Roof Stays Due to Rain

It started to rain so a last minute decision was made to not remove the roof.

Structural Engineer Needs to Redesign to Save Tree

We ran into a little snag today. A footing (~8 ft. deep) can't be put in because it is adjacent to the date palm tree. The contractor called me over to the house and by 9AM he was on the phone with the structural engineer for a redesign. Since we can't put the footing in (kill the tree) or move the tree (block the view), we are going to put in a 22 ft steel beam (1200 pounds) to cantilever the upper deck.

Save the Hardwood Floor?

With all of the cutting away of the floor for the foundation reinforcement and the rain we have been having, today we decided that it is more trouble than it's worth to save the hardwood floor in the living room. This is 2 1/4" quartersawn oak at about $12/sq ft installed. With all of the holes in it, it would be very hard to match new to existing wood without seeing where it was patched. Also, the wood is only 1/2" thick instead of the standard 3/4". This just complicated the problem.

The middle of my living room floor is being cut so the foundation can be reinforced.

Contruction Permit Issued!

The Art Jury finally stamped the drawings allowing the City to issue the construction permit.
It only took 22 months and $40,000 just to get to this point! Now let's build it!

Art Jury Reviews Final Details

The Art Jury finally reviewed the final details for a wall cap, roofline, and chimney. That was what they were holding up the permits for. All of these these items are aesthetic and located at the top of the house. None of these items would have impacted the foundation permit.

Structural Plan Check Cleared/Partial Foundation Permit Issued

The structural plan check was cleared today with the City building inspector.
The City also issued us a partial foundation permit. It was partial because the Art Jury wanted to see some aesthetic details before allowing any work on the patio or front porch foundations. Total overkill in my opinion!

Start Demolition

With our temporary demo permit in place, we can start demolition. Now we aren't planning on tearing the entire house down but rather save as much as we can and do a minimal amount of changes. A full set of pictures with captions can be seen in the Photo Gallery.

Fireplace Demolition

Partial Demolition Permit Received

Well we got a permit to allow for a partial demolition. The Art Jury is holding this up saying that they want to see some details on the plans.

School District Construction Fee

I hope this is the last one.

Hired General Contractor

Today we hired our general contractor, Rich Wright Construction. Rich was highly recommended by everyone I talked to and is a master woodworker. He also surfs!

Go Out For Contractor Bids

Today we sent out packages to four different contractors to start the bid process. I used Service Magic to get matched up to contractors that could do this sort of work.
We need to get this going as the contractor will be pulling the permits.

City Plan Check Fees

The City asked for more money today to look at the plans.

Drawings Sent to Structural Engineer

The design Development drawings were sent to the structural engineer at Palos Verdes Engineering.

Art Jury Wants More Money

The Art Jury is requesting another payment to look at the plans.

Soils Engineer Survey Performed

Tony Lee, a soils engineer, came out today to take core samples of the soil around 4 parts of the house.

City Requests Soils Report

The city has requested a soils report today.