Piecing it together [s]

A door.


A solar tube - seen at night.


A wood beam, now shown to be wood.


Someday, a fireplace.


Jon on the texture gun.

Living room [i]

So I'm pretty happy with the resolution to my previous indecision.





Thanks to Jessica for pointing out the rectangular patch indicating that there was, at some point, an infestation of ceiling cats.

Domestication [s]

So a little while ago the Morelos Era came to an end. It was an lengthy, sickly death with people coming and going in the closing weeks - not befit of the three years of history within the walls. Everyone's parted ways for greater commitments, girls mostly, so I guess it's time to grow up. No more California burritos and daily house memes.

But on account of a rear differential, the vr is not comfortable for sleeping so I decided to close on the reo I was looking at (in lieu of a live axle swap). The neighbors (and phone bills) tell me it used to belong to the dude that wore this:



And that explains the 90s-fabulous satellite dish, sauna, security system, and wallpaper. Oh the wallpaper.

The place has amazing potential though, and since it's in general disrepair I'll have to fix everything to my own liking (with some concessions for budget and resale).

• It's 2000+ feet with vaulted ceilings, a fairly uncommon feature in San Diego unless you're looking at new tract homes way out east.
• West end University City is quite nice. There's very little through traffic and being on a hill means the lots are quite spread out. No houses across the street.
• Built on an incline, the house and yard have some added character.
• Spacious two car garage, but that was a foregone conclusion in my search.
• A large deck that affords a nice view of Mt. Soledad.
• A small, but deep swimming pool.

Really the only complaint I could have would be its proximity to the 5-52 interchange. By no means is it right up on the freeway, but there's certainly a presence when outdoors. I'm okay with it as a fact of life in Southern California, and it's far better than hearing coffee can mufflers in Miramesa, Sorrento Valley Road commuters, or loud whine characteristic of I-5 north of 56. Just as important, property values in San Diego seem to completely independent of ambient noise.



In keeping with my blog as a time line and howto for years down the road, I'll cover the renovations. Of course I'm trying to do as much of it myself as possible. The obvious reasons are promptness, cost effectiveness, the security and perfection of work done by the person with the greatest stake in the project, and the opportunity to learn very valuable skills.

First to go were the dank carpets. They accounted for 60% of the smell. Next was the ceiling popcorn. Without a doubt this was the least palatable task. It's messy (you have to wet it down and hack it off with a putty knife), it smells, and there's a lot of it. Combine this with vaulted ceilings and you have a very daunting task.

With the ceilings clear I was able to knock out the portions sitting under the new skylights. I'm pretty happy with the distribution I decided on, they add quite a bit to the kitchen, living room, and master bedroom.

My dad and Rob came down for a week of great industry. Jon quickly learned how to texture ceilings and walls, then hit them with the paint gun. As it stands there are three bedrooms, plus the master, that are good to go from the baseboards up.

I have Connie to thank for getting rid of (most of) the annoying wall between the master bedroom and sink area though I'm still perplexed as to what to do about the spot. Jessica was prodigious with the spackling all the while.



Pool Boy Rob was the driving force behind converting the pond into a swimming pool. His research meant we could execute on the work needed to get it up and running. The first step was to rent a pump and drain it as the attached equipment was missing or in disrepair. Clairemont Equipment supplied the device for $42 + tax + required damage coverage. Connie and Jessica made sure to rescue the mosquito fish that the city never picked up.



Once the pond was converted to a skate park, we set upon it with a power washer, tsp, and muriatic acid. This eliminated most of the staining and prepped it for the epoxy painting that we waffled over.







We ordered the paint just as PBR had to leave on a cross country rock tour (sans band). The next day Curt and I put down the Nelsonite Poolpoxy primer with rollers. It was a two hour process made difficult by how quickly the paint became tacky and the porousness of the pool surface. The following two days I put on the two layers of topcoat as prescribed by the instructions, using two and a half gallons of primer, two gallons of coat one, and just over a gallon of coat two. Next came the five day curing period.



I can't yet speak for the material's effectiveness as a protectant or its ability to bond to the pool surface, but visual appeal has benefited greatly.

House quandary I [i]

This is the first of what will be many design quandaries.

Skylights are great things. They have a functional purpose of lighting dark rooms for free. They look good in the same way a moon roof looks good on a car - it's nice to see sky above you. Also they can add variation to a monotonous ceiling.

I've noticed that single skylights fulfill the function very well - especially when positioned high above. Installing three or more in close proximity looks very good as they provide a windowlike view of the world above. Two adjacent fixtures is kind of no man's land. (See images).

I have four skylights, approximately 2'x4'. They are clear, fixed, uv proof, and well insulated. I have three candidate locations for them.

1. Master bedroom. It is on the north side and has little in the way of natural lighting. So from the practical perspective the room would benefit greatly from extra light. Its orientation means there would be no annoying direct sunlight and I'd work out a shade mechanism for when I want dark. The adjacent master bathroom would benefit as much as the bedroom. The ceiling is large and vaulted so it could accommodate any number of skylights without any tunnels through an attic.
2. Living room. It's in the same situation as the master bedroom, lightwise. The entryway and dining room would snag a worthwhile amount of ambient light from any source placed here. More people would enjoy skylights placed here, however the living room doesn't need to be very bright. Then again, to have a cascade of sky above the couch would be pretty cool.
3. Kitchen. The recessed lighting for the kitchen sits a couple feet below the west roof. It would support a single fixture that would complement the windows very well. This would be a highly functional installation.

Update:
I think I'm set on a strategy. The lighting provided to the bathroom and kitchen is irreplaceable so I'm definitely going there. If ever there were a place to pair skylights it'd be at the 5'x5' square above the master bathroom, shown below. The living room will benefit from the extra light source and if views of the sky appeal in the near future, perhaps I'll add a larger piece.

Here are some mindblowingly photorealistic renderings of what it would look like if San Diego had clouds and you were hallucinating.


The skylight will become an excellent light source for the otherwise dark living room. The placement is based on the rule of thirds and avoiding the overhanging eave on the near side.


Two skylights here looks good and provides ample light for the sink area. If it works out I'd like to remove part or all of the adjacent wall such that the shower area is no longer a cave.

Jessica brings up a solid consideration. I'll have to see how dirty the glass gets. They'll be easily reached by hose, but I'll arrange ready roof access should cleaning be required.

I also picked up two solar tubes, having seen them in some MB lofts this weekend. They'll be perfect to replace the existing recessed hallway and second bathroom lights.