I spent hours and hours on the website and I know it saved me many thousands of dollars and just as many headaches. I'm extremely proud of my house and have already been asked to put it in a home show. I estimate that I have amassed at least $175,000 equity for my efforts. Kris D. in Chillicothe MO

Construction Update 4/9/08

Posted to Beaver-Creek-Ranch by Terry in Santa Rosa, CA on 4/9/2008 2:23:32 PM

Wow, its been busy, busy, busy.  We had our Final Inspection the last week of Feb. and we got everything signed off without having to do anything more or change anything.  That was great news!  We now have our Occupancy Permit and can finally breath a little.  Its just nice knowing that you don't have a deadline to meet for the next inspection.  Now our big push is to get the hardwood floors installed before we have our Annual Camp-N-Q Weekend!

We had a lot of snow this past Winter and this time it stayed around for 2 months!  We weren't used to that, but since we were working mostly inside it didn't bother us and was nice to look at.  I must say thought that having to take off your shoes everytime you come inside the house did get a little old.  Guess I'd just better get used to it.

My big project for getting our permit signed off was to build the railing for the porch.  Like the decking, I used Mahogany (Red Balau) for the supports and top rail (Cambera).  The pipe railing was made by taking 3/4" EMT (electrical conduit) and cutting it to length, then I took it to be Powder Coated in black satin for a very durable finish.  Powder Coating is a baked on finish which is very hard when it dries.  The copper post caps really finish it off.

We worked on the railing until 10:30pm one night, and with snow still on the ground it was only 35 degrees outside.  I ended up getting over confident and was rushing when drilling the holes for the railing on my drill press and the big forstener bit caught my glove and pulled my hand into the bit.  I had to grab the drill chuck to stop it from going all the way thru my hand, but the motor was still running and the belt was just slipping.  Luckily Lori was right next to me but she didn't know where the shut off switch was.  My left hand was stuck in the drill press and my right had was holding the chuck - the shut off is on the left side of the press, so if I was to let go with my right hand to turn it off the large bit would have gone completely thru my hand, so I couldn't turn it off myself.  Lori looked around for the plug but there were four different extension cords running around - she found the right one and unplugged it.  We unscrewed the drill from my hand and decided to call it a night.  I needed stitches but wasn't going to drive the hour and 15 minutes to get to the hospital at that time of night so we just cleaned it up and used Super Glue to close the wounds.  It stings like crazy, but does the trick.  We got up at 5:30am the next day to finish the railing before the inspection that was scheduled for that same day.  The inspector loved it!

After that we installed hardwood flooring in the bedroom.  Its a Handscraped Santos Mahogany in 5" width and random lengths.  This is an engineered product and although I don't really like those, this had a pretty thick wear layer - a fat 1/8", which is pretty good when talking about engineered flooring.  Once its nailed down you don't know how thick it really is anyway, it just matters when you need to sand it down and refinish it years from now.

After that project I did the slate behind the wet bar.  I cut my left over tiles from the fireplace hearths into 5 different sizes and designed a random pattern on my computer.  It came out pretty much exactly as planned.

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Guy in San Luis Obispo, CA 60 forum posts and 1 interview answer Send Private Message 4/14/2008

Superglue!!!???  There's a product placement possibility there somewhere...  Fantastic house, great workmanship.  Really enjoying the vicarious build on your project.  Cheers, Guy.

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Construction Update 11/21/07

Posted to Beaver-Creek-Ranch by Terry in Santa Rosa, CA on 11/21/2007 5:56:21 PM

During this Weekend Warrior work period we took an extra day off for our son Vince to visit and help with the construction of two fireplace hearths ( but he didn't know he'd be working ....ha ha ).  We got both of them completed but it was a long last day.  Vince learned a lot but knows he doesn't like laying tile.  Can't say I blame him as its pretty hard on the knees and really dries out your hands, but I on the other hand enjoy it.  While waiting for Vince to arrive I worked on a couple other projects like installing a puck light under the shelf at the computer/phone center, and I also installed the glass in the kitchen cabinet doors that I butchered up from their original design.  They originally had clear glass with wood mullions in the middle vertically and across the top and bottom of the glass.  I removed the glass, cut off the mullions, sanded and filled any holes and scrapes, added wood tape (real wood veneer) around the inside of the cabinet where I cut off the mullions, sanded again, stained and sealed to match the Cherry finish and then installed Vertical Reed Glass.  Now the cabinet doors match the cabinet doors in the vanity I built for the bathroom and also the bathroom window..... its all starting to make sense now.

