Well, I don’t always move fast but I get there in the end
I finally managed to get someone to do the external render on the studio. They still have a couple of little finishing touches to do this weekend but it is pretty much done now. Thats a huge weight off my mind, as I didn’t want to go through another winter without the final exterior finishes on.
I have managed to put on all the external insulation and battens for the timber cladding sections too. The larch cladding has been on site for a couple of weeks acclimatising while the render was done. I should get started the cladding next week. Hopefully it won’t take me too long as I have been “practicing” on the main house fixing the shit show that my cowboy joiners from hell left me with. Now that is finished I feel confident to get the building finished and move inside.
The studio designer I am working with has come up with some really good stuff so far and we are just getting ready to tidy up the last details of the main layout and treatment. Hopefully, I will be able to start framing in a couple of weeks.
When I designed the shell of the building with the architect I didn’t have a proper studio design ready but had to push on with the build. I made some basic guestimates about where to put the doors. Now that I have an acoustician handling the design it has become apparent that the control room door is in just about the worst place I could have chosen
We had two options. Either leave it where it was and treat the hell out of the door itself OR brick up the old door opening and cut a new one. I decided to get someone to cut a door sized opening in the correct place and drill four 300mm holes through the concrete for the air intake and exhaust ducts. My son and I inserted two concrete lintels and I carefully removed all the bricks to reuse as many as possible bricking up the old door. I haven’t gotten round to bricking up the old door yet as the weather has been too good but it is high on the priority list for the coming weeks.
Two things are still giving me headaches though :
Firstly windows.
I have finally managed to find a supplier for the acoustic laminated glass. Its a long story but it turns out that there is lady in our tiny village who runs a glazing company. She is a good friend of another local that is a friend of mine (happens to be a great guitar player so we hit it off instantly) he put us in touch to see if she could help me. Long story short, as a favour to my friend she agreed to get me the glass at her supplier’s cost price which which is a MASSIVE saving over any other quotes I got. I will place the order with her next week once I have made the basic frames and can be absolutely certain about the finished glass size.
I intend to make the basic frames from C16 construction 2x4” (the same as the wall frames) then clad the outside in aluminium to match the commercial triple glazed windows in the main house. The inside hardwood bead will completely cover the rough 2x4 to give a clean and solid look.
Having read many threads and Rod’s book etc, I know that I will need suitable glazing tape or glazing gaskets. The problem is which ones? It looks like a minefield to try and negotiate. The biggest windows will weigh nearly 180kg each so presumably need a fairly robust rubber to support them.
Can anyone give me some advice and potential suppliers in the UK? The company I am getting the glass from use specific gaskets for their complete units but she said they wouldn’t be suitable for my windows.
The second headache is HVAC.
Paul and I have discussed the ventilation requirements including volume and velocity figures based on the rooms and expected use. I am comfortable installing the ducting etc but need to source the most appropriate AC units for my purposes here in the UK. I also see that some suppliers won’t sell to anyone unless they can supply proof that the system will be installed by a qualified engineer. They say it is due to legislation surrounding refrigerants. On the other hand, I have seen some places sell “pre-charged” systems. Does this get around the need for an engineer or do I still need someone to commission the system on completion? If so then it would obviously make sense to have them spec the system too.
I will try and up load some photos of progress later today.