Studio Progress — It Looks Like A Room Now!

Y’all, I’m so excited about the progress on my studio! It’s really starting to look like an actual room, and I can actually envision the finished studio now.

I was so curious about how they were going to raise the floor to be level with the breakfast room, so I stood around watching probably way more than they liked. 😀 But I love watching and learning new stuff about construction from these guys who do this stuff every day. And let’s just say that even though I now know how it’s done, I can’t imagine this ever being a DIY project, especially since I tend to work alone. I have framed doors myself, but raising and entire floor isn’t really a one-person project.

They started the floor by adding what looks like 2 x 8’s or 2 x 10’s around the perimeter of the room on top of the concrete footings. Then they installed a double 2 x 12 beam spanning the entire width of the room, cut to rest right on top of the concrete footing and attached to the perimeter banding. And then they ran the floor joists perpendicular to the center beam.

7-10-17 - 3 - garage conversion to studio progress - all of the floor joists in place

That was the basic structure, but they were far from finished. They added spacers/pressure plates between all of the joists to keep them straight and give them more structural integrity, and then they added lots of “feet” under the joists and the center beam resting on pressure treated lumber attached to the garage floor.

Let’s just say that this is the most structurally sound floor in my entire house. It really does have a different feel to it than the almost-70-year-old pier and beam foundation and floor in the rest of the house.

 

And once all of that framing was done, they attached the 3/4″ plywood subfloor using construction adhesive and nails.

7-10-17 - 4 - garage conversion to studio progress - plywood subfloor installed

So I now have a studio floor that is just 3/4″ lower than the breakfast room floor, so all it needs is a finished floor in order to be completely level.

They also finished framing out the front left window, so that wall now looks like this…

7-10-17 - 5 - garage conversion to studio progress - front wall framed

Can you envision it now?

studio plan - NE (front) wall

And on the side wall, they got the door and window framed out…

7-10-17 - 6 - garage conversion to studio progress - side wall framed

So we’re a little closer to it looking like this…

studio plan - NW wall

And on the back wall, the framing is in place for the cased opening.

7-10-17 - 7 - garage conversion to studio progress - back wall framed

On the left side of that wall will be the built-in storage, and on the right will be the “office” area.

studio plan - SW wall

And beyond the cased opening will be a bathroom on the left and a mudroom on the right, with French doors straight ahead.

I think today is the day that they’ll vault the ceiling, and I couldn’t be more excited! That is going to totally transform this room. This room will undoubtedly be my favorite room on the house when it’s finished. With three large windows, a 9-lite door, cased opening leading to French doors, and two skylights, it’ll be like I’m working outdoors in the sunlight…without the frustration of mosquitoes, bees, and sweltering heat, of course. 🙂

 

 

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

49 Comments

  1. Sooo exciting! Looks like they are doing exceptional work. You will appreciate the extra supports in the flooring. I’m so glad things seem to be going well – can’t wait for the next post!

  2. I love to learn too. I would have done the same thing and watched the progress. It is going to be an amazing place to work. Congratulations.

  3. I am so happy this room is being made for my Princess. It even has made her want vaulted ceilings in our master bed room which I think is a fabulous idea!

    1. Aww, that’s so sweet!!! I love to see spouses speak sweet kindness to each other!!! This comment made my day :-)!

    2. I can’t wait to see the vaulted ceilings myself. This room is going to look awesome just like the kitchen and breakfast room. I love seeing the progress. The previous owner would never recognize their old home now.

  4. Kristi, this looks so wonderful and exciting! I am just like you but I am taking a million pictures as well.

    You mentioned the skylights and I was wondering what design you finally chose. You wrote about them in an earlier post and I have been waiting to see you talk about them again. Have you picked out which ones you will be using yet?

    1. I either forgot about the skylights or missed that post….and THAT doesn’t happen very often if at all….how nice it will be😃

  5. Looks great and so fun to see it come together.

    I’m curious about something though. Is the door you are using for the studio opening that direction because you are re-using the door you had into the house? Seems to me that swing will be in the wrong direction for bringing long things in. Is it possible to change your hinges to outswing so the door won’t be in the way when bringing long things in? Or can the door switch and swing the other way?

    1. Loving the progress! And this was the question I was going to ask as well. Walking in the door to the desk wall might be constricting for you.

    2. Hmmm…I am reusing it, but I’m doing so because for some reason in my mind, the door opening that way makes sense. I don’t know why, though. 😀 If it does’t work out, I can always replace it in the future. I may as well see if this one will work out since I already have it.

  6. There, now…aren’t you glad you took that nice deep breath (since your last post).

    The progress is very exciting! Loved how you juxtaposed it with the renderings so we can follow your vision!

    Verrrry happy for you!

  7. Kristi, i’m so excited for you. I admirehow you make plans and stick to them. I make list of things I want to do each day and sometimes I wake up and I think ‘I don’t want to do that today’ and I talk myself out of it. You are just the opposite, you really stick to it.

