Exciting news - new digs!
- Thread starter Doc B
- Start date
When we first looked at the business park the new space is located in we were looking at a really ideal space that was already built out and needed only some minor changes. When we said yes to that space we found out that it had been taken by someone who wanted it with the rest of the building, so we had to take the unbuilt space in a different building that I showed in the photos. We found out last week the deal on our first choice fell through. So on Friday I ran over to the landlord and arranged to switch back to our first choice.
This means we ought to be in an even cooler space than the one I have shown here, by August 15. Among other cool features it has a 20' x 25' space on the second floor, with a vaulted ceiling averaging (I think) about 15'. With a little thought this should make a really nice listening room. We'll have separate lab and packing rooms in this space, and a lobby that we can configure as a classroom.
If all goes as planned we hope to be having an open house in September.
This means we ought to be in an even cooler space than the one I have shown here, by August 15. Among other cool features it has a 20' x 25' space on the second floor, with a vaulted ceiling averaging (I think) about 15'. With a little thought this should make a really nice listening room. We'll have separate lab and packing rooms in this space, and a lobby that we can configure as a classroom.
If all goes as planned we hope to be having an open house in September.
So, still walking distance to the distillery...John
Yup, just a walk across the parking lot and far enough away that our place won't smell like mash, which was one issue with the other space. I've already had a conversation with distillery owner Keith about serving some of his organic vodka at our open house.
Yee haw! The contractor started construction yesterday. He's just removing a wall to open up the listening room space and closing off some openings to the the space next door. The listening room is a very open space for now, that we will decide how to finish after we spend some time with it. Figured he'd have the framing done today and drywall starting to go up tomorrow. A few adjustments will be made to the HVAC, a bit of paint and carpet will be done etc., and it should be ready to go. So I think we may be moving in a couple weeks. I'll try to get some pics up soon.
Headed over to the new office after work last night and took a few photos of the construction. You will have to use a bit of imagination to see these rooms with the proper furnishings for each task:
This is the lobby, looking out the front door with it's slate tile . That's my old 300CE peeking in the window.
Our office is off the lobby. Nice high ceiling and a corner view. Got a screaming deal on a set of Herman Miller Aeron side chairs...
Looking down the hall you can see the stair to the upstairs listening area. The opening up above is actually the listening area.
This is the packing and shipping room, again with a very high ceiling
This is the kitchenette, which is on one side of the packing room. Imagine my Olympia Cremina espresso machine on the counter...
This is the view out of the lab windows - with the contractor's dumpster blocking part of it. The workbench will run along right under those windows to take advantage of the light.
Hmmm, what's up here?
Looks kinda lofty...
Ahh, it's the new listening space
the back of the listening space
Obviously this is a very open space - for now. We plan to move in and get some sense of the sound and then further develop the room. Most likely we will end up building an isolated room inside this space to give us the best possible listening conditions. But that's Phase Two. Right now we just want to get moved in and up and running. This photo is looking down out of the opening above the lobby that I showed in the second image. I left it open for now to give us a little better symmetry with the open stairwell on the other side of the room.
Where the next set of great Bottlehead product ideas will incubate
This is the lobby, looking out the front door with it's slate tile . That's my old 300CE peeking in the window.
Our office is off the lobby. Nice high ceiling and a corner view. Got a screaming deal on a set of Herman Miller Aeron side chairs...
Looking down the hall you can see the stair to the upstairs listening area. The opening up above is actually the listening area.
This is the packing and shipping room, again with a very high ceiling
This is the kitchenette, which is on one side of the packing room. Imagine my Olympia Cremina espresso machine on the counter...
This is the view out of the lab windows - with the contractor's dumpster blocking part of it. The workbench will run along right under those windows to take advantage of the light.
Hmmm, what's up here?
Looks kinda lofty...
Ahh, it's the new listening space
the back of the listening space
Obviously this is a very open space - for now. We plan to move in and get some sense of the sound and then further develop the room. Most likely we will end up building an isolated room inside this space to give us the best possible listening conditions. But that's Phase Two. Right now we just want to get moved in and up and running. This photo is looking down out of the opening above the lobby that I showed in the second image. I left it open for now to give us a little better symmetry with the open stairwell on the other side of the room.
Where the next set of great Bottlehead product ideas will incubate
Grainger49
New member
Nice big room for the listening room. I'm jealous!
The new home-o' Bottlehead looks very nice.
And you gave me a big laugh with the last picture. The thinker's room.
Congratulations! It is well deserved.
The new home-o' Bottlehead looks very nice.
And you gave me a big laugh with the last picture. The thinker's room.
Congratulations! It is well deserved.
Looks great! Judging solely by your pix, it looks to be a bit more manageable than the alternative, with nicer views to boot.
Those "disability bars" in the restroom can come in handy at cocktail hour, BTW!
Say, I wonder what it would set you back to have the contractor spray those structural ceilings and that ductwork with insulating foam?
Those "disability bars" in the restroom can come in handy at cocktail hour, BTW!
Say, I wonder what it would set you back to have the contractor spray those structural ceilings and that ductwork with insulating foam?
Good deal Dan!
