Remodeling January 13, 2022

The Finished Product….

It’s been over a year since we finished the ADU and got final approvals.  The holidays hit and life/work got in the way of me updating everything.  So, in the next couple of weeks, I’ll be updating our house progress.  In this post, you’ll finally see the finished project and in the coming weeks you’ll see the landscaping the hubby and I decided to tackle on our own.  As you can imagine, this is part of the reason I haven’t been here in a while.

I left off with the cabinets and counters going in….to finish up the project our contractor completed the following:

  • kitchen backsplash
  • paint the walls/ceiling/trim
  • form and pour the concrete for the walkway
  • install appliances
  • install split unit (heat & AC)
  • Painting & updating of main house bathrooms and the teenager’s bedroom (we completed ourselves)
  • FINAL INSPECTION – Approved!

All in all the experience of building was definitely a learning process.  If you are embarking on a similar project here are just a few things I would recommend:

  • Communication is key throughout the entire process!
  • Make sure your architect and contractor work together.  At minimum show your plans (before submitting) to a contractor to get their input.
  • Communicate with your contractor to know when things will be started/completed throughout the entire process.
  • Choose tile, counters, appliances, paint colors etc as early as possible.
  • Order window treatments early and have them installed when they’re doing the finishing touches
  • Think about the small things…like dimmer switches, light fixtures.

Above everything you need PATIENCE.  We were fortunate that this was an addition and did not disturb (too much) the main house.  In the midst of a pandemic, distance learning and working from home, sometimes the patience needed a little help from tequila, vodka and wine, but all in all it was well worth it!!

Enjoy the final days of construction and the finished ADU

Remodeling November 20, 2020

SO MUCH PROGRESS!

Last I left off, we had just started to see the walls going up on the construction.  So, the past 2 months have been super busy.  Some days we would see so much progress and then it would be quiet for a few days.  That is very typical for construction.  Sometimes you’re waiting on inspections, or supplies or availability of the workers.  So many homeowners are remodeling and adding structures that all of those are in short supply.  We’ve been busy picking out tile, grout, hardware, flooring lights, curtains and oh my goodness it seems like a never ending list.  I have loved designing this project, but I will be so happy once it is DONE!!

So, here’s what’s been happening:

September:

  • Exterior walls going up
  • Roof built
  • Interior sound proof wall (this is the shared wall with our home)
  • Interior wall framing
  • Plumbing/connection to main sewer line
  • Electrical
  • Roof Completed
  • Windows installed

October:

  • Stucco prepped and applied
  • Drywall Installed
  • Floor Installed
  • Finished drywall/mudding main house bathrooms
  • Bathroom tile completed
  • Closet Built
  • Cabinets installed
  • Counters Installed

The past 6 weeks have definitely been more time consuming – especially with all of the decisions we’ve had to make.  Quick trips to Lowe’s for medicine cabinets, Dunn Edwards for paint samples, early morning calls to pick a stucco color, etc.  For tile and flooring, we ended up at Floor & Decor.  Choosing bathroom tile that is classic, modern and not “too busy” was a challenge, but my ever patient husband was up to the task.  Flooring was chosen on a different day which was a whole other battle, between “is it too grey?” and “what’s our budget for this?” it took us a bit longer than expected.  We went with a luxury vinyl for it’s water proof qualities and cost.  When it was finally installed it was the wrong one!  It has since been corrected, but I will address this in another post.  All in all we are finally getting close to the finish line.  Next week, I’ll talk about some issues we ran into as well as our experiences on the inside of the main house.

In the meantime.  Enjoy the slide show of the past 2 months!

Remodeling August 28, 2020

Construction Has Begun!!

WOW – the summer has just flown by!  We’ve been busy with construction and real estate and I haven’t had a chance to update everything.  The big news is that WE STARTED CONSTRUCTION!  After interview several contractors we finally found the perfect fit!  Their name is Fast Track Builders and Luis Huanca is our contractor.  He is the best!! Let’s bring you up to speed:

July 21/22 – gas meter get moved to it’s new home, also submitted our RTI (ready to issue) plans to the City of Los Angeles for our actual permits.  The permit process is a bit more complex due to Covid.  So hopefully we’ll get it soon

July 27 – demolition & excavation begins for the new foundation – since our existing home is on a raised foundation and the access to that is where we are building we had decided to also do a raised foundation for the addition.  The are additional costs with that (excavation and more stops for inspection).

