Marc Alan Goodman’s Building Strange Weather Blog: The Timing Game

June 15th, 2012 by Marc Alan Goodman

Latest in the “Building Strange Weather Blog” series by producer/engineer and studio owner Marc Alan Goodman. Click to start at Step 1: Finding A New Home; #2: Design; #3: Waiting For Permits (Part 1) and #4: (Part 2); and #5: Stops & Starts, #6: Demolition, #7: The Structural Work, #8 The Joys of Home Ownership, #9 Rain, Rain, Rain, #10 A Control Room Is Born, and #11 Plumbing Inspections aka More Delays…

WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN: After six months of screwing around we’re back in business.

My last blog post was published five months into what was essentially a six-month standstill of our work building the new Strange Weather Studios.

The plumbing inspection happened the day before the chief at the Department of Buildings agreed to look at our plans – we passed the plumbing inspection but we failed for the gas lines. However right after the plans were signed off by the DoB, our plumber was working on a different job site and asked an inspector to come take a look at our place if he had time. He swung by that same day, and now that the inspection is over, things are starting to move fast.

The electrical contractor came in to start running wires around the studio. It had been so long since the electrical crew had been in that the staff had changed, and the new man now in charge of our site, Paul, is fantastic. He’s asked me detailed questions about the plans every day, and even offered to come in and do some pro-bono work when we do the low-voltage technical wiring so he can see how it’s done.

Wirework at Strange Weather

The electrical has been going in really fast, and the work looks great. He’s also running all of the security cameras lines for me. I need to figure out what to do about a door intercom before he wraps up so I can get him to help out with that as well.

Now the timing game begins.

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Our contractor Tony and his studio construction crew from North Carolina are working on another of Wes Lachot’s studios in Dubai right now, but before he even gets in we need to put three layers of 5/8” sheetrock on the ceiling, mudded and taped on each individual layer and with acoustical caulk between the drywall and the brick walls. It’s all hanging from springs that we put in months ago.

But of course things in Dubai aren’t going smoothly, so Tony will probably be pushed back, which means pushing back Thom Canova, our technical wiring guy – also from North Carolina. Once that job is done the electrical crew comes back in to install all of the outlets and switches. Then the drywall crew puts sheetrock on all the walls, followed by the HVAC crew coming in to install (or rather reinstall) the duct-work.

After that Tony and his crew return to frame the soffits, which then need to be covered by the drywall crew. You’re probably getting the idea. Everybody wants to know exactly when I’ll need them, and at this point it’s imperative that things keep moving smoothly. We’ve already spent more than enough money dealing with down time.

The other half of the timing game is that we need to start predicting all the way to the end. Our calendar at the current space is already booked through a good portion of July. If things move smoothly, and I truly hope they do, we could be moving in mid August. That means it’s about time to start putting off work. In addition to that I got in contact with API about assembling the rest of our console. They need a couple months advance lead to build the third bucket and prepare a crew to come install it.

If things start slipping behind now all of the sudden I’ll have unnecessary down time at both studios, and that’s a real potential killer.

Now that it’s all coming together we’re also coming towards the end of our budget. The six months of holdups and extenuating circumstances at home (my wife has been out of work with severe back problems for almost two months) are eating away as well. This is definitely the scariest part for me so far, but hopes are high. I’ll keep you updated as things develop.

Click to see photos of the studio in progress at the Strange Weather photoblog.

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