Let's dig a really big hole

Everything is coming together nicely now.  With the launch date set for midnight, I now have time to concentrate on where we are going to live.  Like many great adventures, this one will have a very humble beginning.  A very large hole in the ground…

Cutting away the concrete floor around our exploratory hole

Before we could build anything in the loft, we had to dig the compulsory wine cellar.  It’s simple logistics.  We started with a small 4’ x 4’ exploratory hole to find out what was lurking beneath us.  Much to our surprise, just 60 year old dirt.  Good, hard-packed dirt at that.  Good news for us.  We then cut away the floor to bring our dimensions to the full 9’ x 12’ and started digging.  Lot’s of digging.

Getting close to our final depth of 8 feet and sizing our rebar... and yes, that is a toilet... it will be moved.

Add a 45 mil flexible liner and final rebar, then pour the floor

The finished product!

Add some rebar, and several yards of concrete, and voilà!  This is as far as it will go for now.  We will run pneumatics for the trap door, electrical, and venting for cooling and call it a day.  This will be framed over so we can begin construction on the loft and I will revisit it at a later time.

Launching New Years Eve!

Snapshot of the BigDNYE fireworks from my building last year

After careful consideration, I have decided that Studio #217 will launch at exactly 12:00 am on January 1st, 2013.  There will of course be a party, a toast on the rooftop at midnight, and a very expensive fireworks display (compliments of the City of Dallas and American Airlines Center).  As many of you know, the studio has a court-side seat to BigDNYE (keep in mind that countdown clock is now Studio #217’s launch timer).

Building new window coverings for the studio

It gives me time to concentrate on building out the studio, acquire new materials, and build a portfolio. And just as important, it will give me enough time to complete the loft.