Thursday, January 27, 2011

51 Ord Street; completed

All finished and on the market for sale.

Here is what 51 Ord Street looked like in the middle of the project

We are in the middle of the project here.  500 cubic yards of dirt was removed.  Over 200 cubic yards of new concrete foundation added.  Now we are going up.  Later we will extend forward to the street.

Getting started at 51 Ord Street

We dug down.  Where the Bobcat is was floor number two.  There was another floor we added below that.  Then we added another story up on top.  Then we pushed the front of the house out towards the street.  We are on a steep hillside here with nice views of the bay.

Revmoving dirt from 51 Ord Street

We removed 50 truck loads of dirt from underneath the existing house.  That is 500 yards of dirt.

Upstairs sitting area off the master bedroom and looking out on roof deck

Bathtub in master bathroom

Hot tub on the roof deck with a view of the bay






Projects completed.

51 Ord Street was my most ambitious project to date.  Basically, I did everything that I could.  Believe it or not, this is a 4000 square foot house, four stories on a lot that is only 27 feet wide by 72 feet long.  It is blessed to be in a highly desireable neighborhood with dramatic views of the bay.

I represented myself in the purchase.  I designed the project.  I drew all the architectural plans and obtained the permits.  Was the lead carpenter.  Was the general contractor.  Did most of the interior design.  Put as many windows in as I could.  Removed 50 dump trucks of dirt from underneath the house; its on a steep hillside.  Brought in over 200 yards of new concrete.  It was a effort of strength, determination and endurance.

Probably 155 Clipper Street, below, was a little more artistic for me.  I took a bastardized, aluminum box and turned it into an 1880's victorian.  I copied a house, detail for detail, about 3 blocks away.  The funny thing is that about two years later, the owners of the house 3 blocks away copied my exterior paint job, color for color, exactly.

Jody picked the colors.  Lynn added insights and ideas along the way.  My in-laws provided much of the financing.

Total transformation of 155 Clipper Street; front of building

This is the before and after of the renovation of 155 Clipper Street.  New front and back.  New ground floor.  New two car garage.  New bathrooms and kitchen.  etc.

New lower level, garage and facade for 155 Clipper St



New foundation; new ground level; new rear of house

Detail of 155 Clipper Street

In the Berkeley Hills with a view of the entire bay

This house made it into the book "Berkeley Rocks".  We put on that top story.  You can't see it but the far left side is a roof deck with a massive view of the entire bay area.  Some seismic retrofits down into the ground.  We exposed the rock in the basement.  New kitchen.  New baths.  New garage underneath the existing house.  New windows.  etc.  This was a very fun project.  Half a block from Indian Rock.

Moving a boulder upstairs into the master bathroom on Shattuck Avenue


We had to move this boulder upstairs from the driveway to the top floor master bathroom.  The boulder was built into the master shower.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

This is the replacement of the rear of Duncan St. duplex

Renovation of 307 Duncan Street

At the time, other people were afraid to purchase this duplex.  I am standing on the roof of the cottage at the rear.  We ripped off the rear of the duplex and replaced.  The cottage was mostly new by the time we finished with it.

Monday, January 17, 2011

The project that never was......it became a quick flip instead.




This was my final San Francisco project.  I bought it with the idea that it was going to be the next "big" project.  Right at that time, the City decided that you couldn't tear down any more "historical" houses.  Believe me, this thing was a piece of junk.  But, I managed to clean it up and flip it quick.  One year earlier, I could have jacked this thing up in the air one story and built a new structure underneath and called it a "remodel".  I would have fit in nicely with the neighbors and provided the major renovation that it really needed.  But, no.