Remodeling the studio

It has become increasingly obvious over the last year or two that a major remodeling of the studio was going to be necessary. As output has increased and work habits have changed, and the fact that I want to put in a wood burning stove for winter heating, changing the configuration of the studio has become unavoidable. I’d been putting it off for a long time because it is going interrupt, but I last week it finally reached critical mass and I decided to bite the bullet and get to work. So…

First order of business is to get the stairs into a more manageable place, and add some floor space to the second floor. Here is a series of photos of the project:

Start. Gotta get the stairs out of the way, remove the visible section of floor, and remove the shelving underneath.
Start. Gotta get the stairs out of the way, remove the visible section of floor, and remove the shelving underneath.
Stairs and floor removed
Stairs removed, floor next.
Shelving gone.
Shelving and floor gone.

Interesting note here: when I removed the floor and started taking things off the shelf so I could dismantle it, I found my studfinder that I’d been searching for since, well since I put in that floor section 4 or 5 years ago. I looked everywhere for that thing!

Bottom shelf/clay storage gone.
Bottom shelf/clay storage gone.

I’ll still need to remove and redo the shelving at left, but for now just removed enough to get this project accomplished. Baby steps…

Post secured, main beam laid over the top.
Post secured, main beam laid over the top.
Oops, very heavy stairs on the wrong side of the beam.
Oops, very heavy stairs on the wrong side of the beam.

The ‘beam’ is actually two 4.5 cm thick boards screwed together. In my rush to get the beam in place, I forgot to move the stairs to a place within the work area. Doh!  Stairs 1, Homo Sapiens Sapiens 0.  But it all worked out ok, I threw the rope over the newly placed beam and used it to lower the stairs to the ground, then slid them over near to their final resting place, without destroying any discs in my back. Yes! Stairs 1, Homo Sapiens Sapiens 1. Take that, stairs!

Stairs on correct side of beam, cross supports almost in.
Stairs on correct side of beam, cross supports almost in.

This is my first project where I have discovered the forbidden delights of the Simpson Strong-Tie. I’d seen them before in the States, but only recently in Japan, and only at one of the home improvement stores. They saved me all kinds of time, since I didn’t have to cut all the joints for the floor joists, and as an added bonus, they’re cheap.

Floor boards almost done.
Floor boards almost done.

I secured all of the floor boards from below, so there are no screws or screw holes visible on the floor surface, and no need for wood plugs or putty.

Floor boards done, stairs back in place.
Floor boards done, stairs back in place.

As you can see, the stairs come awful close to the remaining shelving at left, but they are accessible. Moving the shelving is on the to-do list. Still, looking good from here…

The view coming up the stairs.
The view coming up the stairs.

Nice expanse of natural wood with no nails or screws visible.

Staring down the floorboards.
Staring down the floorboards.
The view of the stairs from the far corner. All done.
The view of the stairs from the far corner. All done.

All finished. This is the view from the doorway side of the shop looking back toward the stairs. The original part of the second floor at left. Stairs are up against the wall, and the studio already feels roomier.