The Future Is Here: Our Number Lights Are On

Remember my recent post about the illuminated house numbers? They’re working! Our house has now officially entered the 21st century. Chuck measured very carefully, and with the help of several 7/64 inch (2.78 mm) drill bits (they wore out quickly boring through stucco walls) he installed them using the included templates. Because the interior walls were already open, our electrician, Eric Poor of Poor Boy Electric was able to conceal the wiring connections to a standard 16 volt doorbell transformer.

It wasn’t a do-it-yourself project, as it required careful planning to route the wiring runs and professional installation. Chuck drew an elaborate wiring diagram with the locations of every light, power outlet and TV connection throughout the house.

And here are the professional results. They look fantastic by day or night. They’re not as blindingly bright as they appear in the picture, but you can easily spot them driving up the street. Now we just need the rest of the house lights, which will happen soon after the new wiring gets inspected.

Digging Ditches

It may not be glamorous, but it’s essential: a network of ditches 18 inches (46 cm) deep and 18 inches wide throughout our backyard. The ditches carry plumbing, natural gas and electrical conduits from the house to the garage and laundry area. They have to be this large because building codes require that much separation between electrical and plumbing.

Thank goodness for rotary tillers. I couldn’t imagine trying to dig this by hand in our dense, clay-packed soil. (Not that I did any of the work, of course.)

These conduits replace an ugly above-ground cluster of rusted pipes.

And here are the connections in the garage, which will soon go to our new water heater, washing machine, dryer, and utility sink. I love the color coding and nice, clean copper.

Our New Backyard Entrance Is Here!

We now have a second entrance to the backyard besides a bedroom. These sliding doors were installed in our kitchen today. When the project is done, the view into our next door neighbor’s house will be blocked by a handsome redwood fence.

Here’s the outside view. With light streaming in from the ocean front living room and the new doors, along with nearly two extra feet of ceiling height, it will be an open, airy space.

And to refresh your memory, here’s what the space used to look like. It was a cramped, low-ceilinged bedroom with small windows.

More Progress in the Living Room

The house is getting closer to our vision every day. Here’s our living room after we painted the ceiling beams a fresh white. The unfinished boards attached to each beam and the furring over the fireplace are for surprise design elements. Stay tuned for the reveal!

Nearly Done With Rough Work

Nearly all of the progress on the house lately has been what you can’t see. They’re unsexy but essential components like plumbing and wiring. We’re nearly done with what’s called the “rough work” phase. We’ve cleaned out the back bedroom and can now use it as a staging area for deliveries. Here are just some of the goodies for our two new bathrooms, like tiles and fixtures.

Color Scheme Preview

And now for a preview of our color scheme. Our views are of ocean, hills, and sky so we’re going with watery cool blues and grays in the tiles, paint color, wallpaper and countertops. The wood tones in the original hardwood floors and new cabinets, along with some accent wallpaper will warm it up. We’re getting the cabinets and countertops from Chuck’s C W Quinn Home showroom in San Luis Obispo, of course. It’s very convenient to be married to a kitchen and bath designer for a project of this scope.

The Nastiest Bathroom Ever

And here’s another “before” picture, of a very nasty bathroom. Stay tuned to see what we do with it. It won’t be recognizable!

And Now, Reconstruction

Signs of more progress. Now that our dumpster is loaded with construction debris, we’ve got people rebuilding. Here’s a carpenter in our future kitchen furring out the walls so new sheetrock can go in the expanded volume.

It’s a fairly complicated process because the sloped ceiling requires a lot of non-right angles and uneven lengths.

Preview of coming attractions: installing a header beam so the wall between the kitchen and living room can come down, exposing this view.

The Goodies Are Arriving!

One of my favorite parts of the renovation is the seemingly endless procession of goodies we’re getting. Some are mundane like lumber and sheetrock, other are sexier like appliances and lighting. Look what the mailman just delivered!

No, they’re not just stainless steel door numbers. They’re LED-illuminated stainless steel door numbers. Here’s what they’ll look like installed.

At $57.00 each (plus whatever we pay the electrician) they’re a bit of a splurge, but it’s little touches like this that can really make a house stand out. Want your own? Go to surrounding.com.

The Renovation Plan

Here’s our renovation plan. The house has 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, and 980 square feet (91 m²) on a 5000 square foot (465 m²) lot. There’s an additional 250 square feet (23 m²) of “unpermitted” space (that is, constructed without building permits) that includes another bedroom and bath. The unpermitted space can’t legally be included in the total square footage for selling purposes. We plan to address this issue soon by bringing the space up to code and securing all required permits. The added square footage will dramatically increase the house’s value.

Here’s the current floor plan. All drawings by my academically-trained architect husband Chuck Quinn.

And here’s the after. Walls that will be partially or totally removed are marked orange.

We’re moving the kitchen into the adjoining bedroom, while partially opening the walls so the new kitchen will overlook the living room, fireplace, and ocean view picture windows. This reconfiguration will also open up room for a separate dining and bar area, as well as a new entrance to the back yard through the kitchen. (Entering the back yard currently requires an awkward trip through a bedroom.) Ordinarily this would violate one of the cardinal rules of renovation because it takes out a bedroom, which can reduce a house’s value. But with this house we’re OK because when we legalize the unpermitted space, that will replace the “lost” bedroom.