Redneckmodern chronicles the renovation of an Eichler-built home in Concord California… since then, it has also become a repository for Eichler-specific know-how; general renovation information; and, mid-century-modern restoration tips.
It all started as joke between friends*, then became a blog, then something else. We're still here even if the project is almost complete… you might pick up something from our mistakes (and successes).
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This spring, we tackled a small project that turned into a major one that was going to turn into an even more major one and then we got sidetracked… and then it was October.
Long story short, the workshop was stripped bare and reorganized.
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The original Eames fiberglass chairs were, of course, groundbreaking in many ways: an innovative uses of materials, an interjection of color into businesses and homes, the creation of a "system" of shells and bases… and doing it, originally, at a fairly modest cost. Today, the irony is that these original examples are quite sought after and carry a high price tag. Our friends have a few "rope edge" chairs that are even more sought after, so scour your grandparents' basements, kids.
Avery contacted me to restore a few of her Eames fiberglass shell chairs. She had picked them up at her old University… undoubtedly bound for the skip. Being commercial chairs, they were originally fitted with stacking bases which are the least covetable of the variants. To use other bases, the shock mounts need to be relocated. We've done that before, so we took on the job.
These came to us in fairly rough shape. Someone had tried to relocate the original mounts unsuccessfully and in the process did a bit of damage to the fiberglass. They had used a variety of glues to try to adhere and re-adhere the mounts, but — as I mentioned to Avery: no worries — it's all part of the restoration process and price.
In short: We took the chairs in, (1) removed the old mounts, (2) ground off the original and re-applied glues, (3) affixed new mounts, (4) rejuvenated the surface, (5) fixed the damaged fiberglass spots, (6) balanced the bases, and (7) gave them a final polish… all in all giving new life to the chairs.
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Our friends are selling their home… it's an amazing gem of a house as you can see from the photos below (and, over the years, I've spent a lot of time there.) Opening times are:
Broker tour (open to the public):
3/17 @ 11AM – 2PM
3/20 @ 1PM – 4PM
Open house
3/27 @ 1PM – 4PM
Offers
3/28 @ noon
Find out more information at www.28ArcangelWay.com
I was able to shoot the below when finishing up some of the work at the house… check out the website above for even more photos.
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Our Friends Michael and Iris are selling their house and that makes us quite sad… some recent work on the house bought me back to San Rafael where I was able to review some of the past work, get some new photographs, reflect on the work overall, and see how it's held up five years later — the last 3 or so being inhabited with renters (w/ teen and dog).
The Laundry Area: This modification got a bit of press. In revisiting the home, a few things became apparent: (1) it was the right thing to do — the machines that will fit there depth-wise are "condo sized" in the first place (smaller and lower) so having them on the platform makes sense and (2) the materials have held up quite well — I can't really find a scratch (even after 3 years of rental use). As-is, most any counter-depth machine will fit and the height of the counter is very usable. The washer box is easily accessible should you need to turn off the water and the way the hoses (down below) and electrical lines (up above) run through the area makes it a very tidy space. Some additional design details like the aluminum trim under the counter and on the sides of the shelf (see pix below) and underlit shelves add to the style-element while the drywall backing adds additional file protection — these areas are known for dryer-fires as the exhaust vents up the wall (think: as original — a hot exhaust flue and 2 aged luan sheets on both sides with no protection otherwise).
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Every Eichler owner's nightmare is having one of the large glass panes break. There are also a lot of misconceptions involved in what it might take to replace one — from the forfeiture of a kidney to having to separate the large pane into several smaller panels… or worse: vinyl.
A broken window is likely every Eichler owner's nightmare…
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Eichler Window Replacement (+ Dan’s Glass and Mistlite)Read More »
Chris and Sara had the original "conquistadoor"… the poorly placed Spanish revival door more appropriate for a Taqueria than an Eichler. It needed to go and they had been counting the days until its departure for some time. Chris even started using a hashtag: #byeconquistadoor …
Chris booked a day in December and we took care of business. Since the weather has been so cold and wet, we were just now able to finish off painting.
Before and after…
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Here's a consumer hack for you: Save 5% at Home Depot by opening a Lowe's Credit card.
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One of the first things we did when we bought the house was to plan the wired house network prior to putting on the foam roof. This was a good move in a number of ways and we've gotten a lot of use out of it.
We wired each room (8 runs total) with cat-6 (data), cat-3 (phone) and RG6 (cable) and installed plates in each room. We plumbed everything into a central wiring box that handles the distribution along with hubs to handle each of the cable runs and clusters. We were even able to get some speaker runs (back/surround) in place before the foam went on. Although not terribly complex or costly (comparatively… all-in, i think it was $500), it's a pretty robust system and definitely something to plan if you're putting on a new roof… along with some new electrical for exterior lighting. This was one of the things we liked when working with Rick at Abril roofing. He worked with us to separate the "scrape" from the "foam and coat" which allowed for this to happen.
(One of the things about writing this post is that it reminded me that I ran cat-6 instead of cat-5e wire… yay, me!)
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Lindsey and Jeff are great new neighbors with a formerly terrible purple leaded-glass, paneled front door. Now they have an awesome new magenta door. I did this one a week before Wilson and Nicola's but have been busy… installing doors.
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