Private studio in Slovakia

#16

A slow start to the new year. Two HVAC guys installed the extras for the AC.

More ceiling mounts, this time for the two copper pipes and electric cable that will connect the indoor and outdoor units of the AC.

All three were taped together and fed through a hole drilled at ceiling level.

The condensation drain pipe for the AC feeds into where, in the original building, there was a sink. Perfect!

Everything was then taped together and poked through the insulation and now awaits the new OSB and plasterboard of the studio room before they return to install the AC unit.

#17

Great! You have HVAC!

Suggestion: Where the pipe bundle comes through the drywall, try to decouple that as much as you can. Those pipes can transmit mechanical vibration, from both the compressor unit outside and also potentially from the indoor unit, so its a good idea to cut the hole a little larger than it needs to be for just the pipe bundle, then caulk like crazy all around that to get a good seal. Use a high flexibility caulk here, if you can find it. Softer than the normal ones. Here's a brief list of some of those:

- Formex CanSeal NS
- Sascho Mor-Flexx
- Sascho Big Stretch
- Ardex Flex Caulk
- Dow Corning 790
- Dap 18128 Alex Plus Acrylic Latex Caulk Plus Silicone

Those are all high flexibility, with Durometer ratings around 25 to 35 (Shore A)

Also, build that up in layers: don't try to apply one huge blob of caulk all at once. Rather, apply just enough to close up the gap, wait for that to cure (at least partially), then apply a second layer to add more mass and improve the seal, then later a third layer.

Caulk is roughly twice the density of drywall, so you need to make the caulk at least half as thick as your drywall. Thus, if you are using two layers of 16mm drywall (for example) for that leaf, then your total caulk thickness in the hole should be at least 16mm.

- Stuart -

#18

Another thing I noticed:

The condensation drain pipe for the AC feeds into where, in the original building, there was a sink. Perfect!

Yep, but you seem to have a "droopy loop" of condensate pipe,sagging down low just before it enters the drain pipe. It would be better to eliminate that loop, as you'll have water accumulating inside that. I imagine you are trying to create an "S" trap or "P" trap like that, but if that is the plan it would be better to just buy a proper trap and attach it right where the drain pipe comes out of the wall, and run the condensate pipe directly into that, with no saggy loops. The condensate drain isn't really meant for that job (storing water to use as a gas seal to the sewer): Those are usually very light-weight hoses, a bit fragile. Not really apt for the job. If you don't need a trap there (if there's another one further down the line), then just run the condensate pipe directly into the drain pipe, and seal it up well. (Caulk is your friend!

)

- Stuart -

#19

Thanks, Stuart. It is great to have someone else cast a critical eye over the proceedings.

I get your point regarding the AC pipes entering the studio's inner wall, which will be immediately behind the indoor AC unit. I have some homework to do.

The droopy loop on the condensate pipe was suggested by the AC guys. I cannot see further down the line as it goes through the 14cm wall we built and then disappears into the existing bathroom wall. That makes me think that it needs a trap as there is unlikely to be one further down the line. Buying a proper P trap would be the better thing to do. What a helpful tip!

#20

After a long break we got going this week.

Rendering the outside of the studio wall.

Because the inner room is freestanding it is not as sturdy as the outer wall. To help we added a ceiling isolation hanger - we had one spare - to the outer wall in order for it to provide some rigidity should the door on the inner wall be slammed. The general advice is to use automatic door closers but as a musician I rarely seem to have a spare limb to hold a self-closing door open while attempting to cart keyboards, guitars and other stuff through them, so I am rebelling and doing without door closers.

Then on to the walls. The first layer is OSB because of its shear strength - the ceiling will follow, after which plasterboard will be added to the walls. Here you can see that we used shims so that the OSB panels sit a few millimetres above the floor; just enough room for backer rod and caulk. In the first photo you can see the AC's drainage pipe which Stuart mentioned, above. It turns out that the plumber had already put a reducer on before we built the wall around it, so no S bend (aka, P or U bend) will fit, so I added a hook to the wall to ensure that the pipe cannot be moved and will provide its own S bend.

On Saturday the plumber came to finish his work, plumbing in the sinks, doing a classy job.

After that I started inserting backer rod under the OSB walls after clearing up the sawdust and washing the floor so that the caulk can stick securely and permanently to the floor.

