Plan check fee estimate

The Seattle Dept. of Planning and Development (Seattle DPD) has a spreadsheet available for download that calculates permit costs.

For a project valuation of $72,895, they charge $991.50 for plan review, and the same for permit fee. Total is $1,987.50, with $1,487.25 up front and $500.25 when the permit is issued.

They based the valuation on what I tell them it will cost to renovate existing areas, such as the bathroom, and $121.39/SF for additions ($46.77/SF for the garage). The additions guestimated at 250 SF = $30,647.50 plus the garage: 140 SF = $6,547.80.

I could tell them it was 0 SF addition, but $100,000 additional, and they would charge $2,529.50, so we can use 2.5% as a rough permit fee estimate based on our cost estimate. If it was $10,000, the fee would be $529.50 or 5.25%, so it goes up. $200,000 would be $3,479.50 or 1.75%.

The permit fee is around 2.5% of total valuation:

$10,000 5.25%
$100,000 2.5%
$200,000 1.75%

I don't know what other permits are necessary (plumbing, electrical, perhaps heating?)

The list of remodelers

Coming back from the holidays, I started a list of local remodeling contractors.

At the top of the list is U Build It of Greenlake. They are a franchise that aggregates sub-contractors and helps homeowners be their own general. It's a little off-putting that the Greenlake location bills itself as Bellevue.

A number of contractors on the list of about 40, drawn from Google, Yelp, and Houzz, seem ready to re-do a kitchen or a bathroom, but don't have any more extensive remodels in their portfolios.

Hammer & Hand seems to be able to handle real architecture.

Hammer & Hand, of Portland and Seattle, have an architectural home on their web site.

Sam Alhadeff lives a few blocks north of Trees House. His Alhadeff Group has an interior designer on staff.

I like the look of Dyna Contracting of Ballard. They have a custom fab shop called Dyna Metal for things like steel and cable railings.

Comparable, with accent on the first syllable

Here's a new house, offered at $829,000, in Broadview, that might be useful as a guide. It is 2419 SF, 3 bedrooms, 13/4 baths upstairs and a 1/2 bath downstairs (they say 2.25 bath). Two-car garage has translucent glass door. The lot is 8,235 SF (0.189ac). 214 NW 140th Street.

The main floor has nearly 10' ceilings. The doorway from kitchen to living room is 8'. Upstairs is more ordinary, but the master has a vaulted ceiling. There's a linear fireplace in the living room and directly above it in the master bedroom.

It's a corner lot with no rear yard. The lawns shown here are two big side yards.

The rooms are heated with individual electric heaters (the house has gas, too), as well as Hydronic Heating, which they had a brochure about. It involves a closed-loop water line that moves heat from source to destination. The water heater is tankless (on the wall in the garage). There is a mud room between the garage and the dining room that seems very practical and also has a door to the rear.

Kitchen is nice enough. Note the asymmetric sink window. A cabinet stack is out of frame on the left.

Lackluster stairs off the entry, hall to dining. Fireplace enclosure is ceramic tile that looks like rusted tin.

Extra-high bathroom counter. Shower has heads on opposite walls, drain in the center. Master and the other upstairs bath both have two sinks.

Oil furnace tune up

I have an annual maintenance contract with Sound Oil, so they sent Ron out for a once-a-year tune-up. He taught me all about the system. It's a modern Armstrong furnace and it seems to be in good shape.

Ron replaced the nozzle, the part that meters the spray of oil into the burner. There was an old electronic filter that pre-dated the furnace. Now it's just a box with a paper filter in it--Ron replaced the 20x25x1 filter, and we found the "guts" of the electronic filter device behind the furnace box.

He replaced the oil filter (it's the lower cylinder in the photo). The glass cylinder is a "tiger loop" that eliminates the need for an oil line back to the top of the tank. An abandoned line is in the floor. The remaining oil line comes from the bottom of the tank.

He tested the efficiency with an electronic meter. The furnace label says 81%, and Ron measured 82%. The meter read absolutely 0 monocarbons in the exhaust and a net stack temperature of 375 (actually the meter said 420 or so, and Ron calculated the adjustment himself). 8.1% of the exhaust was O2.

He saw a little oil in the base of the chassis. He explained that a few drops come out of the nozzle after it's been shut off. They are designed to run into the firebox, but if the furnace isn't installed level, the oil runs the other way. Ron dusted the inside with "Odorgon" powder.

Ron showed me where the reset button is and explained that there's a lock-out mechanism if you press reset 3 times. They want to avoid "flooding" the burner with oil that's not being burned. There's also a safety switch if the blower shuts off and the furnace itself overheats. Ron tested it and it's working.

Ron put new Sound Oil stickers over the old ones--Sound Oil bought the old company. In fact, Ron found his initials on a service call from 1996.

