Category Archives: House Building

something curved this way comes

Posted on February 4, 2008 by Tom Childers

One of the architectural features of our house, not always obvious, is a large spiral stair case connecting the 3rd floor deck with the roof deck. It arrived this morning, and as Bob Hartwell said, “Wow, your house suddenly looks … Continue reading →

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earth, fire, and lots of water

Posted on January 26, 2008 by Tom Childers

We finally got trenching plans from PG&E, telling us where we would have to dig to connect to the gas and electrical mains. The gas main is all the way across the street, so Brent and his crew came back … Continue reading →

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construction destruction

Posted on December 28, 2007 by Tom Childers

The sound of construction is different now. Instead of nail guns and a compressor, the place is ringing with the sound of power tools chewing through wood. I can see why the framers leave as soon as they are done. … Continue reading →

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spending someone’s hard-earned pay

Posted on December 9, 2007 by Tom Childers

Lennon and McCartney said it well: Two of us riding nowhere Spending someone’s hard earned pay You and me sunday driving Not arriving on our way back home We’re on our way back home We’re on our way home We’re … Continue reading →

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race against rain, part II

Posted on December 2, 2007 by Tom Childers

After an intensely busy week, I think we are all ready for winter storms. The forecast says it will be wet on Tuesday, and again on Thursday. So we’re just in time. The plywood deck surfaces were installed this week, … Continue reading →

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race against rain, part I

Posted on November 18, 2007 by Tom Childers

The San Francisco bay area really has two seasons, wet and dry. We’ve been lucky that we’ve only had two fairly light rain storms come through so far, and the framing has had plenty of time to dry out. But … Continue reading →

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what goes in, must come out

Posted on November 9, 2007 by Tom Childers

Today, I thought I’d talk about some of the infrastructure for our house, and for the construction project. We’re completing the foundation drainage system, connecting the sewer and water lines, and I’m hauling construction waste off to the Marin Recycling … Continue reading →

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definitely not a starbucks

Posted on October 28, 2007 by Tom Childers

Framing has made it up to the roofline, and we can now climb onto the upper deck of the house. The top deck is pretty good sized, almost 18’ square, and the view is great. We are beginning to get … Continue reading →

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the view from the top

Posted on October 7, 2007 by Tom Childers

The flooring for the top story is going in now, and we can finally stand in our living room and bedroom areas, and start feel what it will be like to live here. Yesterday, we spent a couple of hours … Continue reading →

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squares and spirals

Posted on October 4, 2007 by Tom Childers

For more than a year, we’ve been discussing and choosing the hardware, windows and doors for the house. This week, we finally placed our orders for exterior doors and windows, all 51 of them. Yes, we have 51 doors and … Continue reading →

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