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!