In-wall investigation

I made a hole in a wall tonight to learn how hard it will be to remove the built-in coffee maker. It seems to be an older-model Brew Express BE-104C. I expected to find some kind of manufacturer's branding inside, but I didn't--I got this info online. (Update: I separated the unit from the gray "rough-in box" and there's the branding, model number, and serial number.) It also appears that the unit in the kitchen is broken, because nothing happens when you press the power switch on top.

Backside of a built-in coffee maker. Notice the 1/4" copper water tubing.

Next hole will be in the living room behind the brick veneer to learn more about the sheathing and whether there is any insulation. Or maybe under the window in the dining room. Or the kitchen.

Notice the unsecured white wire in the center? That's illegal, by the way (assuming it's not just abandoned). The copper tubing runs under the kitchen counter, behind/through the cabinet and dishwasher. I'm thinking the Brew Express was a do-it-to-yourself job.

Update: More pictures:

Your Basic Houselift

To evaluate different schemes, I need to break the project into elements:

Basic houselift (don't include breezeway) - new kitchen, new baths, new floors, new roof, extend garage. Remove popcorn ceiling. Add electrical outlets, fixtures. Run gas line, remove oil tank. New windows and doors. Basic site cleanup--new front path/steps. Repair porch. Paint inside and out.

Trees Room - minimal to grand, we need to construct around the breezeway

Master Suite above garage - deduct garage roof from Basic. Includes stairs and new roof.

Enclose front porch - deduct repair porch from Basic.

Extend BR3 into west yard

Extend kitchen/dining into front yard

Finish basement as wine cellar. Includes spiral stair.

Skylights, light wells, sun tunnels.

The goal is to have an arguably believable budget number for these things and balance that with an arguably believable value add. Let each project proposal stand on its own merits.

Really Comparable

Open House yesterday at 822 NW 116th Street, almost directly south across Vemana Creek. Redfin labels it a "Hot Home," and there was a steady crowd at the open house...and they're asking $640,000.

822 NW 116th Street. The drive in the foreground curves to a basement-level carport to the left

The house was built in 1951, so it's mid-century modern by definition, but not in an overt Atomic Ranch style. The roof line is unusual--it's an "l" of gables, with a sloping fascia on the long side where they connect. The second fireplace is just a small free-standing stove.

	822 116th	Trees House
Lot Size	17,860	10,800
Square Footage	2,360	1,592
Bedrooms	3	3
Bathrooms	2.75	2.5
Fireplaces	2	1
Parking	2 Carport	2 Off-street
Built	1951	1947
Zestimate	$666,806	$516,908

Lawn covers the large backyard, back to a fringe of dense underbrush. Carkeek Park seems a long way to the north from the back of the house, but standing at the underbrush, Trees House is actually visible.

Normal iPhone photo from north edge of back lawn.

Zoomed, showing bright white Br3

Architectural Salvage

I checked out two architectural recycling centers south of downtown Seattle today: Second Use and Earth Wise. Both places were clean, well-organized and not cheap. And both had some amazing one-of-a-kind items.

There were several examples of large slabs of wood--slices of trees, really. Second Use had four or five 25' benches made from trees brought down in a fire in 1995. They had annular slices, too. I wonder if the Trees House really needs dead tree corpses as decoration. They also have cool old signs, and artifacts like radiators. Given the style of the house, these old things would probably be for the yard.

These places also buy stuff, and I showed them a photo of the bathroom cabinets. $10, the guy said. They had similar cabinets for sale for $35. They seem to like matching sets of 14 or more that they sell as a package.

I have a lot of stuff to get rid of:

• (2) oak cabinets recently removed from the MBa
• (12) white kitchen cabinets with chrome clam handles
• Vanity cabinet (MBa, Ba2, Ba3)
• (2) solid wood 36" x 1-3/4" entry doors - oval glass, small leaded glass
• Dutch door (Br3)
• (6) 6-panel interior doors
• Door with single pane glass
• Sliding glass (dbl-pane) door
• (2) Sliding vinyl windows (Br3, Ba3)
• (2) bedroom windows (MBr, Br2)
• Corner window with 1 awning panel (Kitchen)
• Greenhouse kitchen window
• Skinny leaded glass (MBa to greenhouse)
• Glass panels from outdoor greenhouse
• 6' wrought iron stair and landing railing
• Kitchen sink
• Master bathtub
• (2) Shower enclosures
• (3) Toilets - [Second Use: must be perfect and low-flow]
• American Standard oval sink (MBa)
• (2) One-piece vanity top and sink (Ba2, Ba3)
• Mini-refrigerator
• Refrigerator
• Dishwasher
• Electric Range
• Over-range Microwave
• Doorbell chimes
• (2) In-wall coffee makers "Brew Express"
• (2) In-wall electric heaters
• (3) wall sconces (MBa, outside Br3)
• (2) bathroom light fixtures (Ba2, Ba3)
• Post light
• (2) Fan/light units (MBa, Ba2)

Earth Wise Architectural Salvage 3447 4th Ave S, Seattle 98134. Drop-off 10-5
Second Use 3223 6th Ave S. Seattle 98134. Drop-off 9-5

What's going on in Pre-Trees House?