Ron measured the oil in the tank. 18" in a 300-gallon tanks means I have about 140 gallons. I thought they had filled it, so I'm burning it at an incredible rate if so. He smeared a chemical on the dipstick that changes color if it touches water. If there is water in the tank, Ron explained, it sinks to the bottom. The very bottom of the dipstick turned red--a trace of water is not a problem.

Surveyors onsite

Two guys, led by Derek (sp?) from GeoDimensions are assessing the ol' metes and bounds. I expect a site plan from the company this Friday, Dec. 19. We got permission from Kris Swierz, and then his wife, Shelly, to measure the setback of their garage.

Van in the driveway (left), surveyor with theodolite hiding in the vegetation (right).

The crew was here almost 4 hours, but there were no surprises--the property lines are actually where the property lines seem to be. They drove white stakes at all four corners, and found existing monuments at at least 2 of them. The SW corner, slightly down the cliff, was a Parks Dept. monument. The west property line runs right along where the fence is and has been, and bisects two big trees.

Derek walked me around the corners and said that they included the neighboring topology, as required for ECA, and said that they located every tree, not just the big ones. Very professional.

It's beginning to look a lot like....you know

Roof lines

Experimenting with Plan A...moving the wall closer to the street. I want a cascade of roofs and by going high in the entry and low in the bedroom behind, I can open clerestories to a view of the forest.

Imagine forest green sheet metal roof

To the left of the garage is the media room, now on a plane with the garage doors. Further left, the kitchen and entry bump out a bit. Behind the media room, we get clerestories and the higher roof of the trees room. Left of the entry, the triple windows of the living room remain.

We keep the hip roof over the garage and apartment, but we pull the ridge toward the street. That is, we add new hip ridges on the front (because the garage extends toward the street). Also, I'm imagining a lower plate height at the garage door and at the workshop on the west side. So, the hip looks similar, but it's not the same.

Here's what the existing north elevation looks like:

Storm damage

The rain and wind storm of Dec 11 was not that serious, but the power went out for a few minutes three times around 9 p.m., and the morning revealed that one of the trees lost a large limb.

Dozens of little pieces of tree fell all over--118th St was camouflaged by needles--but this branch fell hard enough to knock the table off the deck.

We learned that the house boots up smoothly when power is restored. (By the way, the entire street was dark--our wires to the power pole were not the problem.) But it's a reminder that we can't have lightweight sun structures under the trees--we need anything overhead to be a people protector.

New Plan A

Here's a fresh draft of Plan A (the smallest square footage addition). By moving the front door to the center of the main house, equilibrium is restored. There is still a lot of space devoted to circulation, but it seems "generous" and hopefully impressive to a buyer. The design relies heavily on built-in cabinets to keep rooms from seeming so obviously cramped.

Notes

1. Notice the outdoor room off the living room. Clear acrylic patio roof. Water feature. Convert existing window into garden door.
2. Entry should probably pop out (north), not indent. Worried about brick veneer at dining room.
3. Could extend the kitchen north. Don't want the sink to seem too remote.
4. Maybe convert the cabinets across from the washer-dryer into a full side-by-side laundry. 
5. Window in garage is probably a fire problem. Skylights?
6. Could extend Media Room to the north, but then north facade is relentless. 

What is a living room?

I've been distracted with plans for Christmas and New Year's, and the as-built ceiling framing plan has been occupying the drafting table, but I've also been thinking about the living room.

Furniture and use are key to any room, but bedrooms, bathrooms, and kitchens have obvious furniture and well-understood uses. Living spaces, not so much.

Traditionally, a Living Room was more formal, off the front door, and a Family Room connected with the kitchen. "We continue to live informally in houses designed for more formality."--Susanka, The Not So Big House. With open concept layouts, even the formal living room has visibility into the kitchen and dining areas. Some homes have a Great Room, but what is the purpose?

Activities. The living space needs to accommodate conversation--couch and chairs around a coffee table. Friends drop by, a salesman visits, a cocktail party. But living involves a flat screen, too--every seat aimed at the screen, TV, DVD, game, computer. It's quaint, but living also involves sitting quietly and reading, or taking a nap on the couch. A guest computer might be a nice addition.

The multipurpose living space often plays a traffic role. The living space is the crossroads--front door to dining, kitchen to powder bath.

A Pattern Language. Common Areas at the Heart (129), Sequence of Sitting Spaces (142), Sitting Circle (185). The traffic role is confirmed: The Flow Through Rooms (131). And storage--board games, books, DVDs, games. Bulk Storage (145). The patterns are online.

Common areas provide constant informal contact. The screen must not interfere with through traffic, but it may be the excuse for someone to linger. (A basement Media Room does not provide this feature.) The common area needs Indoor Sunlight (128), but the area around the screen is darkened--Tapestry of Light and Dark (135).

