process – On ErikaRS' Mind

Moving and Initial Impressions

Posted on November 19, 2012June 18, 2023 by ErikaRS

Moving day! It was a long time coming, but we finally moved into our house in mid-October. We hired movers to handle everything in the townhouse we had been renting. They came on a Friday. We then rented a U-Haul truck and had help from friends and family to empty out our storage unit on Saturday.

Moving went smoothly. Settling in was a bit more difficult. While the majority of the work was done, there were a lot of details to finish after we moved. For example, they were still finishing the wood floors the day we moved in, so that evening we went out to dinner and a movie to give the floors a chance to dry.

The biggest missing piece was the stair rails. This made it easier to move furniture and boxes up and down the stairs, but wasn’t quite appropriate for a finished house. The next week was spent finishing the stair rails. Since then, there has been at least some work each weekday to finish up the remaining details. The remaining tasks are recorded in a punchlist, which is being checked off at a steady rate.

The first few days living here were exciting. Partly because this is a nicer house than any of the previous places we’ve lived. Mostly because we are finally living in this house that we designed ourselves and have watched every step of the way. Despite everything we’ve done, living here was still new. We knew the layout, the materials, the details, etc. It looked familiar and was designed around us, but living in it is still a different experience. We could really experience the advantages of the design, and appreciate the materials and construction techniques.

Reality set in fairly quickly, though. While all our stuff was within the premises of our house, we were a long way from “moved in”. Unpacking was complicated by the fact that work was still being done on our house. Most of our shelving wasn’t installed until a few days after we moved in, so we couldn’t immediately unpack clothes. Paint touch-ups were still in-progress, so we were a bit cautious about blocking walls.

There were some bugs and obstructions to deal with initially. The master shower had a bug where the water was either fully hot or fully cold, with no temperature adjustment in-between. Our bathroom and dressing room held a pile of stair rails. The kitchen counter was mostly covered with construction paraphernalia.

These particular issues have been resolved, but there are still some inconveniences. The largest one is that the garage is not ready to have a car in it. It is full of our boxes that need to be unpacked and construction equipment belonging to our builder. All of that needs to be cleared out and the floor painted before we can park our car in there. Having always had access to a garage, it has been difficult seeing our poor MINI sit outside in the cold and rain for weeks at a time. More practically, it has prevented us from putting proper winter tires on the car.

Some annoyances derive simply from adjusting to a new place. The mini-split heating system seems to be working well, but we’re still learning the proper adjustments to keep the house comfortable. The kitchen is wonderful, but we are still learning how to use the stove, oven, dishwasher, etc. and figuring out the locations of all the kitchen implements.

There are plenty of details to enjoy, though. The master suite is excellent — the bedroom is quiet and cozy, the dressing room is functional (even without chairs and a side table yet), and the bathroom is just right for us. The kitchen is working well, and the induction stove is amazing to cook with. The media room is everything we hoped for. We’ve already been enjoying movies and video games, and hosted a few gatherings that took advantage of it.

As time passes, we’re increasingly enjoying our house. Items are being crossed off the punchlist, bringing the construction closer to complete. Boxes are being unpacked, bringing the house closer to moved-in. And we are becoming more used to living here, bringing it closer to feeling like home.

Despite this big step in the process, we’re not done blogging! There are still plenty of areas we have not yet written about; and even once those are covered, we’ll be writing more posts about our experiences using the space.

Why Design Is Not Done

Posted on October 24, 2011June 18, 2023 by ErikaRS

Now that construction has started, we’ve been asked: “Oh, now you just get to sit back and watch, right?” The answer is “No, not at all.”

We work with the principle: “design only what we need”. Some major design elements are needed from the beginning. The floor plan and building structure determine everything else. Details such as windows were required for permitting. The kitchen needs to be ordered early. Since the colors in the kitchen are closely related to the colors of the floor and counter, we’ve chosen those too. These major decisions are the ones that we have finished.

But there are many more decisions that are still to be made. We have delayed some decisions simply because they are not needed earlier. For example, we’ve just started talking to a craftsman about the front door. This class of decisions follow the construction schedule. A few of the many other items in this category are hardscaping (driveway, outside walkways, etc.), landscaping, deck material and railings, stair railings, interior doors and hardware, kitchen backsplash, shelving, and light fixtures.

