Recent Sidework Project

STEVEN B. HEHN

Foothill Ranch, CA ● 949.244.4857 ● [email protected] ● linkedin.com/in/stevenhehn

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Recent Project in South Orange County Demolish Existing 27 Year Old Patio Cover, Paint Exterior of House, Paint and Erect New Patio Cover

After inspecting the property and considering the order of the projects, I determined doing them in the following order would be the most efficient way to produce a quality product in the shortest amount of time:

1. Demolish Existing Patio Cover 2. Prepare and Paint Exterior of House 3. Paint New Patio Cover Lumber and Erect New Patio Cover

Demolition of Existing Patio Cover I completed the demolition of the existing patio cover and after inspecting the exterior of the building, I noticed evidence of termite damage and Dry‐rot wood members at the roof fascia, so I recommended the homeowner get a termite inspection and address any wood replacement. To prevent any duplication of paint work, I suggested she address these issues after she had picked her new exterior paint colors but before she had me start on the exterior paint job. The homeowner took my recommendation and hired the termite company I typically recommend to my Real Estate transaction clients (I am a licensed Real Estate Broker in CA) to perform the termite inspection on the building. Because of my relationship with this vendor, the homeowner was not charged for this inspection. The termite company did find evidence of previous and current termite infestation and dry‐rot, so they identified which wood needed to be replaced and they recommended the building also be fumigated (via tenting) for termites. The termite company also had to consult a licensed roofing contractor to estimate the wood replacement for those items specific to the roof (outside the scope of the termite company’s expertise). Please note, this roofer had done work on my real estate clients’ homes and had also done a recent leak repair on my home. The termite company then recommended that the homeowner hire the termite company’s roofer to do all the wood replacement because it would be approximately $300 cheaper than if the homeowner hired the termite company to do the part of the wood replacement (the part within the scope of their expertise) and then hired the roofer to do the remaining wood replacement that involved the roof. The homeowner then hired the termite company’s roofer to complete all the recommended wood replacement. Please also note that the roof on this house is an s‐curved red concrete tile roof and because the tiles have an s‐curved shape they cannot be attached by nailing them directly to the roof surface (comprised of plywood with underlayment (tar paper) on top) as is typically done on roofs with flat shaped concrete tiles but must be attached to wood stringers that are fastened to and sit on top of the tar paper. The end result is that the roof tiles sit a few inches off the roof so at the point where these roof tiles meet the edge of the roof there is a gap between the bottom edge of the roof tiles and the top of the tar paper. This gap is typically filled with sheet metal called (painted to match the color of the roof tiles) bird stop. This bird stop has weeping holes that allow any water that gets underneath the roof tiles and runs down the tar paper to drain out these holes and in to a rain gutter or down the fascia and eventually on to the ground.

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The drawback to this roof configuration is that over time the weeping holes in the bird stop get plugged with debris forcing the water to sit behind the bird stop which can eventually damage the tar paper, wood members on the eaves and the fascia board underneath. To prevent this damage, every few years, a roofer must be hired to remove the 2 rows of roof tiles at and above the bird stop, remove the debris behind the bird stop to unplug the weeping holes and then replace these roof tiles. In the case of this building, the roofer performed this maintenance described in the paragraph above but he also had to replace the damaged tar paper, eave lumber and fascia board that had been damaged because the weeping holes in the bird stop had been plugged up for many years. The roofer also added some 2”x2” edge metal underneath the bird stop to better protect the lumber and tar paper under the bird stop. Since it is more efficient to paint lumber before it is installed, I supplied the roofer with the Dunn‐Edwards Ultra Grip Premium tinted primer and Dunn‐Edward Evershield Exterior Velvet sheen trim paint so they could prime and paint any exterior boards they replaced (e.g. fascia, eaves). Then when I painted the trim on the house, I finished up these boards with any additional caulking that was necessary and gave them a second coat of paint.

