No its not an archiological dig....its home!

[Mark Singer]

I recently started a new home down the street from where I live. The site is steep and the soil is solid rock! We have been excavating by hand ....not unlike how the pyramids were built....jackhammers and buckets of soil going up tghe hill....this has been going on for several months with two 3 man crews! There are 14 caisons and today the steel was lowered in with a crane. Things should start moving a little faster. Master mason , Bill Kronmuller is doing the foundation....and the framing should begin in a couple of months. At some point this may move to the General Forum...I am thinking of building the doors and several cabinets myself..(not the kitchen though) It will not replace my own home...it is a spec home and I was given a permit by the city and a definite drop dead date ...if I didn't start, I would lose my entitlements. So here we are!
I will probably rent it for a while when it is complete. With strong property values people will design and build on tough , steep sites. I will probably post progress pics from time to time.

[Rob Russell]

Gee, that would be a really ough view to get used to looking at a workshop window!:D

Looks like this could be an interesting thread!

[Jim Becker]

I have stood on that very spot in the first photo and can attest to the spectacular view that this home will have...and still not block the view of the existing homes above and behind it...great siteing by the "master"!!!! :D The pictures just do not do justice to the beautiful vista.

[Dan Gill]

Very nice site for living, if not for building. Just watch that first step off the porch . . .

[Jerry Clark]

Mark, that is a nice view-- I am not to far away in La Habra Heights-- Maybe I can visit the site sometime and see the progress. Jerry:cool:

[Mark Singer]

You bet! A Creeker is Comin!!!!
Mark, that is a nice view-- I am not to far away in La Habra Heights-- Maybe I can visit the site sometime and see the progress. Jerry:cool:

[Lou Morrissette]

Incredible site! Should provide quite a challenge. But I guess you guys on the left side are used to it.:D

[Dennis Peacock]

Simply awsome Mark!!!! An outstanding site and one that would be the coolest of places!!! Thanks for posting the pics. Remarkable!!!!

[Charles McKinley]

So what happens when the ground starts to shake????

"Out in California they say they've got it all: Riots, Fires, and Mud slides, Suhshi in the mall!" -Jimmy Buffet, Fruit Cakes

Great view!

Chuck from the safe and boring backwoods of PA.

[Dan Mages]

That is going to be an amazing house!! Do you have any renderings of the house to show us?

[Mark Singer]

I will try to dig a rendering or something up...I hope:rolleyes:

[Chris Padilla]

W..O..W...

I may be down in April for a visit, Mark.... :D

[Mark Singer]

Chris,

Bring your hiking shoes and your legs...leave your green nose home:eek: We might want to have lunch and that would ruin it!


W..O..W...

I may be down in April for a visit, Mark.... :D

[Chris Padilla]

Paul Schürch is having his beginner inlay/marquetry class in late April in Anaheim so it is further for me to travel but closer to you! :)

[Mark Singer]

Every building starts with a foundation....we are officially started. 10 large trucks just to fill caissons! Wow...$$$$$. and then some. I am really glad we beat the rain!

[Dan Mages]

That is a boat load of concrete!! I wonder if your son has any interest in this house. It will make a great bachelor pad.

Dan

[Mark Singer]

Dan,

Thanks for your wonderful suggesstions....if I run out of money building it....I may be the bachleor:confused:


That is a boat load of concrete!! I wonder if your son has any interest in this house. It will make a great bachelor pad.

Dan

[Mark Singer]

Well we have lost a lot of time this winter on theis project. Two basic problems, 1. Lots of heavy rain, and 2. My foundation contractor decided to do an auto dealership instead of my foundation. The second problem was even more frustrating and expensive. He refused to continue and I finally reached him and we decided it was best for both of us if we part ways. So I have a new foundation subcontractor and we are moving again. How much did it cost me to make the change..............?

Well between removing the soil from the ditches af few times and making the change in subs....a lot! Like a 5 series BMW more! Good thing is we are moving forward and the Real Estate market is still very strong....so things are good. I should have a completed foundation in about 8 weeks and can start framing. I will keep the pictures coming as we make progress. I am excited to start again and we should have good weather ahead.

