A Palo Alto Project by Architect Fred Blome
Documenting the construction process of a project on Kingsley Avenue.
Week 3
More demolition, discovery and excavation. In spite of our best effort early on to investigate the existing conditions of the house, we discovered, besides many former colonies of termites, that the foundations were in really poor shape where we needed them not to be. We resolved by developing a plan that simply abandons the old footings in many areas and focusing targeted replacement in the critical areas.
As our client pointed out, this would be a really bad time for an earthquake.
Closing off the old basement access.
Week 2
Demolition has been completed and most of the debris has been cleaned out. Typical of older homes is the discovery of hidden damage and "unusual" framing. We found termite and dry-rot damage in several locations. Fortunately most are in areas that are being rebuilt.
Termite damage
Dryrot and termites
Recessed floor at old bath
This is why there were termites. The old entry was an even older(?) porch with a concrete floor. The dirt underneath was up against the floor framing.
Those are tree roots from the oak. This pier and one other will be moved to miss the roots.
And the job site mascot helps the investigation.
Start of Construction
Construction on the project at 567 Kingsley in Palo Alto has started! Jackson-Mills Construction quickly dug in. Anything that was of value has been carefully dismantled and donated. The remainder of materials pulled out will be sent out for recycling.
