Hope @coralbrook is enjoying her well deserved vacation!!!
I’m back and trying to sort through a quagmire of issues. I was able to keep in contact with my crew daily thanks to WhatsApp and I had a Europe Sim Card phone that let me make phone calls if I needed to. Kept in touch with the owner through email.
Our biggest issue right now is that the draftsman that the owner hired before I even joined the project STILL HAS NOT SUBMITTED THE PLANS TO THE CITY!!! I explained to the owner many times that our deadline for permit approval was Nov 15. If we couldn’t start calling for inspections by Nov 15, the schedule would slip accordingly. Well, it is now Nov 19 and they haven’t even started the permit process. I was done and signed off with every single detail on Oct 24. Including a note to the draftsman on whether he needed anything else from the contractor to proceed.
Of course, in the middle of my vacation, the draftsman gets back to me and says he needs X Y and Z signed in order to submit plans. I had to get the owner to print out a bunch of stuff, take it to the project and get the contractor to sign everything. Turned out these were unusual requirements in this particular City’s permit application form. Then I had to send the contractor into the City Hall to get a local ‘business license’. Small cities have crazy requirements that someone has to have their local business license. Believe me, there are not many contractors that work in this small city so it is just a revenue generating scheme, full of red tape to get it all done.
Now, for some reason I do not understand at all, the plans have been submitted to the Coastal Commission for an exemption. What the hey??? The Coastal Commission is a giant nightmare and takes years to approve anything. Have no idea why an interior remodel that is clearly exempt even has to be submitted to them. So, we are waiting for some kind of ‘exemption stamp’ before we can even submit to the City. We are weeks away and I told the owner she needs to start finding a place to move in January because she will not be moving into this house 
Bottom line is that these main tasks cannot even start until we pass the plumbing, electrical and framing inspection and they had timelines that just cannot get squished
Drywall - 1 week at least because we have a ton of drywall patching and replacement
Painting - another week
Tile installation - 2 weeks
Kitchen install - another week
Flooring - at least 2 weeks because stairs are involved
Obviously this does not add up to her moving in by Dec 31!!!
And there are other issues that are slowing us down tremendously:
I had planned out all the lighting and framing before I left. In addition, my poor carpenter had been given the set of plans and was working from those. The owner works with a real estate agent who thinks she is a ‘flipper’. She is the agent that bought the townhouse back in the La Jolla complex where I did the bachelor house. The ‘flip’ that is still sitting on the market over one year and which she somehow spent $450,000 on going in circles on stuff.
Anyway, somehow they both came in and walked through the house and decided to move a ton of stuff. My poor carpenter called me in Europe and said “there are too many chiefs and not enough Indians on this job”. Poor guy is dealing with 3 women trying to make decisions. Guess what, when I came back and did a walkthrough 90% of the stuff had to be moved back into it’s original location. I walked her through and she agreed with me.
The owner is still fighting the fact that she bought into a complex that is all electric and keeps insisting she wants gas lines for her dryer and stove because someone told her that her electric bills are going to go through the roof (well, obviously yes, but she should have figured that out before she bought into this community). Gas lines just cannot appear out of nowhere!!! There is one small gas line coming into the unit for the fireplace from an exterior soffit. We are not allowed to cut any holes in the floor joists or ceiling joists, per the permission granted by the HOA. To tap into the gas line and run gas lines to the kitchen and laundry room across the entire house, we would have to run them underneath the ceiling and build soffits in ceilings across the whole house. It would be a nightmare and an eyesore.
Before I left I gave the owner a list of ‘homework’. Decisions that needed to be made and items that needed to be purchased. She is in Analysis Paralysis and can’t even decide what shower fixtures she wants. We have to have those shower fixtures because we need to set the valves into the shower walls for inspection. I have now selected everything for her and waiting for rush shipments to get the materials.
I would say there is at least 6 major additions to scope that are causing us to rework and fall way behind schedule. Another issue is that we discovered that all of the major 240 electrical in the house is old aluminum wiring so we are basically rewiring the entire house. Also discovered that someone installed ceiling fans in the bedrooms by ‘hotwiring’ from some wall outlets. There is now swiss cheese all over the place in the bedrooms from having to rewire the ceiling lighting properly to switches by the doors.
Here’s one of the key issues we are struggling with right now.
The master closet is being built around a big window that exists in the master bedroom area. She wanted to move the bathroom out to this big window area, but we just could not get any plumbing across all the floor joists out into the bedroom. So, one of the key changes to the original plans was to swap bathroom back to original location (with no natural light at all) and put closet into existing bedroom area.
The plans call for the closet to be built out with about a 48" hallway after entering the bedroom. She feels that is too tight and wants to push the wall another 6". This is what my carpenter built. However, she didn’t realize that now there is no way to build a door to the bathroom. She insists that she doesn’t need a door for the bathroom and I’m telling her it might be a resale issue. Most buyers want a door on the bathroom for noise control. If one spouse gets up earlier, takes shower, etc. The toilet is in a separate room in the bathroom. Her real estate agent friend is telling her a door isn’t necessary. I guess we will live with it and go with her wishes.
My main concern is that the master bedroom door is open to the entry hallway of the front door. If she forgets to close their bedroom door and her high school daughter comes busting through front door with all her friends, Mom is on display at the vanity!! Oh well, she could probably forget to close bedroom door and bathroom door and have the same thing happen.
I loaded the final floor plan to our photo group to illustrate the issue.
Why can’t you install a door on the diagonal? Since the closet door is now on the hallway, there is plenty of space for it to swing against the wall between the bathroom and closet.
