As Americans downsize in the aftermath of a colossal real estate bust, at least one tiny corner of the housing market appears to be thriving. To save money or simplify their lives, a small but growing number of Americans are buying or building homes that could fit inside many people’s living rooms, according to entrepreneurs in the small house industry.

Some put these wheeled homes in their backyards to use as offices, studios or extra bedrooms. Others use them as mobile vacation homes they can park in the woods. But the most intrepid of the tiny house owners live in them full-time, paring down their possessions and often living off the grid.

“It’s very un-American in the sense that living small means consuming less,” said Jay Shafer, 46, co-founder of the Small House Society, sitting on the porch of his wooden cabin in California wine country. “Living in a small like this really entails knowing what you need to be happy and getting rid of everything else.”

Read more: at the Sacramento Bee

For all your real estate and construction needs
John J. O’Dell
Real Estate Broker
General Contractor
DRE# 00669941

How about this house, think it was built with a permit?

By Paul Bianchina

It’s an all too common situation. You find a perfect home for sale in an ideal neighborhood. It’s been beautifully remodeled, and it has everything you’ve been searching for. Even the price is right. Something tells you it might be too good to be true, but you put in an offer anyway, and it’s accepted.

You start doing all the paperwork, and sure enough you discover the catch that you always somehow suspected was there. The sellers did all of that remodeling work without any building permits.

So now you’re faced with a dilemma. You really want this house. The sellers insist that all the work was done by licensed contractors, and that they have full documentation and photographs of all the work as it was being done.

The sellers also tell you that they’re willing to allow any type of inspection on the home that you’d like — except for one by the city.

They explain that they had a bad experience with a building inspector on a previous home, or that they have an ongoing feud with the city over their water bill, or they’re protesting the fact that the city hasn’t fixed the pothole on Main Street yet, or some other reason that they refuse to become involved with the local municipality.

Through all this, you still want the house. Red flags are waving, but you’re trying to ignore them. After all, the remodeling really does look like it was done well, and you can certainly understand why the sellers would be protesting that big pothole, rather than trying to cover up bad workmanship on their own remodeling.

Perhaps you decide to go one step further and pay for inspections on the home, in the hope that someone is going to tell you that all is well, despite the lack of permits. You may even think that you can write some provisions into your sales contract that will offer some future protection for yourself.

Unfortunately, it’s probably time to walk away from this “too good to be true deal.”

A few hard realities

If the sellers are telling the truth about all of the work having been done by “licensed contractors,” then they should be willing to provide you with a list of all of their names, so that’s one of the first things you should ask for the sellers to provide. It’s doubtful you’ll get it, because in most states those contractors are risking hefty fines and even the loss of their licenses for doing remodeling work without a permit.

If the sellers are “open to any type of inspection,” ask if they’re willing to have all the walls opened up at their expense so your electrician and your plumber can thoroughly inspect the condition of the wiring and the pipes inside all of the concealed spaces.

This is what the city building inspectors that they were so anxious to avoid would have done. And this is what you, as the buyer, now have no access to. That’s one of the big problems here: If you decide to buy this house, you have no idea what’s hiding inside those walls.

If, at a later date, you have a fire or a water loss that’s related to some defect that’s been hidden somewhere by the seller or one of his contractors as part of this un-permitted work, your insurance company could deny all or part of your claim as a result.

I’ve personally been on jobs where that’s happened. Can you even imagine having a loss in your home that runs into the tens or even the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and then finding out it’s not covered because the previous owner didn’t like city building inspectors?

Still can’t live without that particular house? Then here’s what you need to do to protect yourself:

• The sellers need to provide all necessary building permits for the remodeling work.

• If they can’t do that, then they need to pay for a licensed structural engineer, a licensed electrician, a licensed plumber, and any other necessary professionals to inspect the work and issue letters stating that the structure currently meets or exceeds all current building codes. Using those letters, the sellers then need to contact the city building officials and obtain whatever the equivalent would be to a completed building permit.

• Once you have that paperwork, show it to your attorney and your homeowners insurance company to be certain it’s sufficient protection, and be sure that a copy of it is recorded with the escrow company.

Questions about real estate or construction?
Call John J. O’Dell
Real Estate Broker
General Contractor
530-263-1091

On the outskirts of a tiny agricultural town , Joseph, Oregon, where hay bales and tractors are the usual roadside attractions, sits a 1,440-square-foot glass box.

