today I spoke with Planning and learned that our proposed "fix" to keep a 2-BR configuration will work. basically, i moved the laundry closet into the closet we planned for the 3rd BR in the back, and the 3rd BR now turns into a study area as we are removing the wall that separated it from the family room. in the future, we can add the wall back in when we decide to do another remodel project.
now, all we need is for Building to provide some feedback on the structural changes and how much of the home they believe we are remodeling. now we're shooting to keep the remodel to < 50% of the entire house so that we don't run into other problems associated with having to meet all zoning requirements.
Julie was awesome, as always, and called to city to talk to the engineer there, who reviews all the plans. we have a meeting with him on friday morning so we hope to address any concerns on his end.
if we can do some simple changes, we also spoke with our structural engineer, Dominic Chu, and he said it should just be an hour or two of changes to his drawings, so we'd be all set.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Permitting, round 2
well, this week has been another emotional roller coaster ride. Gerard and i raced to get all the drawings together, copies made, signatures, and answers to comments together and tuesday afternoon i re-submitted the permits.
we were pretty happy because we felt we had discussed everything with the city, and knew it would only take a week or so to get the revised plans approved.
that unfortunately all changed with a simple neighborhood walk.
i walked over to city hall to hand in all our documentation: signed drawings with lots of notes on them, answers to Building and Planning comment letters, and various other forms. once I handed in the plans, i asked Planning, why did you need the interior of the cottage drawn?
simple question, i thought, since it seemed to have nothing to do with the house remodel.
however, i learned they were looking at all zoning requirements. apparently changing the house from a 2-BR to a 3-BR meant that we needed to increase parking spaces to 4, and 80% of them needed to be covered. in this case, that was 3 spaces, and our current garage only covers 2! oops. OK, well what if we cut down the plans to a 2 BR? that works, but the other hitch is that our remodel was going to cover more than 50% of the existing structure, and that would also trigger the need to meet all existing zoning and codes!
needless to say, my heart sank, but i did learn that if we kept the 2-BR plan, and kept changes under 50%, we could grandfather in our existing parking. in talking with Building, i learned the engineer needs to review the current plans and make a judgment call if we are above or below the 50% threshold.
OK, so the plan of attack this week is to figure out how to shrink down to 2 BR, but keep the layout flexible so we can modify to include a 3 BR in the future. I really didn't want to add a carport, since our long term plan is to create an entirely new 2 or 3 BR house in the back in place of the cottage. the carport would end up getting torn out in that case and that would also be more expense. plus, we hadn't anticipated all the zoning requirements so that would take yet more time for Gerard and the engineer to add in a carport, which BTW also qualifies as an accessory structure!
we were pretty happy because we felt we had discussed everything with the city, and knew it would only take a week or so to get the revised plans approved.
that unfortunately all changed with a simple neighborhood walk.
i walked over to city hall to hand in all our documentation: signed drawings with lots of notes on them, answers to Building and Planning comment letters, and various other forms. once I handed in the plans, i asked Planning, why did you need the interior of the cottage drawn?
simple question, i thought, since it seemed to have nothing to do with the house remodel.
however, i learned they were looking at all zoning requirements. apparently changing the house from a 2-BR to a 3-BR meant that we needed to increase parking spaces to 4, and 80% of them needed to be covered. in this case, that was 3 spaces, and our current garage only covers 2! oops. OK, well what if we cut down the plans to a 2 BR? that works, but the other hitch is that our remodel was going to cover more than 50% of the existing structure, and that would also trigger the need to meet all existing zoning and codes!
needless to say, my heart sank, but i did learn that if we kept the 2-BR plan, and kept changes under 50%, we could grandfather in our existing parking. in talking with Building, i learned the engineer needs to review the current plans and make a judgment call if we are above or below the 50% threshold.
OK, so the plan of attack this week is to figure out how to shrink down to 2 BR, but keep the layout flexible so we can modify to include a 3 BR in the future. I really didn't want to add a carport, since our long term plan is to create an entirely new 2 or 3 BR house in the back in place of the cottage. the carport would end up getting torn out in that case and that would also be more expense. plus, we hadn't anticipated all the zoning requirements so that would take yet more time for Gerard and the engineer to add in a carport, which BTW also qualifies as an accessory structure!
