Treehouse Project Blog

The Treehouse Construction Blog...

January 22, 2012... Starting today, we will add two pages to the project site, Treehouse Finished, a photo album of the house, rooms, and some detail finish shots... and coming online steadily... Living Treehouse, our builder and designer blog with cool projects and products we're using around Treehouse and... just around! Drop us a line if you have any requests for more information on any apect of the project.

January 18, 2012... Thanks to all who came to our open house last weekend! It was a great party and we got to share our dream home with lots of people who have been following our project over the last 15 months. A local writer and blogger, Jolee Pink from Wabisabi Green stopped in to check out the treehouse and I want to thank her for the great post and kind words! The last of the old treehouse is being hauled away for recycling into road base and tomorrow begins a new phase of the Treehouse Project... Phase 4 - Living Treehouse!

So many things planned for 2012, including further planting of the Forest Gafner Urban Grove and construction of the Camino De Arte along the perimeter of the property, incorporating doorways from the original house.

More to do, more to see, more to create at Treehouse!

Check back soon!!!

 

 

January 10, 2012.... and a Happy and Healthy 2012 to all. We've started ours off with an awesome new home and can't wait to start enjoying it fully! Just a few lingering items, like stair and deck railing and I can't find anything now!

Demolition of Old Treehouse began yesterday and today there is no roof, no balcony, and tomorrow there will be only the skeletal remnants of the concrete brick structure that has served so many, so well. Lots of fond memories from many years of family occupation and finally, the foundation for our wonderful new home, Treehouse! We're having a little open house thing this weekend, so if you're ion the neighborhood, stop by and say hi and check out our new digs!

 

Here's a few pics of the Old Treehouse Demolition for your enjoyment. Vamos muchachos....

 

 

 

 

 

 

FLASH!!! December 13, 2011... So it turns out that we still only had a "Courtesy" Final Inspection last week and I had to call in and request the real thing... and.... WE ARE DONE!!! Yippeeee..... Building Inspector Steve S came out and did the final and signed off. I'm sad to say that Steve informed me that he is unable to attend our upcoming open house celebration and appreciation day for our contractor partners and other folks who we've worked with over the last couple of years on this project. Steve is the utmost civil servant, integrity to the max and I want to thank him for his suggestions, mentoring, and general friendly demeanor during the numorous required inspections. Thank you Steve... you doing your job great helped me do a great job here! Did I say OPEN TREEHOUSE PARTY??? YES!!!

December 8, 2011... Today at the Treehouse project, we officially closed out building permit #09-1258 and occupancy has been granted by the Building Department. Next step, get SDGE out here to hook up treehouse to the new underground power and gas service lines... so we can take a shower in our new home, cook a meal with something other than a Coleman camp stove, toaster oven, and microwave...

oh yeah, and LIVE in our new home! I cruised around in a daze this morning and took a few shots with my old Olympus...

because unfortunately, my very nice Oly wtih killer lens has gone AWOL and I believe has fallen into the wrong hands.... so.... if you see an Olympus E-520 with a nice wide angle lense... please help it find its way home.

 

 

So this is the home stretch. We start moving in this weekend and in a week or so,

SDGE will have us turned on and cookin' at the treehouse for good! I'm sure we'll have plenty more to keep you coming back... patio area, deck spa, and the establishement of the Treehouse "Doors in Time" Art and Sculpture Trail through the Forest R Gafner Grove and semi-Organic Gardens.

 

 

This last shot is the guest bathroom, a shared space with my studio/office. It has a BIG ASS TUB! This is the bathroom guests will use while hanging at treehouse. Will you be one of the guests? Keep smiling! ☼

sg

 

 

 

 

November 21,2011... PASSED Fire inspection today!!! Fire Marshal came by for the inspection... all good, sign off for final... ring the bell and carry on!
Countertop guys from European Wholesale Countertops finished installing the silestone stuff.... looks awesome! Keith Bingham wrapping up plumbing finishing touches, and Executive Electric plugging away... installing... plugs and stuff!
DK Woodcraft took 2nd place in the big Baja race last weekend... but alas, Doug has cultured a staph infection, can't walk, and will be recouperating for a few days... so no cabinet progress or powder room for thanksgiving... bummer...
but hey!!!! we're having thanksgiving dinner RIGHT HERE at treehouse this year... just have to cook everything elsewhere... the coleman can't hold up to a 20lb turkey! Now it's a run to the finish and final inspection... with one hitch... stair, deck, and balcony railings being fabricated by pasquali over at PDR Architectural Metals.... we're a few weeks out! bummer... again!