Three sides of the house are transparent, made from triple-paned glass, leaving the living area, kitchen and bedroom visible. The fourth wall is clad in cedar siding to protect against the wind in the winter. The glass walls, which climb to 16 feet in some places, overlook the 80 acres of farmland the house sits on, plus vistas of field, sky and mountain.

The couple screened four other architects before choosing Jim Olson of Olson Kundig Architects in Seattle, whose firm had designed several of the homes they had clipped from magazines over the years. “It’s not every day that someone comes in wanting something so small,” says Mr. Olson, whose residential projects usually range from 4,000 square feet to 15,000 square feet. “But I think there’s a certain luxury to be able to live in a minimal space surrounded by this incredible amount of nature.” The design and construction of the house and a nearby barn, used for guest and garage space, cost about $1 million.

A 78.5-acre parcel of land nearby, with a three-bedroom house, barn and other buildings, is listed for $1.5 million, according to Real Estate Associates.

“Everybody said, ‘How can you build a glass house out where it really gets cold in the wintertime?’,” says Ms. MartzEmerson. “Well, it’s warm and cozy inside.” Monthly utilities for the home run around $35.

Walls of glass are challenging for a meticulous couple who remove their shoes before entering the house. The couple have the glass professionally cleaned once or twice a year (the exterior takes about 10 hours), and regularly clean a few panes during their visits.

Read the rest of the story in the   Wall Street Journal

By Tina Perinotto

Here comes more proof that green buildings make sense – dollars and sense in fact. This time a study by the University of San Diego and CB Richard Ellis Group, found that tenants in green buildings experience increased productivity and fewer sick days, and that green buildings have lower vacancy and higher rental rates.

On the financial front in terms of rents and sales values, that’s exactly what Nils Kok, a professor at the University of Berkley, California and at Maastricht University in The Netherlands, found and presented to the Australian Property Institute and Australian Direct Property Investment Association, with his study, Doing Well By Doing Good. Energy efficient buildings were worth 17 to 18 per cent more than inefficient building and they earned 6 per cent more in effective rents, he said. [See our report http://www.thefifthestate.com.au/archives/7633]

Now preliminary findings from the latest report, Do Green Buildings Make Dollars and Sense? overseen by Dr Norm Miller, academic director and professor at the University of San Diego’s Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate, in collaboration with CBRE’s national director of sustainability, Dave Pogue, and Ray Wong, CBRE’s director of Americas research, has found that green buildings are more productive.

According to the research, which will be published later this year, green buildings are more productive on two measures:

The average number of tenant sick days and the self-reported productivity change. “Respondents reported an average of 2.88 fewer sick days in their current green office versus their previous non-green office, and about 55 per cent of respondents indicated that employee productivity had improved,” the report said.

This equated to a net impact of nearly $53.82 a sq m [$5.00 a sq ft] occupied, and the increase in productivity translated into a net impact of about $215.28 a sq m [$20 a sq ft] occupied, based on the average tenant salary, an office space of 23.23 square metres [250 square feet] per worker and 250 workdays a year.

“The study additionally showed that green buildings have 3.5 per cent lower vacancy rates and 13 per cent higher rental rates than the market,” CBRE’s Dave Pogue said.

“The results of this project are beginning to demonstrate the very real and positive impact of sustainable buildings for both our owners and tenant occupants. We have been seeking ways to make an empirical case for the economic benefits of sustainable practices and the results of this study exceeded our expectations,” he continued.

Mr Pogue said the research involved a survey of 154 buildings under CBRE’s management, totalling more than 5.35 million sq m of (51.6 million sq ft) and housing 3000 tenants in 10 markets across the US.

“The study defined a green building as those with LEED certification at any level or those that bear the EPA ENERGY STAR ® label. All of the ENERGY STAR ® buildings in the survey group had been awarded that label since 2008. Most of the buildings included in the research had also adopted other sustainable practices like recycling, green cleaning and water conservation.”

Dr Miller said: “This is an exciting time for the commercial real estate industry where great values and great investment upgrade opportunities coexist.  This window won’t last forever.

“We have now confirmed in this and other studies that green features and energy savings pays off.  Tenants care about healthy energy efficient buildings. We also know that green leases and managing to a new and higher standard will soon become the norm. Commercial real estate players have no choice but to learn how to be better in a sustainable way. We know the economics of green will drive the market, not altruism or concern about global warming,”

The  report also said:

• 18 per of tenants are willing to pay more for green space
• 61 per cent of tenants believe healthy indoor environments positively impact staff retention
• 70 per cent believe it impacts positively on client image
• 71 per cent felt that green lease provisions are increasingly important
• Each additional point of ENERGY STAR ® rating saved 0.8-1.0 per cent in electricity
• Separate metering yielded a 21 per cent energy savings, more than any other factor.