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Mark,

Good to see that you are getting started again. I imagine that everyone out there is having problems with the monumental rains!

[Dan Mages]

Sorry to hear about the subcontractor problems. I hope you can recoup the added costs from the contractor.

Good luck with the project.

Dan

[Dave Sharbaugh]

Every building starts with a foundation....we are officially started. 10 large trucks just to fill caissons! Wow...$$$$$. and then some. I am really glad we beat the rain!
Mark,

I thought we were doing good to replace all of our windows during that rain. I can't imagine how you got all of that concrete in place between the raindrops!

Dave Sharbaugh

[Ed Weiser]

That is an unbelieveable site to build a foundation. The incline really makes one appreciate the slightly flatter terrain here in Georgia. I must admit, your view is spectacular and, I'm sure, well worth the trouble! Hope the rest of the build goes better.

[John Scarpa]

Mark,

WOW! I don't know how I missed this thread before. Beautiful site. Living in So Calif. I have an idea of what those properties go for. Bad news that your old sub dropped a 5 series BMW in the foundation & your profit margin :rolleyes: I'm sure it will all work out in the end though.

Hmmmmmm it woud make an excellent site for a Saw Mill Creek clubhouse workshop. Wonder what the dues would be :eek:

John

[Karl Laustrup]

Hmmmmmm it woud make an excellent site for a Saw Mill Creek clubhouse workshop. Wonder what the dues would be :eek:

John[/QUOTE]

I think John is on to something here. :)

A few beds, WW tools, other "Creekers", and it would make a fine getaway. A B&B [bed & board] so to speak. ;) :cool: :D

[Jim Dunn]

All right I gotta ask, as I'm in the business;) What kind and where is the septic tank/waste-treatment going:confused: Or do you have sewers in the immediate area. I see a grinder pump in your future or an installer scratching his head and saying "you shoulda called me in first so I coulda got behind the house.":eek::eek: Talk about dollars, I'd love to be doing that job:D
Jim

[Glenn Clabo]

Well we have lost a lot of time this winter on theis project. Two basic problems, 1. Lots of heavy rain, and
Wow Mark...I knew you guys were getting a lot of rain...but that's one big puddle in the front yard! ;)

[Mark Singer]

Sewer and 2 pumps , one for sewer and one for site drainage....another few $$$$
All right I gotta ask, as I'm in the business;) What kind and where is the septic tank/waste-treatment going:confused: Or do you have sewers in the immediate area. I see a grinder pump in your future or an installer scratching his head and saying "you shoulda called me in first so I coulda got behind the house.":eek::eek: Talk about dollars, I'd love to be doing that job:D
Jim

[Jon Olson]

I agree with John, how did I miss this !!! Wow, that will be a real beauty of a house. The views are spectacular!!! Good luck and we look forward to the progress. with the land being so hard, does that aid in protection against mudslides and earthquakes??

Jon

[Jim Dunn]

Mark, make sure it is a "true" grinder, not a sewage pump. I know, sounds like the same thing but it isn't, trust me. A true grinder has a blade on the underneath side of the pump that maserates the materials, a sewage pump dosn't. A sewage is usually up to 1hp and has a 2" opening. A grinder starts at 2hp and goes up from there. There are some less sophisticated units that claim to grind @1hp, but Iv'e never seen the need to try them as there just as expensive.
This is more than my .02 because I manufacture and install these system all the time. Albeit in Missouri, I'm sure there are some different items/specifications in your area.

Good luck
Jim

PS I'm not showing my wife this thread as she'll want to come and stay with you:) She loves the ocean!

[Mark Singer]

We are making progress although a bit slow...I had rain and more rain...A concrete sub I let go! We poured 120 cu yards of concrete yesterday...and today we are stripping forms....next steel...lots of columns will arrive...then framing will begin in about 2 weeks...I hope...not cheap construction...I guess I didn't have to say that:confused: LOML thinks she is back in Macupichu....:cool:

[Karl Laustrup]

Thanks for the update, Mark. Was wondering how the house was coming along.

I see in the one picture that you are building below another house. Is that homeowner going to have their view blocked? From the pictures I'd say no, but pictures can be deceiving sometimes.

