Restoring 498 Orcas Street

We had originally decided to stucco the whole house.

The original house had a little bit of stucco and a lot of wood siding.

The wood got demo’d when the original owner discovered water damage.

So, he thought (and we agreed) that it’d be better to apply stucco to the whole thing.

What we didn’t account for was that stucco/concrete is heavier than wood, increasing the total weight by more than 10%. That trigger would trigger another report!

So instead, we went back to the drawing board and had our architect and engineer come up with a plan that’s an aesthetically pleasing mix of wood and stucco. That’s what we’re going with, and we’re getting our city planning final inspections or initial inspections and approvals back in a couple of weeks.

That means that demo is just about done, and we will begin reconstructing very, very soon. Can’t wait!

For decades, a standard California real estate story goes like this: buy in Los Angeles or San Francisco and deal with the chaos, traffic, and smog – and vacation on the coast or in the mountains.

But since Covid, remote work and a desire for a higher quality of life have rewritten the map.

Small, clean, safe towns such as Morro Bay have emerged as jewels of the CA Coast.

Many folks who do remote work can live where they want. (Not to mention, many folks from San Luis Obispo, Visalia, Fresno, who are looking to retire or own a second home in Morro Bay.)

Located halfway between LA and SF, Morro Bay offers genuine community.

Morro Bay possesses the small-town charm that towns like Carmel or Santa Barbara had forty years ago, but it is rapidly gentrifying with new money, beautifully renovated homes, and a burgeoning local economy.

Buyers can have the dramatic coastal views, the walkable waterfront, the mild Mediterranean climate year-round, and a stunning home—-all without the gridlock.

As more people discover this hidden coastal haven, the window to get in on the ground floor of Morro Bay’s real estate renaissance is closing.

Building permits are hard to come by. Blank lots are expenesive and starting from scratch, even if you could afford the time, is expensive in cost as well.

Our 498 Orcas St house offers a rock-solid home (with a foudnation built to commercial grade specifications) with a modern vibe and a breathtaking coastal vista.

This is someone’s ticket to moving in to one of the best spots in town.

• 3 miles from the delicious Scout Coffee, Shine Bakery, Miner’s Hardware
• 3 miles from the Embarcadero
• less than a mile from the dog beach
• 30 minutes to SLO or any other amenity you could want.
• 3 hours to San Jose; 3 hours to LA

Can’t wait to see it finished! If you want to see it finished too, shoot us an email and we will keep you informed.

While we work through the permitting process, we are ‘window shopping.’ Not shopping by looking in a window, but shopping for windows!

There are design decisions to be made regarding stucco/exterior, plumbing, electrical, and interior design, and especially– windows!

The windows make or break this house by giving you front row access to the incredible 300 ft elevation panoramic view.

Getting them right is key!

Plans were submitted! Glory to God!

We did lots more demo. It’s amazing how stuff “grows” when you pull it out of its hiding place.

We are grateful for our architect Neil and Brian, our engineer Chris Murphy and his team for some truly awe-inspiring plans.

They have gone to the city for initial review and comments which means that we are mere weeks away from truly breaking ground.

The anticipation is killing me.

In other news, I’m wrapping up my spring projects so as to be more available for the summer and hitting things head on.

Our target conclusion date for the rehab has not changed on the backstop, which just means that the pressure to perform goes up with each passing day. Good thing we like pressure!

Plans were finished this week.

Being submitted in a week now.

We focused on building relationships with local realtors, and meeting lots of neighbors.

We got good news from the structural engineers about the types of materials and labor needed – they were within our predictions.

Once plans are submitting, it becomes a preparation game while we wait for the city to review and greenlight our major program.

Demolition!

We’re submitting plans to the city NEXT WEEK. That means the clock is running to get prepped.

My brother and I did some serious damage – in a good way!

We cleaned out quite a bit of extra stuff, shelving, carpet, and the mobility chair that was bolted in to the stairways. That created a lot of square footage!

We have plenty more to do, but we got security cameras installed and met with a stucco professional. Can’t wait to get started on the structural work to close up the house. That way, we can get rid of all this ugly scaffolding – Which I’m grateful to have at the moment because it’s easy to get around, but eventually would like to clear up!

More to come next week!