The framing for the stage and riser was completed last Thursday, but I didn’t get to the sand until Sunday. With the help of my friend Amish (and a good friend at that), we lugged 72 bags (3600lbs) of play sand off a truck, through the house, down the basement stairs and around a corner. Unfortunately, I only ended up using 58 bags (2900lbs) of sand so I will end up lugging 14 bags (700lbs) back upstairs to be returned. Oh, and all this was done in a big snowstorm that hit right as we unloaded the truck.
For the riser, I only needed to fill with R-13 insulation. By total luck, the riser cavities were the exact length of each piece of insulation so I just pulled a strip out of the bag and into the cavity.
On Tuesday, the carpenters came by to complete the tops for both the riser and stage, and the carpeting began on Wednesday. Before the carpeting was finished, I was able to build the proscenium (screen wall) out of 2x2s. The opening at the top is where my center speaker will be. The goal was to eliminate any 2x2s from blocking the sound.