Wednesday, April 25, 2012

AFTER THE LAGUNA BEACH FIRE THE REBUILDING PROCESS BEGINS.

The excitement, frustration, anticipation, fear and finally.....the joy of building my house from the ground up.
A year and a half after the fire my lot was cleared and prepared for the building process to begin.
My dad Bill Williams, ( here with his wife Gloria,) worked with Architect Bruce Spielbuehler, to design our new Mediterranean, Art Deco home.
Georgia stands on the cleared lot.  The view is spectacular, but our neighbor's Mark and Barbara's house will eventually be rebuilt across the street. 
My dad visits the site everyday.  Acting as Boss he makes sure every detail in the blueprints are properly addressed and fires subcontractors he doesn't think are doing their job.  I could never have done this alone.
The hill had to be pushed back five feet and major retaining walls built before the first floor could go up.
Gloria directs traffic as nonstop trucks go up and down the hill. The narrow street made It nearly impossible to squeeze enough space for trucks to stop and deliver wood, dirt etc.
My dad and Gloria see the vision of his imagination
unfolding like magic before their eyes.
My full time job as owner/Builder was being at the site everyday working with the Builder, Architect and my Dad..... I put in eight hour days answering questions, picking out tile, paint, appliances  and writing checks from the insurance money. 
The garage walls go up and I can't help think the safe that was in the floor holding my Baby diamond ring.  How could it have survived the firestorm? 
My Architect Bruce Spielbuehler and Builder Randy Smith, check the blueprints after the house was framed.
Even my brother Preston, helped a great deal, doing all the wiring for the stereo and surround sound.   
Finally the most exciting moment came when my dad and I climbed the stairs to the second story and stood in my new bedroom overlooking the ocean.  Maybe I wasn't able to write my book yet, but the dream of having a second story on my home came true for me.

To be continued tomorrow.


To see the whole series I did on the Laguna Beach Fire please check under archives. 

No comments:

Post a Comment