The painters have been staining the shingles for a week or so. The singles we are using come in a 8 foot boards, and are a system that provides more stability and waterproofing. The shingles are nailed to a plywood backing, with a waterproofing material in between. In the long run, these will be muchRead more about Shingles![…]
Our zoning happens to allow a legal second unit, something rather valuable in Santa Barbara. The legal term for this, as we recently discovered is accessory dwelling unit, or ADU. Santa Barbara is a pretty expensive place to live, and has been for a long time. To make ends meet, many people convert part ofRead more about Accessory Dwelling Unit[…]
A lot of the same activities that have been happening for the last month continued this week. The plumbers have finished the fire sprinklers in the basement and first floor. The painters continue to work on the exposed wood rafter tails, barges, out-lookers, corbels, and knee braces around the first and second floor roofs. TheRead more about The house this week[…]
Santa Barbara has an interesting architectural history. Of the type of house we are building, Craftsman, there are many fine examples, as well as Victorian, Edwardian, and hybrids of these styles. I came across this interesting one recently. Consider this local restaurant we frequent. Hidden behind that tacked-on first story addition is a pretty coolRead more about Local history[…]
We are heavy into the design part of our construction, where almost daily, we have to make decisions about something. For example, here is what we’ve been working on in the last week: Finalizing the design of our railings The architectural design of the railings looks like this (which we like). However, one of theRead more about Much ado about design[…]
The carpenters are working hard on the exterior of the house now, which gives us a good opportunity to consider how a house constructed today differs from those of yesteryear. We are building a house that we hope looks a little like it has been there for a long time. We like the old craftsmanRead more about Old house vs modern construction[…]
I’ve had a downtown office for a few years. It is nice to have a place away from home to work but it is a bit of a pain as it is in the middle of a mall, and I have to park in the mall parking and have to walk about 5 minutes toRead more about My new office[…]
There has been a lot of activity in the last couple of weeks. The carpenters, after several weeks of meticulous planning as to exactly how the exterior of the house will be put together, have started casing the windows and doors in preparation for the siding and shingles. Next, the painters have started priming theRead more about A beehive of activity[…]
Design seems to be the bottleneck for most things right now specification of the exterior siding details selection of bathroom fixtures specification and placement of exterior lighting placement of interior lighting (the cans) We’ve made a lot of progress over the last week, including Exterior siding The first thing to go on will be theRead more about Lots of design[…]
The window installation began on Monday and they’ve made quite a bit of progress. We are quite pleased with our Sierra Pacific windows and doors. We’re particularly excited about the quality of the knotty Alder wood, which has few, if any, knots, and will stain quite nicely. The installation work should be complete this week,Read more about Windows and doors![…]