Rebuilding

I know that many people have been through this and will have great tips for those rebuilding.

There were some tips on a newscast yesterday that seemed intelligent, so I'll pass them on:

1) Organize into neighborhood email groups to exchange information and organize neighborhood watches.

2) Organize and negotiate with a builder for a "group build". Some neighborhood groups were able to build in 2003 for $129 per sq ft because a bunch of them had all their homes done by a single big builder as a group. Its rumored to be up to 35% more to rebuild now in 2004, but due to building company problems, perhaps one of the big builders DTH would be interested.

From my own experiences with 4 sets of relatives burned homes - if you can get an approval for even a temporary fence, do it. It will prevent casual access during your build. Thieves were even stealing in place pavers and retaining wall blocks during 2003 and any other building supplies they could get their hands on.

So sorry you will have to go through this. Feel free to vent when you need to!

You don't need a permit to put up a fence - I already checked with the building dept. You just need to make sure that the fence is within your property line.

As an Architect I would recommend that each individual wanting to construct any perimeter fence or wall on their property should confirm with the Building Department since permits are required over a certain height. Their telephone number is (909) 336-0640. Also, if your property is located in the Arrowhead Woods Association it is required to submit necessary documents and fees for their review and approval. Hopefully, this information will be helpful.

Please look to "Chat Rooms", "Running Springs Communities" for input in this process. There is some good sound advice there. Look for "thegoof". Good luck, and God bless you all.

This group is hosting a forum in Nov. While some may be directed toward SD county, there is probably a lot of general info that will be appropriate. Lots of good info on Roger Hedgecock show this afternoon. He was interviewing 1003 fire victims on "lessons learned".

http://sandiegorebuilds.com/

Don't forget that those of us who lost homes, and rebuilt, are willing to give advice, support, etc. Just post on the Cedar Glen board.

Believe me, there's nothing like the voice of experience!

I would strongly recommend staying away from builders that are not from the area, this is for any project not just a rebuild. More often than not they under bid the project and the quality of the work is less than desirable. Many contractors are familiar with tract housing on flat lots that are single story homes. Many of the homes that burned are on steep lots which requires a builder with prior experience to properly bid and complete the work. Not only is it more likely you will be happier with a local builder who does this work all the time but it is good to support the local economy as well.

Your comments about staying away from anyone other than a "local" builder is the same as being racially discriminatory, or an ignorant chauvanistic sexist. I think we all know of builders we would recommend, and those we wouldn't. To assume that a duly licensed general contractor, with let's say 30 years experience is somehow incompetent or a cheat, is just plain slanderous. Get to know a few builders, and go with who really gets what you want, and will not take anything more than the maximium deposit allowed by the State after the Building Contract. Be smart and open minded. God Bless and Good Luck.

No it's not discriminatory (are you perhaps a DTH contractor?). It's what we found to be true the hard way. Unless a builder knows how to work through all the permits, codes and gets decent workers to do the job, the rebuilding process will be probably the worst thing a person can go through besides losing their homes. As I said, after the Old Fire the licensed contractors from DTH were literally signing up by the hundreds with the County to make a buck on our misery. They could get a two year permit from the County to do business up in our area and were listed at the time on the County website.

Think about it---how in the heck are you going to truck workers up to the mountain areas on a daily basis from DTH? You can't, unless you plan on finding them housing UTH. You have to find local workers who can do the job and with a major fire like the Old Fire, there were less and less of them to go around as more and more people rebuilt. Remember--I'm talking about truly qualified workers and legally licensed contractors used to doing business up here. How can someone who doesn't usually do business in the mountains know who to hire and who NOT to hire?

Am I saying all our local licensed contractors are good? Heavens no! That's why it's so important to get several recommendations and take a look at the kind of work that contractor has done.

BTW, this weekend was the first time we spent the night in our rebuild since after the Old Fire. It took four years. The first two were wasted working with a contractor from out of the area. Our neighbors homes that were completed before ours were either rebuilt by owner/contractors or local contractors.

Northalpen, you were right about the underbidding part. That was our experience and we were lucky to get out of the contract. This firm also hired a DTH architect to draw the plans. I took them to Building and Safety for a look-see and they were shocked.

A cheat?

"To assume that a duly licensed general contractor, with let's say 30 years experience is somehow incompetent or a cheat"

I never said any body would be a cheat. I would hope that if you take the time to respond that you wouldn't jump to conclusions and ad things to other people comments. I was stating that it is a knowledge thing.

You wouldn't call a person with a heart condition a racist for not allowing an orthopedic to preform surgery on their hart. Sure an ortho is a surgeon and could be a great doctor but they just aren't trained in the expertise that you need.

I will change one of my statements I made earlier... If you have to have a builder from down the hill then it would be better for your project if they have done some building in the mountains before, thats it.

I don't want to get into an arguing match so this is all I will be posting on this issue.

northalpen, I think he/she was referring to me. In either case, I agree with your last statement. You need someone with experience building on the mountain.

It was suggested on the GVL threaad that it would be helpful if Coral and I, as well as others, put together a "getting started on rebuilding" list and timeline. Let us see what we can do. Just remember, there are so many variables in rebuilding that you might be up and runnning within two years or, like us, just finish 4 years later (thanks to that first contractor).

Carol, It seems that you REALLY had a bad experience with your first contractor. For that, you have a duty to caution other folks. That was just one contractor. When you open a fresh bag of cookies, and the first one is broken, do you throw out the whole bag? Sure, there will be more broken cookies here and there, but most of them will be great. Again, I am very sorry your expeience was so bad, but I have had only good experiences. Take the time to check their license status, their track record with their trades and suppliers for payment history, and most importantly...other customers! Good Luck and God Bless to all!

thegoof, I wasn't the only one and at times like these, as I said, they all come creeping out of the woodwork with $$$ signs n their eyes. Yes, check for references and if you can't find ANY, either good or bad, then stay way away from that contractor. Just because they're licensed doesn't mean they're any good.

BTW, I hope everyone thinking of rebuilding read the article about the County waiving fees. We still had to pay the fire department fee, so they've done a little more this time around to help people out. We also had the clean-up program in Cedar Glen but that kept getting stalled for a year or two which made things difficult. Hopefully things will work out better this time around. It's heartbreaking when you have to see the remains of what was your home and your belongings day after day.

Hi everyone,
Just a quick one, I talked to my insurance company and they will now pay for 24 months rather than 12 displacement due to the problems in 2003. I know this is not good news in some ways but they did have a short supply of wood and good contractors in 2003 and it took longer than expected for many to rebuild.

It took us 4 l-o-n-g years. I think others will benefit from those of us who've been through the process because the county, as well as the state insurance commissioner's office and the insurance companies, have been through this before and now know the shortcomings that resulted after the Old Fire.

Everything in life is a learning experience. It all works out somehow in the end if you're patient.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE1D71E...
This is an interesting article for Allstate policy holders but also applies to any insurance. I came across it while I was looking for the people who helped us with the Old Fire and insurance issues. CARE was a great group but they may have disbanded as I can't seem to find them.

Any help needed from a Farmer's policy holder from the Old Fire - just email me. Glad to help in anyway I can.
mtndesertcaa at aol.com

I had a group call me that does this and is helping in green valley. They are sending more people up this weekend and need places to go help people. Joe Deason 562-743-3003. I have not checked them out personally but I am sure if you call up to Green Valley Market they could tell you more. Debbie and John from Fox Lumber that burnt down had them call us.