August 5/6th – Permits are paid for on the 5th and ready to be picked up on the 6th – So excited!!  Just a little over 2 weeks.

August 10th – our first inspection for the forms/rebar for the foundation and WE PASS!!

August 12th – concrete is poured and we need to wait a couple of days for it to set

August 14th – remove all the forms and we’re moving toward framing the floor

August 18 – framing for the floor begins – starting to see real progress, including all the under house plumbing – PASS another inspection

August 24 – Insulation for the floor is completed (who knew you needed insulation, although it makes sense?)

August 25 – PASS ANOTHER Inspection (see what I mean about a lot more stops for inspection?) They begin the plywood for the floor 🙂

August 28 – Next inspection PASSED!!  We can finally start building UP!  They’ve removed the outside stucco where the walls will meet with the house.  They’ve also removed 2 windows.  One is for the teenlet’s room and the other is our master bathroom.  The third window removed will be next week.  Don’t worry – no gaping holes into the house – come on its 100 outside who wants all that coming in the house??  They’ve put in drywall and taped it up, just until they come back and plaster the inside to fix the interior.

August 29 – They’ve started on the walls – woohoo!!!

whew – it’s been a super busy month.  Couple of things you might be asking – why are you losing windows and what changes have you made to accommodate that?  1st window being lost is in our daughter’s room.  She’ll still have a large window (so all up to code) AND she gets to repaint and redo her bedroom….she’s thrilled 🙂  2nd & 3rd windows being lost are in the hall and master bathrooms.  In both bathrooms we will be adding moisture sensing fans as well as “solar tubes”.  These are similar to skylights but they’re a tube.  Here’s a link for a much better explanation and pictures.

So that’s all for now everyone.  Lots of changes and updates in just a short 5 weeks.  I don’t want to jinks our progress, so I’m just going to end this with hope that things continue to go well and I promise to be better on my updates.  In the meantime.  Enjoy the slide show of the past month!

Remodeling June 8, 2020

Why am I so bad at the “before” picture?

Ok, so we are moving along…..sort of.  We’ve had the gas company out here to begin the process of moving the meter.  That was actually less hassle than I thought.  Within a week, I heard from the field tech (called on a Saturday) and then by Friday of the next week, we were meeting.  I now have a contract proposal that I need to sign and pay for at the gas company.  Once that is done, we can schedule the work (in conjunction with my plumber) and we’ll be good to go.  In the meantime we need to finally hire a contractor and set everything else in motion.  Hiring a contractor if definitely one of the biggest decisions we’ll make.  This is the person I will be working with and communicating with for 2-3 months.  The first part of the choosing a contractor is to get multiple bids.  Price is important, but you also want to meet with them and determine if our personalities mix well.  Anyone who know me, knows that I am a detailed and task oriented person.  If you say that it will be done by a certain time, or that you will email m3 by a certain date, I expect you to do so or to at least explain why you can’t meet that deadline.  So, although I had met with several contractors in the fall.  I’m now in the final states of getting real bids on the project so that I can be sure I’m paying the right price as well as working with someone I can communicate with well.

While all of this is moving forward.  We also decided to take care of the landscape removal that would need to occur for the construction.  Hence, the question – “Why am I so back at the “before” picture?”  This is definitely not the first project we have tackled in our 17 years of home ownership, yet I’m notorious for forgetting to get the before picture.  So, here are a few images of our side yard and front of the house, so you can see the “during” and “after”.  This landscaping has been here since before we purchased this home in 2009, so it was well established.  The yard definitely has the feel of being much bigger once you take out all the shrubs and trees!  At lease we’re saving on watering this summer, since all of this will be demo’d once construction begins.