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-   -   Birth of a Shed turned Studio (http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33550)

Becky Mason 2006-09-14 8:54am

Birth of a Shed turned Studio
 
I posted a couple of pictures in another thread a few days ago, but rather than hijack that thread with so many pictures, I decided it would be best to start a new thread. I'm posting these pictures so that other people can get some ideas of their own. When I decided to build a studio last year, I got a lot of great ideas from other who had posted info about their studios on WC, so I wanted to reciprocate by showing the birth of my studio in hopes that I might help someone else going down this exciting road.

Becky


This was a site built shed we bought from Home Depot. They sent 1 guy to the house and he put up this entire structure, including cutting and installing the windows, and putting on a shingled roof, all in one day.









My fabulous husband Rick then went to work insulating, drywalling and putting down ceramic tile. We also installed a front deck ourselves. I helped with the tile and the front deck. They were both really fun jobs.











I'm going to show pictures before, during and after construction so that you can see the dramatic change from shed to studio, but here is a picture of the outside of the finished studio. Rick added a path from the studio to the house, and a nice landscaped bed in front of the deck for a birdbath, bird feeder and plants. I'm so happy with the way it turned out!





Here is what the inside looked like before Rick insulated and drywalled. This is the corner where my torching station is located.




Here is what it looked like after the interior was finished, but before all of my equipment got moved in.




Here is how that same corner looks today - my torching station. I took this picture today. I have everything within easy reach. My kiln is right behind me so all I do is swivel my chair around and pop my beads into the kiln. Check out my flat screen TV and DVD player. Cool huh?











Here is the picture of the ventilation system before Rick built a soffit to hide it.





And here is what it looks like now. The area right over the DVD player is an open mesh screen to allow air to circulate around the motor for the vent fan so that it doesn't get overheated. It also allows us to access the motor easily should something go wrong. We didn't want to have to rip out drywall, so I came up with this idea of a removable screen panel. Pretty smart, huh?





This is the other end of the studio where the student torch stations are located. I have 2 student torches on a 10 foot long staineless steel table. Each station has its own Oxy Con. The propane tank is outside on the front porch and comes through a small hole I cut in the wall, which is filled in with expandable foam to keep out the creepy crawlies.

Here is the before picture.





Here is the ventilation for the student torches. They share a 980cfm fan I got from Grainger. We tested it for suction, and it sucked a plastic grocery bag right out of the electrician's hand, so this thing really sucks! We installed the same kind of removable screen panel below the motor to allow for air to circulate. Over the torch stations we used range hoods with all of the guts removed. I stripped everything out - fan, motor, wiring - everything. The electrician ducted the top of the range hood to the squirrel cage blower, which connects to a louver vent on the outside of the studio (you can see the louver vent on the gable side of the roof in the above picture of the finished studio.) When the ventilation fan is running, the louver vents open up to vent out the bad air. When the ventialtion is turned off the louvers close, thus preventing rain from getting in. The fan gets turned on from a wall switch by the door to the studio, which is also where my overhead flourescent lights turn on.





This is the same area after the interior was finished.





And here is the finished area for the student torches. I took this picture today.





This is the area along the back wall where we installed the window unit A/C, cabinets, countertop and sink - before.




And the after picture of the same area. I took this picture today, so this area is a little messy. The extra storage is so nice. As you can see, I have no wasted space in this little studio. I have shelves on the walls for storing things, and I've used the space below my stainless steel tables to store things. My studio is only 10' x 14', but it is packed from floor to ceiling with bells and whistles, including a DVD player, flat screen TV, CD player and iPod docking station. I don't lack for entertainment in my studio.




I hope that you've enjoyed looking at the birth of my studio and that it inspires you with your own studio. If you have any questions, please let me know.


Becky

one-eared pig 2006-09-14 8:58am

I have SERIOUS studio envy. I am in awe. Congratulations on a wonderful set-up!

cadia 2006-09-14 9:13am

OMG!!!!
Cadia

hannabiggs 2006-09-14 9:17am

Wow! That is amazing. You are one lucky gal!

swanseafarm 2006-09-14 9:39am

Becky...that is fabulous!

Congrats to you and your hubby...what a great job!!

:)

Wiley 2006-09-14 9:42am

Wow!! I don't know what else to say!! WOW!

I love your rod storage! What is the blue cabinet-if you don't mind...

Kristen 2006-09-14 9:54am

Becky...Wow...just printed this for DH...this is what I want...thanx for the detail.....

Becky Mason 2006-09-14 10:01am

Thank you all for all of the nice comments.

Robin - here is a link to an auction on eBay for the storage units. I bought mine over a year ago. They are really nice - very sturdy and spacious.

http://cgi.ebay.com/32-Hole-Metal-St...QQcmdZViewItem


Each opening is 4" x 4", so I divided up the compartments by using plastic storage tubes I got from JCDanczak. Here is the link to their website.

http://www.jcdanczak.com/our_products/cat_7.html

I have all different sizes to accomodate the various quantities of glass that I have in different colors.

The white storage unit where I have all of my Bullseye is a shoe storage unit I got from HOme Depot.

Becky

Wiley 2006-09-14 10:02am

Thanks Becky!!

Becky Mason 2006-09-14 10:03am

Kristen,

Wow, I'm flattered. If your DH has any questions, please feel free to PM me. I'm all about sharing. We really do get more when we give more.

Becky

Kristen 2006-09-14 10:57am

Thanx so much Becky..I printed this off for hubby when he gets home..may be contacting you thanx......Kristen

Janine 2006-09-14 12:30pm

Becky, thank you so much for posting all the amazing pictures. We are in the midst of moving, and seeing how to build a great studio makes me think we can do it versus having to buy a house with one already.

