, finished by yours truly. Antique reclaimed heart pine with Waterlox sealer.


IMG_0032 by MattGrondin, on Flickr

That is one gorgeous floor.

[Matt Grondin]

Originally Posted by soundesign

That is one gorgeous floor.

Thanks, once it dried, it's not nearly as shiny, but it person it actually looks much better. You can see the true character of the wood much better with the Satin topcoat. Waterlox is some cool shit.

[Matt Grondin]

Construction has FINALLY resumed, lots of updates this week!


IMG_0335 by MattGrondin, on Flickr


IMG_0336 by MattGrondin, on Flickr

[Halloween]

Great build, looking forward to seeing this come together, I'm about an hour from you, its nice to see so many actives down here, if you need tech work at any stage, Mike Montero is your guy in LA. He is simply magic.

Sent from my PC36100 using Gearslutz App

[Matt Grondin]

Originally Posted by Halloween

Great build, looking forward to seeing this come together, I'm about an hour from you, its nice to see so many actives down here, if you need tech work at any stage, Mike Montero is your guy in LA. He is simply magic.

Sent from my PC36100 using Gearslutz App

I hear Montero is very knowledgable but tough to pin down sometimes. Guess it happens when you really don't have many techs in town. Only so much work one man can do.

[Matt Grondin]

For those of you who don't know about the delays:

1. had to part ways with original architect firm (differing viewpoints and too focused around their own agendas)
2. had to part ways with original studio designer (same as above... good guy, just had differing vision)
3. had to find new designer and hire new architect firm
4. had to prepare and submit an extremely thorough application for historic tax credits and wait two months for approval
5. had to hire structural, electrical, and mechanical engineers
6. STILL working on getting all drawings finished for building permit approval
7. had to excavate around existing structure in order to finalize structural engineering plans for foundations and footings
8. had to get a solid bid to start the concrete work which will be done under a repairs and improvement permit.

So, you can see how many delays that would cause. NEVER EVER build something if you can help it. The end will be great, but the journey has been full of setbacks and frustrations. Whew.

[Halloween]

Originally Posted by Matt Grondin

I hear Montero is very knowledgable but tough to pin down sometimes. Guess it happens when you really don't have many techs in town. Only so much work one man can do.

I've never really had that hard of a time scheduling him and getting stuff done he recently brought a rare power supply back from the dead for me, if you need I have a direct number to him, shoot me a pm if you feel you will need it. Sorry to hear about your delays, they can be frustrating to say the least, keep your eye on the prize.

Sent from my PC36100 using Gearslutz App

[Matt Grondin]

Saw-cutting the pre-existing slab for the new footings and slabs. The orange line is basically where iso booths 1 & 2 and part of 3 are going.


IMG_0338 by MattGrondin, on Flickr

This square area of dirt up until right before the second column on the left is where the control room will be built. The main tracking room will be from the control room stopping point up until the offices where the temporary drywall is right now. To the left is where the cuts are being made for the iso booths.


IMG_0339 by MattGrondin, on Flickr