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# Building From Scratch

From the basement up

## Sitemaps

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## Posts

- [Chandelier!](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2021/11/30/chandelier/) - With a large and beautiful central stairwell in the house, we needed something grand in terms of lighting. When we were finishing the house originally, we really just slapped three lights together into a fixture; it wasn't very impressive. Given the tall nature of our stairwell, we needed to build a platform to allow for
- [House tweaks - adding shelves](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2021/11/30/house-tweaks-adding-shelves/) - We've been keeping a list of finish carpentry projects, and adding some shelves was among them. All three of our daughters are voracious readers. We constantly run out of bookshelf space, so we added built-in shelves to two of the girls rooms. We're still waiting for the painters to have time to paint some of
- [House tweaks - chicken fence](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2021/11/30/house-tweaks-chicken-fence/) - We've got a great chicken coop, and have some movable fences we use to create a larger area to let the chickens out in from time to time. We finally settled on a more permanent "yard" area around the coop and our shed. Wanting something more permanent, we had a fence built, partly inspired by
- [Garage makeover](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2021/11/30/garage-makeover/) - I've been wanting a workbench in the garage for a while, and the floor was starting to get stained just from the cars. We started our makeover by doing an epoxy coat on the floor. Here is the before: The process was surprisingly complicated and thorough. They started by grinding down the entire floor, grinding
- [Art!](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2021/11/30/art/) - Building a house is an exercise in financial exhaustion, so when we finished construction we weren't exactly in the mood to spend a lot of money on quality art. We mostly just hung what we already had, some of which was very nice, and other just stuff to hang on the walls. We've add a
- [Landscaping two years in](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2021/05/20/landscaping-two-years-in/) - It has taken a while for our landscaping to mature, and it does with all newly planted landscaping. The first year or two is always a bit fraught, as you struggle to get the watering just right, deal with some plants dying for no good reason, and fix everything that wasn't quite done right. As
- [Audio / Video / Network / Home Automation reboot](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2021/05/19/audio-video-network-home-automation-reboot/) - We've struggled over the last year to get our audio / video, network, and home automation system completed. We had issue with our integrator that in the end, proved terminal. The work just wasn't getting done and we had problems with some of the items that were installed. So we hired a new integrator and
- [Even more solar!](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2021/05/19/even-more-solar/) - I suppose we will always be working on our house in some form or another. We still have lots of little decorating tweaks to do, some rooms still to furnish, wallpaper here or there. In terms of major things, we are getting down to the last few. One of which is solar. We initially added
- [Interior furniture](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2021/02/25/interior-furniture/) - With all the outdoor furniture in place, we started picking furnishings for the inside of the house, to replace our either old or hastily chosen (and inexpensive) furniture that we've been living with for a couple of years. We still have a few rooms to go, and the going has been slow, with lots of
- [Caring for the yard](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2021/02/25/caring-for-the-yard/) - Squarely in the category of ongoing maintenance, I've been spending time making sure our yard is well cared for. Lisa has taken a keen interest in gardening and the yard as well. We just got this book to help us figure it all out. With well-established landscaping, the root systems tend to go deep enough
- [The things you notice](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2021/02/25/the-things-you-notice/) - I've always been interested in the design aesthetic of houses. But now having built one, I notice a lot more. Take this one a mile or so from ours for instance. I always thought the plantation style columns were odd for this area. The aesthetic is especially strange with the columns being so tall and
- [Exterior paint touch-up](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2021/02/24/exterior-paint-touch-up/) - Much of our paint is still in great shape. Most of it is between 3 and 4 years old. But we had a few areas that needed touch up on the outside. As you would expect, some of the wood used for the exterior trim, expanded or contracted over the first couple of years and
- [Bike shed](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2021/02/24/bike-shed/) - Count it among the little things we are doing to make our house more usable; we added a small bike shed in our back yard. True to pandemic form, the shed was out of stock for quite a while before it was available again. And it took two guys 7 hours to put it together;
- [The shed](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2021/02/24/the-shed/) - The last bit of actual construction we had to do was to build a shed. We wanted to have a place to store all the stuff that was taking up space in our garage. We build it where our wood rack used to be, in the far corner of the yard. We used an old
- [The chickens and the eggs](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2021/02/24/the-chickens-and-the-eggs/) - We got chickens in two batches last year. The first batch was three (one for each child) but one of them turned out to be a rooster. So we got two more, 7 weeks younger than the first two. In January first one, then the other of the first two started laying eggs. This month,
- [Outdoor furniture](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2021/02/24/outdoor-furniture/) - While our pool was in progress in early 2020, we started planning our outdoor furniture. The pandemic delaying things somewhat, but by late 2020 we had all of our furniture in place. The furniture really makes the outdoor spaces livable and enjoyable. Around the pool: Back patio Pool house: Front patio Front yard: Decks: It
- [Living in it](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2021/02/24/living-in-it/) - Almost a year since the pandemic began, and 7 months since our last post. Life has been mostly about living in and enjoying our house, at a time when we really appreciate having our house to enjoy. After finishing our pool, outdoor BBQ area, chicken coop, doing some landscape refreshing, and adding more solar in
- [More solar](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2020/08/19/more-solar/) - When we installed our solar system in 2018, we installed a little more than half what we had the capacity for on the roof. The idea was that we didn't want to over install solar, so we thought we'd sit back and see what portion of our usage the initial array offset. In the year
- [Lawn redux](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2020/08/18/lawn-redux/) - Our front lawn had never really thrived. It looked stressed and started developing some brown spots a few months after it was installed. And it showed striping, with rows of greener and browner areas. Given that our watering system was in rows under the lawn, this meant that something with the watering was wrong,
- [Outdoor music](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2020/08/04/outdoor-music/) - We added an audio system to our pool area. Visible there are 3 of 6 speakers, and the sub-woofer that will get buried in the ground except for the mushroom cap. It is driven by this system in our pool mechanical room. It integrates with our whole house audio system such that we stream music
- [The Pool](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2020/08/04/the-pool/) - It's been about 4 months since I last updated this site and a bunch of stuff has happened. Most notably, our pool was finished about a month ago. We started the pool in early March and were originally quoted 2-3 months for completion; it ended up taking about 4 1/2 months until everything was done.
- [Oops, or how we learned an important lesson](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2020/08/04/oops-or-how-we-learned-an-important-lesson/) - Managing a lot of a big job like this, we were bound to make some mistakes. Other than hiring the wrong plumber, most of the mistakes we made were not substantial. One mistake we made had to do with our exterior stairs. They are wood framed, covered in stone, and go from the 2nd floor,
- [Outdoor shower pan](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2020/08/04/outdoor-shower-pan/) - We weren't particular happy with how are outdoor shower off of the garage looked so in May we added a concrete drainage pan, tiled with a flat pebble look, and used flat pebbles around the flagstone pathway nearby. We love how it turned out!
- [Chicken coop](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2020/08/04/chicken-coop/) - Our chicken coop is done! We picked up our three little chicks last weekend. They will be 6-8 weeks in the brooder in the house, and then they can move to the coop.
- [Outdoor BBQ](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2020/08/04/outdoor-bbq/) - In June and July we added an outdoor BBQ counter which pretty well completes our pool area hardscape. Here it is complete. Note the railings on the left side of the counter. Those are made to look like the other railings in our house, but they are hollow and carry the utilities to the counter,
- [Pool plumbing](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2020/03/31/pool-plumbing/) - Well that was quick. A crew of four plumbers arrived yesterday and knocked out all the pool plumbing in a day. Admittedly, they were helped a little by the fact that we had pre-plumbed the part from our pool house mechanical room to the edge of the pool, when we first built it. It runs
- [Pool steel is done, waiting for plumbing](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2020/03/29/pool-steel-is-done-waiting-for-plumbing/) - The pool steel got finished last week, and looks great, but there was a delay with the plumbers, as the coronavirus has left them with a smaller crew. We are still hoping for plumbing and shotcrete in the coming week, and the weather forecast looks favorable.
- [Pool - despite everything, progress continues again](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2020/03/23/pool-despite-everything-progress-continues-again/) - What a couple of weeks it has been. Two weeks ago, we finished the excavation of our pool. At that time, just two short weeks ago, no-one was talking about sheltering in place or how many new coronavirus cases were reported that day. Obviously, a lot has happened since then. Coronavirus notwithstanding, we've had two
- [Soil analysis](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2020/03/11/soil-analysis/) - We planned on using some of the dirt from our pool excavation to fill our garden beds. But first, we needed to figure out exactly what we had, and determine what we would have to add to it to make it good growing soil. We learned a net trick from our local botanical gardens. Taking
- [Pools progress - Houston, we have a hole](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2020/03/10/pools-progress-houston-we-have-a-hole/) - They dug the pool in 4 days last week. It should have taken three, but they hit rock below 6 feet in the deep end. Actually, were were quite lucky that they didn't hit rock before that. Because the rock sat under the spot where they had the exit ramp, they had to dig up
- [Basement guest room kitchenette](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2020/01/30/basement-guest-room-kitchenette/) - Before we knew it would take 6+ years to design, permit, and build our new house, we thought it might be nice to have a room that would be appropriate for a live-in Au-per as we had just had our third child. We figured anyone in that position would appreciate having their own little kitchenette,
- [Bwaaaaaak, buk buk buk buk](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2020/02/21/bwaaaaaak-buk-buk-buk-buk/) - Yes, chickens. We've been building a chicken coop for a few weeks now. The frame is solidly built out of mostly treated wood, but we are using reclaimed redwood fence boards from our back property line, for the siding. It is coming along nicely. The coop itself has 6 nests. It is smaller than I
- [Staying cool with a pool](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2020/02/21/staying-cool-with-a-pool/) - We've had this large open mulched area directly behind our house for a year and a half now. Our young hairy dog likes to roll around in it and the wood chips stick to him like Velcro. Well, soon that will be no more, as we embark on our last big construction project, a pool.
- [Cork and black board](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2020/02/21/cork-and-black-board/) - We found a nice way to use a little bit of the old redwood fence wood we recovered from the back yard.