These findings are generally consistent with other research on this topic, which has determined buildings with the ENERGY STAR ® label, LEED certification or other identified sustainable programs generally perform better.

The Fifth Estate – sustainable property news

October 28

I building a barn for clients whom I built their home in 2002, than a workshop last year and now they have decided to build a barn. We lost a lot of time last week because of the rains.  We finished putting the roofing on today, finished the rough plumbing and actually screwed in a lot of the interior walls which are plywood.  It takes a little more time to use screws in set of nails, but if the client in the future wants to remove some of the walls or put blocking in, it will make it easier for them.

Today we get inspection for the framing, rough plumbing and hold-downs. Hold downs are so to speak, anchors into the foundation with brackets that attach to the framing. We should be close to finishing next week, and actually, the clients are putting hay in the barn this Friday.  They can do that and not be in our way at this stage of the barn building.

Let me know if you have any building needs……

Elizabeth Dunn, Licensed Landscape Architect

Hello readers, I am Elizabeth. John has extended an invitation for me to contribute to this blog.  My contributions will revolve around the continuing education of my profession.  I have a degree in Landscape Architecture and some people are still surprised that such a degree is available.  In this first post, however, I will talk about the design process learned in school.  We learned this process over and over for all sorts of projects including, private home landscapes, private business developments, community parks, vacation resorts, public developments, state and national parks, etc.  During those 5 years of undergraduate education, these 5 steps were essential to creating a successful design.

Step 1 – Existing Site Survey: This is the map showing the current conditions of the property.  The map would delineate the property lines, utilities, existing buildings, significant paved areas, etc. During step 1, the owner of the property should also be interviewed to discover what the intentions and desires are for the project site.

Step 2 – Site Analysis Plan: This plan builds upon the existing site survey by noting the physical conditions that affect the property.  These may include, the location of the sun throughout the year, the direction of the winds, the flow of the water over the land, views to enhance, views to screen, etc. The second step includes the creation of a narrative from the interview in step one.  The narrative defines the objectives of the project and guides the design in the remaining steps.

Step 3 – Concept Drawings: In the pen and paper days, this is the step that would have crumbled up pages strew over the floor.   The pages would get thrown over a shoulder throughout the day and night as ideas continued to evolve.  Finally a concept is developed that best meets the majority of objectives.  Of course the designer and the client might not always agree which concept does this.  Then more crumbled up paper would be strew about until eventually, the final concept is defined.

Step 4 – Construction Documents: This package of drawings help narrow the different interpretations of the concepts so all the different eyes on the project are seeing the same thing.  These documents describe with detailed drawings how the ideas will come to life by studying the individual elements in relation to the specific environmental factors of the site.

Step 5 – Construction Administration: This fancy title describes the continued communication between the designer and installer.  This communication is important, because even with the perfect set of construction documents, questions arise during the installation of a project.   The other important part of this step is to create a set of As-Built drawings.  These drawings record who installed the project, the final location of underground lines (i.e. irrigation and electrical lines), type of materials used and where they were purchased and specific plants installed.

So those are the 5 steps learned over 5 years in school.   1 year of tuition for 1 step in the process.  You’d think I would have learned it all for that price!  It is true that those years of education taught more than just those 5 steps and it also taught me to continue to study my profession.  So thanks to John for providing me the motivation to get the books out!

Elizabeth Dunn is a licensed Landscape Architect.  She spends the majority of her work days in the studio of Rebecca Cofffman Landscape Architects in Nevada City, CA.

Side of barn, siding is on, roof sheathing completed

October 12, like I said in my last two posts about I’m building a barn, one of my former clients is having me build them a 28′ x 42′ barn with a sheltered overhang that is 14′ x 42′ at the back of the barn. I had built their home several years ago and a workshop last year. This year they decided to get horses, so I designed a barn for them and this is a progress report.

Since a week ago Friday, we have compled the exterior framing and siding including the sheltered area. We have all the roof sheathing on, ready to roof. However it is supposed to rain tonight and for the next couple of days. So as you can so we are placing heavy duty plastic down over the roof and laying 2×4′s on top of the plastic so it won’t blow away.  The roof sheathing inside the barn has an aluminum face on the inside to help keep the barn cool in the summer.

In addition, the corral fencing is being moved so the horses can stay in the sheltered area to stay dry in the coming storm. This is another reason we placed the plastic over the entire roof area.

