4/1/98

The neighbor’s builder inspected the lower lot and found one leach line that was 10’ too long.  He will dig it up and remove it.  He will send a letter stating their position on the encroachment prior to close of escrow.

4/3/98

The perc test is still not done.  Gary will keep us posted.  JC will ask escrow to amend the time required to complete the perc test to 4/15 due to rain delays.  We dropped off the first amendment to escrow and picked up the second.

We were trying to get the percolation test done during the spring of a heavy El Nino weather pattern.  It rained daily.  The ground was saturated, and the creeks would flow all year.

4/10/98

Perc test still not done due to heavy rains.

4/14/98

Accudraft has the preliminary plans ready for review.

4/15/98

We approved the preliminary plans.  Accudraft was asked how soon they could supply Andy and Jeff a copy of the plans.

4/16/98

Jeff can close the loan 30 days after he receives a construction contract.  Before the construction contract is done, Accudraft needs to get a copy of the preliminary plans to Andy.  We were under the impression that the loan could be approved in 10 days.  JC talked to Jeff; the 30 days is a worst-case scenario.

4/17/98

Accudraft will have the drawings ready for Andrew by Monday.  Andy needs one to two weeks to write the contract.  He needs to get bids from all of his subcontractors.

            We told JC we would try to close by 5/15.  JC told us Gary would try to do the perc test again today, and have the results to us by 4/20.

4/20/98

 Accudraft completed the plans.  We delivered them to Jeff and Andy.

4/21/98

Called for update of perc test.

4/23/98  Andy called.  He needs a more complete set of plans for his material takeoffs and lumber bids.  We left a message with Accudraft.

            Jeff is out until May 6^th.  Nora says she will see if we can go with a different loan package.

            JC says it shouldn’t be necessary to change our financing plans.  Accudraft should have known what Andy’s requirements were.  JC will call Accudraft and demand better service.

4/24/98

JC called:  he spoke with Accudraft, and they will make our project a top priority.  We spoke with Accudraft, and they could not say when the plans would be done.  JC says that is not acceptable.  He is waiting for a call from Accudraft.

            We should hear back from Gary today with the results of the perc test.

4/28/98

Accudraft says the plans will be done by noon today.    They will contact Andy to arrange for the plans to be picked up.  They need an estimate of how far the house will be set back from the road.  Jim will walk it off.  Accudraft will do the site plan and take the project to the county on 4/30.  They will need a check.

            We reported all of this to JC.  JC says Gary will be going to the building site again today.

4/30/98

JC says Gary hasn’t reported back, and he will hire someone else if Gary doesn’t call today.

            Jim walked the site.  The house will be set back approximately 350’ from the road, up towards the upper point of the lot.  The property is 200 ‘ wide at that point, with about 120’ of usable space between the east property line and the edge of the swale.

There are a series of notes regarding financing.  To make this work, we had to crack the college funds, sell stocks, and transfer monies from 401k plans.  There was a flurry of activity between the banks, brokers, and financial services.

5/4/98

Soils engineer, Walt, will test further upslope and over on the middle knoll.  JC will call in the evening with an update.  Portions will need to be brushed.  As long as the holes are drilled during the middle of the rainy season, the county will cut us some slack.  There are different parameters for the dry season.

            There is still water in the original drill hole.  This tester says he packs the pipe in gravel, to aid drainage.

5/5/98

Poured down rain on and off all day.  The perc test is again postponed until the weather cooperates.  A tractor is needed to brush out some of the building site.

At this point, we were accessing the site from the road into the bottom flats.  We still had not cleared the lot of brush.

5/11/98

It rained on and off all of last week.  The tractor was scheduled to brush today, but the rain delayed it again.

            JC proposes that we close escrow prior to the receipt of the perc test.  The seller is willing to have money withheld to complete the test.

Apparently, the medical bills of the seller were piling up.  They were anxious to move on, and we figured we had a full 7 acres to punch holes into.  It had to drain somewhere, right?  We released escrow without a completed perc test.

6/23/98

Accudraft is going to try to make it to county plan check tomorrow.  No word from JC yet on the perc test results.

6/24/98

JC called.  Most of the debris from Chris’ home site has been removed.  An abandoned old truck still remains, but the salvage yard will stop by tomorrow to tow it out as soon as the county processes the paperwork.  The debris cleanup should be completed soon.

            The drill for the perc test will try to make it by Friday.  Andy wants the perc results by next week.  I’ll go to the property to inspect the cleanup.

6/25/98

There are still paint cans, metal shelving, tarps, the truck, and assorted debris still on the site.

6/26/98

JC will inspect the cleanup today, and order additional cleanup if needed.

6/30/98

Kerrie called to ask if we would release the cleanup funds out of escrow.  We refused.  Checked site at noon and the cleanup was satisfactory.  We released the funds.

            Still no word on the perc test.

7/2/98

The perc test failed.  Gary thinks there may be alternatives to the traditional septic field.  If allowed by the county, the alternative may cost 16k more.

The first holes Gary punched into the lower portion of the lot failed miserably.  There was a band of 6” deep decomposed gravel about 6” below the surface.  The gravel could be wrung out like a sponge.

            By this time, the lot had been brushed.  Per our instructions, the ‘dozer did not knock down any of the manzanita trees.  We like manzanitas, because of the smooth reddish hue of the bark and the shade the tree provides.  In our opinion, it is a good- looking tree.  This was to be a fortuitous decision.

Frank, County Environmental Health:  Alternative septic systems are about 1 to 2 years out.  The systems will be approved first for the Valley Center area, to ease the sewer moratorium.  We can go across the creek to the other side of the upper lot with a tight line, if it is engineered properly

The second holes were drilled by the road on the southeastern side of the lot, across the creek.  They failed.

8/27/98

Andrew is willing to explore the possibility of moling under the roadway to reach the other side.  We need to make Gary aware of the money left in escrow, enough to try a third perc.

8/28/98

The escrow balance is $2943.00

.     The third holes were drilled in the lot across the road, and they drained like gangbusters.  Unfortunately, they were on the wrong side of the road.  We began to consider the possibility of building the house on the smaller lot.  There was ample room for a home in the trees and alongside the creek.  It was a pleasant site, private because it sat so far below the road grade and was screened by mature oak and sycamore trees.

9/23/98

Trying to determine the status of the trenching permit.

10/9/98

Andy:  found a sub for the under-road work, costing an additional $5000.  The sub can’t start for 80 days.

This is where the log runs out, so I’ll pick it up from here: