So we got the Ultratouch in the space today and the guys started putting it in the walls, with their bare hands! It’s pretty cool stuff, made from recycled denim (from jeans factories). It has better insulating properties than fiberglass and rockwool, safer to handle, and just generally safer to be around.

Some of our acoustic materials were lost in shipping and they’re scrambling to get them to us in time. They’ve lost the ceiling spring hangers and the mass-loaded vinyl. We need the vinyl tomorrow so they can start putting it up over the first layer of drywall, and then hang the second layer. If we don’t get that stuff soon, we’re going to have to stop work for a couple of days (GRRRRR). They tell me it should be here by Wednesday, we’ll see…

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The contractors are stuffing the walls and putting up the first layer of drywall. You might notice that the insulation they’re installing doesn’t look like Ultratouch (the recycled denim insulation)…it’s not. The exterior walls have to have ThermaFiber (rockwool), because of the thickness (or really thinness) of the wall construction. The Ultratouch doesn’t come in thin enough batts to use with the walls with just RC on it. Our delivery of Ultratouch will arrive Monday and they’ll use that in the newly constructed walls (back of the Control Room, IsoBooth/Closet, Exterior Wall.

After the first layer is drywall is up, they’ll put on the Mass Loaded Vinyl over it, then do the next layer of drywall. One little problem…the Mass Load Vinyl and ICW Spring Hangers (for ceiling) have been LOST IN TRANSIT. Apparently, UPS can’t find them. A new shipment was ordered and will be here next week (it better!!).

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They delivered the 120 sheets of drywall this morning. That’s a huge amount of drywall to be used in a such a small space! It’s current in the middle of the Control Room, broken up into two stacks. The electricians are actually using it as scaffolding to get up to the ceiling to run some conduit. HA!

The HVAC company sent over a couple guys this morning to cut that section of ductwork that was sticking through the wall between the Control Room and Iso-Booth. They show up and I asked if they were from Assurance and were here to cut the duct. The guy responded, “Well, it’d be easier if that friggin’ wall wasn’t there!” I’m like, “Uh, yeah. Can’t move the wall.” He said, “You guys should’ve called us immediately when you realized!” We didn’t realize it was going to be an issue until after the wall was framed. Don’t yell at me, dude. I’m the guy payin’ ya. Nice attitude.

After they started cutting, he asked if we had a fire extinguisher. I said, “Probably.” He yelled back, “You don’t have a fire extinguisher?! How can you not have a fire extinguisher!?” BTW, there are extinguishers all over the building. Then he was grumping the whole way through cutting the duct. Well, at least all the other contractors are nice…

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The rough electrical work is now complete. They put in all the outlet boxes, electrical conduit, low-voltage conduit, and switch boxes. Edward and his band of merry Russians did very nice, quick work!

Tomorrow morning, 120 sheets of drywall (!!) are being delivered at 7am, along with all the Ultratouch insulaton (recycled denim) that will go in the walls.

The framing and rough electrical inspection is scheduled for 10am tomorrow…then, assuming that goes okay, they will start to stuff and drywall the walls.

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They finished putting up all the Resilient Channel (RC) and IsoMax clips yesterday. In the photos, the RC is the horizontal steel channels you see on the walls. They are mounted to the existing walls using IsoMax clips, which decouple the next layers of drywall from the underlying wall.

Today, the contractors are boxing in the steel beam that runs through the top of the control room with three layers of drywall. You can see the uncovered beam in one of the pics here. The electrician is coming in Wednesday to do the rough electrical work and the inspection (framing/electrical) is scheduled for Thursday at 10am. On Thursday at 7am, 120 sheets of drywall are being delivered as well.

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Looks like the architect miscalculated a bit when it came to the ductwork that could not be removed. There is a bit of it that is now poking through the isolation wall between the Control Room and the Iso Booth. Looks like I’m going to have to get the HVAC guys back here to cut down that duct some more, so it doesn’t touch the wall.

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The walls are starting to take shape now. They’ve framed out the exterior wall, with one with the door that goes out to the parking lot. The window to the outside you see in the photos is being covered over (painted black, stuffed with insulation, two layers of drywall over it all).

The guys are working on framing up the wall at the back at the Control Room now. It’s taking a bit longer because we’re using heavier gauge studs on that wall. They can’t cut those studs with tin snips, as you would normally, but instead have to use a circular saw (which makes a GREAT smell).

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I got to the space this morning to check up on the contractors and they were there working on the walls. I did notice it big old leak in the roof, at the exterior edge of the Control Room. There’s a gutter on the roof above and it appears to be blocked and backing up. We’ve had a lot of snow and ice here lately and I guess that’ll happen. We’ve got a big garbage can underneath it right now and the roof guy is supposed to come today to patch it up. I’ll see if I can get a pic today.

The first real week of construction (by the contractors) is done. I was actually out of town the whole week (had to attend my Grandfather’s funeral in NY), so I was a bit concerned about how much work would actually get done. My friend Bill Hare told me a story of how he kept catching the contractors playing horseshoes on his property, while building his studio. Luckily, no horseshoe pit here! I also didn’t tell the contractors about the rec-room downstairs with the pool table and pinball machine. Better if they don’t know.

They flipped the door-frame around for the door that goes out to the hallway, and they put the door back on. They also ripped down the old ceiling in the front-half of the control room. It was plaster and lathe, with some sort of false joists “supporting” it. I use that term loosely, since the ceiling was sagging anyways.

The original exterior walls didn’t go all the way up to the decking, so they started framing them all the way up. They also started putting on the layer of drywall on all the existing walls. I noticed they didn’t put drywall over segments that have outlets. I think the electrician needs to come and pull those out (they’re dead in the wall anyways).

Today they should be putting in the IsoMax clips all over the room and the resilient channel as well.

Here are some pics of what it looks like at the end of the first week…

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Also, my friend Rick Meeske who was helping me put down the subflooring…his wife Amy had a baby on Friday! Good thing we got the subfloor finished, HA! Congrats Rick & Amy…and Ryan!

My buddy Rick and I finished putting down all the plywood subfloor on Saturday. Yesterday I spent the afternoon putting in 700 screws into the floor, to secure the two layers of plywood to each other. I actually ran out of screws, so I’ll have to order more today and put those in soon. There’s enough in there, though, to secure the subfloors down enough for the contractors to start on the rest of the space.

I’m meeting with Kostas (General Contractor) this morning to get started on next steps (first layer of drywall on existing walls and framing).

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