SOOOO CLOSE!!!

November 6, 2011.... Moving right along over the last few weeks,
tile going in,

painting, working on HVAC stuff, and more

 

painting. Countertops ordered and coming 11/18 and hoping for some inspections the next week... in tme for Thanksgiving.... but no matter what... we're eating turkey in the treehouse THIS YEAR!!!

 

 

 

 

i think we're done with the major painting now, but there's a bunch of touch-up and detail stuff we can get to later. for now... i would burn these clothes, but it would probably not be the ecologically proper disposal of these contaminated duds.

 

this is a real tile guy working on our master bath and closet floor.

note the the soothing purple-tone walls.... i like this a lot! looks great with the tile above...

 

 

 

 

October 24, 2011... Breaking the big room in over the weekend....

not too much sound leaking out!!

Drywallers slingin' mud and wrapping up. LM Salvo (plug) is my drywall contractor... Mike and crew have done a great job and expedited areas for us to start getting cabinets in!. So, painting is starting and tile guy, Camilo Perez, started today (joint trip to Home Depot!)

 

 

 

 

 

on the tile in the master shower... and tomorrow, Doug starts cabinet installation.... AWESOME!!!

 

Landscaping in process... almost complete, just need about 6 truckloads of gravel for the permeable driveway... okay... let's keep moving everyone!!!

 

 

ONWARD TO OCCUPANCY!!!!!

 

 

October 16, 2011... Building inspections done, a few days delay cranking up insulation and drywall contractors, but we're on a roll now.

Insulation took all of 4 hours to stuff walls, floors, ceilings... and right on their heels, the rock hangers flew in and started hanging the sheetrock. 3 days later,

 

 

we have hard walls and the rooms are now feeling like rooms. The mud guys started Friday PM, following the hangers.... and by mid-day yesterday, lots of taping and floating had been accomplished. Drywall will be complete in two weeks... then on to the FINISHes!

 

 

 

 

 

In all, we are required to have 4 city departments sign off our Building Permit as complete.

One issue that came up for Engineering sign off recently was a few cracks in the curb, sidewalk, and gutter portion of our project, you know, the 253 feet of improvements for the public good? This has to be fixed before sign off and of course contractors don't like to have to come back and fix stuff sometimes, especially 9 months after the job was finished. But then, if you do something right the first time..... etc.

 

see you in the treehouse! ☼

 

 

 

 

☼sg

 

October 6, 2011... FINALLY - we passed our fire sprinkler inspection and can now move on to the rough building inspections before insulation and drywall start going in.we're in the home stretch after that!
all of siding has been installed and the place,
on the outside, has taken a beautiful form and is ready for some augmentation via landscaping and some manipulation of the earth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

September 17, 2011... NEWS FLASH..... still waiting for fire sprinkler contractor to get through stuff and on to inspection by
so we can have a building inspection so we can install insulation and drywall....so in the meantime... i'm getting other stuff done like the remaining grading (except demolition of the old treehouse) with my trusty rented Bobcat.... tool. i never knew modeling the earth could be so satisfying!

and this little gem of a tool... the divining rod and broken shovel handle... in this position it is normally indicating that there is water under that pile... however, when my thumb points up, this indicates that i'm starting to have trouble pointing the divining rod at the pile and most likely, there is no water under the pile.

positive vibes for a productive week ahead and moving on to the home stretch.... ☼

oh yeah... the front door has arrived and is now pivoting....

 

 

 

 

 

 

September 7, 2011.... another month slowly creeps by as progress is hindered by fire sprinkler plan and rough inspection issues :-(

... this shall pass and we will move on to insulation and DRYWALL!!!!

as a matter of fact, the drywall was delivered and staged today, waiting for the go ahead from the city in the form of fire and combo inspections being completed. the siding is looking great and should be complete this week.

 

our heartfelt sympathies to david aguilar and family on his father's death. david is the master craftsman putting the steel skin on the treehouse and completing the outside "finished" look to the master and guest areas and the garage/deck. awesome work and a wonderful man!

 

 

 

 

 

in the meantime, i have installed 2 of the 5 indoor AC/Heat units.

these are hung on the block walls and all infrastructure has to be in place before drywall for these monsters.