Now's the time to do that stuff instead of after you move in. Sometimes that kinda crap might delay your move date but believe me, it's worth it.
Make sure and blast that AC/heater before you get in there too. There's always some construction dust that gets trapped in the duct work and you want that stuff out of the system when it's easy to vacuum it all up. Those zip saws that HVAC guys use now days makes a mess!
Now's the time to do that stuff instead of after you move in. Sometimes that kinda crap might delay your move date but believe me, it's worth it.
Make sure and blast that AC/heater before you get in there too. There's always some construction dust that gets trapped in the duct work and you want that stuff out of the system when it's easy to vacuum it all up. Those zip saws that HVAC guys use now days makes a mess!
The HVAC in this building was a crazy setup - four different systems serving three different spaces that had been configured as one big office. The landlord has been super cool about understanding our needs, and I found out today that we will have our own system created out of these four different systems. So I think we will end up with an AC system that we can tailor to our needs as we continue to refine the space.
It's great to have a cooperative landlord!
Having been a studio rat for most of my adult life, I've had the opportunity to see a number of different techniques applied to the issue of air-handling noise, some more successful than others. Perhaps the most costly was in the new construction of a small sound-stage for motion picture/video work, in which the air-handling system was located in a separate part of the structure which was largely mechanically isolated from the building which housed the studio! Of course, we still shut it down for critical sound recording, but it was pretty damned quiet!
Which brings up a relatively inexpensive addition you may wish to inquire about: A "Hand-Off-Auto" switch is what the HVAC guys called it, but it simply meant a kill-switch for the system that shut down everything without fussing with any thermostats or other settings. The trick, of course, is to remember to reset it back to "Auto" when you're done with critical listening, but the "Off-On" functionality is surprisingly useful.
Another simple technique that seemed to do a lot for the money had to do with the use of isolating couplings between the air-handler and the ductwork. These appeared to me to be made of heavy leather, but I imagine they were likely more involved than that. Breaking that metal-to-metal mechanical link close to the air-handler really seemed to pay off big in terms of noise reduction, though, and I see that this technique is now often used on the new noiser high-efficiency furnace home installations in my area. I think they would be a pretty easy retro-fit if the current system(s) aren't using them.
Finally, of course, is the ductwork itself. Having it lined with deadening batting is very helpful; the really deluxe version uses over-sized ductwork and a lower-velocity fan with quiet diffusers. In the sound-stage, that meant no actual diffusers, just large openings.
Now, I have absolutely no idea whether any of these ideas is practical in your situation, of course, but I thought I'd throw them out while you're still in this phase rather than later!
Having been a studio rat for most of my adult life, I've had the opportunity to see a number of different techniques applied to the issue of air-handling noise, some more successful than others. Perhaps the most costly was in the new construction of a small sound-stage for motion picture/video work, in which the air-handling system was located in a separate part of the structure which was largely mechanically isolated from the building which housed the studio! Of course, we still shut it down for critical sound recording, but it was pretty damned quiet!
Which brings up a relatively inexpensive addition you may wish to inquire about: A "Hand-Off-Auto" switch is what the HVAC guys called it, but it simply meant a kill-switch for the system that shut down everything without fussing with any thermostats or other settings. The trick, of course, is to remember to reset it back to "Auto" when you're done with critical listening, but the "Off-On" functionality is surprisingly useful.
Another simple technique that seemed to do a lot for the money had to do with the use of isolating couplings between the air-handler and the ductwork. These appeared to me to be made of heavy leather, but I imagine they were likely more involved than that. Breaking that metal-to-metal mechanical link close to the air-handler really seemed to pay off big in terms of noise reduction, though, and I see that this technique is now often used on the new noiser high-efficiency furnace home installations in my area. I think they would be a pretty easy retro-fit if the current system(s) aren't using them.
Finally, of course, is the ductwork itself. Having it lined with deadening batting is very helpful; the really deluxe version uses over-sized ductwork and a lower-velocity fan with quiet diffusers. In the sound-stage, that meant no actual diffusers, just large openings.
Now, I have absolutely no idea whether any of these ideas is practical in your situation, of course, but I thought I'd throw them out while you're still in this phase rather than later!
My contractor's estimated completion date is this Friday. So it will probably be a little insane around here starting next week. We have yet to figure out shipping addresses, phone numbers, etc. and we will let folks know if and when these things change. Most likely we will look into keeping the old phone number as a forwarding number for a while and keep our current PO box, and our UPS shipping address will change.
We also have some flooring to install and several workbenches to construct in the new place, so we may have to postpone some aspects of shipping and kit assembly for a few days while we get all of this together.
We also have some flooring to install and several workbenches to construct in the new place, so we may have to postpone some aspects of shipping and kit assembly for a few days while we get all of this together.
Construction looked very close to completion when we stopped by the office last night. I'm getting the ancient Toyota pickup remuffled tomorrow so we can haul our first load over - a table saw - and start to build packing and shipping benches for the shipping room, a bench for the lab, and a bigass desk for me. Have to tile a floor and a few other things, so I will probably be off the grid quite a bit next week. Oh man, that reminds me, we also have to get broadband service and wire up the LAN. Yeow! Time to get busy!
Similar threads