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I also noticed that some of the severe dry‐rot at the rear fascia and at the existing patio cover could have been prevented by the installation of rain gutters. In addition, the homeowner reported that the exterior light attached to the chimney just above Living Room sliding glass door had been damaged by rain water coming off the roof above this light where the chimney and the roof edge meet. This damage to the light could also have been prevented by the installation of a rain gutter at this location. Because of these issues, I then recommended the homeowner install rain gutters at the rear of the house after exterior paint job was complete and after the new patio cover beams were erected but that it would be most efficient to install these rain gutters before the patio cover slats were installed since these slats would be in the way of the rain gutters. The homeowner agreed and I contacted several rain gutter vendors and I attended the rain gutter company’s meetings with the homeowner to help her choose the best company with the best product and the best value. The homeowner also hired the termite company to do the recommended fumigation via tenting. I suggested that the fumigation be done after the wood replacement was completed, the house was painted and all the new lumber delivered for the new patio cover was primed and painted and stacked in the garage. This way all the new wood material being used would be painted to seal it off from any new termites and then this new wood material would also be fumigated to kill off any termites inside the wood. The homeowner agreed to have the fumigation done when these other items were complete. Paint Exterior of House I began the preparation for the exterior paint job by thoroughly spraying down the exterior of the building (excluding the roof tiles) with a water hose. The water hose has plenty of pressure to get the dirt off without risking damaging the stucco which is one of the risks associated with using a pressure washer to do this cleaning. I then dug out all planters adjacent to the wall stucco so we could paint well below the dirt line to ensure the stucco on the building walls would look good regardless of the dirt level in the planters. I also carefully and meticulously taped off all the aluminum and vinyl windows at the stucco line and then covered the windows in plastic. In addition, I carefully removed all the exterior light fixtures that were attached to the stucco and then reinstalled these existing fixtures or new fixtures when the painting was done. In addition, I helped the homeowner find and install the correct LED light fixture that fit in a tight spot underneath the new patio cover just above the Living Room sliding glass door. Most of the stucco on the house was the original color coat from when the house was built in 1987, so the majority of the stucco had not been painted before. We sprayed all the stucco with two very thorough coats of paint using nearly 30 gallons of Dunn‐Edwards Evershield Exterior, Flat Sheen in the Dunn‐Edwards Color Colorado Trail (75%). The trim on the house was a dark brown color that was close in shade to the new color the homeowner chose. All of the trim was brushed and two coats were applied to both sides of the fascia. The existing paint under the eaves was approximately 15 years old and in fantastic shape, so this area only required

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one coat of paint. The trim was painted with approximately 10 gallons of Dunn‐Edwards Evershield Exterior, Velvet (One notch above flat) Sheen. Please note that I used 18 tubes of caulk to seal up cracks in the trim, stucco, around the windows and doors and where the rough edge of the stucco meets the eaves on the sides of the house.

Installation of New Patio Cover Before demolishing the existing patio cover, I measured it and then drew the design for the new patio cover. I also went down to the city to make sure the new patio cover and any required retrofitting would meet the city’s current building code requirements. After removing existing patio cover 2x6 nailers that were lagged to the walls of the house, I checked all lag bolt holes in the stucco and any holes that did not have a stud or header behind them I filled with caulk to seal them up from moisture and to prevent termites from entering the wall via these open holes. These “empty” holes were there because the previous patio builder had drilled them in a “trial and error method” looking for lumber in the wall to secure the lag bolts that would attach the patio cover nailers to the wall.

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I then calculated correct lumber size and quantity for the new patio cover and got estimates from Home Depot, Lowes and Ganahl Lumber. The trim on the house is rough sawn lumber, which is more expensive than regular (smooth) lumber so I got quotes for both types of lumber. The homeowner decided she wanted the new patio cover to be rough sawn lumber to match the trim on her house. Based on my recommendation (price, availability, quality of product), the homeowner purchased the rough sawn Douglas fir pine lumber for the new patio cover at Ganahl Lumber. She purchased 1,427 board feet of lumber (2X6’s, 4X4’s & 2X3’s) and after the project was finished, only 100 board feet or approximately 7% remained. I also requested that Ganahl delivered the straightest boards available.