[James Mahoney]

:D What a Million Dollar veiw Mark,Will this house be on the next Rich and Famous Show?:) Truly the Bomb, You are Blessed.

[Mark Singer]

Well we have the slab poured and 22 steel columns in place....we are working on a retaining wall....about 14 feet high. We should start framing in a week...no I won't be framing this house.....I have framed a few though. I am getting a bid on Siematic cabinets ...It looks like there are about a dozen or so interior wood doors...I am thinking about making those.

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Man that is a hell of a view! Looks like the site is coming along nicely. Once walls start going up we will really be able to tell what she will look like!

[Tyler Howell]

Go Mark Go. Looking good!:cool:

[Jim Becker]

Man that is a hell of a view! !

Understatement. You should see it when standing on your own legs in the breeze on that very spot!

Mark...looking great! Getting the pours done and the steel up should result in more visible progress each visit, too.

[Jon Olson]

Thanks for the update...looking forward to the framing so i can invision how the levels will tie together...any sight plans or elevations you caould show us??

Jon

[Darren Ford]

I think you should call this home "Falling Rock"

[Blake McCully]

Mark,
Stupendous undertaking. Please don't take offense, but there is not enough money in the US Treasury nor gold in Ft. Knox (if there is any) to get me to even visit that site. I'm an extreme acrophobiac. If my feet get higher than the level of my knees, I about go crazy, and I'm only 5'7".

If I remember my geography classes, doesn't mother nature insist on something like 22.5 degree slope for stability? I know here in SW PA on all of the highway cuts that are put in they are nearly vertical and every spring and mid winter thaw, many roads are shut down so that landslides can be cleared out.

Anyway, I can't wait to look at the finished pics.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

WOW!!! Thanks for showing me this thread! I have to say SMC has the best off-topic forum there is. Knowing how other forums went I have stayed away from this section, but after the last few readings I may have to stray down here more often!

You picked a great site, sorry about the sub problems, but think of it this way...the delays may have set you back far enough that land values and home selling prices might just make up the difference!!!

I'll be watching this thread intently. I love watching good construction practices in action.

[John Miliunas]

WOW!!! Thanks for showing me this thread! I have to say SMC has the best off-topic forum there is. Knowing how other forums went I have stayed away from this section, but after the last few readings I may have to stray down here more often!



Kelly, the OT forum here is NOT like many of the other "basements" around the Net. LOTS of interesting stuff comes up down here and just as friendly and helpful as the rest of the SMC forums. Well...OK...Maybe a bit more levity from time to time, but again, all good natured!:) :cool:

[Kelly C. Hanna]

That's a nice departure from most sites....I am happy to see this....renews my faith in humanity! :D

[Frank Chaffee]

Mark,
How fortunate you are to have the horizon at eye level… I always need to look upwards to see it.
Frank

[Mark Singer]

After several setbacks and losing the framer that we signed up...we started framing. I found a new framer, Titan Leard and he is off to a go start. He thinks by sometime in Augst we will have a framed house. There is still more steel that needs to go in....everything here is difficult because of te slope and the access.

[Daniel Rabinovitz]

Well! That site looks really wonderful. What a view!
Looks like the hillside overlooking the "south side" and the confluence of the three rivers here in Pittsburgh.
Daniel
PS - lesson for the day -
question one - what are the names of the three rivers? (can you spell them?)
question two - where does the water come from, that feeds the great fountain, in the park, at the point, in Pittsburgh?
No need to write the answers here - just mentally. Or get the maps out and have a look.

[Chris Padilla]

Looks great, Mark...keep us drooling and the pics coming! Man, I hafta get over there to visit you one of these days...just not enough time some times!! Know what I mean?? :)

[Mark Singer]

We set more steel yesterday...This will allow the framers to keep moving. The crane is pretty typical for this site...these were huge beams and columns, so a crane is required. I am starting to select finish materials, windows, stone etc. so I can keep the project moving. It is amazing the engineering, foundation and steel it takes on difficult sites and in earthquake zone 7...

[Jeff Sudmeier]

It is simply amazing the amount of work that goes into a house in that area!!

Working with a good crane operator is a joy! It makes your life so much easier.