 

 

 

 

part of the project is to core a couple of holes in the block wall to get the refrigerant lines, condensation pipe, and control wires out to the main outdoor unit.

and some really great news... our front door has arrived! i installed the frame in the block and concrete opening and tomorrow, Scott Alix with Garage Doors Unlimited has volunteered to help me get this thing in the frame. it's a pivot in-swing door and it weighs in at about 540 lbs. tune in on the site cam around 9 AM and you can watch the action!

Here's a link to the webcam..... >>>>>>> LINK TO LIVE WEBCAM <<<<<<<<<<<

 

and a few more pics from the month....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

August 2.... and where does the time go? Seems like yesterday when we were so excited to get our building permit... a year ago later this month!

But progress is evident daily with all windows in, more electrical infrastructure being installed in the master bedroom and rough plumbing complete...

now we need sprinkers installed and go for some key inspections to move on and button up the walls and such.

Our steel siding installation has started so all the framed areas of the structure will get their final skin. If you're in the neighborhood, stop on in and I'll get you a brush.... lots of painting to be done! Keep watching.... live on the treehose cam!

 

 

 

July 25...... wow! long time since i've seen me!

more windows installed in the block walls in our living room with only 8 to go. water heater has been hung, power and comms "J" boxes installed for the new service out front, and the steel siding arrived late last week! i hope to see the crew out hanging siding tomorrow....

hello Victor Contracting! where are you?

 

skate treehouse...

 

 

 

We also got our guest bath tub in and installed last week.... thanks Keith! It's on to more windows and hopefully, completion of rough electric and plumbing this week!

 

stay tuned!

 

 

 

June 26... wrapping up the week and month working toward rough plumbing and electrical inspections... more images of that work soon!

What I'm really stoked about this week is that Mary and I installed 2 major window units on Sunday and the front of the house is looking real good!

These puppies have an awning window in the middle section of a set of three in a stack. Mary did a great job assisting and knocked them out in under 4 hours!

Don't forget to check out the live cam... viewpoint is from the SW corner of the big room!

 

 

 

June 19... DOUBLE WOW!!! So the overhead doors are cool, but this past week the Brady bunch installed our very cool Jeld-Wen aluminum windows and the inside is starting to feel like real inside space now!

 

Upstairs in the master bedroom, we have some great views of the Pacific Ocean through our 12' glass sliders and a 8' stacked window... and another 6' long window looking northwest.

Today I finished installing an awning window in the powder room downstairs. It's the first window installed in a block wall of the house with me as the test dummy installer. After screwing the awning window shut, I realized the instructions provided are for block windows, but it just so happens that awning and casement versions are actually nail finned frames with the freaking nail fin cut off. This made for some interesting monologue that several neighbors probably chuckled over. So, creative genius in gear, an alternate installation method was developed and it's all good now. This week, continuing rough electric and plumbing... priming more exposed wood, y mas ventanas (more windows)!

And seriously.... there is a very nice restroom on the project site... if you visit us, please remember... pi$$ing will not be tolerated!

 

 

June 9..... WOW.... lots of stuff happening today with roofing and overhead doors!

Garage Doors Unlimited is here installing the very cool aluminum doors

in the living room and garage and I really like this look!

Pat Steele Roofing is installing the rigid tapered insulation on the living room roof deck and will then apply the "torch down" roofing material and we will be sealed on top. Victor Contracting is working the siding job and has started the wrap on the North upstairs walls. Siding still a couple of weeks out.

 

 

 

June 1.... Feels like summer already!!! Where does the time go? The last post Imade was just before I went down for shoulder surgery on May 5th... now, 4 weeks later, my shoulder hurts like hell and i can only type with 1 and 2/5 hands.... seriously, this sucks!

Anyway, progress does not stop for pain killers or slings! We've just poured the circular driveway out front and a long curb around to the garage apron in back.

Over the last few weeks, Moses and his hermanos from Executive Electric have been hanging electrical conduit in the big room and the Bingham brothers have been runing water line. Windows are on order, as is siding, so the project is moving steadily ahead... even without a left arm!

 

May 3... Framers have moved on, pretty much, just some detail finsh-up stuff to get done, and now Bingham Plumbing, Executive Electric, and my old friend Klaus Enyedi

are in doing their work... UNDERGROUND stuff this week, more rough plumbing and electrical starting next week again, and driveway grading, forming, pouring, and graveling where not concreting...

