A little slab'll do ya'...

(Fifth in a series. If you want to get the story from the beginning, start with post number one. If you'd like to put the following photos into perspective, there's an architectural floorplan in my August 23rd entry, "Almost Ready to Build".)

Okay, this is the last post about slabs...I promise. But I've been fascinated watching the foundations of our new studio get built. Hey, concrete is interesting stuff! What would modern architecture be without it?

Here's the freshly poured slab for Control Room B, where Mike McGinnis will hold forth.


And here's where yours truly will slave over a hot keyboard all day.


Control Room A is ready to be poured. This will be Anthony Fedele's new digs. The forms for Studio 2 (just behind) are also ready.


From this perspective, you're looking from Control Room C, across the nearly prepped Studio 1, then to Control Room B.


Don't let the dimensions fool you. The space between - where Studio 1 will be - is 28 x 22 feet.

And finally, the diminutive Studio 3, a one-person vocal booth. Again, while it looks like a closet from this perspective, the interior dimension will be a reasonably comfortable 6' 6" x 8' 0".


It's Tuesday, September 30th, and all slab work is scheduled to be completed by the end of the week. Next week, the sprinkler system will be raised into the beams to make room for those wonderfully high studio ceilings. All the HVAC air handlers and hard duct work will also be installed next week. Apparently it's much easier to do this stuff before there are walls in the way. (I'm learning all this stuff from people MUCH smarter about it than me!)

And speaking of people smarter than me...


Beck says, "Slab-tabulous!"

Until next time...

One slab at a time...

(Fourth in a series. If you're here for the first time, you might like to go to the first post to get the story from the beginning.)

In my previous post, I described the efforts we're making to "decouple" the concrete slabs of each of the Control Rooms and Studios, in order to prevent sound transmission from below. We hit our first snag this week. When we raked back the gravel for slab preparation, we discovered a nasty surprise...a 2 foot deep column footer radiating 7 feet from the center. Pouring a slab over that footer would couple it with any other slab making contact with it, including the space next door.


But our fearless construction supervisor, Jerry Hyde, came to the rescue. He rightly figured that placing a layer of foam between the slab and the footer would decouple the two, and life would be good again. Here's a control room ready for the pour.


Notice the black box in the center of the room. This is a floor box which will set under the producer's desk. Under a flip-up lid will be power for your laptop, connectors for talkback microphones, a telephone desk set and an ethernet connection for internet access in case your computer doesn't have Wi-Fi. Client convenience is what our new studio is all about! Here's another shot of the slab prep.


Since I mentioned Jerry Hyde, I have to get a plug in for our General Contractor, Denver Construction Company. One of the reasons they got the gig is that from our first meeting with DCC's Tracy Reitzel, they just "got it." Building a studio is not like building a house. In fact, compared to standard construction, many aspects can feel weird - or just plain wrong! We've had problems in the past with workers trying to "fix" the design, or "doing it the RIGHT way" instead of the way it's supposed to be. Not Tracy and Jerry. They not only understood but embraced the unique challenges, and have already come up with creative solutions of their own. As I told Jerry the other day, I only have three words..."You Da' Man!". Take a bow, Jerry. (I'll try to get a pic of Tracy, architect Brian Gaddis and studio designer David Rochester as soon as I can.)


All the slabs should be in place by the middle of next week (around October 1st) and it will be exciting to watch the walls start going up. As I've said often, we've been in our current location for 18 years and I expect we'll be in our new studio for another 18...or more, if I live that long.

As usual, click any of the above photos for a larger view.

'Til next time!

It's Begun!

(Third in a series. If you're here for the first time and would like the whole story, you might want to start with the first post.)

At long last, real work has started! The demising wall has been completed.



(Becky is checking out the light through what will be her office window.)

Plumbing has been roughed in prior to pouring of the slabs.


And formwork is underway.


Slab pouring begins next week. A note of interest for fellow studio and building geeks; each studio and control room will rest on its own slab. ("Monolithic slab" is the term I've heard used by our experts. Sounds impressive, doesn't it?)

From the beginning of the design phase, our priority has been to achieve superb acoustics and the best sound isolation possible - within the constraints of the space and our budget. Since sound can transmit through concrete (especially low frequencies) the slab for every room will be isolated from that of the adjoining space. Slab thickness is doubled at the edges to support the weight of the sand-filled cinder block walls which will form the basic structure for each studio and control room. Slabs are poured first for the hallways and common areas, with the rest to follow. And since floors in all studios will be floated to isolate microphones from ground vibrations, those slabs will be poured at a lower elevation so that all floors in the facility are flush.

So far, so good. Becky seems pleased.


That's an update on the technical side of progress. Now let's turn to the aesthetic aspect. I'd like to introduce you to the latest member of the new studio team - Bobbie Cox. When we started looking ahead to what the finished studio would look - and more importantly, FEEL like, I quickly realized that my interior design sensibility is sorely lacking. That's where Bobbie comes in. She's a terrific interior designer, and she's helping us make sure the new space is as beautiful as it is functional. She proves once more...if you want it done right - hire professionals! If you'd like to learn more about Bobbie and her company, Custom Dragonfly, here's the link:

www.customdragonfly.com

Until next time!