Date Changed:  12/17/09                 Click for Oakland, California Forecast

 

 

Tom's Living Room Reconstruction:

(Click on thumbnails to see a larger picture)

I'm gradually getting accustomed to the rapid change around here.  The crew came at 7:00AM.  This is the third day, and the roof replacement is moving right along.  I'm impressed with the speed.  Here are thumbnails of the progress so far. 
Steven C. Randel, AIA Architect
1775 E Palm Canyon Dr, H302
Palm Springs, CA 92264
760 904-7078
SF Bay Construction, Inc
Brian Kenny

236 West Portal Ave
San Francisco, CA 94127
415-841-1008
www.sfbayconstruction.com

Robert Gorman, Engineer
PO Box 95
Moraga, CA 94556
925-376-7230

Richard C. Najera, Owner
Trinity Electrical Contractor

1277 Linda Mar S.C., No 117
Pacifica, CA 94044
650-557-0199
The Floor Show
Wood Flooring: Refinish, repair and more

2547 Eighth St
Berkeley, CA 94710
510-845-4633
Saul Espinoza Painting
Exterior - Interior
2876 - 18th St
San Pablo, CA 94806
510-233-3690

Click on the thumbnail to see a larger picture.

Day 00 - The Day Before Construction Started

Day 02 - Second Day of work ... the evening I returned from Oregon

Day 03 - The roof is going back up and the room is taking shape

I don't mean to bore you with some many updates, but the place is changing so fast.  Today all of the glass (windows and doors) are gone from the living room and dining room.  The roof was finished (meaning all is covered with plywood), and the new windows and doors have been framed.  The crew works very fast. 

The inspector is coming tomorrow to check off the foundation for the new fireplace area.  Then the cement will be poured.  The electrician will come early next week, which put the pressure on me to finalize the ceiling lights.

Here are thumbnails of the results of today's pounding and sawing.  Click on each to see a larger picture.

Day 05:  Here are some pictures from Friday.  Plywood went up.  On Saturday we had quite a steady rain for 1 or 2 hours.  And that was after I promised everyone that it never rains this time of the year!  The contractor brought over blue tarps and that stopped the water from finding its way through the cracks in the plywood room.

Day 06:  On Monday, I asked that the partition wall be removed.

 

Day 07 (Tuesday, the fireplace was frame in and worked continued on framing all of the old window sizes to receive the new windows.  They should be here on Friday (fingers crossed.)

Day 8:  The roofers came on Thursday.  This took most of the day took most of the day.  The new roof lines up with the old roof a lot better and they did a good of integrating the shingles and making it look like it's always been that way.  The job will be done when they install the downspouts.

Day 11:  Wiring began on Friday, continued to Saturday and they are still working on things today (Sunday).  There are lots of decisions regarding outlets, location of downlights, switches.  But I was happy that I was there to answer them.  I am hoping the electrician will have time to fix some existing wiring problems I have at my house.  They also have to installed "wired" smoke detectors in the bedrooms and hallway

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Day 12:  All of the windows went in on Monday (except for the trapezoidal windows in the new dining room.)  After they were in, the slow work of finishing the outside walls began:  moisture barrier paper, building paper, moldings and shingles. 

Today (Tuesday, Day 13, I think), the electrician, builders and speaker installer are all here working around each other.
Day 14: There was a lot going on today.   The siding around the windows on the outside is being restored.  Inside, a guy was putting up insulation all day ... to the walls and ceilings. 

The contractor stopped by and said the fireplace would come tomorrow.  However, later on this afternoon, the fireplace installers were here to place the sealed glass front - gas fireplace and flue.

I think sheet rocking will start tomorrow!

Here are pictures of all of this:

Day 13/14:  Jim called and he and my niece Kristin were in Walnut Creek.  He was bringing a truck load down South and Kristin was getting a ride back to her home in Corona.  They were able to stay the night and see the progress on Blair Avenue.

Day 16:  Today (Saturday), the drywall installation began.  Also, the trapezoid windows arrived and were installed.  Now my house can be locked and secured (whew).  Shingles continued to be applied to the outside and the stucco worker came today to look at the chimney.

 

Day 17(Sun):  The rest of the drywall was installed today.  The mudding of the joints begins tomorrow.

Day 26 (Tues).  The wall board people taped yesterday and today are continuing to plaster the walls.  The stucco wire was inspected yesterday and stucco was applied to the chimney wall outside.  I selected a color to put into the stucco for the last coat to match the color of the shingles.

I've started to look at paint colors for the interior walls, ceiling and trim. 

And I looked at some exterior lighting fixtures.  Trying to combine style and function is not easy.
 

 

Day 31 (Sun):  The walls of the living room were finished yesterday.  At the last minute I decided to have the old dining room finished with the treatment (smooth).  They are about 1/2 way through with a second coat of plaster and sanding left.  They can move the stacked up furniture to the living room to finish that work.

On Friday, they begin refinishing the floors.  I hope painting can start the following week.

Day 33 (Wed): The walls of the old dining room received the final sanding and the floors of both rooms were exposed.  At the same time, the final coat of the stucco was being applied outside. 

The color is pinker than what I thought I was selecting.  I will wait and see how it goes with the tint in the penetrating seal that will be put on the shingles later on.

Day 35 (Fri):  The floors are being sanded today.  And there are about 4 places that need some patching ... none are very big.  I think the first coat of the finish will be applied either today or Monday.

Day 38-41:  The floors are finished.  The electricians were very careful of them as they installed the halogen recessed lights, plugs and switches on Thursday and Saturday.  The space is nicely lit now.

The painter starts today (Tuesday) and hopes to be finished by Friday.

 

Final Days:  So much happened in the last week.  The electrician came and finished up.  He installed 7 "wired" smoke detectors.  And he finished cabling and connecting things in the "structured wiring box (where the network, telephone and satellite cables come together.)

The painters came and primed and painted the wall, ceiling and trim.  They did a very careful and thorough job. 

The HD satellite dish and receiver were installed on Wednesday.  On Sunday the speakers were installed in the ceiling.

 

 

 

Gloria spent Saturday with me cleaning, vacuuming, moving, organizing to get the empty rooms looking like living spaces.  My house is looking like a home.  I put the piano and book case in the "old dining room".  The old dining room table has been put in the area near the trapezoid windows.

 

Randy and Bob arrived from Redlands mid-afternoon on Saturday.  The bedrooms had just been readied.  The continued to help me "move in".  The big thing we accomplished was to mount the LCD TV on the wall in the niche above the fireplace.  Three people made this a fairly easy task.

Our friend Renato came over with his cousin Juan Ricardo (from Chile) for dinner on Monday evening.  Randy baked a delicious spaghetti pizza. 

 

This site was last updated 11/21/08