Studio 31 is popular as one of the quieter production spaces in Vancouver… I figured it was time to dive in head first and make it the number one sound stage.    This latest project was so daunting, I have been putting it off for years.  I had a faulty monoglass installation from 10 years ago that needed to be stripped out and resprayed.  The studio had to be emptied,  covered in poly and sprayed with fibreglass impregnated with glue and black paint.  You can only imagine how messy this endeavor was.  Not only is the sound quality improved, but this added R20 insulation to the new roof which now totals about R40… yet again reducing our carbon footprint.   Monoglass is also inert and guarantees a minimum of 37% recycled content which is good for the environment.The studio was completely enveloped with Poly

this was the first half of the process – pulling down the faulty insulation.

Although the spraying was messy, itchy, sticky and dripped black paint for a couple of days,  the sound quality of the shooting space is now perfect for my video rental clients.  This will be further perfected with the removal of the garage door and installation of  sound proof steel doors… more blogs to follow.

A total of 4.5″ was applied to the ceiling (over double the listed amount in the above chart)

Here is the ‘Precious’ music video filmed at the studio.  Except for the obvious location shots,  everything was filmed ‘in house’ from the kitchen and office space to the shower and of course, the amazing wrap-around high key cove.

My friends a Jungle media did a great job producing this video on a very tight budget.  It was filmed entirely on Red cam and this compressed video does not begin to do it justice. . . keep your eyes open on Much Music for the real deal!

If I ever sell the building,  this is probably the one upgrade that will not stay.   The canopy on the back of the building has been reading ‘Oriental Dragon Imports’ since I moved in.   I never thought it prudent to advertise ‘photo studio with lots of goodies’ til i got the security up to date.  The small ‘31′ out front has helped guide my clients to the door,  but It was time to finally give the logo a home.  For too long i’ve been saying ‘look for the silver truck and palm tree out front!’

double click to play!

Well maybe not exactly. . . it was more a hellish year building this kitchen starting with heated flooring and working on up.  Good news is its done and ready to be used. The Cabinetry was all custom thanks to my friends at David Lane Office Furniture. I’m so glad i didn’t go the Ikea route. . . what a quality difference!

With the exception of the fridge,  all the handles run horizontally.  I wanted a very linear look.  The cabinets are tall and narrow contrasting the handles.  The countertops, are all ‘Silestone’ with quartz. . . one of the toughest countertops that never needs sealing – I got them at a great deal as offcuts from a Vancouver apartment project.

As my dad used to say “now you’re cooking with gas!”.   The instant heat is amazing to cook with and brings life to the kitchen.  The stainless steel looks fabulous against the dark cabinets and floor, but the combination has proven to be quite a challenge to keep looking clean.

Here’s the reverse angle.  The slate wall was brought from China, it’s hard to believe that it is cheaper to produce and ship from half way round the world than to buy locally (about 1/2 $).  The flat screens channel cable and video surveillance in every room. . . I’ll never miss a moment of Top Model or Heroes!

For reference,  here’s the kitchen i endured for the last 12 years,  This Reno was a welcome change!

Insulating the studio was and still is big on the mandate. . . phase two is energy consumption!  I”ve long been looking at Solar and Geothermal options, but  right now upgrading the equipment is a much more reasonable option.  I was quite suprised to learn that the old furnace (30 years old now) could be operating at an efficiency as low as 50%!!!!!

I decided to go with this Marvel of the furnace world. . . a Lennox!  Where my old furnace produced very hot exhaust,  this one makes water and a warm steam. . . i’m not kidding when i tell you its a most pleasant exhaust!  This baby is 98% efficient. .  almost twice as efficient as the old unit.

this is the other unit,  a Bosch BWH C 800 Tankless hot water heater.   Hot water is now by on demand and unlimited. The efficiency is 92% compared with a tank around 60%.   Another advantage was getting rid of the big water tank and creating more room, the downside with these units however is a 20 second warm up time  for hot water and temperature fluctuations based on load, but all in all i think the savings are a good trade off.  I’m considering a solar preheat for the water which would raise the efficiency even further.

One pet peeve i want to share is that there were no incentive programs for any of my upgrades.  I will probably never see the payoff by the time i sell the building other than the satisfaction of leaving less impact on the world.  If you purchase the same furnace as a homeowner you get approx $700 back from bc hydro and the gov’t., but none of this applies if you own a commercial building!  No wonder so many buildings are still poorly insulated and running on outdated equipment.

I’m pleased to announce that we have done our bit to reduce the studio’s CO2 footprint with a series of upgrades over the last year.  Its been a pretty hefty investment . . . approx $42000 so far with a few more changes to go.  The biggest project was stripping off 2 complete roofs . . . we filled over 2 – 20 yard containers taking off 33 years of obsolete roofing!

The Roof was upgraded with an additional 2.5″ of insulation giving us approximately  R18 in addition to the sprayed on ceiling insulation of R20.

It took about a week of scrapes, heavy lifting, and that wonderful smell of burning tar. . . with of course a couple major rainfalls ( it’s like washing your car), but it was worth it to finally  have an insulated watertight roof!

Its not too bad a view from the top. . . Now i just have to establish a garden with raspberries and vegetables

Thanx to John from Trimstyle roofing consultation for helping coordinate me and my friends in what would have been a gong show without him.  This is a special shot as all i ever see of him is behind a computer.