We intentionally delay other decisions until we have more information and context. For example, many of the colors will be finalized once we can test them on the building. We have a general color scheme chosen, but once the siding is up we can apply some paint swatches and choose the exact colors. We haven’t even begun to think about carpet and interior wall colors. Another example is wiring. Once the frame is up, we can walk through the structure and decide on exact positions for light switches, electrical outlets, and any additional wiring such as Ethernet cabling and speaker wiring.

We delay other decisions because we do not know they are needed. Some decisions have unintended consequences that we have to take into account later. We discovered one example recently. Our island is 11′ long, but CaesarStone comes in slabs up to 10′ in length. We can live with it and have a seam in the counter where two pieces of stone join together. We can attempt to shorten the island to 10′. We can tweak the counter design to avoid or integrate the seam. We could even change the counter to another material. Luckily, we learned about this issue early enough that we have time to address it (though shortening the counter would affect the imminent cabinet order). Not everything will be so accommodating.

The early stages of construction are interesting to watch but don’t require a lot of input from us. We don’t really have anything useful to say about the size of the foundation hole or the concrete being poured. As construction progresses more elements will need our input, and we will be more involved in the construction process. Some of these decisions will be minor, but some will be required to allow construction to move forward. We will be kept busy designing throughout the entire construction period. In fact, this may be our slow period!

Custom Construction Loan

Posted on September 25, 2011June 18, 2023 by ErikaRS

Last week we closed on a custom construction loan with Washington Federal.

When it comes to construction financing, there are two major options (unless you can self-finance): get a bank loan or get a private bridge loan.

Private bridge loans allow you to move faster, can be easier to get, and provide more freedom. For example, a bank may not approve a loan for a home using non-standard construction methods. However, they are more expensive; interest was 15-20% on the loans we considered. Refinancing a private loan once construction is complete can be more difficult because the bank considers the project more risky than one it has already vetted.

Bank loans require a long process of approving the borrowers, builder, and project, but they are cheaper. Depending on the bank, a construction loan may have a standard mortgage rate plus a fee equal to some percentage of the loan or the loan may have a rate 2-3% higher during the construction period. Banks tend to be more rigorous about inspections, which can be both a benefit and a hindrance.

We chose Washington Federal on Yuval’s recommendation. As a builder, he finds them easy to work with, and they have a good reputation (e.g., Erika’s grandparents thinks they are the best choice). Another advantage is that their construction loan automatically converts to a standard mortgage; no refinancing needed.

The standard credit application for us was approved easily, and Yuval was already verified as a builder with them. The project approval required a fully-approved permit set, along with a budget breakdown, and some other details. This part of the process took longer than normal, first because we had to wait for the permits, and second because the bank had problems finding an available appraiser who was willing to evaluate a modern, green, construction project in Bellevue.

Once everything was approved, the bank worked on finalizing the paperwork and getting it sent to escrow. I worked on getting a course of construction insurance policy in place, along with some other minor details. Once the escrow agent had the documents, we wired the funds for the fees and down-payment, signed all the documents, and the bank managed to close the loan the same day. And now construction can start! Excavation is scheduled to start October 1st.

Construction Contract

Posted on August 27, 2011June 18, 2023 by ErikaRS

Another milestone has been reached! We signed the construction contract with YS Development.

The contract specifies the responsibilities of both sides, the fixed price of construction, the start date and timeline, and the penalties that apply if either side fails to meet their obligations. YS Development has a base contract for their projects. Our final contract integrated terms from the standard AIA contract and others terms suggested by What Your Contractor Can’t Tell You into that base.

We waited this long to finalize the contract because we needed a cost. Yuval worked hard to get quotes from vendors that were as close to accurate as possible; a fixed price contract needs to be based on reliable data. The final number was close to the target we had aimed for. We included a bit extra for small changes and contingencies for some small items that need to be finalized. With the quotes in, the price of construction could be locked, and the contract signed.

This was one of the easier pieces of business we’ve dealt with, and now that it is settled construction can start in earnest (well, once we finalize financing).

Permits Issued

Posted on August 24, 2011June 18, 2023 by ErikaRS

We finally have city-approved permits for building our house! The last sign-off happened a couple weeks ago, but it took an additional week to finish processing everything and get the permit set ready to issue. If you are curious, you can view the online history/status of the process by the city.

Brent, the project manager, scanned the corrected plans into a PDF and made copies to work from. The official permits must remain on site, but they would get too tattered if they were the working set. The official set is usually kept safe in a box and work is done off the copies.