- [Audio | Video | Home Automation](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2020/02/21/audio-video-home-automation/) - When we built our house, we pre-wired for just about anything we would want to install, including: Wired network in every room Speakers in almost any room Surround sound in three rooms Centralized AV gear rack in our basement and Centralized control of the entire house, including lighting, music, garage doors, door locks, doorbell, HVAC,
- [Sealing the driveway](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2020/02/21/sealing-the-driveway/) - One bummer about our paver driveway is that the pavers show tire tread marks and the pavers soak up any kind of oily material which forms a stain. Here you can see the driveway with the tread marks. So we decided to have the driveway cleaned and sealed. I tried cleaning the driveway myself at
- [Our second holidays in the house](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2020/01/30/our-second-holidays-in-the-house/) - We had another great holiday season in our house. This year, we invited two families to join us on Christmas day dinner. We again made Beef Wellington, which we've decided is now our Christmas dinner tradition. We even tried out the thermometer that came with our oven. This thermometer will monitor the interior temperature of
- [Critters](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2020/01/30/critters/) - It's a common theme across a lot of the US these days - humans and wildlife interacting more and more. As cities push out farther, or forest grow in towards cities more, humans and wildlife are in close proximity. Squirrels Of course squirrels are common, and our dog loves to chase them. They can be
- [Sewer proofing the house](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2020/01/30/sewer-proofing-the-house/) - We learned some hard lessons about sewer problems when we had a sewer line clog and and overflow in our basement. We had another close call last month when our neighbors were having their sewer line replaced. The contractor ground out the tree roots blocking the line, in preparation for a trench less replacement, but
- [Basement craft room](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2020/01/30/basement-craft-room/) - We planned a craft room for the kids from the start. The idea was to contain the mess stuff to a single room where we didn't care as much if paint got spilled, etc. When we finished construction, the room was unfinished. In the last month, we built out the room with Ikea cabinets and
- [Landscape lighting](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2020/01/30/landscape-lighting/) - One of the projects we punted on as we reached the end of our new house build and landscaping was the landscape lighting. Absolutely everything on this probably was taken down to the dirt, except two oak trees, an old fireplace, and 6 palm trees that were already here, but got moved around. So when
- [Continuing the journey ... more new from old](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2020/01/30/continuing-the-journey-more-new-from-old/) - It's been about six months since I've updated our blog, and about 8 months since we received our final sign-off from the City. As with any project, there are always little things left to do. We did pull back some small items towards the end as we had construction fatigue, which also accounts for our
- [More wood recycling](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2019/07/14/more-wood-recycling/) - So far, we've made an outdoor dining table and bench from some of the redwood we recovered from the house we tore down. Here is a picture of the 4x6 beams that were in the living room, sitting room, and guest room of the old house. Here is the table and bench. We just asked
- [House washing](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2019/07/14/house-washing/) - It was finally time for us to wash the outside of the house; it was actually a bit past due. We wanted to wait until the end of all landscaping work, so we were past any activity that would dirty up the outside of the house again. And our house was filthy, from all the
- [Completely integrated faucet](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2019/06/02/completely-integrated-faucet/) - We saw this nifty faucet in a newly remodeled Starbucks on a road trip a few weeks back and I thought it was interesting enough to blog about. It is somewhat hard to see, so let's here is a better picture from the manufacturer's website This is a single wash bar that has motion activated
- [Sign-off](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2019/05/31/sign-off/) - Two weeks ago, we got the final sign-off on the project. It came as a huge relief, as the project felt like it needed to be done. The final sign-off was a bit complicated. Technically, all we had left to be signed off on was the landscaping. But the landscaping sign-off was not simple, and
- [Light well railing cables](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2019/05/31/light-well-railing-cables/) - One of the last things we had to do to get signed off was to add the railings to our light wells. These light wells drop about 4-5 feet from grade into the bottom of light well, more then enough to require a guard rail. We opted for a simple cable railing that would be
- [Mowing the lawn](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2019/05/31/mowing-the-lawn/) - Our landscaper suggested that we get our own mower for the maintenance guys will use. When a mower goes from property to property, it tends to carry weed seeds with it, and that is how lawns most often get weeds. Our lawn is a a hybrid Bermuda type, with a fescue overlay. What this means
- [Storm water management](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2019/05/30/storm-water-management/) - The storm water management for our property was designed by a civil engineer to met what our city calls Tier 3 storm water management. The tiers are just dependent on the size of the project, and ours was a large one, so we got the highest tier. The idea of storm water management is that
- [The last of the fencing](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2019/05/31/the-last-of-the-fencing/) - To fully enclose our backyard for the dog, there were a c0uple of stretches of fence we needed. One was across the side yard. The other was across the back of the driveway, which includes a spot for the trash cans, and an outdoor shower for coming back from the beach, or washing the dog.
- [Pluming leak update](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/10/16/pluming-leak-update/) - It has been a long road to recovering from the catastrophic plumbing leak that occurred two months ago due to our plumbers over-tightening a plastic fitting. For starters, the leak itself turned out to be just the tip of the iceberg when it came to our plumbing issues. We had another plumber come and inspect
- [Basement - two steps forward, one step back](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/11/06/basement-two-steps-forward-one-step-back/) - Late last week, we thought we were done with the basement reconstruction after the water leak and resulting flood. But alas, it was not to be. The company that did the repairs, did a pretty poor job at floating the walls and ceiling after the drywall was installed, and there are lots of visible issues.
- [Water damage remediation](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/08/20/water-damage-remediation/) - The remediation effort from our recent water leak and resultant water damage is in full swing. The first thing the remediation contractor did is to install heated fan blowers and dehumidifiers. It is surprising how much moisture they pull out of the air. Then, they removed all affected drywall. In the rec room, this is
- [Catastrophe](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/08/14/catastrophe/) - Three days before move-in, catastrophe has struck our new house. Over the weekend, a plumbing fitting connecting the kitchen island pot filler to the water line had a crack, and developed a leak. It seems our plumbers over-tightened a plastic fitting and it caused a crack. The water dripped down behind the stove, and found
- [The next (and hopefully last) plumbing disaster](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2019/02/10/the-next-and-hopefully-last-plumbing-disaster/) - Sigh. Yes, we had another major plumbing issue that cropped up in December and finally got resolved last week. This wasn't as bad as the one that did a big number on our basement, but it has left us with a sense of PTSD for fear of other issues. It's hard to imagine at this
- [More plumbing issues, oh my](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/11/20/more-plumbing-issues-oh-my/) - Unfortunately, we discovered a rash of new plumbing issues this week. The first, and potentially most serious, is an issue with our sump pump. The sump pump is hooked up to two lines. One goes to the vent (to get air behind water to allow it to flow) and the other, the outlet. It seems
- [More plumbing leak damage - personal property](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/10/16/more-plumbing-leak-damage-personal-property/) - Now comes the fun part, trying to get the insurance company to properly reimburse us for the damage the plumbing leak caused. A particular point of contention are the personal items. Insurance companies don't want to pay for something new. In cases like this, they claim to reimburse for cash value of the affected items.
- [Water damage update](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/09/11/water-damage-update/) - It's been almost a month since we had the plumbing leak. We are still trying to get the plumbers insurance company to pay up. Despite admitting they have responsibility for the claim, we have yet to see any money. We've reached the end of the remediation efforts, with the last of the dehumidifiers and fans
- [Plumbing update](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/05/30/plumbing-update-2/) - For the last few weeks the plumbers have been working to complete the plumbing. The first thing we did was to sort the fixtures by sink, and then mark the counters for the drilling of holes. Next, they worked on installing the plumbing and appliances in the mechanical room, including the water heater and softener.
- [It's a front yard, at last](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2019/03/28/its-a-front-yard-at-last/) - Our front yard is now an actual front yard. The biggest elements that we completed were stepping stones flagstone seating area lawn parkway We always wanted a friendly, inviting front yard, hence the large porch and the lack of privacy hedges. We also added a little seating area at the edge of our yard so
- [Driveway done, at long last](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2019/03/28/driveway-done-at-long-last/) - Two weeks ago the driveway mouth was poured, and what a difference. Here it is being formed ... ... and poured ... ... and here is the final product. We wanted to put our kids hand prints in it, but the inspector said no. However, he did say we could put a stamp of some
- [Hosed](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2019/03/10/hosed/) - With a larger property, a front and a back porch, and several decks, we needed some hoses to wash things off. This became more necessary once we got a dog, as we have "wee-wee" pads on a bunch of porches for him to go to the bathroom on, since our yard is still pretty muddy.
- [Re-circulation pump timer - old school vs new school](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2019/03/07/re-circulation-pump-timer-old-school-vs-new-school/) - Our house has only one water heater for the entire place. It is a (pretty big) 75 gallon unit in the basement. To avoid wasting water by having to run the water to get it hot, we have two circulation loops in the house. Being very long loops, they take quite a while to circulate
- [Every rain storm is an opportunity](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2019/03/06/every-rain-storm-is-an-opportunity/) - The completion of our driveway, and one of the curbs we installed for that, created another puddle area, which became apparent over last weekends storm. In that particular area, we did put a french drain in all along that curb which drains into the permeable paver driveway on the other side of it. But the
- [Driveway!](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2019/03/06/driveway/) - At long last, our driveway is complete and are able to park our cars in the garage. All that remains is the apron, sidewalk, and gutter at the mouth of our driveway, which all needs to be installed due to the fact that we turned a normal sidewalk into our new driveway, as it was
- [Dog-gone it](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2019/02/10/dog-gone-it/) - We planned on getting a dog, once our landscaping was done. When we started litter shopping last year, we assumed our landscaping would be done by January. Well, that didn't happen, but the dog did. Little Cooper came home with us in early January, and is now 13 weeks old. Lucky for us, some neighbors
- [Driveway progress](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2019/02/21/driveway-progress/) - Almost two weeks ago we were at the point of having the first two layers of gravel down. The pea gravel was delivered and spread out, and the entire driveway vibro-plated to compact the last layer (and everything else a bit more) down. We lost three days last week due to a big storm, but
- [The pool house deck is complete](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2019/02/21/the-pool-house-deck-is-complete/) - A couple of weeks ago I reported the progress of the pool house deck, which is now complete. Looks great!
- [All dressed up and nowhere to go](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2019/02/14/all-dressed-up-and-nowhere-to-go/) - The three layers of gravel were finished on Tuesday; the driveway is ready for pavers. Here are some good shots of the three different types of rock / gravel we laid down. First, 8 inches of larger rock, from 1.5-3 inches. Then 4 inches of medium sized rock, 3/4". Then 2 inches of small gravel,
- [Our first Christmas at the new house](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2019/02/10/our-first-christmas-at-the-new-house/) - Despite the plumbing issue that came up over the holidays, we had a great Christmas in our new house, with six family members and one dog coming to stay - 11 of us in total. The house looked great. Here is the preparation for our Christmas dinner. Lisa and my mother made a great beef
- [The driveway](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2019/02/10/the-driveway/) - It almost seems like a mythical thing, the driveway. Something rumored but never seen. We've been living without a driveway, or ability to park off street, since we moved in back in August. In fact, we haven't had a garage to park our cars in since early 2013, almost six years. Now, we are getting
- [Pool house deck](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2019/02/10/pool-house-deck/) - Our pool house was mostly complete, but lacking the deck and the shower slab. That work started in December. First, the steps leading up to the deck, and the supports around the deck had to be poured. We also added a collar around the old fireplace foundation for good measure; that 100+ year old formerly
- [Yea, I took a break from blogging (and it's been a slow couple of months)](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2019/02/10/yea-i-took-a-break-from-blogging-and-its-been-a-slow-couple-of-months/) - It's been over two months since my last entry on the house progress. It was partly the business of the holidays with six family members visiting, and Christmas with three kids, partly another major plumbing issue slash disaster, and part just plain fatigue with all things building and our house; it's been almost three years
- [Trimming the palms (again)](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/12/02/trimming-the-plalms-again/) - We are trimming our palms for the first time since we moved them. Some of them are showing some rotting up in the canopy, which is just a sign that the roots are not yet fully established. I've been told that it can take up to 10 years after transplanting for the roots system to
- [Stepping stones](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/12/02/stepping-stones/) - The landscapers put down a bunch of the flag stone stepping stones on Friday, and they look great.
- [Completing the stone wall](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/11/29/completing-the-stone-wall/) - We tore a couple of new holes in the original stone wall in front of our property, to make way for the new driveway on the opposite side of our frontage, and the walkway. We repaired the opening for the old driveway, and in the last week, have started work repairing the rest of the
- [Plants, plants, and more plants](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/12/02/plants-plants-and-more-plants/) - The landscapers have installed perhaps half or more of the plants called out on the landscape plan so far. Thinks look sparse and a bit barren, but that is just want it will look like until we get the shredded wood bark down, and things grow in a bit.
