Roof, window and siding

There has been a lot has been happening around here the past week. A lot of inspections and a lot of progress! We had the concrete slab poured, had all the electrical done, ordered our custom outdoor lights. Yesterday we picked up the window from a great carpenter in San Francisco. It looks beautiful, it even has historic wavy glass.

This is when all the fun stuff happens. Jim and Dan have been putting up the siding and we had the roof put on today. It is all coming together! 

We have ordered our garage doors, they should be here in about 4 weeks. Never thought I would get excited about garage doors, but these are going to be beautiful. Custom made, real carriage doors! Jim and I have also been spending a lot of time trying to figure out the cabinets that will go in the garage. 

We have been trying to cram a lot in these past few weeks because Jim is starting a job in Half Moon Bay on Monday. So, the pace will slow down a bit while Jim is at work. We will still have a few things done while he is working and we will also be working hard on the weekends.  One thing that will be done in the next week or so is insulation. Jim spends a lot of time working on his 1955 VW and we wanted to make the garage very comfortable. We found a great product called, Ultra Touch, it is made from 85% post consumer products, basically cotton denim. It has great sound absorption, has no chemical irritants and is safe for the environment.  

After the insulation the next step will be drywall and paint. So, stay tuned!

Fence & Start of the Garage

 

 

We decided to build the garage first so when we remodel the house, we can put all of our stuff in there.  After a few meetings with our architect, Leopold, we decided on a  design. Sticking with the craftsman style but we also wanted to make it appear as a one car garage from the street. We were originally going to build a car and a half to save some backyard space, but the city actually made us build a 2 car. (Jim is really upset about this). We had our property surveyed and to come to find out that the property line was off by about 2 feet, in our favor. 

The next step was for us to apply for a variance to put the garage the property line. The hearing for that was on December 10th, it was approved with no problems but we had to wait 15 days for anyone to contest it. While we were waiting for that period to pass, with the help of our friends, Sean & Alejandro, we took the old fence down and built a beautiful craftsman fence. We also dug out 25 yards of soil in preparation  for the foundation. The 15 days passed and we got our permit. The very next day at 7:00 we started pouring concrete for the foundation. Everything went smoothly, we got lucky with the beautiful California weather and it was all framed in a week. 

Well, last night it decided to start raining. I know we really need the rain, but could it have not waited just one more week so we could get a roof on!?! Jim had to climb up on the roof to put a tarp up at about 9:00 last night. It helped, but he still had to squeegee all the water out of the attic space this morning before the concrete slab got poured.

The slab is poured and the roofers came out today to put the roofing paper on. After putting up 4 plastic tarps to cover the window and door openings, we are now water-proofed, well sort of. 

The story begins...

Jim and I moved into our house in February 2005. I remember when we first came to see the house. It was not much to look at. The house was hidden in a forest behind 2 huge pine trees which had lifted the sidewalk up about a foot. The back of the house was sloping, the 1 and only bedroom was tiny, and the kitchen was, well, pathetic. I walked in and almost immediately walked out. But, thankfully Jim had the vision. The house had a ton of potential. Now, I could not imagine leaving our house. We live in a wonderful neighborhood where our neighbors have become our good friends. We have developed a love of the craftsman style and older homes.

Right after we moved in we started talking about all the things that one day we wanted to do. This is where we wanted to raise  family, we were not going anywhere. We had big dreams for this house. At times it seemed like our dreams were too big. So, in the mean time, we have done a lot of "little" things to spruce up the house. Fist thing first, we took out the pine trees and had the sidewalk fixed. It brought a whole new look to our street and you could actually see our house! We moved some walls around, painted inside and out, did a quick remodel to the kitchen, put grass and a new tree in the front yard. It has turned into a beautiful house!

We started talking to one architect sometime in 2006. We were not very happy with the things he was showing us. It just seemed like he was not listening to anything we were saying. Luckily, we were introduced to another architect in 2008. Leopold has been doing a fantastic job making our dreams become reality. He truly understands what we are trying to do and is making sure it is being done in the best way possible. He is full of innovative, creative ideas and is such a pleasure to work with.  So, after years of talking about doing a remodel, it is finally happening! 

We hope you will all enjoy seeing our progress and following us on this adventure!