Old House My House

When we started fantasizing about remodeling our house, we talked a lot about which tile we would use in our new shower, or how great it would be to have air conditioning on those hot California summer days. What we didn't discuss was the foundation. While this "invisible essential" is just as important as any of the cosmetic changes we're making, it's not exactly the first thing people will notice once everything is done.

Living in the land of earthquakes, we were well aware that city building codes would mandate our house be brought up to current earthquake-ready standards, including a foundation capable of making it through "The Big One." So what will it take to create an adequate foundation for our addition?

Five full cement trucks to start. That seems like a heck of a lot of cement, right? It certainly explained that line item in our budget that we had looked at and said, "Really? Is it going to cost that much?" Well, seeing those trucks pull up and then pour yards and yards of cement into the foundation forms that Home Front had built made us feel like we got our money's worth. Our house's foundation is now solid as a rock, up to code, and ready to support the weight of our new second story.

Another invisible essential is earthquake retrofitting the rest of the house's support system. Although our 77-year-old house had good bones, and survived countless earthquakes with only one crack in the bathroom floor, it was now woefully out of date. During our planning phase, our contractor Steve Pallrand pointed out to us 4x4 support posts sitting, unattached, on cement footings underneath the house. Clearly, we needed some updating. Now we have a Simpson Strong-Tie system integrated into our house to provide the necessary structural integrity required by today's building codes.

These "invisible" items may not seem as sexy as fancy new tile but, as you see here in these photos, they deserve their moment in the spotlight, too.