Once the lumber was delivered, I primed all the lumber with Dunn‐Edwards Ultra Grip Premium tinted primer using a brush and roller totaling approximately 10 gallons of primer. Then I brushed and rolled 2 coats of and Dunn‐Edwards Evershield Exterior, Velvet Sheen on this lumber using approximately 5 gallons of trim paint. As mentioned above, once all this lumber was painted, I placed all this lumber in the garage and the house was then fumigated via tenting for termites.

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During the build, I primed all cuts and I also primed all lag holes drilled in the nailer boards that are lagged to the building. In addition, all exposed cuts (e.g. beam ends, post tops) were primed and coated with two coats of paint. Finally, I painted over all caulking (see details below) on the patio structure with two coats of paint.

After assembly, all beams, posts, trim pieces on posts and nailers were caulked on the top and sides with Dunn‐Edwards DEC PLUS Siliconized Acrylic Paintable Clear Caulk (45 Year Warranty) and the bottom ends and edges were left un‐caulked to allow for moisture disbursement. In the planter on the side of the house at the Kitchen, I set 4 pre‐fabricated concrete post piers (infused with post brackets) on 1’ Square concrete tile and once these were positioned correctly and leveled, I mixed and poured concrete around the base of these post piers to add girth and stability.

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The existing post bracket located in the patio slab outside the Master Bedroom sliding glass door was in good shape, so I thoroughly treated it for surface rust and then painted it with rust preventative / encapsulating paint (before priming and painting it).

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The two existing post brackets off the Living Room sliding glass door were rusted beyond repair. I ground off what remained of the straps for these two brackets and then at the point where these brackets were cut off at the concrete, I covered and sealed the metal with concrete epoxy to prevent this embedded metal from creating rust stains on the patio slab. I then retrofit two new post brackets in this area by drilling a hole in the patio slab and previous post foundation and then inserting a piece of galvanized all thread in the hole securing it with building code approved (for structural applications) concrete epoxy. I then secured the new post brackets to the all thread with a nut and washer. Please note, all new post brackets / straps were primed with a primer approved for galvanized metal and then all post lags were installed (in conjunction with setting the 4X4 posts) and then primed with this same galvanized approved primer. In addition, the bracket straps and lags were then painted with one coat of trim paint before installing the trim piece that covered the bracket strap and lags. Finally, all post brackets were sealed at the bottom with concrete caulk to protect the metal and concrete from moisture. Please note, I left adequate weeping holes were left where necessary. Once all the brackets and 7 ‐ 4X4 posts were in place and properly braced to ensure they would remain plumb and square during construction, I then fabricated and erected all 2X6 nailers (lagged to the building), 48 ‐ 2X6 beams, 2X6 blocking (where beams attached to the building). Please note I used the blocking to secure the beams to the nailers (lagged to the building) instead of using ugly metal brackets. In addition, I used GRK ÜberGrade RSS Rugged Structural Screw instead of structural nails to attach all lumber for the structure described directly above. These structural screws add an aesthetic feature to the patio cover that cannot be obtained using nails.

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Before installing the 2X3 slats, the homeowner then had the rain gutters installed at the rear of the house above the new patio cover beams.

To ensure all the slats were plumb and square and had precise spacing between them, I clamped each slat to the patio cover before screwing the stats at each connection (over 300 screws) point to the patio cover beams with coated decking screws. Per the homeowner’s request for more sunlight in these areas, fewer patio cover slats were installed along the side of the house outside the Kitchen and along the back of the house between the chimney and the Master Bedroom sliding glass door.

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Recent Sidework Project

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