Soundzania doing fine, Studio almost done :)

I've been spending a lot of work lately over at soundzania , check it out. We've turned it into a whole new web site and now we have t-shirts and a shopping cart, and everything. Geez, its looking kinda nice.

Anyway, I'm getting excited to begin opening up the studio. We still have many things to finish though.
I've got to finish putting the final trim on the doors to make them soundproof. I also need to complete the shelving for amps and speakers in the main studio room. And then there's the couch... we'll be getting a nice little ikea couch for everyone to hang out on while they are listening to the good mixes in the studio.

Well, I'll post another soon on the status of the basement. See ya then!

a new yard !

Yup, we got a new yard, courtesy of my back and a lot of time.
Here is a pic:

another door is up

the last door has been hung. I still need to put on the trim and the special seals for these doors.

That's it for tonight!

door up, studio desk in place

Here is the new studio central desk getting setup... nice double-monitors :)


We've hung the heavy --- 400 pound door ! Here's a picture:



Still got some work to do in the kitchen... not much more progress there.

Kitchen very close to finished

I'm almost done with the kitchen. Handles are on, appliances are connected. Just need to finish up some trim and then fill the cabinets.

The basement is almost done too. Painting has started (I'll get more pics later). Painting will go on for several days now.

more cabinet fun

No pictures this time. I've just about finished putting in the handles on the cabinets... Now its time for filling in the gaps. The cabinets have about 2 inches of gap between some of them, and I need to fill that with some of the "toe-kick" material. Any, I'll post a picture of it soon and you can see what I mean.

Gas cooktop installed

No picture today, just a quick update.

Last night I had fun putting soap on the gas pipe connections I put together to see if any bubbles would form.... some did. I had to redo the piping a couple of times, but I think I got the gas pipes connected good and tight.
The cooktop works... one more appliance installed.
Next up is the exhaust fan. Its connected and operating, but it does not vent outside yet.

Soundzania contest

A friend of a mine connected me with Stephanie who blogs about her adeventures in baby-wearing. Yup, I've done it too. Anyway, she is running a contest now to give away a copy of Soundzania.

Here is a quick link to her contest

finishing touches

I haven't updated this in a couple weeks... I've been making slow progress on the cabinets in the kitchen. No change in the basement.

oh yeah... granite countertops are in!!!!


Hopefully, we'll get the contractor out here soon to finish the trim in the basement. Then Vanessa's folks are coming to visit and help with painting and final finishing touches.

Maybe a few weeks away... we have to call the POD company and get the POD removed from the driveway (which means we need to empty it !!)

Heres a pic of the kitchen as it is now:

test post from cell, 3rd try

wow, how difficult is this? I've tried 3 times to post a blog entry
via go@blogger.com.
Maybe 3s a charm?

95% complete

At least thats what the contractor says. I've made my 95% complete payment to him.

They still have a day or two of final touch-up and punch list stuff. But, that won't happen for a couple of weeks since I need to finish installing my doors.

Oh yeah, my door to the studio has arrived... the shipping information said it was 555 pounds ! I was told it would be only 380 after we unpacked it... we'll see. I'll post some photos of that next.

For the kitchen, we (Rich, John and me) have completed installing the base and wall cabinets. Time for a countertop. Here is a photo to keep your eyes interested:

getting close to the end

They've finished the floors and are working on doors.... here is a picture of the hardwood in the kitchen:












Then here are a few from the basement:




















And last... the studio room where the drums will be:

quick update - flooring has started

They started the hardwood floors today! And we decided to have them hardwood the dining room too.... lots of stuff to move.

Also included is a picture of the basement shower (just got tiled).

Half-way mark - 4 weeks

Cabinets have started !!
Thanks Rich and John! See the hard work over on the right ->.

