Are you sure it’s not the brother doing the peeing/pooping as a protest?
Heck with the dumbwaiter, this home “has a funicular to carry groceries up from the parking below.” http://www.sdlookup.com/MLS-160010577-438_La_Crescentia_San_Diego_CA_92106 I’m only familiar with the ones that carry people, ex. Pittsburgh on Mt. Washington. http://www.portauthority.org/paac/SchedulesMaps/Inclines.aspx
On that La Crescentia house… talk about steep stairs to get to house!!! I would definitely insist on some way to get groceries and stuff up that house:) Could you imagine trying to get new appliances up those stairs and into the house?? Yikes. I have no idea how they are going to sell that house for $1.8 million
And no interior photos??
I’ve rented cabins on Puget Sound with funicular-type contraptions to get luggage and groceries down the 60 or so steps down from the parking spot to the cabin on the beach. Somehow going UP from the street seems more daunting.
CB - they show 2 interior photos of a bedroom and a dining room. Both have carpet! And wallpaper! My BIL’s spouse is currently engaged in trying to steam off and retouch the walls of a house that were all wallpapered. Contractors he spoke to would charge a fortune or just cover it with more sheetrock. It’s quite a job.
They don’t show the funicular though. That’s what I’d love to see.
If you google map and do street view, you can see the funicular track running up alongside the staircase. Not sure if this link works…https://www.google.com/maps/place/438+La+Crescentia+Dr,+San+Diego,+CA+92106/@32.7116731,-117.2419848,3a,90y,346.73h,101.86t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sAigoi0NVY3AS8AgdO9-_Yw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DAigoi0NVY3AS8AgdO9-_Yw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D40.04369%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i6656!4m2!3m1!1s0x80deab949b0acf13:0xc22118f51e654f51!6m1!1e1
^^That’s a lot of potted palms on the sidewalk!
The link does work. That’s quite a relentless staircase. The funicular looks a bit overgrown, I hope it works.
The palms seem excessive but I guess they’re trying to hide that big wall behind them. If you scroll to the side, you can see their parking niche and that there’s a ledge of earth they could have planted in that would make the palms less necessary.
It’s interesting that there is only one parking space available for the house. No garage at all. The listing states one detached parking space only. Listing also states ‘Do not use funicular’. Someone is really going to have to want that view to live there! and pay that much money
And, in looking at the funicular rail to the right of the stairs (I am assuming that is where it is… you have to go through two potted palms) it doesn’t look like the funicular even gets you up all the way to the first floor. I’m guessing there’s more schlepping after you get up at the top
Today is a big day at the project
Crew is already at project with big trucks to do the shotcrete. It will look similar to the concrete sprayed on the big retaining wall at the La Crescentia house (in link above)
We are done building the two big 6ft pillars for front gate and poured the footing for the block wall on Saturday. Block wall will be complete today.
I will try to remember to take pictures!
Add me to the chorus of those who’d love to buy a house from you. I’m impressed that you’re doing the shotcrete and that you do so many other things that most buyers wouldn’t notice on a tour but will appreciate as homeowners.
Thank you for the kind words Silpat… as money is pouring out of the wallet. Its been 4 weeks of work now and, honestly, there’s nothing sexy going on yet. Lots of bare wires and pipes sticking out of walls and dirt and debris everywhere.
Today I pulled the trigger on my window order. Going with Jeld Wen custom wood windows with Chestnut Brown aluminum clad exterior. Low E and argon in the dual panes. The interior wood is preprimed and I can paint them a rich dark color to pop against the white plaster walls. $9,300 total for new bath vinyl window, grill windows, casement windows and regular rectangle French doors. This does not include any new windows or doors needed for new bedroom over garage or 2nd story
I’ve loaded some photos of the concrete slope and our front pillars.
What’s the cost of the shotcrete compared to building a retaining wall similar to what the house next door has?
The Shotcrete was $3,500.
Retaining walls like the ones next door were estimated at about $35,000. But those are pretty intricate because it creates front entry stairs to the house. We don’t need front entry stairs so we could have less walls. The retaining wall guy said I would need to build 2 sets of 6-9ft walls. I don’t need retaining walls to gain more flat land above, so it is not critical. Also, soil engineer said retaining walls not required to stabilize slope.
I’m going to do several things to soften it up. Planting trees below, the deck will be above it and we’re going to stain it brown. But the reality is that you really cannot see it from the house, so it’s not a big priority to me.
Can you poke holes in the shotcrete and plant a fast growing drought tolerant creeping plant to cover it up?
just a thought.
http://www.laspilitas.com/garden/groundcover.html
Putting that Shotcrete under the neighbor’s retaining wall kind of reminds me of using a pastry bag to stuff cream puffs.
Just had a crazy idea, thought I’d float it.
Is it possible to open up the back of the fireplace so that you have two openings, one in the living room and one on the outside. Then you can wrap the deck and have an outdoor fireplace.
Is that even possible to do with an existing fireplace?
The level of the forebode inside is on the floor (not a raised hearth. This would put it only about 12" off ground outside. Too low, the deck is going to be about 4’ off ground. Also, there is only 6-8 ft of width on that side of house between house and slope. I think its too skinny to wrap deck around and sit and enjoy a fireplace