Part I: The Shell (Weeks 40-47)

Completing interior spaces provides great satisfaction in experiencing each room after many months of planning, design, and construction.

The new challenge is to work efficiently within confined spaces. Temporary storage of materials and equipment occupy space to be finished, so careful logistics and organization are needed to save time and effort. Lumber is very heavy and cumbersome to move!

Parapet Construction

Designing the roof parapet was part of the permit submittal and approval. It was important to make sure that the assumptions for the design were correct. The height of the roof parapet had to be confirmed before waterproofing could be applied to the roof.

In order to maintain minimal impact on the neighborhood and balance proportions viewed from all sides, we checked the height of the parapet from across the street. It didn’t hurt to get some friendly input from our neighbor.

One loop thrown at us was wet weather–not the kind of driving rain that predictably hampers a construction site in the winter–but “the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco” kind of weather. The pebbly fog hung around for weeks in late July and early August–forcing us to delay finishing the waterproofing and window installation.

Finally, the skies parted and the grayness dissipated. The roofing insulation and waterproofing membrane were added after completion of the roof and parapet. Note the difference in the weather from the photos!

Material Delivery

Being located in the rear yard was ideal for the ADU, but it posed temporary challenges for providing delivery access. Fortunately, the side of the house was just level enough for large trucks to move supplies as close as possible to the back. Felix had a field day watching the speed and skill with which drivers were able to shunt and offload heavy loads.

Part II The Core (Weeks 48-54)

With the end of Rough Framing and the start of the third and final phase for Interior Finishes, we happily shifted gears. Previously, it felt painfully slow as we hurried and then waited for action. With multiple possibilities and combinations of skilled labor and materials, we were often faced with making decisions that could impact the project later.

For the exterior walls, waterproofing was smeared over the nails and knotholes forming scabby polka dots to allow for the inspector’s scrutiny. Then, the rest of the waterproofing was applied to the exterior walls to form the underlayment for wood siding.

After the windows were installed, it no longer felt like a shell. We could really visualize being occupants in the space!

Passing rough inspection was a red-letter day. It officially determined the completion of the second of three construction phases. With rough framing behind us, we could proudly identify ourselves not only as owner and architects, but builders as well.

Coming Up: A diversion to…Munich and Bayreuth, Germany next!!!