My New Studio Build (perhaps overly detailed)

[CryingBass]

Boxes. Why can't gear just show up, unbox itself, put itself in place, cable itself up to all the other gear, and then proceed to bring in many fans ( wink wink ) to watch a good recording. Or, my recording.

Smoove - get this thing done so we can skip to the later!

 

[silky smoove]

Smoove - get this thing done so we can skip to the later!

Working on it!

 

[silky smoove]

Main room caulking is done except for the seam between the bottom of the quarter round and the top of the flooring. I can’t do that until after the treatments are installed since I’ll need to remove the paper from the floor.

Fittingly enough I had exactly enough caulk on-hand to do the main room. I’m headed down to Home Depot momentarily to get enough caulk to do the vestibule, which I should easily be able to hammer out tomorrow.

 

[silky smoove]

Also, in case anyone is wondering... Silicone caulk smells like salt and vinegar potato chips as it dries.

 

[silky smoove]

Seattle winter weather is killing me right now.

Until I can get the HRV exhaust and intake ducts covered (with something other than black plastic and duct tape) I have to rely on opening the door for ventilation. It’s pouring rain today, so I can’t leave the door open without creating a standing pool of water on my newly installed flooring. I can’t cover the ducts because I need them to be dry.

What does this have to do with caulking and painting? It absolute reeks of curing silicone in there right now, and I won’t be subjecting myself to it just because of a self-imposed schedule. I’m on-hold until the weather breaks.

 

[Microbass]

The snow gods will be looking down up high though! Time to look out the planks!

 

[silky smoove]

The snow gods will be looking down up high though! Time to look out the planks!

El Niño year, so I suspect the snow will be exceedingly minimal here in Seattle.

 

[silky smoove]

Alright, I did some planning, and if I can take 12/20 off work I think I can get moved in before the end of the year. I’ll have to REALLY buckle down and be diligent about working every day I have available, but it’s definitely doable. Fingers crossed that I can pull it off. If it dips into 2019 it won’t be that big of a deal, but I’d sure love to move in before the end of the year even if there are a few minor things still left (ie the sound door lever, possible baffle box construction, etc.).

 

[silky smoove]

Expanding on my previous post, and putting this down here so I can hopefully guilt myself into staying on track with my plan:

12/16: Tape the trip in the main room so I can touch-up the wall paint adjacent to it. This is all I can get done this weekend due to a LONG corporate gig for a company's annual holiday party on the 15th.

12/20: I put in a leave request at work to take this day off. Assuming it goes through, which it should, I'm hoping to install the HRV duct screens (so I can ventilate the building without needing to keep the door open), caulk the vestibule, and do all of the touch-up paint in the main room.

12/21: Assuming the caulk in the vestibule has dried I'll tape all of the vestibule trim, install foam backer rod underneath all of the quarter-round trim in both the main room and the vestibule, cut and hang the corner trim pieces to help support the corner bass traps, cut and install the flooring trim piece at the exterior door threshold, install the corner bass traps.

12/22: Touch-up paint in the vestibule, install outlet covers and rubber-backer isolation measures, hang acoustic treatments.

12/23: Build shelving in the vestibule, pull all of the construction paper off of the flooring, sweep floors.

12/30: Move into the studio.

 

[DirtDog]

Seattle winter weather is killing me right now.

Until I can get the HRV exhaust and intake ducts covered (with something other than black plastic and duct tape) I have to rely on opening the door for ventilation. It’s pouring rain today, so I can’t leave the door open without creating a standing pool of water on my newly installed flooring. I can’t cover the ducts because I need them to be dry.

What does this have to do with caulking and painting? It absolute reeks of curing silicone in there right now, and I won’t be subjecting myself to it just because of a self-imposed schedule. I’m on-hold until the weather breaks.

View attachment 3242405

Stupid question, silky - why are you using silicone caulk instead of latex? To me, latex is the preferred product for this use case. Silicone tends to be for wet areas like kitchen and bath. Latex doesn't smell (much). Are the acoustical properties of silicone superior to those of latex?

