The architect’s drawing matches the results; click the image to see the original.

DALLAS — In January the corporation I work for bought a fifth radio station in the Dallas/Fort Worth market. When we originally built the Irving, Texas-located studios, Salem Communications had completed two extra studios. We called the studios KTBD, as in “to be determined,” but they have long since been taken over by another station.

So it was time to build two new studios. We’ve all been through it — architects, contractors, equipment purchases, and, of course, furniture. I called the engineer from the previous owner to find out who had made the furniture in the control room we were acquiring. He informed me it was Graham Studios Furniture. I had not worked with Graham Studios before but if I could match the furniture that I was acquiring with the sale then I thought that would be great.

I called Rod Graham and then sent the architect’s drawings to him. Over the next few days we exchanged emails. Rod and I agreed upon a modified Radius XP design. I asked for an extra rack pod and it was no problem.I needed an extra hatch cut and it was no problem. I would like a quad electrical box in each rack.

Rod said we would want the AC electrical and lighting package. I was skeptical at first but the price seemed right and I thought how many steps I could save not having to get a flashlight every time I work in a rack.

I had also asked about a wiring cabinet and Rod told me the wiring cabinet is included in the furniture.

I was shocked when the furniture was ready two weeks before the rooms were actually completed by the contractors. I told Rod that there was plenty of storage space for early delivery. Plus I thought that would give me a head start on putting the furniture together. When it came in I had a couple of kids from promotions to help out. I was warned the table tops would be 100 pounds or so.

I was worried about the two rooms of furniture parts in boxes getting mixed up so before starting assembly I separated the boxes by room. I started opening boxes and kept contents of each box separate. I found that assembly was very intuitive. My separating each box was not necessary.

I found that the hardware was exactly the amount required. Then I found an extra bag with at least one extra of everything needed. I ended up using the extra hardware in the project.

First I built the pods and wiring cabinets. When the rooms were ready I moved the pods and wiring cabinets into the rooms respectively and bolted them together. I punched the room interconnect multipair cables and the AC electrical and lighting package before adding the table tops. The electrical package was color-coded for easy installation. In fact, the electrician offered to do all of the interconnection for free.

The installation went very smoothly. After the contractors finished with the rooms the station was on-site within two weeks. I found the Graham Studio Furniture one of the least stressful parts of the studio building experience.

For information, contact Rod Graham at Graham Studios in Colorado at (970) 225-1956 or visit www.graham-studios.com.