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
landscaping-starting over
one of the first things we noticed about the house is the landscaping. out front are large, boring looking juniper bushes and in the backyard, a huge cedar tree less that 10 feet from the house. Julie's mom immediately commented on the tree, when they had seen the house at the time we thought to purchase the home. i thought the front was quite boring, and also a natural trash collector, so i started cutting down the bushes out front.
i'm pleased to say all the juniper bushes, and their roots, are finally gone. in their stead is a few piles of dirt and the old sprinkler system. i even took out nearly all the red pebble bordering the bushes and plan to put that on the side of the house, to make a less messy walkway but also to keep dirt from splashing onto the house siding.
the current plan for the front is to make it a wildflower/herb garden. i'll also add in 2 sprinkler lines to help automate watering. i plan to put mostly low-water plants but i'm sure part of the mix will be plants that like a lot of water; i'm still working on the full picture.
in the backyard, we've cut down the cedar tree. that required a permit from Burlingame as well as professional tree servicers due to the size. in its stead will be a japanese maple, so i thought it would be nice to do a japanese/asian theme in the backyard. maybe some hostas, fuschias for around the tree and some bamboo grass. possible some rock features but not sure.
bordering the north side of the house, and the backyard, will be a bamboo fence. G will put that up along with some friends or who knows. sounds like this will go up in february or march now, rather than december. this is highly dependent on getting the bamboo shipped from asia, which appears to be the hangup now.
i'm pleased to say all the juniper bushes, and their roots, are finally gone. in their stead is a few piles of dirt and the old sprinkler system. i even took out nearly all the red pebble bordering the bushes and plan to put that on the side of the house, to make a less messy walkway but also to keep dirt from splashing onto the house siding.
the current plan for the front is to make it a wildflower/herb garden. i'll also add in 2 sprinkler lines to help automate watering. i plan to put mostly low-water plants but i'm sure part of the mix will be plants that like a lot of water; i'm still working on the full picture.
in the backyard, we've cut down the cedar tree. that required a permit from Burlingame as well as professional tree servicers due to the size. in its stead will be a japanese maple, so i thought it would be nice to do a japanese/asian theme in the backyard. maybe some hostas, fuschias for around the tree and some bamboo grass. possible some rock features but not sure.
bordering the north side of the house, and the backyard, will be a bamboo fence. G will put that up along with some friends or who knows. sounds like this will go up in february or march now, rather than december. this is highly dependent on getting the bamboo shipped from asia, which appears to be the hangup now.
Friday, October 12, 2007
getting permits in Burlingame
alright! we submitted the permits on october 11. this was a relief, although we are expecting some comments and feedback from the city. apparently this is a normal process.
the submitted plans include the changes to the foyer, moving front BR entryway and shortening its closet, moving the living room entryways and making it smaller, giving up space to the dining room.
we'll also turn the orientation of the dining room from the current east-west to north-south to take advantage of the space created by removing the hallway in the middle of the house. the dining room will get new awning windows that are more horizontal than vertical, and more to the top of the wall than in the middle.
the kitchen will get opened up as we wanted. we also hope to add a pantry on the wall bordering the master bedroom. we'll add a garden window in front of the sink for more light & space.
the family room will get its ceiling raised, but we won't move the floor. we'll definitely add the 4-panel sliding patio door.
the rear bath and laundry will disappear from where they are, and we'll add the 3rd BR back there. the rear bath will move towards the middle of the house adjacent to the family room, so it will have the master BR on west side, door looking south to the family room, on its east side is the entry to rear BR, and north wall is adjacent to the master BR closet.
the master BR will lose a little space on the east side, about 1 to 2 feet, but that's OK. we'll also change the windows to casements which meet egress requirements.
the submitted plans include the changes to the foyer, moving front BR entryway and shortening its closet, moving the living room entryways and making it smaller, giving up space to the dining room.
we'll also turn the orientation of the dining room from the current east-west to north-south to take advantage of the space created by removing the hallway in the middle of the house. the dining room will get new awning windows that are more horizontal than vertical, and more to the top of the wall than in the middle.
the kitchen will get opened up as we wanted. we also hope to add a pantry on the wall bordering the master bedroom. we'll add a garden window in front of the sink for more light & space.
the family room will get its ceiling raised, but we won't move the floor. we'll definitely add the 4-panel sliding patio door.
the rear bath and laundry will disappear from where they are, and we'll add the 3rd BR back there. the rear bath will move towards the middle of the house adjacent to the family room, so it will have the master BR on west side, door looking south to the family room, on its east side is the entry to rear BR, and north wall is adjacent to the master BR closet.
