Fluesheet Wrote:

Gary S Wrote:Russ, several years ago a friend of mine got transferred from Houston to California. His home here in Houston was a really nice 2500 square foot house in an upscale neighborhood. He sold it for $350,000. When he went to California to buy a new house, he found out that his $350,000 didn't go very far. The difference in housing costs from Texas to California surprises me. We really do have a very low cost of living.

Similar story - my company's headquarters are in SF, CA. I've spoken to several folks about housing costs, and even with the premium paid for folks working there, I can't figure out how many afford it. I've decided that they just have to learn to be comfortable with a MUCH higher debt load than I.

The building is fascinating Gary. Though you make me feel slow and unproductive...

The cost for property in much of the S. F. Bay area make So Cal look cheap by comparison! A house in So Cal costing 500k will cost $1 million in San Fran. area, even more in the city itself!

Update: I am waiting for delivery of my air conditioner - a "through the wall" Friedriche model. The actual AC isn't due from the factory until the end of March, but the "sleeve" should be here in the next few days. That is what is holding me up right now. I still have 3 pieces of sheetrock to put on, but can't because I will have to cut through the exterior wall sheathing and redo some of the studs and add a header above the AC location.

I hope to get the chance tomorrow to finish what little bit of brick trim and soffit I have left on the exterior.

One of these days, I will get the old layout moved in there and get started on the new shelves!

Is the air conditioner going to be mounted like a "window shaker" through the hole in the wall, or are you going to put duct work in the attic with registers allowing the air to blow down? Will your building have heat or is the air conditioner unit a heat pump as well? Here in So Cal near the beach I would still want heat for any building in winter. The temps seldom get below 50 degrees and usually they are above 60, but temps much below 68 degrees aren't that comfortable to work in. I think if I had a building housing a model railroad and the temp was 60 degrees in the building, I would probably not go out to work on the railroad. I would just wait for warmer weather.

Russ, the AC is similar to a window unit. However, it has a housing which is designed to be built into the wall. The unit has both heating and cooling, so it'll be comfortable both in summer and winter.

Looking good, Gary. I'm sure there are a lot of members here who are like me and jealous of your building, or at least wish they had the property with space to build something like that!

Just curious...Did you have to get a building permit for your building..?? And will it need an "official" inspection..??

Russ, I feel lucky to have the resources to build my building. I certainly hope that no one is jealous... and once the layout is up and running, any Gauge member is certainly welcome to come and share it with me! On that note, anyone who wants to help me build the layout is also welcome!

Gus, I live in an unincorporated area of the county, and there are no permits or inspections needed. Now, if I wanted windstorm insurance, I would have to get an insurance inspector to look at it. But since I built it rock-solid, I'm not worried about that.

Gary S Wrote:Gus, I live in an unincorporated area of the county, and there are no permits or inspections needed. Now, if I wanted windstorm insurance, I would have to get an insurance inspector to look at it. But since I built it rock-solid, I'm not worried about that.

Interesting. For my last job, I often had to visit unincorporated areas of Arizona. Many of the access roads had signs posted that reminded people building permits were required. From the looks of things, probably half of the buildings in these areas were renegade. I saw some very sketchy stuff out there, and ran across people equally renegade as their dwellings. Needless to say, it is important to know what you are doing when traveling off the main roads around these parts. Think of a bad horror movie.

Kevin, the State of Texas leaves the inspections up to the local governments. Almost all of the decent sized cities and towns have permits and inspections, but most counties don't. But not to worry, I built this thing real solid and it meets or exceeds the electrical codes too.

Now, as you have seen, I also see some VERY sketchy construction around here. But hey, it is their property and if they want sketchy, more power to'em.

I know that the major progress on your building has pretty much slowed down and now it's down to the details. BUT, I have to admit that I got used to your frequent posts with so many fine pictures and now that that's come to a halt, I find myself going into picture withdrawls.
Any progress pics?

TN, I appreciate that. I'm out of town right now, but will get some pics when I'm back. I did finish the exterior soffits and trim on Sunday. I also have the coved corners installed. Now, if I can just get that AC sleeve, I'll put it in and install the last few pieces of sheetrock, hire a finisher, and hopefully will be putting up shelf brackets before we know it!

i do volunteer work for a children's camp in the mountains near Wrightwood here in So Cal, and they have just the opposite problem. They lease the property from the U.S. Forrest Service because it is located in the Angeles National Forrest, but it is also located in an unincorporated part of Los Angeles County. They need to get permits for any construction from both the county and the Forrest Service. Guess what, the county and the Forrest service disagree about almost everything! Imagine trying to build something with two government agencies each telling you to do it their way and not the other's way!

Russ Bellinis Wrote:i do volunteer work for a children's camp in the mountains near Wrightwood here in So Cal, and they have just the opposite problem. They lease the property from the U.S. Forrest Service because it is located in the Angeles National Forrest, but it is also located in an unincorporated part of Los Angeles County. They need to get permits for any construction from both the county and the Forrest Service. Guess what, the county and the Forrest service disagree about almost everything! Imagine trying to build something with two government agencies each telling you to do it their way and not the other's way!

If you think that is rough, try working for the enforcement agency. They aren't the ones responsible for making the red tape, but they are responsible for hanging it. When I worked for a regulatory agency, all I cared about was gathering the information I needed to complete my task. Any other weirdness that I ran into I let be someone else's responsibility. As one angry landowner screamed at me, "I live out here for a reason - to get away from the government". My job was simply to verify well records from an old and poorly maintained well database. I ran into plenty of angry landowners who wanted to complain about everything, and the only information I cared about was whether a well still existed. In the process I ran across structures that had collapsed, people living in trailers that may be missing windows or doors, people living without plumbing or septic systems, marijuana gardens... These people were living 25 miles from pavement, and 25 miles from electricity. As far as I was concerned, if they want to live that far away and that lifestyle, that is their choice. My job was simply to verify a well database. Anything else was beyond my jurisdiction and I did not have the time or resources to deal with.

Kevin, I remember AZ before it became "Eastern California!" If you think you've seen some weird "houses," you should have seen it back then!! Especially in the Verde Valley!! (ca1958)

As promised, some photos for TrainNut:

Outside: just need to purchase the brick and hire a bricklayer. Will probably wait a couple of months so hopefully the yard will be dry enough to unload the brick near the building.

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Last weekend, I finished the soffits and brick trim:

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Inside, this is looking down the left side towards the coved corners. This area is 10 feet wide. The layout will follow the walls in a U-shape here.

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This is the right side of the building. Similar to the left side... coved corners ans U-shaped shelves.

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Looking from the dead end toward the door:

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And the incomplete area where the air conditioner will go. The appliance store said the sleeve won't be here until wednesday.

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