 

busy busy busy! We're looking forward to seeing Dean and Susan O'Sullivan this week and know Dean will have some comments, but in general, should be extremely proud of his vision and creativity! The Treehouse is looking awesome!

April 23... Insulating experience... high on a scaffold, the ocean breeze blowing steadily and the sun bathing the southern california sky with a warm glow. tac... tac tac.... tac tac tac.... and the sound of the compressed air staple gun firing away at the flimsy stapling flange on the owens corning cotton candy itchy itchy itchy itchulation.... insulation. Just kidding... the stuff is great... I just hate changing my blade in my cutter too often.... and that is my tip for the day... keep a sharp blade in your cutter!

All in all... the shakey scaffold probably bothered me more than the itching... but I think I did a good job. Next I have to hang over the edge of the roof and get the last little pockets of airspace in the wall at the roof/ceiling joist level.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Materials for stairs to be delivered Monday.... then we prime and start building some stairs.... not a day too soon, either! That ladder, the one I use a couple dozen times a day, is just fine coming up... but stepping over the edge, I think I hesitate every time!

 

April 21... First of all... a happy and healthy birthday greeting to my brother Mel!
Today... another huge milestone in the treehouse project with a roof nailing inspection signed off by the city buinding inspector, Steve Sanders... after a little firedrill of activity to obtain a "height certification" letter and have it cleared through the Planning Dept.

Steve actually works for Esgil Corp. out of San Diego who the City of Encinitas uses for building department work, like plan check and the inspection services. I have to mention that I've enjoyed working with all of my city inspector people and appreciate their willingness to explain and educate me through this project. I applaud particularly Todd Baumbach and Steve Sanders for doing a great job!

 

Bingham Plumbing began working onsite again to run plumbing stuff through walls and ceilings and roof and speaking of roof and roofers, the wheels are rolling on that front as well with Pat Steele, Steele Roofing out of Solana Beach. Pat will be installing the rigid tapered insulation and applying a modified bitumen-type roof to all roofs on the main house.

 

 

April 7... Sheer walls and sheathing for the roof today!

The last few days, Ben and crew have been cranking out the work, hanging joists and beams and more ledgers....

whew, a whirlwind of activity. Weather has not been a significant factor, but we keep getting sprinkles and I know it has to make things a little uncomfortable, not to mention slippery for the guys walking on beams 14' above the ground!

 

 

 

You can catch the action on the Treehouse Site Cam and drop us a note if you stop in!

 

 

 

 

March 31... Framing moving along...

walls going up, and rooms outside the block walls are taking shape.

 

here's some shots of BWB Contractors crew working the big wood!

 

 

 

 

 

 

March 28.... FRAMING ZONE!

Complete with the "Bone" and big wood, Ben Brady and team started work at the Treehouse today.

So far we've had a tandem lumber truck unload, the hardware guys dropped a pallet of nails and screws and other... hardware.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then another big truck full of trusses and joists dropped more big wood.... whew... I'm getting tired already and it's only noon!

 

 

 

March 18... Concrete poured

and rain expected over the weekend,which we don't mind for concrete curing benefits. If you EVER need concrete work done in San Diego County, you MUST consider Klaus Enyedi Concrete Construction.

Klaus's guys are top knotch and fine human beings. Our thanks goes to all of them for their exquisite work and continuation of the awesome vibe and craftsmanship that started with Joe Weiss Masonry and his crews.

 

 

 

 

 

 

March 10.... Another year on the Treehouse Project! It's my birthday and I'll tweet if I want to!!!

 

 

So anyway, moving right along with preparations to pour foundation concrete early next week!

 

Klaus and his guys have been working hard to catch every detail and basically, make our floors, as these will be the raw exposed concrete floors planned in the design. no more forests being hacked down to make us some nice warm wooden floors....

 

 

we have warm water running through the concrete and it becomes our heat source (for a few months a year) in the kitchen and living room areas.

 

February 23... This week Klaus Enyedi and crew started working on preparations for foundations and flatwork.

Here's a few shots of the site today.

 

 

 

 

 

Excavation has begun for water, sewer, power and communications infrastructure and additional footings for the framed guest area.

 

This is a view from the south end of the living room toward the kitchen.

