Studio D: Day 26

Wahoo! I did my first “real” drywalling! I mean, I cut the drywall… I didn’t even have Christa cut it for me.  Haha!

That’s right, I got some scrap pieces of drywall and built the window sills. They may not be lovely pine or oak sills, but they were free!  The Landlord will like that.

I think I did an okay job, to be honest. We’ll see how they look once the adhesive dries, and then [gasp] I will have to mud it.

Sasha stopped in to see how things are shaping up, and my daughter Tali looked in the brush for frogs. I think because we found one a while back, she expects she’ll find one every time she visits Studio D. I hate to see her disappointed, so I might have to buy a few frogs and hide them like Easter eggs – haha!

Here’s the video from Day 26:

-Robbie

Studio D: Day 23

I’ve got to admit, I was getting really worn out, and just knew I had mudding to do. So I got rocking on the mud, and kept pressing on, but was feeling a little like I was marching up hill while pushing a train full of bowling balls.

But then, Christa and Brad showed up unexpectedly to review my work, and to put up the “more complicated” drywall which I would not be able to do. I really felt like that gave me my second wind: to be reminded in that moment that I was not doing this alone… that I have friends, viewers, and supporters who are right here with me.

No matter how tiring this gets, I’m pressing on!

Thank you for your support!

-Robbie

Studio D: Day 20

I decided to try something I haven’t done since Tali was born… a good long bike ride! Apparently Studio D is on the summit of a small mountain. Yep, turns out it was pretty much all uphill, or at least that’s how it seemed.

But I made it safe and sound, and felt invigorated by the cardio, which should help me with getting into better shape, which is something I’ve been working on for a while now.

So my whole visit was a day of preparations: scraping, taping and mudding the walls. I got the first coat entirely done… prepped and ready for sanding on Day 21.

I feel like I’m a fairly quick study. I mean, I was much more confident with my mudding today, and much faster too.

It’s really starting to come together and look good!

Check out the Backstage Pass video from Day 20 at Studio D…

Thank you for your support!
-Robbie

Studio D: Day 19

Christa and Brad are some good friends, I gotta say. Christa picked up a new client and was much too busy to come help with Studio D, and Brad came down with a bad head cold… yet they still came by in spite of all that and put up much of the remaining drywall, and taught me how to tape and mud so I could continue on in their absence.

I tried really hard to do a good job of the mudding, but they still made fun of me. And my gloves. But I tell you what: I’m really starting to see the finish line. Getting the drywall and mud up really makes the place look like we’re on the downhill slope. We’re putting stuff up now, rather than taking stuff down.

Learn along with me as I mud for the first time. Don’t mind Christa and Brad… they’re just jealous that I’m so awesome at it on my first try.

-Robbie

Studio D: Day 18

I received an email from Robert after I told him the water was still coming in: he visited the studio again after hours to try to track down where the water may be coming from.

He explained some of the things I could do to help prep the area for him to come back and fix the problems, so my daughter Tali and I visited the studio with a couple of wire brushes and compressed air to start cleaning the joints, ready for that “cementitious compound” Andy told us so much about on Day 4 (sorry if that sounds pretentious).

So, while I did what we set out to do, Tali built a habitat for a tiny toad we found outside the fire exit door.

Oh yeah, and we learned that apparently, Studio D mice can chew holes directly through concrete!

Check it out!

Thank you so much for supporting Category5’s Studio D project!

-Robbie

Studio D: Day 13

Sirens, dead animals and 2 hours sleep. That’s what Anthony and I were in for on “lucky” Day 13.

Hillary Rumball came by to open the doors, and Anthony from Froggy.ca made the trek northward once again… this time to install the studio’s alarm system. He also had a good deal of knowledge to share regarding things electrical and otherwise.

Due to heavy Friday night traffic, it was a fairly late start to the night, and we didn’t wrap up until 3am.

We were fortunate that studio lights also work very well to illuminate an empty studio with no power to the ceiling lights!

I finished wiring all the ceiling fixtures, gave them a quick inspection and put in 40 light bulbs, ready for the landlord’s visit the next morning.

Check out our “all nighter” in the video below.

Huge thanks, of course, to Anthony from Froggy.ca for all his hard work on Day 13.

And thank you for supporting Studio D!

-Robbie