 

[silky smoove]

Stupid question, silky - why are you using silicone caulk instead of latex? To me, latex is the preferred product for this use case. Silicone tends to be for wet areas like kitchen and bath. Latex doesn't smell (much). Are the acoustical properties of silicone superior to those of latex?

Latex (i.e. acrylic) caulk does two things that make it a poor choice for sound isolation:

1. It fully dries, which could lead to an acoustic bridge between two planes. Silicone caulk by comparison never fully dries and does not constitute any kind of bridging.
2. It shrinks over time which can lead to small gaps in your isolation perimeter, whereas silicone doesn't really shrink or distort over time.

Acrylic caulk cleans up much more nicely than silicone, which is why it's such a popular choice in most cases.

 

[DirtDog]

Latex (i.e. acrylic) caulk does two things that make it a poor choice for sound isolation:

1. It fully dries, which could lead to an acoustic bridge between two planes. Silicone caulk by comparison never fully dries and does not constitute any kind of bridging.
2. It shrinks over time which can lead to small gaps in your isolation perimeter, whereas silicone doesn't really shrink or distort over time.

Acrylic caulk cleans up much more nicely than silicone, which is why it's such a popular choice in most cases.

Ah makes sense.

I've used both extensively (in non acoustic treatment context) which is why I asked - unless water intrusion is likely, I always go with latex. Easy to work with.

 

[silky smoove]

unless water intrusion is likely, I always go with latex. Easy to work with.

Much easier in my experience. I'm by no means an expert builder, but I find silicone caulk much tougher to make look nice.

 

[Stumbo]

Much easier in my experience. I'm by no means an expert builder, but I find silicone caulk much tougher to make look nice.

Denatured alcohol will help smoothe out silicon caulk.

 

[silky smoove]

The view out my office window right now. Winter in the PNW folks! If you need to be outside and have it be dry, it’ll do what it did yesterday. If you’re inside and don’t care if it’s raining it’ll do this. I would have gotten a lot done yesterday if this were the weather.

I’ll quit whining. At least it’s a nice day.

 

[cultrvultr]

Getting close! I’ve been following this build diligently since day one. I had a dream of turning my old garage into a studio one day but this thread has made me reevaluate. I’ve had two kids since this build started and now I don’t have any spare time or money to even consider it! Thanks as always Silky for giving us such a detailed view into this fun project.

 

[silky smoove]

Thanks as always Silky for giving us such a detailed view into this fun project.

Happy to oblige!

 

[silky smoove]

Today my goal was just to get the main room trim taped so I could do the touch-up paint next week. I’ve got two issues keeping me from doing that. A flare-up of plantar fasciitis on my left foot that’s making it hard to walk around, and complications from a cracked tooth repair I had a couple months ago that now have my face in near-constant pain. I’m still functional, but severely lacking in mobility and the tooth thing has killed my ability to concentrate. Combine that with a late night corporate gig for Toyota last night and I just can’t see getting anything done today. The plantar fasciitis will resolve, and I’m contacting my dentist tomorrow to hopefully get the tooth resolved without needing surgery, even if I suspect that’s what it will come to.

I still have my fingers crossed for finishing by the end of the year, but these ailments are not making it easy.

 

[Inky13]

Hey Silky, I suffered from Plantar Fascitis for quite some time.
After multiple injections didn’t work, I ended up getting sonic shock therapy. Been pain free for eight years. Yeah I know, getting medical advice from an anonymous online forum is like having John Gotti prepare your tax returns. Just sharing my personal experience with a debilitating condition. Hope you’re feeling well soon.

 

[silky smoove]

Hey Silky, I suffered from Plantar Fascitis for quite some time.
After multiple injections didn’t work, I ended up getting sonic shock therapy. Been pain free for eight years. Yeah I know, getting medical advice from an anonymous online forum is like having John Gotti prepare your tax returns. Just sharing my personal experience with a debilitating condition. Hope you’re feeling well soon.

Thanks Inky. My wife is a doctor who’s been helping me with this issue. It’s pretty mild for me and really developed in the last couple years after playing too many games of ultimate frisbee. I’ll run your suggestion by her.