 

 

 

 

February 15... The last course was laid last week, and the masons are finishing up and packing their things!

 

 

The block walls are complete and next we move on to a foundation constructed by Klaus Enyedi and company. We have an issue with persistent efflorescence residue remaining from the Monsoon December of O-ten. Joe Weiss' crews are scrubbing and spraying and treating and washing and no matter what they try, you can still see the stuff.

Howard and his concrete pump were onsite for the final grouting and revelation that Howard doesn't like working with a hose full of concrete at 22 feet... he directed things from the ground, except you can see him here on the hose line getting set up!

 

 

January 24... Tons of progress today on the walls again today... lintels over the overhead doors done, up to

ceiling height on some section of the big room, and as seen in the video posted, the inaugural run of Skate Saxony! More progress to come this week!

 

 

Meeting with Klaus Enyedi to review schedule for foundation prep and pour... as well as some future plans with concrete out front.

January 19... Today Joe Weiss' masons are finishing installing hardware for Ben Brady's framers and for Pasquali, the steel guy. Then we can get grout into the current lift, #3, which has walls up to about 12.5' from finished foundation elevation...

when that happens, we have 2 lifts to go and masonry will be complete.

There's lots of holes and cutting on the beautiful block walls to accommodate hardware that will support trusses and ledgers and holes for utilities to pass through and whatever else that require us to have to butcher the pristeen walls.

Of course, after the contractors leave, I get a little creative. This is me being creative, pondering the cubic space while watching the sun set over the pacific ocean.... ohhmmmmmm... ☼

 

January 10... The sidewalk is beautiful. Today, a young man did what I have yet to do, he rode his skateboard in and out of the driveways, from street, to sidewalk, to street... to sidewalk and around the corner.

Very cool, and very Southern California... and the surf is up, by the way. 6' on west facing beaches... larger sets... bet it's mostly closed out except at a few reef breaks. Back to construction... so the sidewalk is done and Dylan, young son, helped me backfill the retaining wall and he dug the hole for the traffic sign and I used "thumper" (like a jackhammer with a club foot) to compact the ground and subject my fragile body to extreme vibration... whatever.

 

The fireplace wall still has 4 more courses of block to go to the top of the wall.

The Lintels looking Southwest with the openings for the windows above the 8x8 metal and glass overhead doors. Then 4 more courses to the top of the wall... and the bottom of our roof deck, supported by open trusses.

 

Here again is our beautiful new sidewalk, looking Southeast from atop the chimney scaffold. There is also a view of the mason's mixing and cutting area with a pile of scrap block, mortar, and other hard stuff. I'm going to crush it all up for the paths around the art garden and other eco-friendly applications... that need some hard stuff.

 

 

Me and my Bobcat from El Camino Rents in Vista... my buddy George McNulty hooks me up with my equipment... I supply the Pearl Jam in my headset. Rock and don't roll the mutha!

January 6... Last bit of work being done today to complete the Sidewalk/Curb/Gutter part of our mandated city Right-of-Way work. It's looking pretty good and I'm ready to break it in with an inaugural run on the longboard and skate in and out of the run from the street tonight!

354 linear feet of hard surface to bust my asphalt. Today's work is the asphalt patch between the street cut and the new gutter concrete. Work is progressing on the block with most walls topped out. One left to go another 10'.

 

Views of the Treehouse Luge run...

looking North and South.

 

January 2, 2011... It's raining again today. Since we have completed the sidewalk, curb, and gutter construction, I really don't care about the rain right now. I feel, at peace, with my sidewalk.

It's going to get a little muddy, but at least the entire hill won't drain into our yard anymore!

 

 

Lots of progress this week. Walls keep going up, the gutter stuff complete, and it's looking like we will be doing some foundation work soon too!

Here's a few shots from the past few weeks.

 

 

 

 

 

December 21... It's raining today. Most of our energy has been spent on Storm Water Managment (BMPs) to keep the water that has been flowing downhill for millions of years here, flowing downhill beyond our property. This is an absurdity of civilization... try to change the nature of nature and, when convenient, ignore science, like fluid dynamics and general physics as it relates to gravity and how the application of BMPs is at best, another futile attempt by civilized man to control everything.... or something along those lines.