- [Flagstone and paving stone walkways](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/11/29/flagstone-and-paving-stone-walkways/) - The landscape guys are making working on the ;paving stone and flagstone walkways. These are set on gravel or sand, simetimes with a dollup of mortar underneath, and go all around our yard. In the front and along one side of our house, we will use 24"x24" square pavers. The plans called for 30"x30" poured
- [Caring for nice things](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/11/20/caring-for-nice-things/) - From the start, I was dead set on using engineered stone for our counter tops. While not a pretty as natural stone, it is about as bullet proof a material as you can get. But, slowly but surely, our designer talked me out of engineered stone in favor of natural stone. It's true, it does
- [Hedges & trees](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/11/06/heges-trees/) - We've got the first of our landscaping installed, with the hedges and trees around most of the property line installed now. The hedges above are a variety called podocarpus henkelii. It is a somewhat slower growing hedge, but is very dense, and will not grow overly thick. Over time, it will get nice and tall
- [More trees](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/11/09/more-trees/) - The tree farm showed up early today and dropped in the largest specimen tree we are installing, a pretty good sized fruitless olive. I saw them pull up on the street. First, they put the tree upright and dropped it into the hole for placement and depth measurement. If you look at the chains above,
- [Pool house progress](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/11/06/pool-house-progress-3/) - It's funny that we call this building the pool house, because we won't have a pool for a while. We've made some good progress over the last few weeks, and there has been a lot to do. The painting was finished on the outside about a month ago. Last week, the roof was put on
- [Curb appeal](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/10/22/curb-appeal/) - Cars slowing down to get a good look at our house is a pretty frequent occurrence. It seems that 30-50% of pedestrians that pass by our house slow down or stop for a good look. If we are outside, people often stop and tell us how much they like our house, including people in cars.
- [In the gutter](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/10/22/in-the-gutter/) - In addition to the landscape main irrigation lines being installed and buried last week, we checked on more piece of flat work off our list - the stretch of gutter along our old driveway entrance. All the sandstone curb was moved from the side of the old driveway mouth, (the curved parts), and the new
- [Irrigation water!](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/10/16/irrigation-water/) - After laying all the drainage pipes all over the yard, filling in the trenches, and roughly grading the property, the next step was to dig another set of yet shallower trenches for the irrigation piping. The irrigation starts where the water main hits the house. From there, the landscaping water goes through the backflow stack.
- [Drainage and grading](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/10/01/drainage-and-grading/) - A property like ours is required to collect any water runoff and put it through some earthen filtration before we can dump it out into the storm drain system. Over the last two weeks the landscapers have dug large trenches around the property for the drainage system. These are pretty massive 6 inch lines that
- [Making old into new](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/10/01/making-old-into-new/) - There wasn't much about our old house that was worth saving. We recycled a few light fixtures and saved some of the old windows as art but that's about it. However, we did manage to pull out quite a bit of really nice old growth redwood. To day we had delivery of an outdoor dining
- [Exterior stone](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/09/11/exterior-stone/) - The tile guys have been working on the back porch stone for a few weeks now, interrupted by the fact that we fell short of one size of stone and had to order more. Here is the sub-slab. Partial progress. Today, they've finished the stone laying and are grinding the joints to make them even.
- [Rock wall repair](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/09/11/rock-wall-repair/) - The rock wall is being repaired now. We have three main areas to fill in. The first is the old driveway mouth. They've made great progress. The new section vs the older sections of wall is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, the new sections has a real foundation and has rebar going trough
- [Curb and gutter](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/09/11/curb-and-gutter/) - The old driveway to the house was part of a double driveway with our neighbors To remove this, we had to move the curved and straight part of the curb over to the mouth of our neighbors driveway. These are made of sandstone and are massive, as they go an addition 12 or so inches
- [The last of the property line fencing](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/09/11/the-last-of-the-property-line-fencing/) - The last of our property line fencing went in over the last month. We did the first stretch back in May. In late July, we tore out the jungle along our back property line, and then rushed to complete that section of fence before our neighbors had a wedding shower for one of their children
- [Sidewalk and bio-filtration basin](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/09/11/sidewalk-and-bio-filtration-basin/) - As we just moved in, I've been delinquent in posting frequent updates to the progress. It's been quite a few weeks of hard work. Two weeks ago, the poured a new section of sidewalk and the bio-filtration basin walls. Here they are in before being poured. You can see the the bio-filtration basin walls are
- [Landscaping - a raw canvas](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/09/11/landscaping-a-raw-canvas/) - The landscaping is set to begin this week. They've started by clearing all the reaming trash and junk from the property. It is finally time to throw away a lot of the wood we kept around just in case we needed it. Now we have a blank canvas from which to implement a beautiful yard.
- [Shades](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/09/11/shades/) - We got Roman shades in many of the windows that required something for privacy. These ones we got are pretty unique. The first thing you notice is no strings. The shades are opened simply by lifting at the bottom. There is also no attachment at the bottom, just at the top. The second unique (and
- [Move in!](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/09/11/move-in/) - We moved in two weeks ago, about a week an a half after our original planned moving date. Unfortunately, for the first 10 days of living in the house, we had no kitchen or pantry. The kitchen was in disarray because of the remediation efforts from the plumbing leak. In the pantry, we found some
- [Occupancy!](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/08/16/occupancy/) - Despite the plumbing disaster, we are moving forward. The mitigation specialists are hard at work now tearing out the drywall and insulation in the basement, and have sealed it off from the rest of the house. We've brought in a load of stuff from our temporary rental, and have started unpacking the items we had
- [Front steps](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/08/16/front-steps/) - It's been so long since we've been able to get onto our property without walking over dirt, it is almost unbelievable. Yesterday, they poured the front steps and walkway, and today, we can walk on it. It was quite a project, and required 10 yards of concrete. We colored the concrete, a slight sandstone tint.
- [The ultimate unboxing](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/08/10/the-ultimate-unboxing/) - We move in next week. Let me say that again. We move in next week! In ancticipation, we've started pulling the Ram Board from the floors, in preparation for the post-construction cleaning, which starts tomorrow. It is a bit like unboxing a new house, as we are seeing all the rooms complete for the first
- [Appliances](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/08/02/appliances/) - We had our appliances installed this week. Here is the kitchen before: And after: Like most things related to construction, it didn't go exactly according to plan. The stone contractor wanted to cut in the stove cutout when the stove was here, which they did, but then when the installers tried to push the stove
- [You gotta have vision](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/08/02/you-gotta-have-vision/) - Do you see a beautiful yard through all this? I've been looking at this patch of bare dirt for so long, it is had to imaging it becoming a real yard. We are starting from scratch, meaning, we have to install everything - irrigation, drainage, lighting, do the final grading, and plant. Our landscaper tells
- [Carpet](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/08/02/carpet/) - The carpeting was installed in the last two days. We have 4 bedrooms, a play room, and the master closet that got carpet. To keep things simple, we used one color for all the bedrooms and the closet, and a different one for the play room. It looks nice and is helping to make the
- [The lights are on, but no-one is home (yet)](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/08/02/the-lights-are-on-but-no-one-is-home-yet/) - We are a couple of weeks away from moving in. The electrical has been signed off, and we can at last turn on lights, sort of. We are using a Lutron Homeworks QS system, which uses digital switches. The switches talk to the "brain" which in turn commands the appropriate "wall box power modules" to
- [Design inspiration](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/08/01/design-inspiration/) - When people come and see our house, they generally tell us how much they love it. I always take this with a grain of salt, because, I figure it is like someone showing you their baby. Would you ever tell someone that their baby is ugly? No, you'd probably go the other direction and tell
- [Slightly askew](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/07/30/slightly-askew/) - The file on our master bedroom fireplace was finished last week. Other than the decorative tile pattern, do you notice anything strange about the fireplace? If the answer is no, then that is good. When the fireplace contractors were installing the fire box, they ran into the exhaust stack from the fireplace below, which prevented
- [Stairwell chandelier](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/07/30/stairwell-chandelier/) - The main stairwell is too tall for ladders. To allow the painters to paint the ceiling and skylight, we had to build a wooden scaffolding platform on the 2nd floor. But, before the electricians got around to hanging the chandelier, we had to take the platform down to allow the carpenters to build the stair
- [The stair railing unveiled](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/07/22/the-stair-railing-unveiled/) - The painters have had the entire three story stairs in a giant paint booth all week. Yesterday morning, they removed all the masking and plastic and unveiled the stair railing,which looks amazind.
- [More recycled wood](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/07/22/more-recycled-wood/) - When we cleared out the bramble that was along our back property line, there was quite a bit of old fence in there, some of it flopped on the ground, some of it buried in the foliage. We saved any of the wood that was not too far gone. Even as bad as some of
- [Goodbye office trailer](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/07/20/goodbye-office-trailer/) - We finally removed the office trailer we've been using for over a year to manage the construction. Like the roll-off containers, we had to wait until we could rebuild the ramp necessary to get them out. It was a tight squeeze getting it out the driveway. We now have a temporary office inside the basement.
- [Getting nervous near the end](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/07/20/getting-nervous-near-the-end/) - While the end is near, it sometimes feels like we are still miles away. The house is still filled with the byproducts of constuction, and I've got a detailed list a mile long of all the line items that need to be taken care of, including work for the following trades: Plumbing Electrical Cabinets Paint
- [Living room fireplace](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/07/23/living-room-fireplace/) - Now that the stain is done, and the painters masking has been removed, we can see the living room fireplace complete.
- [Above the pain threshold](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/07/22/above-the-pain-threshold/) - We have a lot of exterior doors. Unfortunately, for 4 sets of French doors, we set the door thresholds right on the water proofing flashing underneath, not leaving much room for the aesthetic treatment above the flashing. At the time, our stone & tile contractor told us it wasn't a problem, but that turned out
- [Master tub](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/07/21/master-tub/) - The master tub is finally in! Because we didn't plan on having an access hole from the bottom to attach the drain, it gave the plumber some difficulty doing it from the top. The first attempt leaked. I am always amazed at how much planning and thinking things through is required to build a house.
- [The jungle](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/07/20/the-jungle/) - The back property line had anywhere from 4-8 feet think of mixed growth, including an invasive bamboo-like species, and a red trumpet vine that kept invading our oak tree. Luckily, our neighbors on that side agreed with us that it all had to be taken out, to start from scratch, with a fence and some
- [Painting the stairs](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/07/20/painting-the-stairs/) - We have a three story stair set that goes from our basement to our 2nd floor. Over the last two months, we've had carpenters here on and off installing the railing, and a few weeks ago the flooring contractor installed the stair treads and risers. There is quite a bit of painting to do there.
