Week 10

We finished the selection of materials for the bathroom cabinets, walls, and floors. We are sticking with our original Baja theme and have chosen the multi-colored stones for the shower floor. See the photo below for the stones next to our cabinet surfaces, counter top, and floor tile. The multi-colored stones remind us of a beach called Punta Rosario (better known as "The Wall"), one of our favorite surf spots. The walls will be covered in white limestone which reminds us of the sand around The Wall. We will include an abalone colored tile in the niche in the shower as a reminder of the abalone shells we find at The Wall. Below is a photo of one being used to hold my surf wax at our camp site.

The third photo is taken from a trip to Ensenada where we stayed at a place with outdoor showers. Our shower has doors opening to a landing which we call our Ensenada Garden. You can see the doors below. We had them push the entire door frame out a couple of inches in order to allow the doors to swing all the way open (and disappear) after the wall has been finished and stuccoed.

Cesar and his crew are still working on the plumbing. Below you can see them installing the faucet valves and drain pipes in the bathroom. They also installed some of the plumbing for the sink in the kitchen island.

We thought we were going to get away with not installing a second window in the office but we forgot the original window doesn't open. This means we couldn't call our house a two bedroom since to code, a bedroom must have a window that opens. We want to honor the original look of the front of the house (and we had purchased a second window anyway) so the crew is working on installing the window. This means they had to tear out the wall on the inside and remove the stucco from the outside of the house in preparation for the install.

The new electrical box has been installed next to the old one. The old box and conduit was mounted outside of the house. The new box is recessed into the wall and the conduit is internal. This will help create a cleaner look for the side of the house...which is part of our Ensenada Garden.

Gerardo is still pulling wires for the house. I created a six page document for him describing the location of the AV cabling! Its amazing how much wiring is involved in this project.

Michelle and I fried some eggs this morning in our cast iron frying pan. The cast iron cookware has become a valuable asset during our extended camping trip. We are BBQing almost every day and coming up with new recipes on a regular basis. This has been a wonderful experience!

Week 9

Michelle and I went to a store that sold slabs of rock for counter tops. We picked out a couple of our favorites and paid for them. Two men used a fork lift to move the slabs around the warehouse and spin them around so we could examine the surface. Each slab has a unique number. We purchased slab 12 and 13.

We are finalizing the design for the electrical work. We are creating a smart house with internet drops and Wi-Fi and a centralized av system. I was sketching out drawings with locations for special wiring on top of copies of our new layout

We are still working on the dirt jumps in the backyard. There are five rollers now and Benton is enjoying riding around the track.

Week 8

Week 8 and we are going strong. The electrician has started to put some of the wiring in. You can see where the ceiling lights will go. There are cables and wires hanging everywhere.

The water heater has been put in. We are going for a tankless water heater. It's going to look nice in the end because the box, which is in the wall, will have all of its plumbing hidden. This is possible because we are doing a complete remodel and not a retrofit. There is no need to be limited by existing plumbing.

Michelle and I spent the weekend pretending to relax on the new patio. Right now it is just a pile of rubble, but we spray painted where the steps will go and decided to make a couple minor adjustments to help with the flow.

We drove out to RCP block and brick today and purchased 610 used bricks. We will use the brick for our new walk way around the side of the house to the Ensenada garden. The bricks were a special find because they are used. They are match the other brick in the backyard that was made in the 1940's. Over the years brick colors and shapes have changed.

We recently purchased all of the appliances for the kitchen and the bathroom. This is a costly part of the project but exciting.

Michelle and I went shopping for bathroom tile on Sunday. We picked out some tile for the walls and the shower floor. We found some rocks that remind us of a surf spot in Mexico.

As usual, Jack is hanging out in the bushes and keeping an eye on things. Ryan, the person we are staying with, has decided to let me build his son a BMX track in the backyard so I am working on jumps every day and having fun in the sun.

GO SUMMER!

Week 7

Cesar finished framing the back door a few days ago. They ripped everything out and built new walls and I am impressed with the work. They also blew out the wall into the bedroom and I thought they would frame it this weekend but they couldn't because of the weather. It has been hot and humid down here. Yesterday it rained all day. Today the clouds look threatening. It's Benton's birthday this weekend. Ryan and Camila bought him a new bicycle. It's green, just like the one I had in high school. My birthday present was a berm in the backyard. I hope Benton enjoys it when he comes home from his birthday party. Despite all the chaos in the backyard, Michelle flowers continue to bloom.

Week 6.1

UPDATE: Michelle and I came home from work today and we discovered they blew out the other wall. See below! Looking good.

We forgot to mention we repaired the longboard this weekend. Ready to surf! 

Happy anniversary Michelle...its our 13th :)

Week 6

We are onto week six and things are going well. They knocked out the wall for the kitchen door and the thought of chilling in the kitchen and looking out over the garden. We spent the afternoon picking avocados. Later on Michelle made some guacamole for the neighbors. Jack joined us on the patio for a nice nap.  He was sleeping with his tongue out. We are loving the camping experience.

Week 5

Michelle and I took our yearly trip to Scripps Ranch for the 4th of July parade. This year we brought Benton along. He had fun sitting in the car and waving at the residents as we drove by. The house is moving forward as well. The construction workers installed the door leading out of the shower, a window in the bedroom, and the windows in the kitchen. We are excited about how much light the new windows bring into our living space. We ask the construction workers to save the old window removed from the wall. The window is original from 1937. We are not sure what we are going to do with it, but hopefully it will find a place somewhere in our new home. I painted a blue box on the wall to help us visualize where the  doors leading out of the bathroom will be once they are installed. Michelle and I are working on elevation plans for the kitchen. We are looking at different shapes and sizes of cupboards and cabinets. We are excited about the possibilities. My mom and dad mentioned they have an old pot belly stove in the garage. We are thinking it may make for a great addition to our bedroom. We will have to see if it fits the layout. My mom and dad are taking pictures and drawing illustrations to help us get a better understanding of what it looks like. Hopefully it will keep us warm on the occasionally cold and rainy nights we have in San Diego.

Week 4

1 month of camping and we are still going strong. This morning Michelle was taking care of the bills near the kitchen table and Jack was supervising. Yesterday our doors and windows arrived. The cantina doors for the back wall look very cool! We cannot wait to see them installed. The gas meter was installed yesterday as well. Inside the house, we are starting to see the rough plumbing. You can see where the bathroom sink, toilet, shower, and kitchen sink will go. Very exciting! The plants in the gardens located on the front and back of our house are in good shape. The Ocean Beach Street Fair is scheduled for today. The skys are pretty cloudy but we are expecting lots of people around the neighborhood. Time to go cook breakfast.

Week 3.1

We created an awesome breakfast using Dutch ovens today! Later on we chilled out in the backyard, pick some avocados, & I put my old BMX racing crank on the green cruiser bike. Ready to roll!