Lori painted a couple interior doors and I painted a couple window casings.  The slate tile was really easy to cut but sure is messy.  We choose West Country Slate from Africa and its really dark - a lot like graphite and when you cut it the water and fine grindings are almost black.  The whole thing came out great I think and Lori came up with another idea - to use the left over slate on the wall behind the wet bar, so I'll need to order a few more pieces and once again do yet another tile job.  I think this will be the last one though.  :-)

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Terry in Santa Rosa, CA 0 forum posts and 8 journal entries and 164 interview answers Send Private Message 12/17/2007	FYI, the hardwoods I'm using come from Atessco Fine Wood Specialties (www.atessco.com), here in Santa Rosa.  One nice thing about their products is that  they are all basically knot free and straight as an arrow.  The wood can be a little difficult to work with, but I don't mind.  Yes, its heavy, but like furniture, the heavier the more durable.  Its tough as nails so it will stand up to lots of use. --Terry
Guy in San Luis Obispo, CA 60 forum posts and 1 interview answer Send Private Message 12/17/2007	Thanks for the info.  That's great you are able to build for $100/s.f. in California.  Your finishes are terrific.  I understand that ipe is a bear to work with though and weighs a ton.  Looking forward to more photos as you finish up.  If you plan on building some more for spec, you should contact the guys at cosmicinventory.com.  They show how to import direct from China and do fantastic work themselves.  Cheers, Guy.
Guy in San Luis Obispo, CA 60 forum posts and 1 interview answer Send Private Message 12/16/2007	Hi Terry, what an awesome project you have.  Do you have any costs/sf you could share?  It looks like you built your own casework, how much do you think you saved doing that?  Do you have any tips regarding buying the hardwood from Indonesia?  Thanks and Happy Holidays.
Terry in Santa Rosa, CA 0 forum posts and 8 journal entries and 164 interview answers Send Private Message 12/17/2007	As far as cost per s.f., we should come in around $100 s.f. when its all done.  We do as much as we can ourselves.  I didn't build all the casework myself, only the vanity in the bathroom.  However, I will be building the Entertainment Center myself.  Just finished building the countertop for my Wet Bar - I used Ipe' (iron wood from Indonesia) and put a dark stain on just for a few minutes before wiping off..... it looks awesome!  I had a bid for building (3) cabinets for the Entertainment Center, just birch boxes with Cherry face frame, they would be basically large drawers.  The price to build and install, but not to stain or finish was $1200 - $1500.  I know that in the end it would be $1500 if not more, so I decided to buy a nice cabinet saw ($1150 on sale) and build them myself.  After buying the saw, paying delivery, a few blades and a mobile base it was about $1600, then I will buy the material for the cabinets (about $300 or so) and when its all done I"ll have about $2000 into it, but I"ll also have a really nice saw I get to keep and use for future projects, or I could sell it for $1000 and still come out $500 ahead. Other costs are as follows: Travertine floor and wall: $6.49 s.f. Porceline Tile in Kitchen, Laundry & Pantry:  $1.99 s.f. Slate Tile: $6.29 s.f. Santos Mahogany Handscraped Flooring (engineered):  $6.49 s.f. Red Balau Decking: $1.99 l.f. We did the most of the plumbing ourselves and a lot of the electrical too.  You can't even buy the insulation as cheap as they can buy & install it so that was a no brainer.  We did all the painting, both interior and exterior.  I still need to install the hardwood flooring and build the railings for the deck and then that will about finish it up. Hope some of that helps! --Terry

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Construction Update Oct. 30, 2007

Posted to Beaver-Creek-Ranch by Terry in Santa Rosa, CA on 10/30/2007 1:34:20 PM

Wow, what a busy 2 1/2 months!  We gotten a lot accomplished and there's been alot of late nights working.  I owe my wife a lot of credit as she's quite the trooper, working right there beside me on just about everything I do, not to mention all the things she does on her own.  I couldn't do it without her.

The tile floors have been finished, the granite countertops have been installed, the pendant light fixtures in the kitchen have been installed, a little more painting has been done, more trim work finished, new doors and a partial wall at the water heater closet, water softener system installed, dishwasher drawer installed, some custom cabinetry done, the decks have been cleaned and sealed, the hardwood flooring has been decided on, purchased and brought up and stacked inside to acclimate before installation and the thermostat for the propane fake log stove has been installed.  A lot of the trim for the doors and windows have had the nail holes filled, sanded, caulked and are ready for painting.  The range hood venting has been completed and the Entertainment Center has been designed.  All the plumbing fixtures are functional and what a nice thing that is!  Lots of clean-up has happened along the way too.

We're getting really close to our final, but there still lots to do.  Like they say, the last 10% takes 90% of the time!

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Lisa in Groveland, FL 124 forum posts and 96 journal entries and 85 interview answers Send Private Message 10/30/2007	WOW Gorgeous! All your choices are pretty much what we would have done or our 2nd choices.  Do you mind me asking what sort of tiling you used for the floor and walls?  You have used exactly the same idea as we are going too of using the same tile throughout.  We just love the effect. Many congratulations. Lisa.
S.A. in Grass Valley, CA 2 forum posts and 1 interview answer Send Private Message 10/30/2007	The tile in the bathroom on the floor and walls is a Travertine Marble, 16" sq. X 3/8" approx.  I used a 1/16" grout joint, to keep it as tight as possible.