 

 

 

 

December 13...... Today the concrete footings for the site wall (retaining wall) were poured... after a meeting with our substitute inspector from the City Engineering Dept., we got the go ahead and are off and running on the site walls. In the video above, Chris Pinnow is jabbing the ground checking soil compaction and all the other stuff engineers check on these jobs to make sure road base is good and the right-of-way work will last a gazillion years! I highly recommend Chris. And thus, we continue to evolve 950 Saxony Road.

 

 

 

 

December 1... First door lintel being setup for guest (stan's studio) room area, just prior to tomorrow's 2nd lift grout pour. Order up another couple of trucks of concrete!
Work has progressed on the fireplace as well... another massive block of concrete and steel that will stand long after Southern California declares Island Nation Status!

 

 

 

November 23... Working on fireplace and chimney. I'm going to sit in front of the fireplace this weekend and visualize sitting there next year, right there!

Then I'm going to take my inspired state of mind to canvas... so to speak, and do what I do best...
make artsy stuff to hang on big block walls!

And... Rick and crew will be working on this collumn that a forllift driver CRUNCHED!!! OWIEEE!!!! Unfortunately, I watched this happen and could only gasp when he lowered the forks and clipped a scaffold board, which in turn, broke the block stack below the 1st lift grout line... so it has to be chipped away from the rebar and then rebuilt.... pain in the butt! 2nd lift grout pour scheduled for mid to late next week, along with the start of our Curb, Sidewalk, and Gutter project, as directed by the City of Encinitas. I call it the Sidewalk to NOWHERE!!!!!!!!

Here's an overhead view of a collumn that will be between two of the 4 overhead garage doors in the living room. awesome view, don't ya think?

 

 

 

November 12... Rick on the stairwell wall... he's fixing a hole, where the rain gets in... and keeps my mind from wandering.... just kidding. It was actually a plan discrepancy.... not a planned discrepancy. Blame it on California. 2nd lift in progress before next grout pour and another round of "special" inspections.

 

November 11... 2nd lift rising. North wall, block portion, will top out at 10'6", for a 2nd floor elevation at 230' 6" above sea level. Framed 2nd floor area for master bedroom will top out at 242' 5", complete with magnificent view of the ocean.

October 28...

 

Walls going up. Masons back on the job after a week + of rain.

 

 

 

October 19... Rain again today. BUMMER!

Rain forecast for tomorrow, Wed, 10/20... hopefully we continue on Thursday!

October 14... Today the first blocks are bing laid... that one in the corner down there sets the course of the entire block structure.

Rick is seen here precisely setting a block for the north wall.

here's a sample wall - changed mortar to lighter mix to match block better, this is wet so it looks almost black!

 

October 13... At 9AM today, the CMU, or concrete masonry unit material was unloaded at the treehouse construction site.... soon the men will come and start building block walls, and as always... unless my little laptop crashes... you can watch on the site cam!

September 21... At 8AM tomorrow.... the first pour of concrete is scheduled to occur! YIPEEE!!! We are expecting some light drizzle, but you can watch the action on the live site cam!

September 20... A significant milestone in the project was reached today. Our first meeting with the City of Encinitas Building Inspector, Steve Sanders happened and today... we received sign-off for pouring concrete into the labarynth of trenches criss-crossing the site which will form the massive "roots" of the new treehouse.

September 18... Looking over trenches dug for the massive footings with an intricate and densely woven system of rebar which is designed to hold up the even more massive, cool, dark gray CMU (concrete block) walls which are designed to withstand any 100,000 year natural disaster including but not limited to hurricane, tornado, earthquake, fire, act of god, or other calamity.

By the end of the day Friday, here's a view down the future South wall ofthe big room, looking East.

 

September 8... Official ground breaking ... digging footings for masonry walls. The house is primarily concrete block walls rising almost 22'. actually, 21' 11", so as not to exceed or even feel the building height restriction in place in Encinitas. The footings are HUGE!

August 27... Building Permit ISSUED - Yipee!!!

August 19th... heading in to the City offices to see if we can get through permits this week... finally! Obstacles, obstacles.....!!!)*&%*&+)^%$ Result of visit... everybody has to recheck the plans now... just in case they missed something? Had to lower my parapet 2"! AND respond to a number of other Fire and Planning corrections... all this after no less than 5 rounds of "plan check" gauntlets with an unnamed third-party contract services company. Oh well... I'm sure all of these people are very nice and have nice families and interesting lives and if they would just approve my plans I would like them a whole lot more!