Remodel presupposed.

And done.

Since its completion, we have been looking over the patio cover and thinking how great it is, how happy we are with it — and how it clashes a bit with the rest of the house as is. We have decided that it presupposes the completed remodel, going beyond even the spring Phase II of the current set of projects to offer a little glimpse of the real finish, including improvements we haven't even thought up yet.

Until then, we'll just drink beers and plan away in the newly christened Belikin Memorial Patio, so named for that fat, lazy, favorite cat we lost shortly after moving in.

As soon as the weather breaks for summer, we'll have everyone over and give this space a fitting grand opening.

Jason

Like a rock.

Eight nuts and bolts; 52 lag screws and cut washers; 52 screws; four column bases and heavy angle brackets; 40' of 6"x6" doug fir; 48' of 6"x8" doug fir; 144' of 4"x4" doug fir; 34' of 4"x6" doug fir; 10 bags of concrete; and one gallon of weatherproofer chocolate semitransparent stain.

Yesterday my dad and I finished building the new patio cover after three days of construction and about a month of prep (see posts below). It's damn good, and damn-near indestructible — which is pretty much the only way dad builds. We lucked out with the weather Wednesday. Clouds and the weather-person threatened, but we felt little more than a few sprinkles while we worked. As we slammed the last nail home, the rain fell hard and the last of the daylight winked out.

All that's left is cleanup and planting the red/green grapes that will grow along the beams and provide shade when set, as well as the Dutch clover at the base of the posts — and this remodel project will be done and done.

Just in time, too, since we leave for our honeymoon in less than three weeks!

Jason

The way of the samurai.

The patio cover project moves forward. Yesterday my dad and I poured the footings. This proved to be the most difficult stage of the project thus far, and it required us to Williams it up a little.

What does the verb "to Williams" mean. Well, many things, depending on the situation. In Saturday's context it meant to push forward with a project, despite uncertainty regarding the outcome; to wing it; and to work only with the materials in one's immediate vicinity despite the ready availability of perhaps more fitting materials nearby (i.e. at Home Depot), even if that means constructing or otherwise modifying existing materials so that they 1) no longer function as intended and 2) somewhat resemble and mimic the functions of that other, desired object.

How'd it go down. We were pouring footings with brackets embedded in them, and the brackets need to be absolutely level and square to the other brackets 10' to 12' away in order for the finished structure to be level and square. No big deal, but we were working in a tight space that became ever tighter the more we modified our forms to level and square the brackets. When it came time to smooth and finish the concrete around the brackets, we found my dad's finishing tool to be about two inches too wide to fit between the forms and the bracket. Problem: The cement must be perfect. Solution: 1) drive to Home Depot and buy a new, smaller finishing tool for $3 to $5 or 2) modify the tool in hand.

Two: The modification of the tool began logically enough — if we could bend two inches of the tool up out of the way, it would work. However, the tool was made of a stiff metal and was only 3" by 5", so there was no leverage, and thus no easy bending being had. Nor would the metal yield to a saw. Part of it bent when wedged into a crevice in the cement and kicked, but we needed an evener bend than that method would allow. Hammering the metal against the curve of a cement step also failed. Final solution: Placing the tool on end between two boards, stepping back, then jumping on the board, creating a sandwich action that bent the tool and snapped off the tool's handle, yet yielded a twisted metal contraption narrow enough to fit between the tight spaces left by our improvised forms.

Worked, though. And it's really not about the means. Anyone who has seen my dad's remodeled house, or any of his other work, knows that he produces precision craftsmanship, excellent work, and there's no question that the footings will hold stable what will be, in the end, an indestructible, appealing patio cover.

To Williams.

Now we let the footings set for two weeks — then we build!

Jason

Patio's progress.

My dad and I spent the day cutting four 18" x 18" squares into the existing patio. We chipped and smashed out the cement so that we can pour foundations for the new cover next weekend — which means I will spend the week digging holes in which to set the cement (always a pleasure in the rock-clay soil of San Diego). Eventually all of the cement that surrounds the pool will be removed and replaced, but that's a task for another time and another budget.

So far the project's been smooth success. I had no idea you could just saw through slabs of cement. But I guess a wet-saw with a diamond-tipped blade will do that for you.

Jason