We should be starting construction shortly. Yuval has started prepping the site (getting a survey, staking the boundaries, and removing trees that will be in the way). Excavation is scheduled to start within a few weeks, maybe even by the end of the month. The last thing we’re working on is getting financing fully approved and closed. Soon we should have regular status updates with pictures of construction!

Permitting and a Trail

Posted on July 18, 2011June 18, 2023 by ErikaRS

We haven’t forgotten about this blog; it’s just that things have been moving pretty slowly since we submitted the permitting documents a month and a half ago. We’ve worked on non-design topics; construction contract, budget, and financing have been the biggest items. We’ll talk about some of those a bit more in a future post, once things are mostly settled there.

The biggest blocking piece was the permit from the city. The initial review finished in about a month, and resulted in a request for some revisions. The building reviewer wanted more notes and details on the plans, along with some extra structural engineering for the foundation. At the same time, Yuval decided to revise the foundation to reduce expense. The original design had a slab-on-grade garage, and it required a large retaining wall on the west edge of the garage (i.e., lots of pricey concrete and steel). The revised design modifies the foundation to follow the slope of the land, and uses concrete supports under the garage. The garage will be framed with thick wood with concrete poured on top.

But the major hurdle was trail requirements. When the land was initially divided into the smaller lots for building, Bellevue required some improvements to the land. They wanted the unofficial dirt trail down the hill developed into a real trail with pedestrian and bike lanes and some landscaping. Yuval worked with them, and they changed the requirement to a trail easement, with the development to be done by the city at a later point. Our lot has the easement on it (a 15′ foot strip along the south edge). It made our land a bit narrow, but we were able to work within the confines. We weren’t too worried about having a trail there, because the neighborhood seems fairly quiet. It would be a huge benefit to us, since it leads down to a lot of shops and buses.

While reviewing our documents, the city told us we needed to do the trail development as part of construction. The trail will be nice to have, but we weren’t counting on the extra cost. The hill we’re on is steep enough that it will have to be stairs. We’re guessing that over 150′ of stairs and railing would be significantly more expensive than a bit of sidewalk.

This requirement surprised Yuval too. He represented us (since we now own the land), and did all the work of talking to the city about the issue. Eventually, a legal review found that Yuval had a special agreement with the city for this issue, so we do not have to develop the trail. Instead, we’ll work with the city to design it and construction will happen later.

Current status: The revised permits are under review. Since the trail issue has been settled, the main work from the city should be the building review. They know we are on an expedited schedule, so we’re hoping the permits will come through fairly soon. And after that, construction!

Permitting Documents Submitted!

Posted on June 2, 2011June 18, 2023 by ErikaRS

We have finally submitted the required documents for getting permits from the city to start construction; the submission process was called ‘Permit Intake’ — yes, there is a process to start the process. We submitted them on the last day of May. The intake process involves initial reviews to make sure our documents are in order and look reasonable. Now they go through the full review process. To encourage green construction, Bellevue has a program which completes permitting within six weeks (the normal process, to our amazement, takes twice as long). As soon as the permits are approved, we can break ground. We should be able to start construction around mid-July.

There’s still plenty to do in the meantime (mostly on Yuval’s plate). We need to get the construction contract signed, agree upon a more detailed budget, draw up a construction schedule, and finalize construction financing. We are close to finalizing the kitchen and bathroom designs from Pedini and will be placing that order near the start of construction. We also want to get a siding scheme finalized soon. Yuval will start sharing the plans with others in charge of specific areas. On area is framing; once that is done, we can order the lumber. Another is mechanical, to get detailed designs for HVAC and hot water supplies.

Submitting the permits was an important milestone and puts us that much closer to starting construction.

It looks like a house!

Posted on February 13, 2011June 18, 2023 by ErikaRS

Design is progressing nicely. Markus modeled our house in CAD which brings us one step closer to permitting and construction. Moving from simple layouts to a computer model gives us our first views of the building’s massing — how the house sits on the land, height, roof form, etc. This makes the building much more real. Clockwise from the top left we have the west, south, northwest, and southeast perspectives.

As the images show, our lot has a strong slope from east to west. The garage is actually elevated a few feet above the main level to decrease the slope of the driveway (bottom left image). The slope also gives us additional height: a limit of 30′ from average grade gives us a total of about 35′ on the west side. To take advantage of this, Markus added the 35′ stair tower as a distinctive architectural feature (bottom right image).

We still need to decide on window placement and roof form. The images above show a flat roof. We like how the flat roof emphasizes the strong horizontal elements of the soffits and decks. However, all of the other homes in the community will likely go with butterfly roofs. We are going to look at several roof forms in the context of the neighborhood. As you can see below, in isolation the flat roof definitely looks best.