It looks fabulous and I love the paint colour!!!

jazz's glass 2006-09-14 1:35pm

Wow, that is beautiful. I think the only other things you could possibly need would be a fridge and toilet :biggrin:

Janet

BarbR 2006-09-14 4:32pm

Well done Becky!

What a project - and well thought out too. This is probably one of the nicest small private studios I've seen. I'm showing this to my partner....heh, heh....can we say motivation?

valerie_folly 2006-09-14 4:35pm

Awesome digs! If i had something that nice, the teenagers would be moving in!

Becky Mason 2006-09-14 5:44pm

Janet,

If I had a fridge and toliet I would rarely see my husband. How terrible that eating and going potty are two of the few things that will get me into the house.

Becky

EmbellishYourself 2006-09-14 7:00pm

Thank you so much for sharing. Now I have something to aspire to! Jenny

villa design 2006-09-14 7:28pm

I'm with the other Melissa, I have serious studio envy! So well organized Becky... I love it!

Dale M. 2006-09-14 7:29pm

Excellent studio, you have done well.... But I have to ask what was the reasoning for placing vent hoods so high?... The closer to the flame (down about two feet lower) would have made them more effective... Just curious what was criteria for their placement.

Dale

Moth 2006-09-14 7:36pm

That's the most well thought out studio I've seen and I love SO MUCH that you took so much care with safety issues. I wondered about the high placement of the hoods, but at the Glass Blowing Center where AGI is held...they are all that high. I'm not worried about your ventilation...just wondered about why you put them so high. Mine is high too, and I've been thinking of putting side baffles on them to help focus the 'suck'.

Awesome awesome studio...best one I've ever seen.

~~Mary

Becky Mason 2006-09-14 7:54pm

The main reason I located the vent where I did was to give me room to have things on my work surface all along the back of the table. I would have lost a lot of this space if I'd moved the range hood down lower. Plus on the student stations, I had windows to contend with, and I didn't want the range hoods in front of the windows. I know that the ventilation systems would have worked better if they'd been lower, but they really work great where they are. I can tell you that I've done all kinds of tests with this system, and it is a great vent system. By increasing the size of the squirrel cage fan assembly, I gave myself the luxury of the additional space I gained by moving the range hood up higher. I have a carbon monoxide detector about 3 feet from my torch and it has NEVER gone off. When I have my vent fan on it is even hard to open the door to my studio, so I know how well it is sucking out the bad air.

I appreciate the fact that you folks are thinking about safety, and believe me, that was one of my main concerns when we built this studio.

For all of the nice comments from everyone, I say a HUGE thanks. I have received such great information from others on WC and LE, and it was my turn to give back.

Becky

Solana 2006-09-14 8:16pm

OMG! I'm wiping the drool off my chin right now! Absolutely lovely! I wish I was as lucky!!!! Thanks for sharing!

Raven Wylder 2006-09-14 8:33pm

I'm so jealous! That looks awesome. Can I ask what type of shed you got? I know it's HD but was wondering which one. You and DH did a great job - congratulations on your new studio.

LadyCrow 2006-09-14 8:47pm

Like Karla, I too am sopping up the drool!!!! It's my dream studio with different color walls (I'd chose lavendar)...lol
My 6'x6' space in my garage is my "temporary" little heaven. Maybe I'll print your photos to look foward to the day.
Great Job...want to addopt a daughter????
Margie :D

Becky Mason 2006-09-14 8:58pm

Sheryll,

It is by Handy Home Products and my design is called the Somerset. We bolted the left hand door permanently in place and drywalled it on the inside, so from the inside it looks like a wall. The right hand door is the only one that opens now, and that was one of the trickiest parts of finishing the studio. We had to frame the inside of it and install a handle with lock. Neither one of us is a builder, but together we figured out how to do it, and it looks great now.


Becky

Refined with Fire 2006-09-14 9:37pm

Hi Becky!

That is the EXACT shed I was going to buy! i think it is a 10x16?
i ended up buying a different shed from the same company (handy) that has a higher ceiling and a loft that i can use for storage. it looks like a barn!

and it is finally being worked on! it might even be done by Thanksgiving. (it has been sitting in my yard since January!) i will have to take some pics sometime!

i love the light and airy colors-they refelct your personality well! and i LOVE your little path---not to mention your PYROMANIAC sign!

Lovely workspace, i hope it brings you hours of joy!!!

-Teresa

laserglass 2006-09-15 3:53am

SWEET!!!!!

Darelyn 2006-09-15 5:49am

That is a terrific shed, Becky! It's a dream studio come true!

boroburner 2006-09-15 6:45am

Nice setup=) Looks like alot of work.

It does look like maybe ur only using half the capability of ur fan. A squirel cage fan like he one you have usually will have both sides suck air in. It looks like you only have 1 side with ducting? I have the same style fan in my studio and have it in a box to focus the suck to one hole, making it twice as strong. This will ensure nasty air isnt pushed past ur ventilation (through the hole in the other side of the fan) and back into your studio.
If i got the fan type wrong i apolagize ahead of time.
B

karenbeads 2006-09-15 7:11am

karenbeads
 
Very nice studio! I love how you made the outside look friendly and inviting. Your studio is a big girl playhouse,,,all it needs is a window flower box,, very cool!
I have thought of buying shoe organizers for my glass like you did but I am afraid they won't be able to handle the weight of my glass. Are they sturdy enough to be completely filled with glass and not break under the weight? Also, do you think 20" Boro rods would be ok in a shoe organizer with a bit longer separating tubes?

Karen
Hey,,,where did the summer go?


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