If the living area is at the end of a corridor, it doesn't work. However, "if the circulation path cuts too deeply through the common area, the space will be too exposed, it will not be comfortable to linger there and settle down." That's the problem I'm having with the current layout. But...the living space must be "on the way" from the entrance to private rooms. And "make sure that there are plenty of different sitting places, different in character for different kinds of moments."

Components include "a kitchen and eating space, since eating is one of the most communal of activities, and a sitting space--at lease some comfortable chairs, so people will feel like staying. It should also include an outdoor area--on nice days there is always the longing to be outside--to step out for a smoke, to sit down on the grass, to carry on a discussion." Related patterns are: The Fire (181) and The Shape of Indoor Space (191).

"You may want to build a special sitting room--...a parlor or a library...--as one of the sitting spaces in your house."

The Flow Through Rooms talks about "generous" movement, so the circulation is enlivened by sunlight, garden views, and the smells and sounds of activity in adjacent rooms. "...avoid the use of corridors and passages. Instead, use...common rooms as rooms for movement and for gathering..."

"In a building with uniform light level, there are few 'places' which function as effective settings for human events. This happens because, to a large extent, the places which make effective settings are defined by light." Tapestry of Light and Dark.

"A well-defined area, with paths running past it, not cutting through it, and placed so that people naturally pass by it, stop and talk, lean on the backs of chairs, gradually sit down, move position, get up again." Sitting Circle.

By the way, "A building in which the ceiling heights are all the same is virtually incapable of making people comfortable." Ceiling Height Variety (190)

What's hiding in the attic?

Finally got back in the attic on Friday. It's conveniently wired with several light bulbs controlled by a switch near the hatch, but the rock wool insulation is really dirty and there are millions of cobwebs.

Looking south. Black pipe is vent for Master Bathroom

Calculating based on the 62" clearance from top of 2x6 joists to the bottom of the 1x8 ridge board, the roof slope seems to be 4-1/2 in 12.

John Lasswell, the home inspector, noted that the bathroom fans, like the silver box in the center of the Looking South photo, just vent into the attic. 

Looking northwest, at the kitchen. The insulation has been removed where they installed recessed can lights.

Lasswell said that the kitchen insulation was apparently removed for the remodel (who knows when) and put in garbage bags (seen at the left of the Looking South photo). The pipe at the left in the northwest photo is the vent for the Bath #2 shower.

Looking north toward the porch. The white oval is my flashlight beam.

The north photo shows the short 2x6 ceiling joists. I say short, because they lap at the beams on either side of the dining room, meaning that either those beams remain or we do some expensive reworking of the framing. The north photo also shows that the porch ceiling is framed with 2x4s running north-south. Given that 2x6s are 5.5 inches tall, how much rock wool do you think we have...3 inches on average?

The chimney when no one's looking. The brick is narrow "Norman" brick above the roof and below the mantel.

The roof framing is 2x4 rafters at 24" on center. 1x4 boards, self-spaced, are nailers for the original wood shingles. At some point, these were removed, and OSB sheathing was laid on the 1x4s.

Final fun fact: the attic access is only 19" x 21" so its no wonder I feel claustrophobic climbing up there.

Meet the neighbor

Kris Swierz, on the east, was the listing agent selling the house, so it wasn't surprising when he said hi as I went to the mailbox and he was blowing needles off his driveway.

Yesterday, I met Rob on the west. He's leasing the place and he has his 8-year-old daughter part-time and his "old man" bulldog, Tuke, He's from Kentucky originally, but grew up in LA, and comes to Broadview from Green Lake.

Rob told me his car was ransacked the night before (Dec 2), and I told him about NextDoor.

Update, Dec. 15: I met Chelle (pronounced Shelly) Swierz (it's Schw-EYE-erz, by the way) to ask about the surveyors. Chelle is nee Gallegos, it would seem. Yoga instructor at shefayoga Roosevelt.

Update, Dec 17: Rob is now on NextDoor. He is Rob Sanborn, and his daughter is Vivian.

Update, Feb. 11: I met Zoe F. Gadgil (spelling and initial from King County assessor). Rahm is the oldest, I think--he's 4, and his sister is Leela, 2 or 3. Their dog, a friendly black Rotweiller-light, is Ozzie. Zoe's husband is Dr. Aneal S. Gadgil. They are the ones who did the remodeling a while ago--they used Krekow Jennings and they are very happy with their work and their follow-up. She said that 801 was for sale at the same time, and they liked backing up to the park, but the soil stability seemed like an issue. Dr. Gadgil works at Virginia Mason Medical Center, focusing on Pulmonary and Critical Care.