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Aug. 07

Posted to Beaver-Creek-Ranch by Terry in Santa Rosa, CA on 8/30/2007 10:10:17 AM

Our week long vacation was anything but that, but we got a lot of work done!  We planned to tile the Laundry Room, Kitchen and Pantry and to install the steel supports in the plywood for the granite where we have overhangs, which didn't seem like too much work for one week.  We arrived late Thursday night (11:30pm) so that we'd be ready for the granite guys to come out Friday morning to create the templates for the countertops.  I was up early to start work on installing the steel supports.  I had to use a router to cut a trough in the plywood so the steel would sit flat and flush with the top of the plywood, but not show thru on the underside.  What a messy job - I had plywood shavings everywhere in the kitchen, so another round of cleaning was next on my list before the granite guys showed up.

Its pretty interesting and very simplistic how they make the templates.  They use 3" wide strips of Melamine that are cut to length and stapled to the plywood tops. They overlap the strips at the corners and use an acrylic glue to tie them together.  The acrylic glue dries in just seconds, then they pull the staples and roll up the template.  In the older days they used to use door skins for making the templates but when transporting them long distances and in hot weather the skins would warp and they had a tough time flattening them out perfectly.  The Melamine is unaffected by the heat, and much easier to work with. We followed them back to their shop in Redding so we could lay out the templates on the slabs and get the nice area of granite just where we wanted it.

The next day we started on the floors.  First we had to remove everything out of the rooms, which included the refrigerator, range, water heater and water softener sytem.  Then we had to scrape the floors to make sure they were clean and had no lumps of sheetrock mud on them, or glue that oozed out thru the subfloor when it was installed.  After that I went around setting any of the subfloor nails that were sticking up slightly.  Finally I was ready to start laying the tile backer board.  We used1/4" Hardie-Backer for its strength and mold-resistance.  http://www.jameshardie.com/  Even though they say you can score it and snap it, it doesn't make a very clean cut so if an area was tight I used a jig-saw with a diamond blade.  Word of caution....wear a dust mask!  You also can't snap the board where you cut around corners or very short sections so a jig saw was almost a must, although you could do it with a sheetrock knife if you had lots of time on your hands.

I also have a raised kitchen and there are steps to think about and how to stop the tile and start the wood floor and stair nosings.  Without having the stair nosings with me I had to call the flooring supplier to find out what the available sizes were, but they were closed and I still had to lay the backer board, so I went further than I needed and had to cut it out later.  Speaking of cutting out, I also had to put in an underfloor vent for the hot water heater closet, which invloved a trip under the house to check for joists and blocking and possible underfloor waterlines, gas lines and electrical lines.  Man, seems like there's always something to slow us down!

The Hardie-Board was set in mortar that I used a notched trowel to apply.  Then you lay the board down and nail it off or screw it, which ever you prefer.  I used a ring shank galvanized roofing nail, 1-1/4" in length.  You nail the field at 8" on center and the edges at 4" on center.  Also, you must keep the sheets of Hardie-Board 1/8" apart to allow for expansion and contraction.  After its all nailed down we taped the joints with fiberglass mesh tape.  This whole process took us about 20 hours to lay 21 sheets of the board and fit it around everything.  The tiling was fun, at first, but just seemed to go on and on.  We used an 18" x 18" x 3/8" porcelain tile, which is nice because you have fewer joints and it covers an are fairly quickly.  I finished the Pantry pretty quickly, as it is only 6'-6" x 8'-6".  Then I worked my way into the kitchen.  I found that I am too picky when it comes to the tiles being perfectly level with the other tiles around them and this caused me to have a very slow process, often pulling up a tile and scraping off al the mortar and starting over on it.  I know of an area where I took a tile up 5 times because it just wasn't perfect.  If it were under a cabinet or behind the refrigerator I wouldn't mind so much, but when its right in front of the range or sink, where you'll be standing all the time, I just had to have it perfect.  I'd rather take 5 times to get it right rather than do it quickly and end up with a tile that you feel is too high or too low and wishing I'd done it right the first time.  Being in Architecture and the Construction Industry there are a few sayings you hear and think of as you do your own work....."There's never enough time to do it right the first time, but there's always enough time to do it over"....and this one.... "There's two ways to do a job, the right way and the wrong way, which one do you want?"

So, by the end of the week we had the Pantry tiled and grouted and the Kitchen tiled, but not grouted and the Laundry Room with some tile in it.  The countertops had the steel supports installed and the templates for the granite have been made.  We go back next weekend to finish the grout and tile work and possibly have the pendant lights in the Kitchen over the island and wet bar.

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Construction Update - August 8, 2007

Posted to Beaver-Creek-Ranch by Terry in Santa Rosa, CA on 8/8/2007

We had yet another busy weekend.  This time I finished the final assembly of the custom vanity I built, and Lori did the staining of the inside drawer supports.  We also installed the large custom pendant light fixture that took 3 months to get, and after having to send it back because of a flaw in the finish I found yet another problem with the new fixture.... they sent the wrong length support rods, so now, even though I mounted it, I'll have to take it back down and swap out the support rods for the longer ones when they send them (they were out of stock so they have to build new ones for us).  I also got all the plywood cut and mounted to the cabinet tops so we'll be ready for the granite counters.  They come out to make the templates next Friday!

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