Or make the hallway linen closet 6" bigger as well.
Pocket door?
I was thinking sliding barn door if there is a wall…
I just looked at the new plan…and there is a LONG hallway wall that could easy accommodate a barn door. And as noted above…if no electrical power, maybe a pocket door.
I am sorry to barge in because I have not read the whole thread.
Regarding the door to the bathroom, if it is ensuite, you do not need a door. If she insists, you just have to tell her that she is on her own when the time is for resell.
@artloversplus this is one time that reading the thread would be useful.
But here is what CB wrote and it’s a good reason for a door.
I know that @thumper1
But technically YOU DONOT need the door. If the builder and the principle had a difference, that is not to say who is right who is wrong.
We have an en-suite master bathroom. I never close the door BUT the only area that is visible from that doorway is the outer area in front of two walk in closets IN the master suite. The opening to the vanity is not open to a public area like an entrance. It’s not even open to the hallway area upstairs.
I think Coralbrook will do what the owner wants. But the reality is…that bathroom vanity is in full view of an entrance. That certainly would not create any privacy.
If a pocket door isn’t possible, a sliding barn door would certainly be possible.
Different choices for different people.
I know that a door is not required, but I think I watch way too much HGTV House Hunters (or at least I used to!! Actually haven’t watched any for a couple of years). I always hear the buyers remarking that there is no door for the bathroom.
Most people have their master bedroom upstairs or far away from the front door. If you look at the plans, this bathroom is on display to the left of the front door, if someone forgets to close the bedroom door.
As of this afternoon she does not want a bathroom door “too many doors right next to each other”. So, it’s no door and we move on.
Today we spent time trying to figure out whether we can run any gas lines to the laundry room or kitchen. It will not be pretty, lots of soffits will be required to cover the pipe running along the ceiling, and it will cost a lot of time and money. But she wants a gas dryer.
Get those gas appliances in now before CA bans them all!
Although a gas stove would be way more important to me than a gas dryer.
I would consider leaving the gas line exposed, just paint it to match the wall or the ceiling, depending on how you run it, and it will blend right in. It will give the place a bit of an industrial vibe.
I’m behind the 8 ball on this. Why would gas appliances be banned?
Have gas dryers gotten better? I had one in a former house, and it turned all of my white things a shade of pale yellow. I couldn’t wait to get rid of it.
A gas stove will be in my next dream kitchen but it won’t be in a condo that doesn’t have natural gas already.
I think this client had an unreasonable timeline for what she wants done from the get go. The changes she wants are just adding to the timeline…never mind the whole issue with drawings and permits.
Does she expect you and your crew to work 24/7? Do you charge for changes like most contractors do?
I still say…float the idea of one of those sliding barn doors which could be hung on that long hallway wall. It could remain open all the time…but the option of master suite privacy would be there if she wanted it. Those sliding barn doors don’t really take up any room.
https://californiaglobe.com/section-2/more-cities-in-california-are-banning-the-use-of-natural-gas/
So far it’s mostly new construction or large renovations.
Tell her that CA cities are considering banning gas anything in new construction or major remodel. Berkeley already does. Seattle (although not in CA, lol) is seriously considering this.
(Cross-posted with NRE)
Baby kid lives in an all-electric, modem building. No gas. Guess what? Earthquake insurance - they can still get it. Good luck getting a policy in our state (WA) on a house with gas…
What about closing off the current opening into the bathroom from the hall, and putting a door into the closet? Then leave it open between the bath and closet.
Or even just make a doorway from the bedroom into the closet so you can walk through to the bath and not have any entry from the hallway, only from the bedroom. Although it would take out some of the closet hanging space, it would give the bathroom a lot more privacy. And no chance of someone in the laundry room or other bedroom catching you in your jammies dashing down the hallway to get to the bathroom. It’s a longer walk than I would like from bed to bath, especially waking during the night.
Fortunately when we were house hunting, we had a friend who could tell us if it would be practical to convert electric to gas ;).
OK, I read up on the issue. I see that electric companies have converted to almost 50% of California electric energy is created from renewable energy sources now and that natural gas is a big culprit in emissions. So, like you guys said, a lot of cities are pushing for all-electric homes.
I guess I will have to talk to her about it. I’m assuming that we would technically need to go to the HOA to get permission for this but she doesn’t seem concerned about that. I researched every unit sold in the last 2 years and they all have electric stoves. We are putting in a 240 outlet so that she can install an induction cooktop. She doesn’t even cook, per her own admission.
@coralbrook , you are really smart to think about the HOA and the gas lines. Before you even spend one MINUTE thinking how to accommodate this request, send HER to the HOA and make her get IN WRITING that the HOA and THEIR INSURANCE will even think about allowing it. Then get HER to get IN WRITING the quotes with and without gas for her homeowners insurance. While she is getting those, maybe check your own liability insurance for messing with gas pipes in this condo environment. I bet it (stupid gas idea) gets stopped in its tracks and you have no more worries about it.
You expected some sorts of delays while you were gone (hope time away was good!) but this lady is just… … just … just needs a 2x4 correction. Can’t your carpenter make that happen? I am sorry for your getting jerked around, but it isn’t on you to save her. She’ll probably not realize you make a miracle and give you a bad yelp review on top of everything she is pulling. Speaking of pulling, I don’t know how you still have any hair left, I’d have pulled mine (or hers!) out the day you returned.
A nice glass of wine every night? And is your tenant in your studio still really nice?