Computer models aside, we’re not planning on having a home made out of gray, featureless pixels. Although we have awhile before we finalize the external colors and materials, we have found an inspiration for our exterior. It is another home from Whitney Architecture, the firm our architect works for:

We like the elegance and simplicity of the limited palette of materials and colors and the contrasts between horizontal and vertical, dark and light, warm wood and cool silvers/grays.

Short Update

Posted on January 23, 2011June 18, 2023 by ErikaRS

Design is moving along, albeit a bit slowly. Between the holidays and some other deadlines, the architect has been kind of busy. But Yuval is aware that we’re behind schedule, so he’s going to make sure that the focus stays on the two houses in the Bellevue project for a while. Our house is currently being put into a CAD program, and that work is almost done. We should be able to review that soon (hopefully within a couple weeks). After that, we will hopefully be kept busy while the design is pushed through and prepared for permitting.

We’re looking at an April-May target to starting construction. This is 1-2 months behind our original schedule, but it will still be a good time to start. All the foundation and framing and most of the exterior can be finished before it gets too cold and wet in the fall and winter. (One of the other houses under construction had its foundation poured during the winter, but they had to pay a lot of attention to temperatures.) So with optimal time of year, and lessons and processes learned from the other houses, we’re hoping our construction will progress at a nice pace.

We also had a chance to see the first house in the project. It is nearing completion. We hadn’t seen it since before the drywall went up, and it now has all the flooring in, walls painted, and is been sealed up and heated. The exterior is almost all complete, too. It is looking more like a real house, and you can start to get a sense for how it will look when complete; and how nice all the material finishes are (during construction, we found it hard to appreciate the quality — particle board, concrete and framing boards looks pretty much the same all over). It will also allow us to start seeing how various materials and finishes look in a real home, and hopefully help us as we start making decisions on all these pieces, too.

Hopefully we will have more exciting updates soon!

Size, Cost and Decisions

Posted on December 28, 2010June 18, 2023 by ErikaRS

The previous post looked at just the layout of the floor plans, and some comparisons between them. Here we talk about some other issues that were raised by these plans, and what we’ve decided to do.

Size

After seeing these two sketches, we spent a while discussing size. The first sketch, with the fully built downstairs was around 2600 sqft. The second, with only stairs on the lower floor, was 2300 sqft. We decided that we could not fit everything we wanted into just 2000 sqft without feeling cramped. We do a lot of entertaining, and hosting people comfortably requires space — space for a dining room big enough to seat 10-12 people, space for a dedicated media room big enough to sit 10-12 people, space for a kitchen big enough to support both of us cooking regularly, etc.

Looking at projected costs, our budget, and our desires, we decided that 2500 sqft was a reasonable target. That would give us enough space to comfortably fit everything we really wanted without going outside what we can afford. This pushes total estimated cost to roughly $825k, which is a far cry from our original estimate of $700,000. However, as we get closer to starting construction, we have a better idea of how much money we actually have saved versus how much we need to borrow. Based on those numbers, things look fine.

Are we worried that costs will keep increasing like they have been? Yes and no. We are not in a situation where things are costing more than we expected in an initial budget. Instead, we are choosing to increase our budget to get more space than we originally planned.

Plus, now that we are close to locking down a layout, the size will be fairly fixed. The remaining unknown cost is construction, and that tracks size fairly closely, so our costs should be stabilizing. There is some contingency built into the construction budget, and other large budget additions can be planned as alternate additions (which we can choose to include or not later in the process). So hopefully, at this point, we should be able to manage the costs at a finer level.

Decisions

We had a good meeting with Markus (the architect) and Yuval (the builder) to discuss the plans, and work through some options. We considered (and eventually abandoned) an interesting design that attempted to combine the media and living room on the north edge of the main room; we could shut off a smaller media room or open it up to the main living spaces to get seating for larger groups.

We eventually decided to go with a modified version of plan two, with the stair on the west. Because we could not get a media room that met our criteria on the main floor, we decided to build out the media room downstairs. This allows us to shrink the north-west corner of the main floor (the media room in plan 2) and use it as an office. This should allow us to hit our target of 2500 sqft, and get a nice layout all-around.

With the general layout/relation of rooms locked down, we’ll move to a deeper exploration in CAD to allow us to get sizes nailed down, and start getting a better idea of what the house will look like on our site in all three dimensions!