the master BR will lose a little space on the east side, about 1 to 2 feet, but that's OK. we'll also change the windows to casements which meet egress requirements.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
ideas, ideas, ideas
well, we have been spending a lot of time throwing around ideas for the remodel. we have gotten to a pretty solid design plan in place.
kitchen
here, we plan to knock down both walls that separates the kitchen from the dining and family rooms. we also will expand the kitchen footprint into the dining room as we need more space.
in addition, we'll move the stove farther away from the wall so that someone can stand at the main sink and use it, and another can use the stove. we moved the fridge to the wall of the house and into the dining room space. finally, an island will be added with a prep sink and some room for chairs for people to sit/eat/work at.
dining room
other than moving some of the kitchen into this space, we plan to eliminate the wall which creates the hall in the middle of the house. we can then have a dining table facing north-south rather than the current east-west configuration we have to do. this will allow us to better utilize the space, especially since we're giving up about 1/3 of the space to the kitchen.
foyer
Gerard really wants to raise the ceiling so the entry incorporates the light from the dormer window, which currently only pokes into the attic. we'll also move the door farther out so we have more room inside the entrance. we will add a small closet and also expand the entrance from the foyer to the living room.
family room
back here, the major change is the back wall will now have a 4-panel sliding glass door. we'll elminate the chimney and window, and also true up the wall that separates the family room from the rear bath & laundry. this wall will be flush with the rest of the wall running east-west in most of the house, rather than poking a few inches into the family room.
other
the rear bath and laundry will disappear. in its place will go a 3rd bedroom, and we will then move the rear bath to be adjacent to the family room. this means we will have to take out 1 closet in the master bath. not a problem, since we decided to then convert the other closet to a walk-in so julie & i both still have storage space.
also, we decided it would be cheaper to rip out all the existing flooring and completely replace it. since we're making so many changes to the layout, it's just easier to start fresh than to try to refinish part of the floors, and anyway we'll need to redo the family room and master BR floors. we'll now go to a fully bamboo flooring, but will probably use different schemes in parts of the house.
kitchen
here, we plan to knock down both walls that separates the kitchen from the dining and family rooms. we also will expand the kitchen footprint into the dining room as we need more space.
in addition, we'll move the stove farther away from the wall so that someone can stand at the main sink and use it, and another can use the stove. we moved the fridge to the wall of the house and into the dining room space. finally, an island will be added with a prep sink and some room for chairs for people to sit/eat/work at.
dining room
other than moving some of the kitchen into this space, we plan to eliminate the wall which creates the hall in the middle of the house. we can then have a dining table facing north-south rather than the current east-west configuration we have to do. this will allow us to better utilize the space, especially since we're giving up about 1/3 of the space to the kitchen.
foyer
Gerard really wants to raise the ceiling so the entry incorporates the light from the dormer window, which currently only pokes into the attic. we'll also move the door farther out so we have more room inside the entrance. we will add a small closet and also expand the entrance from the foyer to the living room.
family room
back here, the major change is the back wall will now have a 4-panel sliding glass door. we'll elminate the chimney and window, and also true up the wall that separates the family room from the rear bath & laundry. this wall will be flush with the rest of the wall running east-west in most of the house, rather than poking a few inches into the family room.
other
the rear bath and laundry will disappear. in its place will go a 3rd bedroom, and we will then move the rear bath to be adjacent to the family room. this means we will have to take out 1 closet in the master bath. not a problem, since we decided to then convert the other closet to a walk-in so julie & i both still have storage space.
also, we decided it would be cheaper to rip out all the existing flooring and completely replace it. since we're making so many changes to the layout, it's just easier to start fresh than to try to refinish part of the floors, and anyway we'll need to redo the family room and master BR floors. we'll now go to a fully bamboo flooring, but will probably use different schemes in parts of the house.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Moving in
it's now been just a few months that we moved into our new home in Burlingame. we were fortunate to have a smooth transition thanks to Got To Move. they did a great job packing our stuff and unloading. we are loving the warm weather, easy parking and space! we started right away thinking about remodeling plans and it's been a slow go; there's a lot to plan. fortunately with my brother, Gerard, staying with us, it makes it easy to have informal conversations.
funny thing is, now that we are settled in, we're packing again! well, partially. the reason is that we are hoping to get the permits soon (more on that in another post) so we need to move out nearly everything in order to have a smooth demolition.
funny thing is, now that we are settled in, we're packing again! well, partially. the reason is that we are hoping to get the permits soon (more on that in another post) so we need to move out nearly everything in order to have a smooth demolition.
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