The one good thing about coronavirus is that all my gigs until the end of the month have been cancelled so I can instead concentrate all my time and energy on the studio build.

#21

I have been following this but have not seen that needed my input. So here it is anyway: Great stuff!

#22

Thank you, Avare.

Starlight wrote:Source of the postThe one good thing about coronavirus is that all my gigs until the end of the month have been cancelled so I can instead concentrate all my time and energy on the studio build.

I spoke too soon. Slovakia has, quite wisely, gone into lockdown: the borders are closed as are the airports, schools and shops, which means I cannot buy any more supplies. As we don't have MDF to make baffle boxes nor plasterboard for the ceiling we have just 1 or 2 days' worth of jobs we can do with what we have.

#23

That was a quick two days; now we are out of materials.

Tracks married to the ceiling isolation mounts.

The start of three layers of pink fire-rated plasterboard installed over the OSB. We had to stop 3/4 of the way round the room as we need mains cable installed and baffle box dimensions before we can finish the OSB and plasterboard installation.

Moving out into the corridor we put up the frame for the ceiling which will be installed just below the air conditioner pipes and lighting cables.

While working at that height I checked the caulking of the AC pipes as they exit the studio's outer wall.

That made me check the inside, where I spotted two things I need to do: caulk that hole in the outside wall from the inside and get those AC pipes up as they are resting on the steel stud which is part of the inner room. I am glad I checked.

Adding the final coat to the outside wall was the last thing we managed today.

Our thinking at this point is to offer the wall to an artist or to a teacher of an art class. You won't know that my wife is a piano teacher at an arts school where there is music, drama, painting and other creative arts in abundance. It would be nice to give the impression of creativity as one enters the studio. Two images that spurred us on are these:

So, that is all from me until we are through coronavirus, until the shops, especially building supplies, re-open.

#24

Hi Starlight,

Looking good, glad some more is getting done!

Coronovirus is indeed a tricky one, it's almost lockdown time in the UK...they're trying to delay as much as possible! It just shows how connected we all really are.

I hope you can find some stuff to crack on with! Take care!

Love the idea of the creative painting wall...I might do that in the corridor at mine!

#25

". . . I still feel like I need the teacher to check my homework."

That sums up the whole experience beautifully! Good luck and I hope you can get it finished soon!

#26

It's looking great, Starlight! You were moving ahead at a good rate... until the lock-down. But that does give you time to go over everything you have done already, carefully, and check for issues that you might have missed during the rush of construction. An it also gives you time to plan ahead, check over the design, figure out your next steps... etc. So there's a positive side to it, too! But with the way things are looking right now with the virus, you might have a lot more time than you really need!

- Stuart -

#27

The first sign of life after 6 weeks of lockdown was the electrician and his son for 1 hour. They came and wired up everything to complete the toilet and kitchen areas. Something is now finished: hurrah!

Miriam, my wife, and I kept ourselves busy by putting insulation above the frame that will hold the new ceiling in the corridor.

Our builder called in on his way home from another job nearby. He will come on Thursday to look at what we need (plasterboard, screws, caulk, baffle box materials, etc.) in order to get going again.

#28

Ah great! Glad to hear things are starting up again! And assistance from the lady of the house too!

#29

Very heartening to see things moving again, nice one.

Cheers,
Jennifer

#30

Purelythemusic wrote:Source of the postAnd assistance from the lady of the house too!

Indeed; she appeared twice in post #5 on page 1. Miriam is a musician (piano, guitar, vocals) too so just because I enjoy the build and technical aspects that should not exclude her in any way. I want her to feel it is just as much her studio as it is mine.

Anyway, today was mains cable day. I need to twist the live and neutral together and have the earth cable next to them, running straight. I bought individual live, neutral and earth cables. The electric shop doesn't have any brown cable in stock. Fortunately, also in the shop was a friend who runs an electrical company. He was on hand to let me know what is legally possible here and so I have black instead of brown.

Here is the first 25cm of 200m.

John Brand designs studios with twisted live and neutral to cancel out hums and such audible interferences and have the audio cables running right alongside the mains cable to avoid ground loop hums. For anyone interested John has has a document on his web site from Bill Whitlock that explains the theory. Here.

Soundman2020 - Studio Design Forum