- [Old wood](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/07/19/old-wood/) - When we tore down the old house, we saved quite a bit of wood. Stuff like exposed beams, structural beams, and even wall studs and floor joists, all redwood. Much of it is old growth, tight grain, clear heart redwood. We also got quite a few old redwood fence and shed boards, which we are
- [Outhouse style](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/07/16/outhouse-style/) - We've had a porta-potty for the duration of construction. Finally, after more than 18 months without a proper toilet here, our toilets are all plumbed in and working. But, I realized last weekend, after visiting a friends construction site, it didn't have to be this way. They simply made their own outhouse, and probably saved
- [A milestone - removal of the roll-off storage containers](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/07/01/a-milestone-removal-of-the-roll-off-storage-containers/) - We've had storage containers on our property for the better part of 3 years. In them are all the furniture and furnishings that would not fit in our rental house, or the old house that we tore down. We decided to go with roll-off containers, rather than renting a storage space, because it is much
- [Stain in the ass](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/07/01/stain-in-the-ass/) - Traditional craftsman houses have a considerable amount of stained wood finish. Consider this house just a half block away from ours that was on the market some years back. The old house on our property had a lot of exposed, unfinished redwood. We love redwood, but that is a lot of reddish brown to have
- [A busy morning](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/06/15/a-busy-morning/) - All week we've been trying to get people to come over to get some work done on the yard, and then all three teams showed up at the same time today. The plaster crew showed up to plaster a retaining wall that goes all down our driveway and then across our property. The block wall
- [Dealing with curves](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/06/14/dealing-with-curves/) - Our house, being a craftsman, is very angular. Pretty much everything is a right angle and there are almost no curves. Almost, because, at the bottom of our stairs, we decided to make the last two treads curved where they extend past the wall. Here is a normal section of stairs. On top goes the
- [Electrical update](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/06/13/electrical-update/) - The electricians have been here for a month now, doing the finish. This includes installing the outlets, light fixtures, switches, and the Lutron system that will control it all. There is lots of lighting, including LED cans, sconces, and surface mount fixtures on the inside. There are quite a few really cool craftsman fixtures on
- [Basement shower](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/06/13/basement-shower/) - One of the two basement showers is now done. We had to bring in a separate tile contractor to do these bathrooms as our original tile contractor isn't providing enough manpower to get everythign done on time. It is a simple subway tile bathroom with a patterned floor. The second one should be done this
- [Faux sandstone](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/06/13/faux-sandstone/) - We have a lot of sanstone from the basement excavation, but to fashion it into specific shapes, like the stone cap for our seat wall, would be prohibitively expensive. The alternative is a process popularized by a local contractor named Mike Schlagel, and aptly called Schlagel-stone by the local contractor types. It is concrete that
- [Pass through counter](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/06/13/pass-through-counter/) - The back of our house on the first floor is the kitchen and family room. The family room has a large 6-panel sliding door that opens most of the room to the back patio. In the kitchen, we had a vision of having a pass-through counter and outdoor bar seating, to make it easy to
- [Stone does not equal tile](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/06/13/stone-does-not-equal-tile/) - We chose this beautiful blue stone for our outside patios and decks. We also wanted to carry the stone to the interior of the house in a few places - the sun porch (to make it feel almost like an outdoor space), the mud room (to be able to withstand the high traffic and inevitable
- [The most difficult shower](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/06/13/the-most-difficult-shower/) - Well finally, is all I can say about the tile in this shower. The problem was that our tile & stone sub-contractor picked some stone for the perimeter, pony wall, and threshold, that didn't match the stone used on the sinks for this Jack & Jill bathroom. We had a heck of a time getting
- [Stair railings](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/06/13/stair-railings/) - I've gotten quite an education on stair railings over the last two months. It fell upon me to determine the code requirements we had to meet, what parts we needed and what designs, and the particular quantities and lengths. For starters, a few terms Newel post - an upright post that supports the handrail of
- [Re-purposing an old light fixture](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/06/12/re-purposing-an-old-light-fixture/) - The house we tore down was quite a mish-mash, having been built in 4 phases over 100 years. When it was built, it was built rather plainly, not at all ornate like some of the other craftsman type homes of the original era the old house was built. At one point we had one of
- [It's a date ... finally](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/05/31/its-a-date-finally/) - A cautionary tale for those of you considering building a house. Lisa and I used to schedule a date night once a week. But the last 6 months have really been something, and we haven't had a single one in all that time. It started with the Thomas Fire in December, and then the Montecito
- [Cabinet finishing](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/05/31/cabinet-finishing/) - The cabinet makers have been here for a couple of weeks now doing the finishing in the cabinets. There is surprisingly a lot to do. - Adjust and level cabinet doors - Install knobs and pulls - Install cabinet class - Install kick plates after flooring goes in Lisa spent weeks looking at knobs and
- [Stained wood](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/05/30/stained-wood/) - Four painters spend the last week applying stain and lacquer varnish to the doors and windows in our master bedroom. What a time consuming process it is! But the results are pretty outstanding. There are two more areas that have substantial staining to do - the living / dining rooms, and the kitchen / family
- [Fake sandstone](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/05/30/fake-sandstone/) - Our local Santa Barbara sandstone is great, but it is an expensive treatment to apply. For a long seat wall in the back yard, we opted for a faux sandstone cap instead, made from colored and textured concrete. Here is the 8" block wall that is our starting point for the seat wall. They form
- [More plaster](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/05/31/more-plaster/) - After finishing the large wall, the plasters left for a bit. Last week they came back to finish a large part of the plaster on the house, the outside stairwell. The stairwell goes from the ground floor up to the office, and then down to the basement. The part going down to the basement got
- [Fireplace finish](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/06/01/fireplace-finish/) - Two weeks ago, the stone guys installed the mantle and hearth on the large fireplace in our family room. This week the drywall contractor finished the plaster like treatment of the fireplace. We wanted something that looked better than just standard drywall, so they added a texture that makes it look like plaster. Here it
- [More flooring](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/05/30/more-flooring/) - With the hardest part behind them, the flooring installers installed the last bit of regular flooring today. Here is the yoga room: And the family room: Now, all we have left is the stairs. With the the installation of the stair treads and risers, work can begin on the guard rails and hand rails, another
- [Ooops](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/05/30/ooops/) - I have a desk set that works really well for me now. When we went to design my built-in office furniture, I used the same dimensions. However, looking at the desk one day, I noticed that the space for my chair under the part that I was likely to be using the most, was too
- [The imperfection of tile](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/05/14/the-imperfection-of-tile/) - As we've been finding out, almost all tile involves some sort if imperfection. It rarely works out that either horizontally or vertically you have enough space for full time on every side of a surface that gets tile. With respect to our living room fireplace, we faced three different places that we had to accommodate
- [Stone fireplace mantle and hearth](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/05/14/stone-fireplace-mantle-and-hearth/) - We have a large fireplace in our family room, which is the closest room to the back yard. In the back yard, and what is now the centerpalce of our pool house (when we eventually put in a pool) is a large 100+ year old fireplace. It seemed natural to use some stone on the
- [Flooring](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/05/07/flooring/) - After much delay, our flooring finally arrived and the installation began last week. The flooring looks great. Here is my home office floor. We are definitely behind schedule with the floor, and it is pushing quite a few things out that depend on it, like the installation of the remainder of the baseboard, the triming,
- [Master bath](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/05/06/master-bath/) - Our master bathroom is the first bathroom to have the tile complete. We've got others that are close to being done, but they stubbornly have this or that missing. We are pretty thrilled with how the master bathroom came out. It looks pretty elegant, without being over the top.
- [The Fence](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/05/05/the-fence/) - Our property borders four different neighboring properties. On one entire side, we teamed up with our neighbords to build a block and plaster retaining wall. There is a short stretch of the property line where we don't want to put in a wall with a large footing as it might upset the roots of a
- [April - what a month it's been](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/04/24/april-what-a-month-its-been/) - It's been almost a month since my last burst of posts, and it's been quite a month. Frustratingly little progress in terms of what we can call complete, but lots of work going on there an there, just more slowly than we want. The estimates of our move in date keep getting pushed back. Originally,
- [Solar!](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/04/23/solar-2/) - We had the solar panels installed a couple of weeks ago. In addition to the above 8kW set of panels, we have another 6.5kW in two areas on the front of our house. Initially, we were going to install it all, but we decided to scale back a bit for a couple of reasons To
- [Surveying - driveway](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/04/25/surveying-driveway/) - We had to lay out the driveway in 3D space on the lot to determine the location and depth of the footings for the planter block wall we are putting in. In doing so, we had to consider an number of different things like, the flow of any surface water should the permeable pavers get
- [Living room fireplace surround](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/04/23/living-room-fireplace-surround/) - Now that we are managing the schedule, Charlie gets to wear his bags and do some finish carpentry. He finished the living room fireplace surround a couple of weeks ago, and it turned out really nice. Now we just need the inset tile.
- [Surveying - bio-filtration basin](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/04/24/surveying-bio-filtration-basin/) - I've become somewhat of an accomplished junior surveyor over the last few weeks, as the need to figure out the location in 3D space for several elements of our hardscape has come up, like the bio-filtration basin. This ridiculous thing is supposed to clean all the water that runs off of our property before we
- [Hardscape walls](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/04/23/hardscape-walls/) - We've been working on a large block wall between us and our neighbors to the east for some time. In the last couple of weeks, we had the wall plastered, and it turned out really nice. Here is the raw block wall: To plaster it, they first have to apply some wire frames to the
- [Barn doors](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/03/29/barn-doors/) - Last month, our finish carpenters installed the barn doors in the basement. The barn doors will mostly sit open, as they sit in front of the craft room, which seldom needs privacy. I supposed if the kids are getting too noise in there, and there is someone in the rec room next door that wants
- [Cabinet painting is almost done](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/03/28/cabinet-painting-is-almost-done/) - The cabinet painters have been at it for almost 5 weeks now. We are at the point where I am inspecting all the paint and flagging anything that needs touch up. It's tedious work, and I've probably spent 4-5 hours on inspections so far, with a few cabinets left to go. We have a lot
- [Solar](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/03/28/solar/) - The solar installers installed half the solar array this week. We decided to only do half now as we want to be sure we can use all the production, and it saves us a little money up front. That's 8kW installed and room for another 6.5 kW on the other side, with mounts already installed.
- [The tub](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/03/20/the-tub/) - You might think that choosing a tub was easy. Not so I say. Early last year we went to a local pluming supply, sat in some tubs, and chose one based mostly on look. You might remember this picture. Fast forward 9 months and we started looking over the spend with a microscope, it was
- [Plaster progress](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/03/20/plaster-progress/) - We finally pulled the trigger on the plaster work, and there is quite a bit of it. In addition to the large wall we put up between us and our neighbors, we need to plaster the light wells, the exterior stairs, and the area between the siding and the dirt around our house. As with
- [Lots of stone tops](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/03/20/lots-of-stone-tops/) - The stone fabricators installed quite a few tops last week, and they look gorgeous. We have just a few left to do now. The mud room (between the garage and the house) and the bar got the same honed black granite as the kitchen. The bar is still waiting on the top part. In the
- [Preparing for the next storm (and the ones after that)](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/03/20/preparing-for-the-next-storm-and-the-ones-after-that/) - The storm and resultant mudslides in January had a big impact on our area and on our construction schedule. Now, this week we are bracing for another storm that is set to bring as much rain as we've had so far this season. There is a lot of concern that the storm could cause another
- [Pool house progress](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/03/12/pool-house-progress-2/) - Our pool house has a bit of a twisted story. We started it, got all the way through framing and rough plumbing, and then realized that we would not be able to afford a pool right now. When we looked at the overall cost to complete the pool house (almost as much as the pool)
- [The Schedule and increasing difficulty of getting things done](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/03/13/the-schedule-and-increasing-difficulty-of-getting-things-done/) - My wife and have been managing scheduling of all the work for the last couple of months, hoping to try and get things done enough to move in sometime in May. It is a seemingly herculean task to schedule all of the various trades to work around each other and that depend on each other
- [Nearing the cabinet painting end game](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/03/12/nearing-the-cabinet-painting-end-game/) - We might actually see the end of the cabinet painting this week. Because the cabinet paint needs to be more durable than normal house paint, it is a lacquer based paint and is quite noxious when painting is occurring, and for some time afterwards. That means that most other work inside the house needs to
- [More blue stone](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/03/12/more-blue-stone/) - The blue stone is coming along nicely. The latest application is on the front porch. We've also gotten our stair treads and risers, which are a single piece, for a nice look.