SketchUp takes a long time to learn, but I'm putting in my 10,000 hours. So, here's something tangible: No more tacky cabinets in the bathroom!

I'd go ahead and take down the medicine cabinet, too, except that it's full of my sundries. If I were to take more things apart and open up walls, I would start to generate a big pile of stuff that I'd either need to dispose of or look at for the next few months.

Wouldn't it be swell if someone wanted to buy these cabinets? Well, good luck with that, from what I've seen. Since they're in perfect condition, someone would take them from me for free. Other stuff? Not so much.

I'd really like to demolish more, but it's stupid to jump in when I don't have a firm plan. I've investigated dump runs--not cheap (including the cost of a truck or a rental).

And the SketchUp as-built is coming along, too. (That's the driveway off to the right. I couldn't turn it off without turning off the basement stairs (they're both SITE:Hard Surfaces.)

That's what's happening in pre-Trees House this Thursday evening.

Update: Friday night, done.

PVC Roofing

PVC roofing seems superior to EPDM or TPO membranes, all of which are better than built-up roofing (BUR). Unlike the others, PVC can handle standing water and UV. Warranties are often lifetime for residential installations. Seams are welded using hot air, not an open flame.

Seattle Roof Advisor explains the differences. PVC is heat-welded, like TPO,  but EPDM and TPO have much shorter life expectancies.

IB Roof sells 50, 60 and 80-mil PVC

Installed cost is $4 to $7 or as much as $8 to $12, according to Cost Owl. By comparison, steel roofing (standing seam) is $3 to $10, according to the same source. Removing existing roof adds $1 to $4 per square foot.

The main house pyramid is 1,760 SF, including the overhang. The garage, with a 12" overhang, not including the workshop or the stairs, is 780 SF. The Trees Room and lower kitchen/dining/entry roof is 1,190 SF.

PVC: 1,970 SF @$5.50 = $10,835
Metal: 1,460 SF @$6 (including removing old) = $8,760
Roof costs: $19,595

(Alphabet soup: PVC=poly-vinyl chloride, EPDM=ethylene propylene diene M-class, TPO=thermoplastic olefin.)

Blue Sound Construction

Ben Gebhardt dropped by today. He's the owner of Blue Sound Construction, probably in his 30s. He used to work at JAS Design-Build of Wallingford, which he calls the right kind of design-build. Blue Sound is build only. Ben has three crews, so three lead carpenters, and an office staff. They treat their estimate like a fixed price bid, but they work on a time and materials basis. Throughout the job, potential variances from the estimate are flagged on a weekly basis. There are change orders the customer asks for, change orders for unforeseen work, and ICOs--internal change orders--that Blue Sound pays for.

Blue Sound spa suite project in Cedar Park

I showed Ben the house, including the basement, and went over the plans and SketchUp model with him. Looking at the flat roof, he said his roofers won't do torch-down anymore. They prefer PVC to EPDM. We talked about the asphalt shingles at 814 NW 118th; he said it looked like a 30-year roof, maybe $9,000. In metal, maybe $18 or $20,000.

I asked for a ballpark per square foot--he said $250. When we were through looking at the SketchUp model for B.6, he was talking about $500,000 (closer to $500 per square foot). "It gets expensive where..." He hestitated. "...where good taste is involved." Good design is expensive, but it's art.

In the basement, I asked about strengthening the floor and he said many squeaks are in the subfloor, the 1x6 diagonal sheathing. He had a job where they needed to remove the subfloor and glue and screw plywood to get a better floor. But some squeaks are inevitable. I asked about insulation, and he said fiberglas batts. I asked about spray foam and he said 2 or 3 times the price. You don't generally care as much about air infiltration in a basement--that's for cathedral ceilings. He said a gas furnace will usually pay for itself quickly compared to oil.

The existing hardwood floor is "short boards" that you can't get anymore. So, it's painstaking work to patch it, hand milling each board and, in the end, you don't get the tongue and groove strength. Putting in all new, while expensive, might be cheaper than all the labor of fixing the old.

We talked about cutting the project into two phases. The kitchen and two bathrooms might be 2/3s of the project, the Master suite and glazing wall of the Trees Room might be the other 2/3s. (My joke.)

Next step: I'd like to talk to Rejean Idzerda and Bruce Mosely, from his list of references. They did a kitchen remodel, master suite, and main floor reconfiguration. Ben offered to put me in touch with Daria, the house on 122nd where I saw the Blue Sound sign.