Remodeling and Surprises: The Early Stages

Our remodeling project became a rehab project too, because of the major structural damage caused by dry rot.  That repair along with our addition of a new deck to the project, required our getting an architect and a building permit.  Our general contractor, Joe Hauser of Hauser Houses, recommended Craig Bretthauer of Bretthauer Design Studio in San Diego.  He was the perfect choice for the somewhat smaller project compared to other architectural needs.  Both Joe and Craig helped my ideas become reality and pass through the city in a fairly short amount of time for the securing of a permit.

Then it was time to start re-building the back end of our house.  When all the new wood was in place, we hired a company we had great experience with for dry rot issues on one of our front decks.  Hume & Company actually treats new wood with a green-friendly substance that is non-toxic to humans and pets.  You can touch it right after it is sprayed.  When new wood is treated, it is impervious to termites and to any future threats of dry rot.  This treatment can result in a far less expensive building project than using pressure-treated wood.  Hume & Company also treats for both termite infestations and dry rot.

Our favorite electrician, also a Craig, with CDS Electric in Carlsbad, has been on top of our project from the beginning.  Craig has been a terrific source for ideas, recommendations and knowledge of the current code requirements for our area. 

Joe Hauser and his assistant will soon have our floors and walls ready for tiling and painting.  Next, the roof over the master bath will go down and then the stucco on our outside walls. As that transpires, the tile will go down.  I found some beautiful granite, travertine and glass mosaic tiles for the master bath at Bedrosians in Vista and in San Diego.  For the guest bath, I found some "rectified" porcelain tile that looks like limestone and some mosaic tiles with the gray, black, cream and tan tones I was looking for at Arizona Tile.