- [The lifespan of materials](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/03/03/the-lifespan-of-materials/) - Materials have a limited useful life, and more so when they are in the ground. This became evident recently at my parents house, which they and remodeled over 40 years ago. At the time when laying irrigation pipe, one used galvanized pipe. But galvanized pipe can and does corrode over time. In this case apparently
- [Cabinet painting](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/03/02/cabinet-painting/) - When painting cabinets, it seems we have two choices, factory painting, or painting in place. Both have their pros and cons. With factory painting, the painting is done in a painting booth under controller conditions, and the results are consistently good. But, cabinets almost always get damaged on installation, especially with a big complicated install
- [Carpenter built closet vs closet systems](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/03/02/carpenter-built-closet-vs-closet-systems/) - When I had a bachelor pad, I had a closet system installed in the master closet. It was this type of system. It looked decent, and was functional, but it was expensive, and not really built to last. After a few years, the melamine started peeling off in a few places, the plastic levelers underneath
- [Elevator](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/03/01/elevator/) - We finally signed off on the elevator a couple of days ago - it took quite some time. For starters, we weren't sure we wanted the expense of the elevator right now. But certain life events lead us to believe it may be useful in the next few years. Once we decided to move forward,
- [Garage doors](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/03/01/garage-doors/) - The garage doors came last week, and the painters made quick work of painting the panels. The doors were installed yesterday. It's a nice look. The installers took care in the installation, including things like putting waxing all the metal where it touches the painted wood doors, to keep the paint from sticking to the
- [HVAC completion](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/02/18/hvac-completion/) - Now that the basement floor is finished, and the painters painted the mechanical room in the basement, the HVAC team can finally install the rest of the HVAC. Most of the work for this is in the mechanical room. The only place outside the mechanical room we have visible ducting is the exercise room. We
- [Closets](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/02/19/closets/) - When I had my bachelor pad, I had a fancy closet system installed. It wasn't cheap and I wasn't that impressed with the quality of construction and the value. So this time around, we opted instead to just have our carpenters fabricate much simpler closets out of MDF, which will then be painted. Here is
- [Kitchen countertops](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/02/18/kitchen-counter-tops/) - The stone fabricators installed their first countertop last week. As you can see, the cabinet painters are getting preparing to paint the cabinets, which will start next week, after the holiday.
- [Blue stone decks and porches](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/02/03/blue-stone-decks-and-porches/) - We wanted our exterior surfaces to be as low maintenance as possible. In the house I owned when Lisa and I met, there was about 1800 square feet of redwood deck. Every year, I had to power wash, sand, and re-stain the deck to keep it looking nice. It took several days to get it
- [The wall](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/02/19/the-wall/) - We put in a pretty massive wall between us and our neighbors - at least, that is what it looks like from our side. Because we remove some soil so that our back yard would be walk-out level from the back of our house, we now have a grade change between the two properties. Here
- [Bathroom tile](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/02/18/bathroom-tile/) - The tile setters have been working on the bathroom tile for a week now, with two bathrooms almost done. Quite a bit of work remains - master bath, guest bath, power room, but this is some nice progress.
- [The Santa Barbara lifestyle](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/02/06/the-santa-barbara-lifestyle/) - I've spent the better part of 30 years in Santa Barbara, since I moved here to go to college. The lifestyle (casual, laid back, outdoorsy, friendly) and the climate make it a great place to live. Take a look at this view from the top of the courthouse tower in downtown Santa Barbara. We got
- [Basement floor polishing](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/02/04/basement-floor-polishing/) - We decided that we liked the idea of polished concrete in our basement rather than laying down flooring - wood, carpet, tile, etc - and it is a lot cheaper, coming in at $2 / sq ft versus $5-7 for carpet and around $14 for wood. As we near the end of the project, we
- [Curb, gutter, and sidewalk](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/02/03/curb-gutter-and-sidewalk/) - Our old house was on the eastern side of our lot, and the driveway entrance on the western side. With the new house, and the local solar access ordinance, we could not build a two-story structure on the eastern (really north-eastern) side as it would block some of the sun from our neighbors lot, which
- [Project update 2/3/18](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/02/03/project-update-2-3-18/) - It's been about 2 1/2 weeks since the last updates, but it feels like much longer. The freeway to / from the south of us finally opened after the mudslides, and work can once again proceed as normal. Now that things are once again moving, we are making a concerted effort to shore up the
- [Mudslides and the schedule slides](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2018/01/16/mudslides-and-the-schedule-slides/) - A week ago, during heavy rain, the wealthy enclave to the east of us experienced some horrific mudslides. The Montecito mudslides have made the national headlines for days now since they occurred a week ago. The Santa Barbara area, at around 230,000 people, is a small community with about 3 degrees of separation between any
- [Kitchen and mill work update](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/12/30/kitchen-and-mill-work-update/) - The cabinet makers installed quite a bit of the kitchen mill work last week. The scale of our kitchen is really coming into view. Wow, we have a lot of counter space. In the foreground is where the island will go. This was finished a week ago but I was also struck by the entire
- [Pool house framing](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/12/30/pool-house-framing/) - The pool house is really taking shape. We started with the grading and excavation of the area ar0und the old fireplace in the back yard. Next, the plumbing and electrical was run to the pool house and the foundation was prepared. Then, the foundation was poured. Now, the framing is taking shape quickly. As you
- [Much progress on cabinets](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/12/27/much-progress-on-cabinets/) - We saw a lot of progress on the cabinets last week. The 2nd floor is almost entirely done. Here are some particularly nice features. My office (I do quite a bit of my work from home): Our master bedroom: The master closet: And, our laundry room: Interestingly, with a few of the cabinets, once installed,
- [Carpentry progress](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/12/27/carpentry-progress/) - You might have heard about the fire we had this month, the Thomas Fire, now the largest fire in California history. Here is a great shot I took from my car on December 16th, the day we had the major wind driven flare-up in the fire. The plume of smoke is about 10 miles away
- [That funky craftsman style](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/12/26/that-funky-craftsman-style/) - The craftsman style was less about being opulent and more about showing off the talents of the craftsmen doing the work. As such, it is common for craftsman houses to have some interesting details where things don't quite work perfectly, but are done in an interesting way. Charlie the builder calls this the perfection of
- [Tag, you're it](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/11/22/tag-youre-it/) - Our construction gate got tagged last weekend. I honestly don't understand the appeal of tagging. For one, I have rarely seen a tag that I can actually tell what it is supposed to say. Second, this is obviously a place where it will be covered up pretty quickly, so what is the point? A can
- [Leader heads and downspouts](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/12/15/leader-heads-and-downspouts/) - The roofers installed the leader heads and remaining down spouts this week. Boy do they look sharp. The attention to detail on some of these downspouts is amazing. The one just above goes across a rounded slot in the window casing. The one below goes across a rounded slot in the stone work.
- [House update - painting, window & door casing, cabinets, and permits oh my](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/12/14/house-update-painting-window-door-casing-cabinets-and-permits-oh-my/) - Did I mention we are having a very large fire in the area? The Thomas Fire has been burning for more than a week now. Here is what the sky looked like a couple of days ago. Despite the fire, and the associated bad air quality, we continue to make progress on the house, albeit
- [Pool house foundation](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/12/14/pool-house-foundation/) - The pour for the pool house foundation happened yesterday. It was a relatively small pour compared to all the others we've done - about a full truck or 10 yards. Framing on the pool house starts next week.
- [Looking up](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/12/04/looking-up/) - Here are a couple of neat shots looking up from the basement level. Here is the central hallway where the stairs land in the basement. Just behind the ladder is the elevator shaft. Here are two shots, one up the elevator shaft, and one up the stairwell right where the yellow bucket is sitting. At
- [Tile and stone](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/12/04/tile-and-stone/) - We received delivery of the blue stone for our outdoor decks, covered patios, and stairs last week. There is quite a bit of it. In that picture you can see the outdoor stairwell and the covered back porch which will both be getting blue stone. Inside, the stone & tile guys have started preparing the
- [Windows and door casing](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/12/04/windows-and-door-casing/) - Now the the plastering is complete, the carpenters have started on the windows and door casing. Before they started, I had run my hands over the plaster near the door frames and noticed that in some places the plaster sticks out slightly beyond the wood inner door frame. I wondered how they would deal with
- [Getting ready for tile](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/11/21/getting-ready-for-tile/) - We've got quite a bit of tile work that needs to be done. The first thing the tile guys are going to start on are the showers. In preparation for that, some guys came by yesterday to water proof the shower pans. This had to be one of the worst smelling things we've done so
- [Pool house progress](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/11/22/pool-house-progress/) - The pool house is inching along. One of the difficulties with the pool house is that it has a lot going on. Among the normal stuff, we have a bathroom, outdoor shower, and electrical sub panel. But there are also a number of elements that make this a lot more complicated than just a small
- [Box beams](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/11/21/box-beams/) - The carpenters installed the box beams last week. Before the box beams went in, the bead board ceiling had to be installed. This is actually a lot of work as they did very precise cuts for each hole in the ceiling (for such things as can lights, sprinklers, and HVAC supply and return ducts). They
- [Drywall update - getting very close](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/11/21/drywall-update-getting-very-close/) - All the drywall has been hung for a couple of weeks now, and the crew has made great progress with the plastering. The 2nd floor is now completely plastered, and the first floor and basement have much of the seams, holes, doorways, fixtures, sockets and switches plastered. the last layer of plaster is pretty thin
- [Drywall is going fast](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/11/05/drywall-is-going-fast/) - Another week gone by and more milestones on the drywall. The crew is now putting up the "rock" in the last room now, the garage. They've also made a lot of progress with the joint compound (mud) and taping of the 2nd floor. Here is the progression. First the drywall goes on. Then the outside
- [The pool house](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/11/03/the-pool-house/) - We are adding a small pool house in the back yard. Here it is from the elevations on the plans. It's not really a house, but more of a covered patio. The only part of it that is fully enclosed is the toilet room. Among the many silly things that the building codes and zoning
- [Bead board ceilings for the kitchen and family room](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/11/03/bead-board-ceilings-for-the-kitchen-and-family-room/) - At the back of our house are the kitchen and family room. We decided to make the ceilings in these two rooms (really one big room) somewhat special by finishing them with bead board, like we did the exterior patios and porches. The family room will get the added treatment of box beams below the
- [Cabinets and built-ins](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/11/04/cabinets-and-built-ins/) - It's been quite a process settling on a cabinet maker. We received initial bids from three different companies and then went through an extensive back and forth negotiation to try and get the price down to what we could afford, and to figure out who we thought would give us the best end result. We
- [Waiting for permits](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/11/03/waiting-for-permits/) - We've got two permits being reviewed by the city at this time. The first is our revised landscaping permit. When we originally did the landscaping, we didn't have the benefit of (a) spending a lot of time considering what we wanted the property to be like (we just needed something reasonably close to what we
- [Drywall update](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/10/23/drywall-update/) - Drywall is going in rapidly. They are now almost done putting up the drywall on the first floor. Here is our living room. They have installed all the corner bead on the second floor and have started taping and mudding the joints. We have a tentative date of November 20th for the first cabinets to
- [The details - leader heads and cow's tongues](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/10/23/the-details-leader-heads-and-cows-tongues/) - Because our design includes a "skirt" or flare from the second story to the first, it is impractical to run downspouts down the side of the house on some places as they will have to divert around the flare; it just looks like an afterthought when downspouts do that. For example, here is one of
- [Water and gas](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/10/24/water-and-gas/) - Water and gas lines trenched and laid last week. From the street: Into the yard: The lines direct both to the house and to the back yard behind the pool house. The yellow line on the left is the one running to the pool house and is bigger (4 inch line) than the one running
- [Porch columns](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/10/13/porch-columns/) - Columns are a signature craftsman style element, and there are lots of different types that are used in craftsman homes. If you search Google images for "craftsman columns exterior" you'll see what I mean. Most of the time, they are made out of wood. However, because they are exterior columns, and would likely have mitered
- [Stone choices](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/10/16/stone-choices/) - I must admit I do have a little leg up on the average person when it comes to counter tops, as I briefly ran a stone fabrication business about a decade ago. Knowing nothing about stone fabrication at the time, I took it over and tried to stabilize it until we eventually sold the business.
