Project Journal

A comprehensive visual log of current passive builds, surf sessions, supervisor pups, and our talented and indispensable crew.

View fullsize Some of San Luis Obispo’s finest citizens visited our job site over the weekend and cleaned us out of our tools. There has been a rash of breaking-and-entering’s in this neighborhood over the last few weeks; a bunch of vehicles in the nei
View fullsize We’ve labored. 🛠️ Enjoy the long holiday. (Today is Tueblertleday, and it’s the start of summer! Right?😕☹️😢) Feels like it. #framing #designbuild #builddesign #centralcoast #sanluisobispo #morrobay #cayucos #arroyogrande #construct
View fullsize The ol’ two-person, one-day, high-enough-for-ladders-but-not-worth-scaffolding, gorgeous soffit install day on this sweet home. None of us were sure if this client-directed change to stain the soffit overhangs would look…good. But, in f
View fullsize Foundation puzzle complete; first floor framing puzzle complete. Upwards and onwards we roll. I love these moments when you can’t even remember what was here before and now you can see the new shape arise…and it happens fast…and
View fullsize This project makes all of us - the planet; me (Mike…I write all this jibber jabber…and take the pics while wearing 30 lbs of tools and wiping sawdust from the lens with an even saw-dustier t-shirt); and the clients and the neighbors and
View fullsize Love this entire project. In-house, concept-through-completion. Seamless. Minimal bumps along the process. Amazing client who trusted us when we said to invest the time in the beginning, and then there’d be a good chance we’d hardly speak
View fullsize Not really a big tool person here. Everyone’s got their little things, and there’s some nostalgia associated with hand tools, for sure. But generally…I think it’s INSANE how much money we spend on tools now that just break wi
View fullsize BIONEERS - Breakthrough Solutions for People and Planet is hosting their Central Coast conference here in San Luis Obispo on October 4th and 5th. A precursor to the event will take place on October 3rd when a live tour of four low-carbon buildings he
View fullsize Concrete is cured. Maze of temporary walls that have been up for the last couple months is gone. (We should’ve had a ceremonial something for that moment…). The Rubik’s cube of varying-dimension and multiple-material beams are all
View fullsize 999 SF of fossil-fuel-free/all-electric/whatever-you-want-to-call-it, future-proofed, solar-powered, 3 bdrm, 2 full baths, and a big, open, kitchen/living/dining designed, permitted, being built, and tucked away in a quiet neighborhood not even visib
View fullsize Precision surgery in 90° blazing-saddles sun. Remodeling like this is hard, intricate, brainy work; takes another level of thought and care (and tools, and equipment, and experience, and forethought, and physicality, and lasers, and string, and p
View fullsize There’s a butterfly effect of humanity up and down to the littlest things in this industry. A long time ago, when the bravado was growing and energy was high and bones didn’t hurt everysingleday, a window delivery from @shepleywoodproduct
View fullsize Tempted to put our excavator on top of Ed’s @jackasssawhorse setup, too. Pretty sure it would hold better than Microsoft did today 😳Not sure how I’d get it up there but hey, who doesn’t love a challenge. Anything’s possible i
View fullsize Sometimes a perfect hallway is perfect. 👌 Crew got wracked with the sickness last two weeks…one after the other after the other. The ‘vid took me and April out hard. Hate the ‘vid. No bueno, the ‘vid. F the ‘vid. Suc
View fullsize This is the fun stuff. (It’s mostly all fun stuff 🥰) (The tangible-product building-stuff, stuff, anyway.) Couple people who have seen the floor plan here have said “Oh, soooo…it’s the Bishop Passive House, but smaller.&r
View fullsize There’s a story in this second-project renovation we’re undertaking for these clients and this address, I just know it 🥰 - and they’re gonna find it @nuotonelmondo Look at that car! This has to be (we hope) from San Luis Obispo w
View fullsize Maybe I’m nuts, but if you want to get a younger generation to be excited about this industry - the tradie aspect of it anyway - have them be around during the prep, inspections, and pour of a funky concrete day. Six of us on it; two trucks; o
View fullsize Getting a lot of practice lately maneuvering giant deliveries into sites with essentially zero setbacks and no room to breath (or walk). This is where it pays to have our own people on site every day. We’re always there. Sometimes it’s a
View fullsize Knocking out the brainy stuff before everyone’s brains knocked off for the holiday/holiweekend. I think there have been studies done of how much work gets done on construction sites between 7-1:00 compared to what happens after 2:00 😊 Would b
View fullsize Holiday reading. Excited and inspired by this newer updated version of Yvon’s book @patagonia. And @masonstpeter pretty sure I grabbed the last one available from @charlesrsmith and @cruisecontrolgallery a little while back 🙏 And, of course&h

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