The turret as seen from the inside. This will end up being a fun space ship for the kids.

And the turret from outside

Storage closets in the garage foyer hall

Photo by Telstar Logistics

This article will focus in on some of the recurring themes that seem to come into play when doing construction in San Francisco. Factors that have more weight here due to some of our unique characteristics, be they physical, political, bureaucratic or economic. Things that you might not be prepared for if you’re new to the area, or had never renovated before.

Permits
The permitting process in San Francisco is definitely something to be aware of up front. Mainly because it can have a profound affect on the project timeline. As cities go San Francisco isn’t particularly tough. In fact, planning is pretty forward thinking and we don’t have some of the view requirements and design guidelines that other towns have. Department of Building Inspection has some reasonable people and at times it seems they are on our side. But the problem arises from the fact that this is a government agency in a big city, and we all know through first hand experience what that can mean: the process is often wrought with bottlenecks, queues, backlogs, buck-passing, run-arounds and mis-information.

In a nutshell, getting a permit here can be very quick (1 day) or very long (6 months to a year or more), depending on the scope of your project.

If the exterior dimensions are changing, you’d better plan on permits taking the better part of a year. And this doesn’t take into account the several months it can take to prepare a design. I cant tell you how many times I’ve had clients tell me they’re having a baby in 6 months and they need to have the addition done by then. The moral of this story is start the process early and be aware of the time involved.

Seismic
Residential structural design in areas without earthquakes is pretty straight forward, and can usually be handled by the architect. In seismically active zones like San Francisco, buildings need to be designed to withstand seismic forces. A structural engineer is usually needed, and there are a number of ways that structural requirements can affect our buildings:

Windows/glass spanning the front or rear of a building can be desirable. But to meet code we usually need sections of solid wall four or five feet wide on either side. There are always ways around it, but will cost more. A mandatory seismic upgrade may be required if we substantially alter the house in various ways. Removing or altering a substantial amount of the walls in a house can or adding enough weight can trigger this requirement. Adding to the height of a building (vertical addition) can be particularly difficult, because it affects the entire building as the new loads are transferred down to the foundation. When we do work on a house, we are usually working with our structural engineer trying to stay below the thresholds that would require replacing entire foundations and other costly propositions. Of course we always want to maximize safety, so we either need to make sure we don’t change things enough to make things unsafe, or elect to do the full seismic work. But it is very important to be aware of the implications up front.

Economic
Expensive houses, high construction costs and a sketchy economy all conspire to make home improvements in San Francisco a tenuous affair. Even if the funding is there, homeowners have to be wary of exceeding the potential value of their house when doing improvements. It is always a balancing act that is a major part of any construction project here.

Planning/Zoning
San Francisco’s planning & zoning primarily governs how we can change the exterior dimensions of our house. They have the same sorts of regulations in other towns, difference is that most homes in San Francisco are already built out close to the maximum size. There is usually some room for expansion, but we are always pushing up against, or finding ways to (legally) exceed the limits. Planning may also look at the impression that a house gives when seen form the street.  Historic factors come into play, placing special restrictions on buildings with historic merit (anything older than 50 years is considered for historic review). Modifying the front of your house can be a big deal if there is a lot of original historic detail. It is also tough to demolish a building in San Francisco. This and that there are very few vacant lots here make renovation and addition the only option for most people.

Neighbors
Although we don’t have the protected views, or design review processes of other towns, we do have a neighbor notification process.  Residents & owners within 150 feet are given 30 days to review your project and bring up any concerns they may have. They don’t have a lot of say in the style of the home, valid concerns have more to do with decreased light and air, or other hardships they may experience. Neighbors can also have a lot of influence if they feel your project conflicts with the neighborhood, particularly in terms of size and massing. Although neighbors ultimately don’t have final say in the end, they can sure complicate the process. So it always a good idea to get your neighbors’ feedback & support early in the process, and always try to be wary of how they may be impacted by your project.

There do seem to be reogonal patters to levels of neighborhood involvement. Some neighborhoods are les affaires and hands-off, while others are extremely hands-on. Some neighborhoods have self appointed design-review boards which usually weigh in – although they don’t have authority, they are usually active, and planning considers their input for what it’s worth.

I certainly don’t want to deter anyone from renovating here in San Francisco. But it can be very helpful to have some understanding of the process up front. It’s an architect’s job to set help you navigate the process, so get one on board early.

-sven

In addition to enclosing and recapturing the open entry space, the owners of this house wanted add a bedroom, a bath and make their existing multi-purpose family room more effective, and better connected to the upper level. They also desired a more stylish esthetic that would blend modern elements, like a minimalist stair with a structural glass railing with the more traditional parts of the house. We are working closely with them to achieve their goals and vision for their home.

