The installation and illumination of lights in the upper exterior soffit has created a dramatic change to the look of the studio, even in daylight.
The lights, and the mirror-like finish of the final coat of varnish, merely stoke my anticipation all the more:
Here’s one more perspective showing both the lights and the roofing materials that are soon to be applied to the lower roofs:
But that is just a small fraction of the work that’s been done this week.
Finishing up the work from last week, the framing crew installed gusset plates and trusses to finish strengthening the long overhang southern soffit. Here’s a sequence showing a 3/4″ thick gusset plate being installed:
And the final result:
From another perspective you can also see the trusses that have been installed:
The final strengthening step will be the installation of the soffit face, which in addition to being beautiful, will also create the structural effect of a box beam. That should keep things nice and straight!
While that was happening outside, the electricians were at work inside the Music Room installing conduits into the ceiling. Here you can see the attic access used for one of the electricians to handle the conduit from the top side. You can also see how we have two 90° turns between the air manifold above and the duct extension in the Music Room:
The penetrations of those pipes represent another milestone in the past year’s progress. Here’s how far up those conduits went in October 2008:
And then in February 2009, embedded in concrete blocks:
And then in May 2009, before being extended:
and after:
And then extended again in July 2009:
Then turned toward the ceiling in September 2009:
And extended again:
Before coming to rest in the junction boxes:
From which these penetrations were finally made. Whew!
Back to present time, some new work is being done in anticipation of framing the ceiling. Netting is being placed between all the rafters to hold fire-retardant filler. Here’s what that looks like:
A closeup of the pneumatic stable guns that make the job a little quicker:
And the progress in the booths:
And in the Music Room:
Here’s a closeup of the netted Attic entrance:
But progress was not limited to what was overhead. The masons inscribed the concrete slab with grid lines, which will be helpful both when it comes to framing the cloud (above) and installing the wooden floor. They start by using a carefully placed (and secured) guide board:
Which produces a line that cannot be scuffed or jostled:
Two lines intersect and an X marks the spot:
Four Xs make a diamond:
And many diamonds make a grid:
The masons also extended the diamond grid out to the Loggia using string because that slab has not yet been poured. The strings are easier to see in this photo:
Here’s a wider shot; the strings are more difficult to see, but the eye training previously provided the grid becomes more clear:
Finally, the electricians added lamp fixtures to the newly framed lower soffit around the Control Room. Here we see them perfectly centered as they head down the Southwest wall:
And here we see them appropriately placed so that the lamp in the corner defines an axis of symmetry. The lamp closest to the camera in the following photo is the same as the one closest in the preceding photo:
If you are extremely observant you will notice that the farthest lamp is not on the axis. This is because the sistered soffit lookout is on the wrong side of the rafter to preserve our symmetry, so it will be moved and the lamp will be aligned properly. I will say this about our lamp layout: it may seem like a small detail, but walking around and seeing these two lines converging to (or diverging from) a single point is the visual equivalent of a hearing the resolution of a particularly tasty turnaround.
That is all for now, but I promise there will be more—lots more—next week.