We've hit the halfway mark. The contractor has completed all drywall work and all walls are primed.
Remaining work is:
1) floors (pergo in the basement, hardwood in the kitchen and tile in the downstairs bath)
2) basement doors and windows (and the egress thingy)
3) tile in shower in basement
4) install fixtures (lights, toilets, sinks, vanities)
5) punch list of other small things finishing up
6) other things I forgot :)

I have a lot to do too:
1) finish kitchen cabinets (see below)
2) install appliances in kitchen
3) install doors in studio (400 lb door , aarrggghh)
4) painting
5) who knows what else....


So, here is a quick video of the basement as it is now, primed and ready for the floors.

another week gone by, middle of 4th week

The contractor estimated 2 months. Well, we're at week 4 and they have kicked some butt.

Drywall is up and taped and almost done in the basement, completely done in the kitchen and almost done in the bathroom. Just need some sanding in the basement and bathroom, then priming.

They still need to do the floors and windows/doors, those are the next big things. They also need to tile the bathroom.

They have completed the tile in the upstairs bath and its gorgeous!

I've made a quick video tour from last week and here it is, hopefully this works.

Here is a photo of the main part of the basement as it stands tonight:

inspection time

Inspections of the basement work came today. I think they went well. I'll find out more tonight.

Contractor is now suggesting that the big hole in my yard get bigger and that they do a full doorway into the basement!! Now, I've always wanted a door there, but we simply can't afford this kind of extra cost at this time... Anyone want to chip in to get a door installed?

Here is a picture of our kitchen... primed and almost ready for hardwood floors:


They've also dropped in the bathtub. See, isn't it exciting :)

End of week 2 - rough-ins almost done

End of week 2 and wow... they have made some progress. They've destroyed the kitchen and are starting to put it back together... see there ->
They'll be finishing the walls and putting in a new hardwood floor... then I get to take over and install cabinets, and the countertops/appliances will be installed by who we buy them from.






Here is a look at the whole basement as it is. Notice there are some lights on.. those are the new recessed lights. Also, there is new electrical wiring.



Some more miscellaneous pictures showing the bathroom, the mini kitchen area and a built-in bookshelf:

basement update from week 2

Not much more demolition occurring, unless you call jackhammering out our concrete slab in the basement demolition.

The picture isn't that good, but they had to jackhammer out for all the plumbing for the new bath in the basement. Its pretty crazy, there is nothing but clay under there.

They've begun the wiring and roughing in of all the light fixtures. Not very picture-worthy, but exciting.

I'm beggining the process of ordering a studio door. Check out the "custom steel" door on this page: http://www.acousticalsolutions.com/products/doors/doors.asp

Also, we're planning out the kitchen cabinetry using Ikea's kitchen planner tool. It works great and generates a parts list to purchase very simply. Nice going Ikea, help me spend my money :)

The bathroom upstairs (oh yes, we're getting that done too) is gutted....

More later

day 7 of construction - destruction

I came home to a big whole in my yard!



They also started tearing up the kitchen (oh yeah, we're doing that too)...

basement, end of week 1

There were many interesting findings in the first week. We discovered that the framing behind the paneling was junk and had to be completely replaced. We discovered that the plumbing rough-ins we were going to use had to all be removed and replaced. And last, we discovered that all the electrical in the basement had to be re-done. None of that was in the plan. So, the overages have begun. All told, $7,500 in overages alone right now. Dang.

Oh well, on the flip side, most of the framing in the basement has now been done. We've got the special double-wall framed (some close-up photos included here). And the bathroom is completely framed. This is going to look nice.

Here are some photos after 1 week :


The stairwell is now open, yeah!















Looking out of the studio towards the control room


This is a new closet inside the control room that will contain the mixer and amps and computers.


This is looking into the new studio:




Here's a look at some of the double-wall construction:





And... last, never underestimate the power of a new bathroom. Here it is:

basement update

The basement renovation has started. First up, the demolition of the existing basement. Here are a few pics of the basement after one guy spent all day ripping out the paneling.