Cleanup

Like I said in my previous post, we are trying to catch up with the photos and the process of what has happened since the fires a year ago.

We opted to have the lot cleaned up by a private company and have them leave the foundation in place. We were not sure if the foundation was still ok to build on or whether it would have to be removed. We hired an engineering firm to come out and drill a large set of "core samples" and perform a strength test in the lab. Luckily everything tested out perfectly - the damage to the foundation was cosmetic and some surface scratches that can be repaired pretty easily without compromising the strength of the slab.

The only structure that survived the fire was a little pool shed. It mostly had the pool pumps and pool equipment in it, but also a few moving boxes with some Christmas decorations, some old children's books and some other memorabilia. The fact that there were a few things that survived the fire, was so important to us.

Here are some photos after the cleanup:

The fire - project Phoenix

It took me a while to get organized enough to start the blog up again, but here it is. Sadly, our beautiful home was lost in the Tubbs fire in Santa Rosa more than a year ago. The fire raged a big part of the area we lived in and the house did not survive.

This blog entry represents our new project: Rebuilding Quietwater 2.0! We have decided to rebuild and are moving ahead quickly. We will not let the loss of the house define who we are nor do we want to look at ourselves as victims. We survived the fire, we will rebuild and we get to make changes to the house so that it will be even better than it was. It's like Phoenix rising from the ashes.

Here are some pictures from right after the fire before any cleanup had occurred.

Pool - now with water...

Today the pool guys come out very early morning and acid washed the pebble-tech surface to expose the pebbles. The picture here doesn't do the color justice - the pebble finish is a little darker than it appears in the photo.

Here is a better view of the finish

Then they started filling the pool with truck-loads of water. Our well water is not top-notch quality so we decided to fill it with water that was brought in instead.

And for the first time, we get a sense for what the pool looks like with the infinity edge - seeing these pictures I am so glad we insisted on keeping that in the budget and save on other items.

Someone really can't wait to get in...

Pool Pebble-Tech installation

Today the pool contractor is on site and is applying the pebble tech pool finish. We chose a dark blue (almost black) pebble finish. The process takes two days and the photos below are from day one. The backing substrate and the pebbles are applied and the finish looks uniformly blue until they come back on day two and acid wash the surface to expose the pebbles in the finish. 

We can see light at the end of the tunnel...

Now we are on the home stretch and there is tons of activity. Plumbers are finishing all faucets, drains, showers, etc

Glass railing being installed.

All countertops have been installed - and the cutout for the flush induction cooktop has been cut.

Countertop in the mudroom.

Our composite decking is being installed.

Water heater has been installed - we are using a Stiebel Eltron air-to-water heatpump heater.

More glass railing being installed on the second floor.

Driveway is poured - and deck build continues

Today the driveway was poured.

And the deck build continues. Looks like it's almost ready for the composite decking to go on. We decided to use a recycled composite deck plank that is made of recycled plastic bottles and bamboo fiber. Can't wait to see it installed.

Driveway ready to be poured - and deck build begins

The driveway is now ready to be poured. 

The plan is to pour tomorrow before the rain starts again.

Flooring is now complete on the second floor as well.

And outside the deck build has begun