Moraga Ipe Deck Restoration

 

Day 1...
This property was going on the market late 2022.
 The deck had some obvious settlement issues
 and the realtor wanted it to look like Ipe again...

The house itself had stunning ipe floors inside as well.

After lots of sanding
and structural corrections to sliding footings
I suggested a design change for the railings 
(instead of sanding 1000 balusters to bring the color back)

I proposed a horizontal railing for 2 reasons:
1) its half the labor cost of sanding original balusters
2) it looks waaay better

See that tall redwood tree?
 it's going to fall over in 2 months...

The property Nextdoor is 50' below the deck. 
A 15' tall retaining wall supports these 10' tall deck posts

The home owner was hesitant at first but loved the transformation when finished

Restored the original ipe gate

No more low spots

This is where the redwood tree is going to land...

staircase down to retaining wall

Concrete pads going in next

Resealed everything 

Ready to go on the market!

and then...

75' Redwood tree fell short of the house by 3"
Let's take a step back
and at least enjoy the irony
of a (jealous) redwood tree
sabotaging an ipe deck.
🤣

Los Altos, CA - A Custom Gardening Work Bench accessible via Bridge into Deer-Proof Plant Nursery

 Garden work bench project
Los Altos, CA

My proposed garden work bench w/ pull out shelves...

 the granite top is getting installed 

on the top half of work bench 

by 3rd party. 

Dry creek bed going around plant nursery needed a bridge incase of rain.
The dirt will be cut back to make the approach more linear.
The deer won't stop giggling until someone digs a moat
 and upgrades this to a draw bridge

My first draft of a bridge wasn't accepted
Some people were not fond of the arch
(I heard a bridge w/o nice hand railings is a jetty
or a plank)

In my never ending quest to make people stop trippin'
I changed the bridge boards to run vertical.
Don't want anywho's catching a toe
and not know'n how to swim.
SAFETY FIRST

6 planter boxes with irrigation ran into each box.
Obviously a genius built these
 bc the corners are lapped not mitered =D  

Looks like a carpenter wizard was here

 

Modern Outdoor Benches and Flush Deck in Orinda CA

There is a development in Orinda that should prolly be its own city. You can't see it from HWY 24 but if you explore the second exit after the tunnel you'll stumble upon Wilder, a recently developed community of contemporary houses on unforgettable streets like this one; MonkeyFlower lane

Secret access hatch to a 1,000 gallon (buried) catch basin for rain water. They say on average, each person uses 82 gallons of water per day. I guess it would take 12 days of catching your own grey water to fill the hidden basin under this deck. I'd add an aquarium heater, + a remote controlled solenoid to open the hatch; 

Go-Go-Gadget Hot tub...! 

New composite deck is only 4" above grade. 

Same height as the concrete patio 

and the floors inside the house

Also same height as the grass

All hidden fasteners

 

El Sobrante Bathroom Remodel

 

Day 1...

Day 2... Surprises!  3 layers of flooring between 3 layers of plywood in this bathroom. + The hot water shutoff valve under the vanity sink wouldn't stop dripping so gave it 1 more turn, by hand, and the whole valve broke off @ full water pressure. So of course the main shutoff was buried in dirt. 

Day 10...

Prolly wondering why the valve is way over here? Plans call for a bench to go under shower head

Cable railings on new deck project in Richmond, Victorian restoration in Oakland & a gondola relocated from Orinda

West Oakland victorian restoration

 

Relocating and roofurbashing a gondola with cedar shingles

New deck in Richmond, CA

I don't mitre my deck railings anymore. One alternative to mitering corners is using Lapped joints. Stronger and they will never open up. No screws within sight anywhere

Cedar Fence - Webster St. Oakland

Western Red Cedar Fence, driveway gates, entry gates, and arbohr designed and built by Cahl Roach 

Remote controlled driveway gates

After

Cedar gate glue-up

3D rendering of fence and gates with pergola

Cutting mortice and tenons for gates

Before

 

After

blank canvas

3D rendering of proposed fence and gates

I also installed 2 more gates down the side of the house

all glued up

2 gates installed with a fill panel on the left

Big gate in the middle and a person gate on the right