- [Whole-lotta trenching going on](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/10/13/whole-lotta-trenching-going-on/) - Now that we have low and high voltage utilities connected to the power pole, the next step is trenching for water and gas, and to run utilities out to our pool house. For starters, take a look at the point at which the utilities go into our house. Holy cow! There are the four lines
- [Drywall update - second floor is almost complete](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/10/13/drywall-update-second-floor-is-almost-complete/) - We started with a crew of 2-3 guys for the first week or so. Now they have pulled in additional people and we have 5-6 guys working on the drywall. The entire second floor is almost done and they are installing the scaffolding to do the upper stairwell ceiling and walls. Here is the master
- [Back yard grading update](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/10/05/back-yard-grading-update/) - In the last few weeks we've been working on grading the back yard. Here is what it looks like now. Here is a better shot with more contrast. The area around the fireplace is ready for the foundation for the small pool cabana, which will have three open sides. You can see we have a
- [Connecting the house utilities](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/10/06/connecting-the-house-utilities/) - We started the work to run the utilities from the pole at the street to our demarcation point at the side of the garage, where the main electrical panel and the low voltage panels are. Any new construction or significant remodel requires under grounding of the utilities from the pole to the house. There is
- [How to build a wall](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/10/05/how-to-build-a-wall/) - Take a look at this cross section of our wall structure from our structural engineer. Like most everything in our house, and that is requited by code, this new wall that we are building along our property line with our neighbors will be veritably bomb-proof. And it needs to be pretty beefy as in addition
- [Insulation update](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/10/05/insulation-update/) - Other than a few small areas, the insulation is nearly complete, and passed inspection a couple of days ago. We are using post-consumer recycled fiberglass insulation. The small secitons you see at the top on this wall are fireproof insulation to provide a fire block so a fire can't travel from the attic into the
- [Drywall](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/10/05/drywall/) - Now the the insulation is (almost) complete, the drywall process has started. First step in preparation was to remove all the doors so they don't get damaged. Each door had to be marked for location and for pocket doors, which side it goes on. Now the drywall goes up. For the first time since we
- [Insulation](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/09/26/insulation/) - We started insulation on Monday, and it is expected to take a week. So next Monday we start drywall. Here is before. And here is after. Not very exciting to look at, but exciting for us. :) We are insulating all the interior walls as well for sound proofing. We will be insulating the floors
- [Down comes the wall](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/09/26/down-comes-the-wall/) - We had this existing wall on the property, a short segment that was skewed relative to the property line. We decided along with our neighbors that we liked the style, and wanted to tear down the existing wall and replicate the style all along the property line. Yesterday was the day it came down, and
- [Moving another palm tree](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/09/19/moving-another-palm-tree/) - We moved another palm tree last week. This happens to be the only tree we didn't previously move. Originally, we had it 10 feet from the back of the house. However, as part of the planning process, we moved the house back 10 feet to reduce the perception of size from the street. But, we
- [Bead board ceilings](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/09/19/bead-board-ceilings-2/) - The painters spent about 4 days prepping and then painting the bead board ceiling above the front porch. Boy does it look good. When I first saw the painting bid, I thought it sounded like a lot. However, seeing the quality of work that is being done, and all that goes into it, it makes
- [Neighborly luck](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/09/11/neighborly-luck/) - The property next to us came on the market last year. It is a large 1/2 acre property, like ours, with a 3,000 or so square foot house close to the front of the property. Much of the yard is unfinished (and old dilapidated tennis court) and the house hasn't seen a remodel since the
- [Back yard grading](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/09/09/back-yard-grading/) - The excavators came last week to start the back yard grading. From the back of our house to the back lot line, we have 2-3 feet of elevation gain that we have to account for. In our case, we plan to break the elevation behind the pool, but in front of our back yard pool
- [Update 9/8/17](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/09/08/update-9817/) - It's been a couple of weeks since my last update, but there have been no major change, just slow progress. We are in the nebulous zone between finishing everything in the walls and getting our inspections so we can then insulate and drywall the interior. There always seems to be a few more things to
- [Front door](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/08/21/front-door/) - The front door went in today, and it looks just as spectacular as we envisioned. As a comparison, here is the design I did for the door. The glass panels will be some kind of stained glass, which we haven't designed yet.
- [The roof is complete](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/08/09/the-roof-is-complete/) - It happened in some fits and starts, due to obstructions like the scaffolding, but the roof is completely on now, sans gutters. It looks pretty nice. With the great views up there, I sure wish we could have a roof deck.
- [Front porch columns](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/08/18/front-porch-columns/) - But for the stone cap, the stone work on the front porch columns is almost complete, and boy, does it look stunning. Typical craftsman columns would be made of wood above the stone, but, such wood cladding would be prone to water intrusion at the corners. Instead, we are going to put on a smooth
- [Bead board ceilings](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/08/18/bead-board-ceilings/) - We've opted for bead board ceilings for our outside porches and our kitchen and family rooms, a nice craftsman touch. The installation process is actually quite tedious, as the boards must be precisely cut around each opening for lights, sprinklers, outlets, and speakers grills. But the results are outstanding. Here is the back porch. You
- [Weekly update 7/14/17](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/07/14/weekly-update-71417/) - We spent the week in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, visiting the Pictured Rock National Lakeshore (A national park). Upon our return, we discovered quite a bit of progress For starters, the walls and ceiling spaces are visibly becoming visibly full of various utility runs. In that one ceiling section, you see HVAC ducting and
- [Much progress on the interior design](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/07/07/much-progress-on-the-interior-design/) - Wow, our designer Jessica has been working her tail off. In the past month, quite a bit has happened. Appliances We've selected all our appliances and have an appliance package now. Knowing the appliance specifics matters quite a bit to the plumbers and electricians (see more about that below). Plumbing fixtures While we chose all
- [Fireplace units are in!](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/08/02/fireplaces-are-in/) - We debated for some time about whether to have fireplaces that were capable of burning real wood. I grew up with a wood burning fireplace, and have lived in and owned houses with them. But we also rented a house that had a gas fireplace appliance in the master bedroom, where you could simply use
- [Comparing our house to the others on the street](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/08/04/comparing-our-house-to-the-others-on-the-street/) - During the planning process, we made sure to convince the planning board that our house, despite being bigger, would not appear abnormally large from the street, as compared to the other houses on the street. We went as far as to prepare this top and street view drawing to compare our proposed house against the
- [Stonework update](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/08/02/stonework-update/) - The stone work is coming along nicely, with the fireplace entirely finished, and the stone masons starting on the foundation and columns. I must say, I am just thrilled with the way the stone work is turning out.
- [Good by scaffolding, hello exterior](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/08/03/good-by-scaffolding-hello-exterior/) - Over the last few days, all the scaffolding hiding the exterior of the house as been removed. While you could kinda see how the house looked through the scaffolding, it is a much clearer picture with it gone, and, it looks pretty outstanding. Once the foundation stone work is done, the columns are complete, and
- [Audio | Video | Network prewire](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/07/18/audio-video-network-prewire/) - We are 3-4 weeks away from drywall. Before we can drywall, everything that is going to go in the wall has to be there. The plumbers, electricians, and HVAC folks are all working hard to get it all done, and we have a very full crew here. One of the last things we are putting
- [Additional stone work pictures](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/07/18/additional-stone-work-pictures/) - The stone work is turning out so beautiful, I just have to post some more pictures. Note that this is all what is called "Santa Barbara sandstone" which is the local variety. All of this stone came from the excavation of our basement. We went back and forth a little with the color of the
- [Recycling old leaded glass windows](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/07/05/recycling-old-leaded-glass-windows/) - When we tore down the old house, we kept a number of old leaded glass windows, hoping to use them for something in our new house. We pulled them out today so the interior designer could measure them, and it made a nice picture. Almost all of them will need to be restored; some have
- [Stone work is under way](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/07/06/stone-work-is-under-way/) - The stoners ... er ... make that, stone masons, have started to stone veneer the main fireplace. The did an initial sample of the style we settled on. However, after some feedback from our landscape designers, we decided on some changes: Increase the size of the stone pieces and make them a bit more horizontal,
- [Bureaucratic check box - bio-filtration](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/07/05/bureaucratic-check-box-bio-filtration/) - One of the more frustrating aspects of building a house are the bureaucratic rules that are pointless. Along those lines is this story about our biofiltration basin. When we original submitted our landscape plan, it included a lot of new impermeable surface area: larger roof profile more concrete for patios and such paver driveway walkways
- [Exterior home stretch](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/06/22/exterior-home-stretch/) - The last few bits of the shingles are being installed this week, and there are a few remaining railings to be installed. Now, for the most part, it is up to the painters. The shingles are all pre-painted, so they will only require touch-up where damaged or where they were cut, like this bottom edge.
- [Central vac](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/06/21/central-vac/) - Last week all the tubing for our central vac was installed. We've got 10 plug-in points around the house, and will have three 30 to 50 foot hoses. The new generation of central vacuum systems have hoses that have the wire integrated (so that it doesn't get caught on things as you drag it around)
- [Stone work](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/06/12/stone-work/) - The stone masons have been busy cutting stone from our pile into 4 inch pieces suitable for skinning the fireplace and raised foundation walls. They delivered the first drop of the materials last week. All those nice flat pieces came from the boulders we pulled out of the ground when we excavated our basement. I
- [Happy Birthday Lisa!](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/06/02/happy-birthday-lisa/) - On a side note, it's Lisa's birthday today! One way she's celebrating is by taking the kids out to ice cream this afternoon. (Sorry, I just had to, it is such a cute picture.) One of the benefits of having carpenters on site, I was able to have Charlie and the carpenters build Lisa a
- [Weekly update June 2nd](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/06/02/weekly-update-june-2nd/) - In addition to today being Lisa's birthday, a lot has been happening here. Roofing The roofers have started the roofing process, laying down the second layer of paper, and flashing all around the edge of the roof. We are finalizing the solar layout and contract. Once that is done, the solar installers will install the
- [Water treatment](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/06/04/water-treatment/) - We met with 4 different water treatment companies this week. In Santa Barbara, most of our water comes from the Santa Ynez Valley watershed, which feeds Cachuma Lake. There is almost no farming or industrial activity in the water shed, so our water is reasonably pure. However, it tends to go through a lot of
- [Exterior update](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/05/29/exterior-update/) - The shingles are going on fast now and should be done in a couple more weeks. While you can't see the final paint colors, the contrast between the different siding materials, along with the Craftsman details, is stunning. We've finalized the design of our railings and about half of them are on now.
- [Moving our stuff, again and again](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/06/02/moving-our-stuff-again-and-again/) - By living in the old house we tore down, for the entirety of the planning process, and the first 8 months of construction, we saved a lot of money. The downside of our frugal ways was the repeated moving of our extra stuff. The property originally had a very dilapidated garage, which we used to
- [Lutron Homeworks (QS)](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/05/29/lutron-homeworks/) - It is a considerable up charge, but we've decided to go with a Lutron Homeworks lighting system. In traditionally wired lighting, lights are wired with high voltage (110v) directly to the switches. You can do things like three (or more) way switching, dimming, etc, but that is about as advanced as it gets. Other than
- [Much ado about design](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/04/21/much-ado-about-design/) - 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 the
- [The benefits of LED lighting](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/05/27/the-benefits-of-led-lighting/) - We chose to use all LED lighting in our house for obvious reasons - the energy efficiency. But there are some other benefits as well. Size Because we are using LED fixtures (not just bulbs) the bulbs are much smaller, and the fixtures, with trim, are 4"in diameter (see the 3" image above - the
- [Flashing](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/05/16/flashing/) - No, this doesn't involve trench coats. A look at any older house quickly reveals the downside of older wooden exteriors. Anything flat that can collect water will eventually experience dry rot, and anywhere that water can get to, it will, and will cause dry rot. To avoid this, any flat surfaces, or anywhere that water
- [Shingles!](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/05/15/shingles/) - 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 much
- [Accessory Dwelling Unit](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/05/09/accessory-dwelling-unit/) - 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 of
- [The house this week](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/05/05/the-house-this-week/) - 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. The
- [Local history](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/04/23/local-history/) - 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 cool
- [Lots of design](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/03/21/lots-of-design/) - 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 the
- [Old house vs modern construction](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/04/13/old-house-vs-modern-construction/) - 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 craftsman
- [A beehive of activity](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/04/11/a-beehive-of-activity/) - 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 the
- [My new office](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/04/11/my-new-office/) - 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 to
- [Windows and doors!](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/03/15/windows-and-doors/) - 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,
- [Siding](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/03/13/siding/) - The siding work began last week. We've got scaffolding up all around the house, and the house has been Tyvek wrapped. Other than the building wrap, one of the first things the siding contractor is working on is the second floor skirt, also sometimes called a flare Here are the beginnings of that framing. Here
- [Deck water proofing](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/03/12/deck-water-proofing/) - While we welcome the plentiful rain this year as some respite from our years long drought in California (and especially in Santa Barbara), we are happy to say that the last few weeks has given us mostly a break from rain, allowing the plywood on our decks and exterior stairs to dry out so that
- [Design decisions](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/03/11/design-decisions/) - In December, our beloved designer informed us that she could no longer work on our project for personal reasons. Over the next two months, and interviews with 7 very capable designers, we found someone we felt comfortable with. During that time we also realized that we needed to do major changes to our landscape design.
