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When the exterior slabs in our home were poured, they used redwood spacers — and left them there for effect (and a nice control joint)… which is nice until they degrade. Most folks tear the wood out and replace with gravel or other hardscape material and we had done the same. However, years of sweeping pea gravel out of the atrium became tedious.

I've wanted to replace the redwood for years and this weekend we did. I wish we had done it years ago. It's pretty simple:

• Rip out the old redwood
• File down the original nails
• Cut new strips to size
• Using construction adhesive, re-set the redwood strips and let dry
• Fill in gaps with (polymeric) sand
• Enjoy

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Replacing the redwoodRead More »

Wondering what it's like to live in Concord? Check out Dave Weinstein's article about Concord Eichlers in the latest CAModern.

We're pleased to announce the launch of NorCalMod — the design/build side of RedneckModern.com.

Here at RedneckModern, we'll still keep you apprised of the progress of our renovation and other renovation-specific tidbits, but you might have noticed a shift in content in the last six months.

Since we began winding down the renovation, opportunities to help people out on their houses kept popping up — along with the small cadre of custom furniture-build projects. It only made sense to diversify the content.

It's the same folks, just under a different name… and you can check us out on Facebook (like) and Pinterest (follow).

We don't have many details, but there's an Eichler in the adjacent neighborhood going to auction with the starting big at $200K.

It would be great to see this home go to a "owner" and not to a "flipper" who will do unspeakable things to it via a low-budget Home Depot renovation.

Tell your friends (or those that have $200K in cash).

This is a great neighborhood with great neighbors… and there's only so much in a house like this that can need repair. Even if you replaced everything, you'd still be in it for less money that a market-rate home.

Suzanne has done a bit more research and yo can read about it here.

This fall, we planted lots of Japanese shade-loving plants in the backyard: camellias, gardenias, Japanese spurge and a few others. The camellias started to bloom last week.

[Emma Gaeta]

(or… When bad things happen to good Eichlers)

I've noticed a few things when photographing Eichler homes for the past five years: (1) How much I love my Canon G9 camera (even more than my much more robust Nikon dSLR); (2) How a little bit of effort in the wrong direction can make a house look passable at twenty feet, but reveal itself to be terrible at two feet; and (3) how the good bones of an Eichler combined with fairly decent photography amplifies the "passable" notion noted above.

Case in point: 1243 Lancashire. This house is a terrible flip (and I'll detail that below), but when editing these pictures, they actually don't look bad… but don't let this fool you. This is a bad flip in all the wrong directions — not just aesthetically, but functionally (and safety-based). Buyer beware. It's not unsalvageable, but it will take some effort — and funds.

This house was purchased a few months ago for about $330K and is now on the market for about $450K… with $120K, one could have done great things, but sadly, this is not the case here. The shortcuts that were taken combined with the already questionable state of the house leaves a buyer with a home that might look OK from a distance, but might be a headache later on.

First, let's start with the "stop work" notice pinned to the kitchen wall. That's always a good sign, right? It seems that every "update" to the house was unpermitted. Combined with some very obvious code violations in the house this makes for a very shady situation.

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1243 Lancashire Dr. // Flip-flopRead More »

This weekend, as part of the/our Forest Park Neighborhood Sale, we'll have stuff pulled out into our driveway for sale.

Saturday, July 7th

8AM-2PM

4154 Phoenix Street, Concord CA…

We'll have some good stuff, including:

• Nearly new Neuton electric lawn mower with lots of add-ons (3 batteries and trimmer attachment)
• Dwell (2007-2012), Metropolis and Sunset Magazine
• Tons of cookbooks
• A gajillion DVDs
• PSP and games
• PS3 games
• portable DVD player
• housewares, knick-nacks and doo-dads.

Come on by and have a look-see.

Eichler bathrooms are difficult to vent — there’s just very few options for a fan of any sort and while the window in the shower is great, some true cross ventilation is really what’s required.

I had the idea to open the skylight for some fresh air and it worked well. The skylights are held on by 4 screws and are simple to remove. I unscrewed it, popped it off, screwed an 18in 1X3 to one side to prop it up and screwed in the opposite side to the frame. A few days later, I stapled some screen over it… and it worked wonderfully. Albeit very ghetto.

Knowing that the prototype was a success, finding am operable skylight in the right size was the next chore. Big Orange had a Velux that was too big for $400. On a whim, I called my local go-to for doors and asked Tami if they could get in a custom operable skylight. A few phone calls and a week later, I installed the new, operable skylight… it took about 10 minutes to install.

So, if you’re looking for a venting option, contact Tami. The skylight brand is Tru-Frame and they are available in Mill finish (raw aluminum) and the Bronze. The domes are in Clear, Bronze, or White. We used the bronze as it was a better match to our inside brown trim and got the “double dome” for insulation and condensation concerns. They open and close easily with a supplied pole. Mine cost about $350 and was sized to fit a 22in square curb. Yours is likely the exact same size, but measure first.

I've been meaning to do a post on our friends Leah and Darren at The Ranch Design Group for some time now, but it seems Rena Tom beat us to it. Check it out.

Leah and I met in college half-a-lifetime ago and have somehow lived within a local transit route from another since then (and at one point about 150 yards apart)… and for a few years, she, Darren and I all worked in the same office building. Weird how those things go.

She and Darren started The Ranch a few years ago and they're worth paying attention to. Check out more of their stuff at their Etsy shop.

Apparently for a good number of years, Iris has wanted new bathrooms. That's happening now up in Marin.

Brendan and I took a sledgehammer to the guest bath yesterday and discovered a few things, namely that the tile on the original design was adhered directly to the luan paneling — weird.

The paneling was double-thick, with a vapor-barrier (clear 3mil plastic) between the two, which was at least nice to see, but a pretty crazy way to install tile — even by Eichler standards.

We'll be using DensShield backer and white 3X6 subway tile for the new install (very much like our own bath) with Grohe Essence fixtures. I've become quite a fan of the DensShield (DensGuard — same product, different retailers) as it comes in easy-to-use 4X5 panels and is super-easy to work with. It's also the same thickness as drywall so you can achieve a nice transition from tile to wall… which was ironically the same idea with installing the tile on the paneling, I s'pose.

I also discovered that 50 year old copper doesn't like to be soldered (and that solder has gotten stupid-expensive) but that's another story.

A day later, the bathroom was demoed and the tub and mixing valve installed. More pix as the project develops.