  8. Yes! It’s looking like a room instead of a garage now… and SO bright! I don’t recall if you had announced what you decided on for your floors, but that photo of the (mostly) level subfloor was pretty darn exciting.

    1. I haven’t mentioned it in a post yet, but I will say that all of those comments about tile being really hard on the feet and legs have kind of scared me off. I’m thinking that hardwood flooring just might be the best option.

  9. I’m am absolutely thrilled for you! I love following your progress–warts and all!–because you have such a gift with communication. BTW, in a post regarding a velvet couch, I commented that I didn’t care too much for velvet. Well, shut my mouth! I changed my mind when I sat on one at a furniture store and now I’m looking forward to seeing yours!!! Thanks for being so much fun. You rock!

    1. Oh, that’s funny, because I actually changed my mind on the velvet! 😀 I do still love velvet, and I’m sure I’ll use it on something else. But for my sofa, I found this beautiful, super soft chenille that I absolutely loved. I ordered several more velvet samples after finding that chenille, and none of them seemed to compare. So I finally gave up on the velvet and went with the chenille that I really loved.

  10. Kristi! I had a sudden thought–will your AC support this room and do you have AC vents in there? Eeeek!

    1. Yes, the HVAC will support these rooms. We’re still working out how to get ducts into that room, but I’m confident that the HVAC guy can come up with a creative solution for me.

      1. With a vaulted ceiling and concrete slab beneath the floor, I think you’d better get your AC guy over there quick. You may have to rething the vaulted ceiling for this room an use the attic for ductwork.

  11. So happy for you that all this is taking shape so quickly and very exciting to see the transformation. It’s going to be one awesome studio space!

  12. Don,t exactly know why, but I got a bit choked up when I saw the new “room”. Congratulations for putting in all the hard work of planning, and clearing, and researching. This will be the envy of a whole lot of us!

    1. OMGosh I thought I would be the only one that happened to! I keep scrolling back up & looking at the renderings & the photos and it just makes me so happy for Kristi that I well up 🙂

  13. Will your HVAC be large enough to handle that room, too? Or will you need to install a separa2 unit for that part of the house?

  14. How exciting! I’m loving those windows. It will be a light, bright place to create. Can’t wait to see the ceiling.

  15. LUCKY DOG!!! I can’t wait to see this finished, what an awesome studio! Total envy over here! 🙂

  16. I love this! I am wondering the following:

    1. Keeping this room cool. Do you have plans for this? And in reverse, what about heating in the winter?
    2. And I can’t think of anything else. I love your style, as it is very similar to mine. I am so inspired by you that I’ve started my own DIY projects this summer before I go back to work (teacher) in a couple of weeks.

    Can’t wait to see more!

  17. This is very exciting! Are they at all concerned from a liability perspective about you taking pictures and posting them on the internet? Just wondering if they gave you a hard time about that at all. I can’t believe how quickly they did this! Seems like they’re going to be handing it over to you pretty quickly. Will you have them start working on the carport, or will that be a project at a later date? Yay for progress!

    1. I didn’t ask, but I’d be worried if they were concerned about their work being posted on the internet. The carport will have to wait. This studio project is going to cost quite a bit once it’s all said and done, and we’ll probably do the addition on the back (i.e., master bedroom, laundry room, family room, and converting the current master bedroom into the master bath) before we put money into a carport or workshop.

  18. I am so excited for you I can hardly stand it! I love construction projects and how it feels to enjoy the process and finished project. Because it’s summer we are tackling outside stuff like new trex decking and another glass greenhouse!
    I am still marveling in your dining room. We have the same taste in colors. I’ve reupholstered my dining chairs and painted them different colors. Looks amazing with the real barn wood table…..and even painted my side table purple 😉👏🏻 Thanks for your inspiration 😻😻

  19. Wow, those guys sure work fast! That is kind of neat, how they put the floor together. The way you’re going you are probably going to have the nicest house in the neighborhood. If you ever sell it the new buyer is going to totally luck out!

  20. Just a heads up for you. I love what you’re doing but please consider opaque skylights instead of clear. You’ll broil in the summer heat with clear skylights. Opaque will let all the light you need in without the glare and heat. Take it from someone who’s learned the hard way. Good luck!

    1. I agree. I have a skylight in my vaulted kitchen ceiling…..I HATE it in the summer (Kansas). The kitchen is hot enough with vaulted ceilings, then add the heat from the skylight. We had our replaced with Opaque 2 years ago during roof replacement, it is better as far as the glare goes but still hot! I just ordered a custom shade for it, so I am hoping it helps. I would think twice about adding one let alone two. Especially with the Texas sun. Just my opinion of living with a skylight for 8 years.
      I love your progress this year. Your work is always amazing.