- [Plodding along](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/03/01/plodding-along/) - A lot is happening but in some ways, the house feels a little stuck, as there aren't any big accomplishments to announce. The HVAC and Plumbing teams continue to chip away at those two installations, which are getting pretty far along. We are waiting for confirmation of when the window installation will begin. Coming on
- [Drywall loading](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/03/01/drywall-loading/) - We've arranged for the scaffolding to be installed and expect the installation of windows to begin in the next week. To prepare for the installation of windows (and other final look elements that might suffer from a shift in the building foundation) it is important to load the building with the heaviest materials so that
- [Spray foam insulation](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/02/09/spray-foam-insulation/) - Add another crew to the ant farm we have going at the new house. The insulation team is on site and applying spray foam to the underside of the roof. There were here about a month ago, insulating the part of the roof that became inaccessible once we sheathed the roof, and now they are
- [Turning old into new](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/02/10/turning-old-into-new/) - We've always had a high ideal of re-using as much of the old house we tore down as possible, or giving it to others to reuse. To that end, is a nice story about the recycling of the old shed and fence that was behind the house. The shed and fence appear to have been
- [Perp walk (security update)](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/02/08/perp-walk-security-update/) - When we vacated the house on the property, and subsequently left it unattended at night and on weekends, we put up a security system using a combination of IP video cameras that record in various ways, and battery operated motion sensitive video cameras. The system has gotten its first real test in the last couple
- [The ant farm](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/02/08/the-ant-farm/) - We've had on and off rain for the last month. But, now that we have a roof on and the last bit of concrete poured, it doesn't matter much. Inside, the house is a hub of activity, with three trades working - plumbing, electrical, and HVAC. Builder Charlie calls this the ant farm. The plumbers
- [The outside of the house is coming into focus](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/02/07/the-outside-of-the-house-is-coming-into-focus/) - We've waited a long time to get a clear view of what our house will look like on the outside. While we've got some 2D hand drawn elevations, and a couple of renderings, they don't really give the full picture of what the house will look and feel like. Now that most of the framing
- [The last bit of concrete, at last](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/02/07/the-last-bit-of-concrete-at-last/) - We struggled quite a bit scheduling the last little bits of concrete. The rain kept saturating the soil and created a lake where the back porch slab is supposed to go. As a result, we had to keep pumping out the water and eventually dig considerably deeper footings than we had planned on, to get
- [The back porch, the rain, and a lake](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/01/20/the-back-porch-the-rain-and-a-lake/) - The last bit of framing that remains to be done is the covered back porch. However, it depends on the concrete patio and footings, and, with that, we have a little problem. That area happens to be where the newly graded back yard drains into; we've had a bit of a lake there for the
- [Roof loading](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/01/17/roof-loading/) - I learned something interesting regarding the roof and the settling of a house. In some cases, the roofing material can be so heavy, it can cause the house to settle. This is common with the Spanish style roofs we have in Santa Barbara, as the material is pretty heavy. The problem is, if the roof
- [At long last, a roof](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/01/17/at-long-last-a-roof/) - Getting the house dried in (getting a roof on in builder parlance) was quite difficult given the on and off rain we've had over the last month. We finally decided to break up the process and do as much as we could every chance we got. Two weeks ago, we sheeted the roof with plywood.
- [Plumbing update](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2017/01/16/plumbing-update/) - Plumbing work has been happening on and off since before we first poured the foundation in the basement. We lucked out in that, from the farthest point in the basement there is a sewer pipe, to the street where we connect to the sewer main, there is just enough gravity fall so that we don't
- [Rain rain go away](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/12/28/rain-rain-go-away/) - We've been struggling to dry in the structure for the last few weeks as we continue to get hit by weekly storms. The last one, five days ago, dumped 1 3/4 inches of rain overnight and we again had to pump, squeegee, and vacuum out the water. The problem is this: Part of the exposed
- [Second floor sheathing](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/10/12/second-floor-sheeting/) - Today was one of those gratifying days where a lot of visible progress happens; the second floor was sheathed with plywood, and is now walk-able.
- [Sheathing the house, craftsman style, and more rain](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/12/17/sheeting-the-house-craftsman-style-and-more-rain/) - We've had a crew sheathing the outside of the house for the last week. Here is the before and after of the front. The crew works this as a second job, so they work on Saturday and afternoon on weekdays. For the neighbors, it is unfortunately noisy work, with the compressor constantly running the the
- [Eggtastic](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/12/28/eggtastic/) - For us, building a house is a very personal thing, and nothing is more personal than our relationship with our builder Charlie. I've known Charlie for 25 years, and he is probably the only person I would trust to build us a house. I am a big fan of breakfast - bacon, sausage, eggs, the
- [Site security](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/12/28/site-security/) - I thought I'd mention a bit about site security. Construction sites make attractive targets for theft because of the abundance of valuable raw materials, like copper pipe, and expensive tools. For the first 10 or so months of construction, we were living in the old house at the back of the property. Living on site
- [The demolition](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/12/17/the-demolition/) - The demolition of the old house on our lot, which we had been living in for 3 1/2 years, was waiting on us finding a suitable rental. From living in the old house, to the demolition, was a whirlwind. It went something like this: Monday: look at a rental Tuesday: signed a lease Thursday: moved
- [The real history of the old house](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/12/07/the-real-history-of-the-old-house/) - The history of the old house on our lot has always been shrouded in mystery. From the historical report, we knew in general that construction was done on certain dates, and in some cases what in general was done (second story added) but we haven't really known what part of the house was built when,
- [The water line](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/12/06/the-water-line/) - In preparation for plumbing the house, the plumbers measured the water pressure at the street - 60 PSI. While 60 PSI is perfectly normal for inside house water, typical street water pressure ranges from 85 to 120 PSI. The difference is that higher pressure can provide more water. To simplify, the relationship between pressure and
- [Moving day](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/12/06/moving-day/) - Living in the old house, when it is so close to the new house, has always been a gamble. We were betting that the cost of renting another house was more than it was costing us for the old house to be somewhat in the way of the new construction. As construction marches forward, the
- [Cutting the light wells](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/12/06/cutting-the-light-wells/) - From the structural design, through the pouring of the concrete basement foundation, we didn't realize that the outside walls of the light wells were so high above the natural grade. Early on, with the excavation pit considerably wider than the footprint of the house, it was hard to tell what it would look like after
- [More rain](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/11/22/more-rain/) - On Sunday night we had another smallish rain storm, and got a bout 1/2 inch over 6-8 hours. Not much by any standard but enough to get everything thoroughly wet and create large puddles in the basement. We were more prepared this time and were able to mitigate the water quickly. Last time, we swept
- [Second floor framing update](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/11/13/second-floor-framing-update/) - The second floor framing has been moving along nicely, and the framers are now framing the roof. Here are some picture of the progress over time. The first thing the framers did was to lay out all the walls using chalk, and then cut all the wall top and bottom plates. They then build each
- [Water](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/10/31/water/) - Last year was supposed to be El Niño, and bring lots of rain for us, which of course, it didn't. This year, is supposed to be La Niña, which is supposed to be drier than usual, which it is turning out NOT to be. The house, or course, is still quite open to the elements.
- [Garage & Front Porch Slabs](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/10/11/garage-front-porch-slabs/) - The concrete contractor poured the garage slab and the front porch slab on Friday. Now there is nothing holding the framers back from finishing the first floor and moving on to the second. They expect to have the roof sheeted in about 8 weeks. Here is the time lapse of the slab pour: https://youtu.be/r4UdysLVdqE Here
- [More steel](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/10/04/more-steel/) - Last Friday they dropped in some more steel. When Charlie (the builder) mentioned that there would be steel around the garage doors I imagined something fairly minor, as this a pretty standard three car garage with two garage doors - a double and a single; something to simply support the span over the doors. What
- [First floor framing & concrete interlock](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/09/26/first-floor-framing-concrete-interlock/) - The first floor turns out to be a bit of a Lincoln Log situation, with some of the concrete and the framing interlocking. Because part of the garage slab hangs over the basement, the basement framing and first story floor structure had to be completed before they could pour the garage slab. And along with
- [An unwanted post](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/09/22/an-unwanted-post/) - Post as in beam, not post as in blog. :) Sometimes the reality of the house isn't clear from flat 2D floor plans and engineering drawings. As the house gets built, the true nature of things reveal themselves, sometimes requiring changes to either improve aesthetics or something that doesn't function well in practice. One example
- [HVAC considerations](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/09/07/hvac-considerations/) - We've started planning the HVAC, which is a real pain. Consider the structure of the second floor: The first floor looks very similar. If you think about how you might snake ducting from one area of the house to another though those joists, keeping in mind that you can't actually go through most of them,
- [First floor framing update](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/09/07/first-floor-framing-update/) - It's been a couple of weeks since the last update so I thought I'd throw out a teaser on the progress with the first floor framing. The walls are almost all up and most of the 2nd floor joists are in place. Here is what it looks like from the side: And from the top:
- [Finally above ground](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/08/21/finally-above-ground/) - We arrived back from a week vacation in Minnesota (where thankfully it was not humid) to find the basement had a ceiling, and the first floor had a floor. And we have stairs now going into the basement, instead of a ladder. Thankfully, because we have cameras mounted that are taking periodic snaps, we were
- [Basement slab](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/07/29/basement-slab/) - The pouring of the basement slab is somewhat of a milestone, as it means we are close to getting out of the ground and building up. The concrete team has been working for weeks to prep the basement floor for the slab pour. The floor started out with just bare dirt, the interior wall footings,
- [Backfill before and after](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/08/10/backfill-before-and-after/) - I just thought this was in interesting before an after shot of the backfill between the basement walls and the surrounding grade.
- [Framing has begun](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/08/10/framing-has-begun/) - The framers have been on site for a week or so mapping out the basement walls. The last few days they've been installing the bottom plates on the top of the wall and for the basement inner walls. Today they started throwing up the first actual walls. Pretty exciting!
