Drywall is complete

We are 6 weeks into the project, and allowing for the break between Christmas and New Year, things are going pretty smoothly. The GC is keeping the project moving along, but to date we have drifted about 2 weeks behind our original schedule. Not a train smash but still a bit disappointing.

All the interior drywalls are all complete. Both Studios as well as the Prop Room and the Gallery will have open ceilings, and these areas all received their dose of matte black paint. There will be some touch up required with the new AC vents that are still being installed.

Photography studio Editing Office dry-wall complete

Photography studio Prop Room dry-wall complete

Photography studio Lobby dry-wall complete.

Floor tiling has commenced

The floor guys have started laying tile in the Lobby, Office and Gallery areas. We had to make a small design change in the Lobby due to the layout of the doors. Unfortunately this means more of one tile and less of another so the lobby will only be completed on Saturday. We had so many compliments on the lobby of our old studio that we have stayed with the same floor design; a dark marble border around a light marble fill. Doors will be black with frosted glass panels.

New Photography Studio construction – Entrance Lobby tiling underway

New Photography Studio construction – Entrance Lobby tiling underway

New Photography Studio construction – Editing Office tiling underway

We chose a busier and slightly darker tile for the Editing Room as the light cream tiles in our previous studio editing room showed the dirt too easily.

New Photography Studio construction – Studio walls and window frames being painted

Interior oors are being custom made on site

Due to long lead times we were unable to purchase finished doors so we are having the GC custom make the doors on site. The finish carpenter is doing a great job with the 8ft tall wood doors that we purchased. He has cut out the recesses and is painstakingly installing the frosted glass panels

New Photography Studio construction – 8ft tall doors being custom made on site

New Photography Studio construction – 8ft tall doors being custom made on site

With the structural inspections complete the drywall crew continued their task and now the tape and mud is being applied. Open ceilings in the two studios, gallery and prop room mean 12ft tall walls have to be dry-walled and smoothed. Looking forward to seeing the crew’s tall stilts on the high walls! There will be a drop ceiling in the lobby, editing office, bathrooms and kitchen/makeup areas.

Danny Steyn Photography Studio – Drywall framing, taping and mudding

Danny Steyn Photography Studio – Drywall framing, taping and mudding – editing office

Danny Steyn Photography Studio – Drywall framing, taping and mudding – Main Lobby

We decided to remove some of the overgrown vegetation to reveal the front of the building so that the signage will be visible to the 50,000+ vehicles a day that pass the studio. We are playing with signage design, paint colors as well as exterior landscaping. Kind of cool to see the exterior moving along as well.

Danny Steyn Photography Studio – Exterior – North Entrance

Danny Steyn Photography Studio – Exterior – North Entrance

Danny Steyn Photography Studio – Exterior – North Entrance – And vehicle entrance to main studio

THE UNEXPECTED

No construction project goes as planned, and conventional wisdom says it will cost you double what you originally budgeted, but we are fighting like crazy to ensure that that will not happen here. Nevertheless, we have discovered that a lot of work was done to the building over the past 20 years will not meet the current Florida building code and the minute you pull a construction permit, all work, past and present, has to meet the current code. So it looks as though we will have to

• Completely upgrade the AC system with 4 new units supplying 12 Tons. It’s pretty obvious that the 20 year old A/C system will not be able handle the demand of the new studio design. The plan is to run the A/C every day to cool the editing office, lobby, gallery and bathroom, but only run the A/C in the studios during shoots. So the ability to rapidly drop the temperature in the two large studios is essential. Without dropped ceilings, and a relatively low R19 roofing system, excess capacity will be important to get the temps down fast enough in the summer months.
• Repair a leak in the roof and wall that caused quite considerable damage to the  drywall in the main studio area
• Re-look at the wiring of the building. Several electrical penetrations through both the exterior walls and the interior fire walls do not meet current building code and need to be addressed

It’s also time to decide on tile treatments for the lobby and gallery areas. Fortunately Kim’s excellent taste for interior decoration will make my life so much easier.

THE FRUSTRATION

Dealing with the city building department for building permits and inspections can be a trying process. Sometimes it goes well, other times it can be a nightmare. I guess this time around ours was smack in the middle. All our drawings and permits were passed without revision, however our plans got stuck (and lost) within the building department for almost 2 weeks, delaying all progress. And delays cost money.

THE START OF THE BUILD OUT PHASE

Now that we have the permits the build-out has started. Drywall framing is going up, plumbing for the new ADA bathroom and kitchen, duct work for the new AC units and more.

Despite having tried to incorporate as much pre-planning into the design of the new studio as possible, there are several changes that we have implemented through the project and sometimes construction delays give you time to reflect and rethink your strategy!

Damaged drywall due to leaking window seals that needs to be replaced in the Daylight Studio

After removing a storage shelf we discovered this drywall rot in the Main Studio. Need to establish what is causing this.

The newly discovered rot in the Main Studio drywall, still need to resolve the source of this leak

The empty main Portrait Studio with cyc wall and newly discovered leak and drywall rot!

Drywall framing starts

Looking from the Main Portrait studio, through the Gallery into the Prop room. Lobby to the left, new ADA bathroom to the right

Looking from the Editing Room, through the Prop Room into the Natural Light Studio

Furring strips for drywall going up in the Prop Room, looking into the Natural Light Studio

Drywall going up in the Editing Room, window and door to Lobby, door to Prop Room and Server station

Plywood bracing for wall cabinets in the Prop Room. Dedicated AC ducting for server in Server Enclave

Plywood bracing for makeup counter in the Makeup Room. One full width mirror with lighting for 3 stations and outlets for hairdryers, curling tongs etc.

Plywood bracing for large HD 4K TV Monitor in the Lobby.

Now that the demo is complete the empty structure looks so full of potential. While we love the idea of on large completely open shooting space, the reality is that we are able to get more out of the studio with two separate shooting spaces and a prop room that services them both.

So, for now, we are enjoying the wide open space as it will soon be framed out in our new layout.

Front entrance to the left – the glass brick wall will add daylight to the editing room

Front entrance, lobby, new bathroom and entry to the portrait studio visible in this empty space

Daylight studio, looking towards the prop room and front entrance

Looking from the editing room, through the prop room into the daylight studio

The new ADA bathroom required cutting the concrete to re-position the drain lines