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600 sqft Studio built by Sheila Shaw 2003
"I do not know which was more of an accomplishment, physically building the studio, or mentally overcoming the many people who felt it their duty to keep reminding me that I would fail!"
- Sheila Shaw
As my backyard projects progressed, I could visualize a home studio in my yard. After receiving three quotes at $60,000, $30,000 well over my budget, I decided to build it myself. After building a deck, laying cement, lawn and sprinklers, I felt that I had enough experience and skills to accomplish this project, not to mention my confidence level was soaring.
Never having done anything like this before, I was not quite sure where to begin. So, I decided to build a scale model. I took the model to our city planning commission, which turned out to be a big hit to everyone that saw it. It was very helpful for others to see my vision. I was told that the first step was to develop some blue prints. After getting several ridiculously high quotes, once again, I tackled the project myself. Much to my surprise the blueprints that I had drawn were accepted! However, the city Architect added some minor changes here and there, mostly reinforcement additions. I received the green light to begin building. I was off and rolling again! I felt great!
I assembled some 2x4s in the shape of the studio to help visualize the size and location. This frame was so helpful. It allowed me to move it around to establish the perfect location of the studio.
I hired a few guys to help dig the footings. The footings had to be 18" deep by 12" wide. It was amazing how much dirt came from those trenches! You could say that we were knee deep in dirt. HaHa.
With the form boards in place, I was able to start laying down the inside plumbing. This had to be done before the concrete was poured.
Before the foundation could be poured, there was a tremendous amount of prepping that took place. The ground had to be level, a layer of base rock (sand and gravel) covered with 9 millimeter thick plastic, wire mesh, rebar laid in the footing, and then wire mesh held in place with dobbies (little blocks of concrete). Altogether this process took three days to complete in 100 degree weather! We were exhausted and happy to be done!
I hired a crew to pump the concrete and float the foundation. It was amazing how many guys it took to do this job! They were a real neat group of guys. It took two truck loads of concrete to do the job. The first truck was on time and the second truck was over an hour late. I can't tell you how stressed I was worried the concrete would set before the other truck arrived. The guys assured me that this was normal and that it would be okay. In the end, it was.
Once the foundation was complete, I was able to start the framing. Looking back, this was definitely one of the easiest tasks of the project. It just required a lot of labor and heavy lifting. I hired a helper for this job.
Chapter 2 The Studio Takes Shape
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