It has been quite the long haul - I have been working on this studio in some fashion intermittently since November 2021 when ground was first broken for it.  Phase 1 took from November 2021 until March 2022 for construction to finish way up here in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia.  I was quite blessed to have friends and neighbors help me put two coats of stain on the studio.  It was hot and a lot of tiptoe work to get it all completed.  I then started on planning out phase 2.  

From my previous research, I knew I wanted a great electrical job done in the studio to mitigate 60 cycle hum.  I wanted one leg to be the “clean” leg used for all recording equipment outlets while the other leg could be “dirty” used for a small AC unit and any other power needs (lights and such).  I also wanted different colored outlets similar to a hospital to tell the difference for plugging in equipment.  Additionally, I wanted MC (metal clad) cabling used for maximum insulation.  Similar to hiring out for initial construction - I hired out for electrical work too.  I contacted  OmniBuild in Floyd, Virginia and an amazing electrician named Keith did the work.   I put up little cards showing which type of outlets go where along with lighting fixtures in the studio.  There were some pauses due to the amount of other bigger projects going on but Keith eventually finished up all the work - putting in an inlet if I need to run the studio power and the necessary switches for the split unit.  I found a small split unit that would run off of just 120v - so I could keep the clean/dirty leg scenario.   

Here I am on a nearly completed Phase 2 studio on a clear Autumn day.

  After Keith finished his work, I popped the bottom open and arranged for an inspection by the county.  Once that was complete, I called the power company and arranged for power to be run to the studio.  I really wanted to NOT have power lines strewn across the property but the cost of conduit was running high - and the land here has a lot of large boulders - which means MORE conduit and zig-zagging.  That just wasn't in the budget.  So, we decided to put in a pole and run power overhead.  I then oiled up the chainsaw and got to work cutting down the necessary brush and a few trees (the biggest I've ever cut) to make way for the power pole and to prevent other trees from interfering with the power line.  A friend, Josh, came to help supervise and then cut-up the largest felled tree.

  I finished clearing the area just a day before the power company showed up and rapidly put in the pole and ran power.  The studio has power now!  Though I don't use any of it since I need to put in walls - but the installation is done.  I went ahead and replaced the cheaper insulation underneath the studio (which I tore out for the work necessary for running the power underneath the studio) and put in stone mineral R35 insulation.  The studio floor was immediately absorbent of sound with no echo already.  

  Now with half of Phase 2 complete, I still have a few areas to clear up outside (sealing the concrete and preventing brush growth underneath the studio) and putting in insulation for one more inspection before the walls go up.  Small leaps and bounds!  

thanks for reading,

ian