Eichler Re-mod

Here’s the complete chronological list of posts documenting our Eichler remodel journey: 2004 June It’s an Eichler! - We bought the house First Impression (bathroom 1) First Impression (bathroom 2) First impression (kitchen) First impression (outside) July The Plan Enough talking The kitchen is going down! Eichler or Wigwam? Section One Work Roofing options for Eichler homes Bathroom Remodeling Considerations Roof is exposed: electrical work can start Adding electrical capacity Electrical wiring on the roof is progressing well Electrical & structured cabling Demolition continues: bathroom & siding Leak in the laundry area: time to learn how to solder copper September This book spared me some embarassment Kitchen: before and after October Bathroom 1: before and after Entrance: before and after November Building permits: when many is better 2005 Bathroom 2: before and after (June) Backyard: before and after (September) Living room: before and after (October) 2006 Office: before and after (March) Garage: before and after (April) 2009 Garden plants (April) Frontyard: before and after (October)

House from the street: before, during and after. Go here for more posts about the frontyard; http://eichler.bitfodder.com/category/rooms/frontyard/ or the garden http://eichler.bitfodder.com/category/rooms/garden (or just select these categories in the menu) The house when we bought it in 2004. preparing for irrigation trenches for irrigation lawn “carpet rolls” the initial landscaping plan The house when we resold it, in 2009

Unfortunately there was not much to save from the garden that had grown into a jungle when we bought the house: it was mostly a sprawling ivy (which was home to several families of rats) and overgrown bushes. The neighbors were very happy to see that ivy disappear as it was invading their own gardens and threatening the fence. Unfortunately there was no mature trees to save – with the exception of two fantastic Santa Rosa plum trees (one which had to be removed since its roots where eating at the house slab). We also kept one young loquat tree, which seemed to have found its way in this jungle by accident, and a couple of old pittosporum. ...

Garage before, during and after. Go here for more posts about the garage; http://eichler.bitfodder.com/category/rooms/garage (or just select it in the categories menu) The garage before: not exactly a place you wanted to spend time in… new drywall up, data center ready with linux server and network printer Makes for a perfect indoor bike practice arena!

Well, there was no “before” really since this was a corner closet that I converted into a mini office space, with a new small narrow window to bring light in. For more details about demolition and building of the office, just go to http://eichler.bitfodder.com/category/rooms/office/ the closet about to become an office opening for new window the outside, before addition of window patching done around the window new window in, waiting for the trim of course, in such a tiny space you also need custom furniture so I had to build the desk as well

Living room, before, during and after. For more details about demolition and building of living room, just go to http://eichler.bitfodder.com/category/rooms/living-room/ The drab living room before The drab living room before The living room, after

The backyard: before, during and after (actually the real “after” picture, with all the new plants, is missing). For more details about tear down, landscaping and gardening, go to: http://eichler.bitfodder.com/category/rooms/frontyard/ http://eichler.bitfodder.com/category/rooms/backyard/ http://eichler.bitfodder.com/tag/plants/ The backyard Ivy had invaded everything (including the neighbours’ backyards!) and was infested with rats The chainsaw had a real problem going through the wet and soggy yuca pulp Hard to imagine how bad a rotting yuca can smell – read about it! dust and dust adding some citruses to the existing plum tree after_backyard_

Bathroom2 before, during and after. Go here for more posts about bathrooms and details about demolition and building; http://eichler.bitfodder.com/category/rooms/bathroom1 or http://eichler.bitfodder.com/category/rooms/bathroom2/ (or just select these categories in the menu) Rust and mould exquisite details Strange setup, with a carpeted wash basin area separated from the shower and toilet down to the studs Putting up new tiles Tiling done! after_bathroom2_ after_bathroom2_ after_bathroom2_ after_bathroom2_

When I was getting ready to start the remodeling I went to the city hall to request a permit for all the items I would take care of, namely: the kitchen 2 bathrooms electrical service upgrade I didn’t really pay attention, but the man over there gave me one single permit for everything. That was a mistake. If I had to do it again, I would insist on getting 4 individual permits instead – even if it comes as an extra cost. Why? Because one year later, we still haven’t closed that single permit (and had to request an extension). After going through the kitchen, electrical and first bathroom, we moved in and started working on many other small items. And left the second bathroom for later. ...

The entrance, before, during and after The entrance, during the open house from inside a lot of rotten wood to remove during_entrance_ new door and glass blocks door details side of the house The new entrance from the outside