Nailing off the roof sheathing before laying plastic over the roof for temporary protection for the next few days of rain

We’ll be ready to roof as soon as the weather breaks.  Interested in having a home, garage, workshop or barn, designed and built?  Call John O’Dell 530-263-1091

I’m building a 1,176 square foot barn for a client for whom I built their home several years ago. Than last year I built a workshop for them

The progress since last week, when only the foundation was poured and the decomposed granite floor went in, is that all of the exterior walls have been framed. In addition, the trusses were delivered and are standing. Half the siding is in place and the windows have been delivered. Progress has been good and we are on schedule. Here are a couple of pictures of our progress.

Note that the trusses are “scissored” to give more volume to the barn and less chance of a horse hitting it’s head if it rears up.  The walls are ten foot high. Two of the interior stable walls are framed.

Do you have barn, workshop or home to build? We design and build to your specifications. Give us a call today at 530-263-1091.

The perimeter foundation is formed, ready for concrete to be poured.

I built a 3,850 square  home for this particular client in 2002. Than I built  a 1200 square foot wood working shop for them in early 2008. Now I’m building a barn for them since they have decided to have horses.

You can see in these pictures some of the latest progress.  The barn has a perimeter foundation, with decomposed granite for a floor instead of concrete. The decomposed granite will be much easier on the horses legs than a concrete floor.  We placed a perforated pipe under the granite to  drain liquids away from underneath the granite floor.  The walls will be ten feet high and have vaulted trusses set on top of the walls. There will also be a twelve foot covered area for the horses to stand under just outside the barn.

Concrete is poured, forms ready to be stripped

The barn is twenty eight feet wide and forty two feet long.  Some of the requirements that are a little different than a home or work shop is that the wiring has to be in conduit and the light fixtures have to be explosion proof because of any potential dust setting off a fire.

Foundation and finish grading complete. Decomposed granite in place.

This picture was taken September 24, 2009. The owner’s home is in the background.

Picture From The Home Doctor

 Nevada County is beautiful, scenic and in many areas serene.  Most homes in Nevada County have decks—so folks can enjoy the views, sun and solitude.  Nevada County also enjoys autumn and winter-rains and a few days of snow.  Due to the four seasons, decks and structural members are exposed to elements year-round, and lack of maintenance can make decks unsafe. 

Decks built without permits that are constructed incorrectly, or have inadequate structural members, make these decks unreliable and often dangerous.  Failure in building construction may not be immediate.  Sometimes deterioration can take place many years after construction. 

Decks are wonderful places to celebrate life and have friends and family over for all types of festive occasions.  However, decks, like your house, must be designed to support the weight of people and furniture. In addition, decks have to support the weight of snow in the winter and resist wind and earthquakes.   Understanding how forces work on your deck and how these forces effect the safety of your deck is important.  There are typically three forces that interact with decks:  gravity, lateral, and uplift. 

• Gravity

Gravity is the downward force that originates when people, furniture, barbeques, snow and ice are on a deck. 

•  Lateral

Lateral motion is the back and forth movement usually caused by people walking on the deck or leaning on the rails.  This motion can also be caused by earthquakes. 

• Uplift

Uplift is caused when storms bring winds.  This wind flows under the deck and creates an uplifting effect.  In addition, standing on the overhand portion of the deck creates an upward pressure on the connections holding the deck to the house.  

Most experts agree that the average life of a deck is ten to 15 years.  Many homes in Nevada County are older and could have broken-down decks that can fail. It is important to check your deck for signs of deterioration and to check the condition of the structural members such as beams, posts, and deck joints.  

Let’s look at some warning signs: 

1. Missing Connections:  A deck is usually built with wood, nail, metal connectors and screws.  Observe how your deck is built.  If all you see are nail then your deck may be unsafe.
2. Loose Connections:  Are your handrails loose?  Does your guardrail move more than a little when your push it?  If so, you probably have loose or no connections.
3. Corrosion of Connectors and Fasteners:  Over time, metal corrodes.  Look for rust and other signs of corrosion.  If you see a white powdery substance on metal hangers, it is a sign of corrosion.
4. Rot:  Wood can rot and deteriorate over time.  Look for signs of rot. Rotted members may no longer be able to support the weight it once did when the deck was new.  Having a few extra folks on the deck may cause these rotted members to fail.
5.  Cracks: As wood gets old, it develops cracks.  Large cracks or excessive cracking can overall weaken your deck. 

If you notice any of these warning signs, please contact a professional contractor or engineer to review your findings to determine what action may be needed.

 Source: Written by Brian Washko, Chief Building Inspector for Nevada County, M.P.C