Happy New year!
There is a start to everything and there at the start, are we.
The design and permitting process for the new house will be several months. In the interim, we will be working on the existing portion of the house that we intend to keep as well as perimeter fencing and lot preparation. We begin the project by grubbing the lot of all the unwanted vegetation and removing patios, slabs and storage sheds. The property had 30 year old chain link fencing that was in very bad condition. We actually broke the ram on the bobcat! Oops! Some trees were kept such as the Chinese Elm, We will wrap a water feature around that in the months to come. The open space canyon behind the property is approx. 10 acres and is part of the watershed that drains into the lagoon. That natural native vegetation will set the tone for our plant palette and landscaping of the home
The higher portion of the property is where the Herons' House will be built, the lower portion will be a vineyard. This picture is taken from the back balcony of the Egret.
February and the concept plans start to take shape. Bart Smith, our architect did a masterful job taking advantage of the slopes, the view, and our desire to have a relatively low, horizontal prairie style house. When built the Herons' House will be 3300+ sq ft and the Egret guest house will be 1100+ sq. ft. The Egret will be the two story portion of the existing house in the below pictures. We will replace the roof with a hip roof and all the doors and windows will be re done as well as new windows installed. The entire inside will be refurbished. The single story portion of the existing house will be dismantled, recycled and removed.
In the above and below pictures, 250 liner feet of footings are being hand dug for the southern masonry wall.
Mud! Over 13 yards in this footing alone.