Day Sixty Nine -- The Pace Accelerates

Progress since our last post has been slow but steady, but the pace has picked up considerably in the last few days. With the exception of sidewalks and landscaping, the outside appearance of the building is pretty much complete. The downspouts have been added as well as the security lights.

Inside we find most of the drywall has been hung. This view shows the new reception area from the front door position. The opening links this area with the existing building.

The opening from our old front door is now in the corner of the studio, so it is being blocked in today.


The greatest part of the electrical wiring has been completed, and the electricians are now preparing the step-down transformer which will convert our 480 volt electrical service to the 110-220 volt service which will power the new addition. Tomorrow or early next week we will have to turn off the incoming power to permit them to connect the transformer. This will require us to power down both of our transmitters as well as all the control room equipment. This will, of course, take us off the air for an hour or so. Since virtually every piece of equipment has a computer in it or controlling it, it will be quite a task to shut down everything in an orderly fashion, and then to re-boot the entire station, one piece at a time.

There are still some decisions that must be made regarding increasing the size of a water tank needed for fire protection which will be required before we can get an occupancy permit. Other than that, it appears that we will have smooth sailing toward completion.

Day Fifty Six -- Back Outside

What a difference a coat of paint makes! Our new studio addition now matches our existing building after having been painted over the weekend. Roofers are at work today trimming out the top of the block walls and preparing the downspouts for water drainage. Things are quiet inside today.

Day Fifty Three -- Internal Progress

We're now at day fifty three (work days) of the studio construction project. The exterior of the building is almost complete except for painting, and the work continues on the interior.

There is now drywall on one face of each of our interior walls. After a county inspection, insulation will be added. Another inspection will preceed the installation of the remainder of the drywall and its finishing.

Dr. Destructo has arrived on the scene, and has punched through the exterior wall where our front window used to be in preparation for making a passageway from our new reception area into the existing building.

Just inside the former window, the old reception area has been demolished to make way for a new office and a new storeroom. The walls for those will be framed tomorrow. We've had to move our major filing and storage cabinets into the hallway to clear out this area, so our already crowded facility is feeling an additional squeeze. The next few weeks will probably be the most challenging and inconvenient for the staff to endure. This, too, shall pass.

I met yesterday with a lighting consultant about a proposal to equip the studio with curtain tracks, curtains, light fixtures, dimmers, and a controller. Installation of these items will make the studio functional with our existing equipment once the basic construction is completed. We're already drawing up specifications for the high-definition cameras, switcher, and other equipment, but we may need a short financial breather before we equip the studio to operate at its full potential.