Chapter 15 - Renovation of Front Entrance

When we first began the Lisa Lane Project, we knew that a quick coat of fresh paint and a little landscape grooming would not be enough to renovate this shabby hacienda-style house. We wanted to beautify the neighborhood with an updated look and our plan was to redesign the exterior, transforming the house completely. The redesign called for a grand entrance that both welcomed guests and elevated the status of the house in comparison to the dark, caged foyer of the original house.

In order to construct this new entrance, of course, we had to rip down the old entrance. See Chapter 11. Then we began building - First, concrete footings had to be built and poured. We had a special crew come and help us with this job. The driveway had to be cut in a circular shape to follow the new line of the round entrance and then deep footings were dug. Ready for inspection! Or so, we thought! But the inspector turned us down. We had to add and adjust according to his requirements in order to get the go-ahead to pour the cement.

Now with the cement footings poured, time to start on the framing.

On the front of the entrance, a large glue-laminated beam had to be lifted and set into pre-made iron casings. The beam probably weighted about 200 lbs but the construction crew knew exactly how to slowly inch the beam up to the top at 16 feet. Watching the crew walk on narrow boards, lifting this monster beam made me so nervous that I could hardly stand it. I had to take the pictures and then look away. In the end, everyone was safe and the beam is nicely settled. This weekend, the sides of the entrance went up, revealing just how majestic and fabulous this entrance is going to be.