The new stair as seen from the enclosed entry. The structural glass railing floats on aluminum stand-offs, and a frosted glass backed corner niche brings light into the bathroom behind the stair.

A view looking past the structural glass guardrail towards the hall.

The original entry stair located in an open lightwell.

Skylights & coordinated light fixtures add interest and fill the new open stairway with light.

The original terrazzo winder stair before the remodel.

The new family room must address many different activities. Gallery style multiple light fixtures will wash the walls & highlight features and art, and add sophistication to the space.

before:

The kitchen was opened up and reconfigured to allow an open line of site during cooking & entertaining. floating Soffits help to define the open spaces and add aesthetic appeal to the simple plan. Improved lighting adds appropriate ambient, feature and task lighting to all the living spaces. A waterfall style Caesarstone counter top creates a more formal end piece to the bar counter.

The originally vague entry was more formally defined by a sliding frosted glass closet door and a floating soffit above.

The open floor plan is punctuated by effective lighting & clean details.

before:
When every linear foot of wall space counts you may have to make a few sacrifices. A rarely used (and often in the way) fireplace was removed, opening up the wall for much needed furniture space.

Last but not least, the bathroom was reconfigured, and transformed into an inviting and elegant space. Glass tile & modern shower door hardware help define the room.

A lot of the credit for creating such a successful project has to be given to the owner, who has a refined design esthetic, and the contractor, who did a great job getting the details right and doing it on schedule.

The complete renovation of this 4 story Victorian, located in San Francisco’s Duboce Triangle has been underway for a good part of the year. Although the facade, floors and exterior walls remain, it will essentially be a new house. Finishes have been completely stripped at the original 2 floors (except for the master bath, which was remodeled a few years back).

We raised the attic roof to the rear and added an interior connection, essentially creating a 4th floor, containing a family room, 2 bedrooms and a bath. The new stairway to the top floor stacks over the existing stair. The 3rd floor plan stays pretty much the same, but gets new finishes and a larger bathroom. The 2nd floor gets a nana-wall folding door off the dining room, accessing the rooftop deck over the addition. The remodeled kitchen gets a breakfast nook bump-out. The garage/basement is being expanded at the rear, where a workout room will be located. The addition of the top/attic floor space, and the extent of the work constituted a full seismic upgrade: the foundation is being completely replaced and new structure throughout bring this house up to current code & safety standards.

The fireplace is about the only thing left on the 3rd floor. A nice example of mid-century modern, it will me remain, but will be covered with tile.

A view looking up the stairwell. The original terrazzo stairs and all the finishes have been totally removed.

A nicely cut trench ready for re-bar and concrete. This will become a grade beam, one of the foundation changes needed to make this building compliant with current codes.

At the center is a new stair, which opens up and connects the 3 floors, making the previous 2 flats feel like one home. A skylight above, open treads, and a glass landing reinforce this sense of openness and fill the home with natural light. The stair structure is tube steel, with wood treads, glass guardrails and a structural glass landing.

The house, is a piano noble with the main living spaces located on the top floor, so that views and daylight can be maximised during the waking hours. An open family room to at the front, a central dining room, and a game room at the rear.

The middle floor contains the bedrooms. A master suite at the rear, two front bedrooms and a central office/bedroom.

The lower level consists of a large multi purpose room, and a guest bedroom.

Update: See the construction photos:

The first one was to fit a legal bathroom into one side of their master bedroom, which is located in the vaulted roof of their Victorian without adding any dormers or expansions.

The second was to get more natural light to their living room. Doesn’t seem that tough, but the problem is that aside from the one existing window, there was no place to add any windows or skylights – there were rooms on 3 sides, a neighbor on the 4th side, and a bedroom above.

The bathroom wasn’t really that tough to fit in. There was already an un-permitted bath there. It was really just a matter of moving some walls and packing a bath into the tiny triangular section. The tough part was keeping the dramatic, symmetrical proportions of the vaulted ceiling which we had fully opened up. The encroaching bath would totally wreck the beautiful lines of that ceiling. The solution that our clients liked was to create a frameless glass clerestory (high window) between the bath and bedroom so that the lines of the ceiling could be seen swooping down as if it were totally open. And as an added bonus, space and light flow from one room to the other, making everything feel bigger and brighter.

Challenge number 2, the landlocked living room below. The clients really wanted natural light here – artificial light would not do. They wanted to see the light change throughout the day. After a lot of brainstorming and options, we settled on a monitor (looks like a skylight, but is actually a shaft going up into the ceiling with a horizontal window on the wall above – imagine a snorkel for light. The new window is actually on the side wall of the bedroom above, ans a shaft is carved out of the closet. This locates the window high enough to get it above the neighbor’s house. There were a few technicalities, but we think it turned out really well. It accomplishes the goal of increased light, and adds interest to the space.