- [Soil compaction](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/08/03/soil-compaction/) - The excavators did a bunch of over-excavation of the area that will be the garage and driveway. The idea is that to insure proper equal settling under the entire span of a structure, you remove a bunch of soil, and then put it back all at equal soil compaction. To do this, they remove soil
- [Structural Steel](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/07/20/structural-steel-2/) - Most of our house is wood framed, but there is a bit of structural steel and they installed it today. This would have (or could have) been done earlier, but this was part of the catch-22 we had with the staging area on our lot. We had to get some of the back fill done
- [Backfill](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/07/20/backfill/) - The excavation contractor worked on a the back fill last week. This is the filling in of the space between the outside of the basement walls and the top grade of the lot. As complete, the waterproofing looks like this. At the bottom is the French drain tube. First they drape a fabric down the
- [Roughing in the plumbing](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/07/05/roughing-in-the-plumbing/) - The plumbers are pretty much done with the rough plumbing that needs to be embedded under the basement slab. This is all sewer as the hot and cold water pipes are much smaller and can be embedded in the walls, floors, ceilings, etc. In the basement itself we have two full bathrooms, two sinks in
- [Site limitations](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/07/05/site-limitations/) - I mentioned the large pile of back fill dirt in the discussion about waterproofing. We can't get rid of that pile until we do the back fill, which is waiting on the waterproofing to finish. But, because of that pile of dirt, we can't get a crane in place to drop in the structural
- [Waterproofing the basement walls.](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/07/05/waterproofing-the-basement-walls/) - Since we did the basement pour almost three weeks ago, we have been focused on two things, waterproofing the outside of the basement walls, and roughing in the plumbing that will go underneath the basement slab. We'll talk about the pluming in the next post. While we don't seem to have a lot of moisture
- [Pouring the basement walls](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/06/15/pouring-the-basement-walls/) - The concrete team has spent the last few weeks building the forms and the steel reinforement for the basement walls. Unlike most residential construction, rather than building custom forms from wood, they are using prefabricated forms. The pour went a little quicker than the footings. For the walls, they want the concrete to be a
- [Pouring the footings](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/05/24/pouring-the-foundation/) - Yesterday felt like a real milestone, with the pouring of the concrete for the foundation footings. Here are the footings before the pour. We did a little ceremony to "bless" the foundation to mark the beginning of our new house. Once the pour started it took 6 or 7 hours and went smoothly; concrete trucks
- [Foundation footings - planning for future efficiency and conservation](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/05/17/foundation-footings-planning-for-future-efficiency-and-conservation/) - I was surprised when I saw the extent to which they dug footings for the foundation. A quick review of the foundation plans shows that there are quite a few load bearing walls in the basement that require footings. We are still scrambling to nail down the details of all the plumbing that will need
- [Excavation is complete](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/05/10/excavation-is-complete/) - Excavation took about twice as long as expected due to all the rocks we encountered. The amount of rock (beautiful, valuable, Santa Barbara sandstone) was just astounding. We didn't realize (despite seeing the huge pile grow) how much rock we pulled out until we did a rough estimation of the weight of all the rock
- [Big big rocks](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/04/27/big-big-rocks/) - I talked about how many rocks we were uncovering during excavation of our basement. In the last few days we've watched them tackle the really big ones, that the excavator can't budge. Now that rock was a monster. When we dug back, it not only exposed 10 feet of depth, but there were two very
- [Rocks, rocks, and more rocks](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/04/21/rocks-rocks-and-more-rocks/) - We always knew there would be rocks in the dirt, we just weren't fully prepared as to how many. Our initial estimate was to remove 1800 yards of material from the ground. We are done tucking dirt away now and have taken 1200 yards. That means we've also moved about 600 yards of rock and
- [Moving the old sewer line](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/04/18/moving-the-old-sewer-line/) - Our old sewer line runs right through our future basement. Obviously we need to dig that ridge of dirt out as well, so we have to put in a temporary line while we are living in the old house during construction. Because our old line under the street showed some root intrusion, we are required
- [More excavation, lots of rocks](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/04/15/more-excavation-lots-of-rocks/) - We are now more than half way through excavation and our front your truly looks like a battle zone. The basement hole(s) are getting pretty wide and deep. The ridge separating the two holes is the old sewer line. On the far side of the hole is the replacement sewer line for the old house
- [Excavation is in full force](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/04/07/excavation-is-in-full-force/) - The surveyor mapped out the basement contours a couple of days ago to give the excavator a dig line; it is pretty much constant digging here now. The front yard has large holes everywhere. One thing we didn't anticipate when planning on staying in the house was the difficulty of getting through the dig zone
- [I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/04/06/id-rather-have-a-bottle-in-front-of-me-than-a-frontal-lobotomy/) - And old Steve Martin joke ... I'm always curious about history and as we dig am looking for any artifacts that I might find in the dirt we uncover. The first one turned up yesterday, an old bottle. Based on the markings on the bottom, I was able to identify that it is likely from
- [The beginning of excavation](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/04/05/the-beginning-of-excavation/) - Before excavation could start, everything in the way had to be removed, including the old asphalt, a couple of tree trunks, the old garage, old house foundation footings, etc. The excavator spend several good hours removing one giant tree trunk in particular. Here are our girls sitting on the trunk before it was removed. The
- [Tearing down the old garage](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/04/01/tearing-down-the-old-garage/) - Our garage, built in 1942, was close to falling over on its own. It is in the way of the new driveway cut, so it is one of the first things that has to be done before we can start grading the lot and digging the basement. The excavation contractor noticed that the boards on
- [Moving the palms - moving day, part 2](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/03/26/moving-the-palms-moving-day-part-2/) - We moved the first three palms a few days ago. Today we moved the two largest ones, the tallest of which topped out at around 35 feet high, and the heaviest one (curiously, not the tallest one) topping out at 28,000 lbs. For this, they had to bring in a bigger crane, with an 80,000
- [Moving the palms - moving day](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/03/22/moving-the-palms-moving-day/) - The crane showed up at around 6:30 this morning! All-in all it was a fascinating day of watching the tree service crew and the crane crew move three 17,000 - 20,000 lb. palm trees. Below are some nice shots. The process was to attach the crane pulling up and the backhoe pulling to the side,
- [More history - sketchy foundation](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/03/21/more-history/) - In order to dig one of the trenches around the palms, the tree company had to move some of the old building foundation out of the way. Turns out the skirt foundation wall wasn't very impressive. That's just three inches into the soil and absolutely no steel reinforcement in the concrete. compare that to the
- [Moving the palms - prep, day 2](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/03/21/moving-the-palms-day-2/) - It's been a busy day here at the project site. In preparation for the palm moving, a tree stump had to be extracted. It took a good 2-3 hours of digging with the backhoe to free that stump and it was quite a site to see it finally being moved. This is what the base
- [Waterproofing after demolition](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/03/19/waterproofing-after-demolition/) - We removed part of our house (part 1 and part 2) to make way for the new construction, leaving a large exposed wall and some chopped up roof area. Of course, we are going to live in the house still, so we needed to waterproof that section before the next rain storm. A small crew
- [Moving the palms - prep, day 1](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/03/19/moving-the-palms/) - We have a total of 8 large Canary palm trees on our lot. We love them, but they are in pretty random locations, so we are going to move most of them into more aesthetically pleasing positions. In preparation to move them, they first tie up a bunch of the fronds to keep them out
- [Re-using materials](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/03/16/re-using-materials/) - A word about salvaging old materials for re-use. Charlie has a keen eye for what might be worthwhile to keep. Here is the pile of stuff we pulled out of the part of the house we pulled down: It's all redwood, con-heart and some very very nice clear. Look at this piece: This is clear
- [Tree removal](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/03/16/tree-removal/) - Our property came with quite a few trees that are less than desirable. Chief among them are Pittosporum. This is a very typical hedge plant, that, if you let it grow, will become a tree. The problem with them is that they are incredibly messy. It pretty much drops stuff like that year-round. Another tree
- [Clues in the demolition](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/03/16/clues-in-the-demolition/) - Part of what I was curious to see during the demolition is whether we could uncover any further clues as to the history of the house. What we found seems to just add more uncertainty. We believed that the part of the house being demolished was likely built in 1922 (whereas the original single-story part
- [Partial house demolition - day 2](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/03/15/partial-house-demolition-day-2/) - The crew continued on the demolition today, taking the part of the house being demolished all the way down to the foundation, which the guys doing the excavation of our basement will remove in a few weeks. Here is where we started this morning: And here it is at the end of the day:
- [Partial house demolition](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/03/14/the-start-of-deconstruction/) - Today is the day! We had a little ceremony with the girls to thank the part of the house that is being torn off for 3 years of shelter and good times. We are sad to see the sun room in particular go, but we are going to build a similar feature into our new
- [Starting deconstruction](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/03/08/starting-deconstruction/) - (As an aside, we designed the house so that the minute you step in the front door, you have a clear view all the way to that beautiful fireplace above, which will be perfectly lined up with the front door. The fireplace was once part of the original house.) So here we are, at long
- [The Backstory: Planning & Permits](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/03/08/the-backstory-planning-permits/) - Once the historical report was complete, we had to go before the Historic Landmarks Commission and get the HSSR approved. Getting it approved meant that the HLC agreed that there was no significant historical value to the house (other than the wall out front) and we were clear to tear it down. Now, here is
- [The Backstory: History](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/03/08/the-backstory-history/) - We initially thought it might take a year until we had permits in hand. Boy was that naive. First, for any uccoructure older than 50 years, you have to get a historical site & structures report (HSSR) done. This is intended to uncover whether there is anything historically significant about the house or property (in
- [The Backstory: Building the new while living in the old](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/03/08/the-backstory-building-in-the-new-while-living-in-the-old/) - In looking at older houses we stumbled upon the property we bought- a large half acre with an older house that, while interesting, was somewhat of a Frankenstein house that was built in 5 phases over about 80 years. For example, take a look at this nonsensical meeting of roof lines. The house was also
- [The Backstory: In the beginning ... we just wanted to buy a house](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/2016/03/08/in-the-beginning-we-just-wanted-to-buy-a-house/) - It all started when we were looking for a house in 2012. At the time (and it continues today) there was very very little on the market, especially in the area we wanted to live, the Upper East neighborhood of Santa Barbara. We wanted to live somewhere that was walk-able, and close to things, like

## Pages

- [About Us And Our Project](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/sample-page/) - We are Peter & Lisa. Building businesses, building a family, and now, building a house. We started our family in the Bay Area, where we have family. For three years, we looked for something close to our dream house. But the rabid tech industry has pushed housing prices so high, the town I grew

## Categories

- [Uncategorized](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/category/uncategorized/)
- [History](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/category/history/)
- [Planning](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/category/planning/)
- [Deconstruction](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/category/deconstruction/)
- [Landscaping](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/category/landscaping/)
- [Excavation](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/category/excavation/)
- [Energy efficiency](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/category/energy-efficiency/)
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- [Conservation](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/category/conservation/)
- [Plumbing](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/category/plumbing/)
- [Framing](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/category/framing/)
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- [Water proofing](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/category/water-proofing/)
- [Finish carpentry](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/category/finish-carpentry/)
- [Stone work](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/category/stone-work/)
- [Audio-Video-Network](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/category/audio-video-network/)
- [Fireplaces](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/category/fireplaces/)
- [Structural](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/category/structural/)
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- [counter tops](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/category/counter-tops/)
- [Tile & stone](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/category/tile-stone/)
- [Cabinets & mill work](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/category/cabinets-mill-work/)
- [Hardscape](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/category/hardscape/)
- [Pool house](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/category/pool-house/)
- [Flooring](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/category/flooring/)
- [Driveway](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/category/driveway/)
- [Paint](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/category/paint/)
- [Schedule](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/category/schedule/)
- [Plaster](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/category/plaster/)
- [Ruminations](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/category/ruminations/)
- [Doors & windows](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/category/doors-windows/)
- [Appliances](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/category/appliances/)
- [Problems](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/category/problems/)
- [Furnishings](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/category/furnishings/)
- [Living](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/category/living/)
- [Interesting](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/category/interesting/)
- [Pool](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/category/pool/)
- [Yard](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/category/yard/)

## Tags

- [Excavation](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/tag/excavation/)
- [Materials](http://buildingfromscratch.com/index.php/tag/materials/)