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Our Building Permit for the installation of our first cottage at a Wounded Warrior Homes residence in Vista was issued on 5 November 2020, exactly 6 months from the day that the County of San Diego logged our plans into it’s tracking system.  This kicks off the next phase of our project, starting the site work.  Starting on 5 December, a team of Seabee volunteers from the Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit 303 (CBMU-303) will do excavation and trenching work for the foundation and utility services.  Rick Hoehn and Rick Millwee from RM Plumbing will be back to supervise trenching operations and [...]

Obtaining a Building Permit is a slow, time-consuming process that can seem like an impenetrable maze of obstacles and hurdles.  It involves reviews by numerous discipline experts in many different departments, in several agencies in different jurisdictions, lots of forms and a host of approval stamps.  The process has become slower because of the protocols put in place to protect the people involved from COVID-19.  But, we have achieved an important milestone: our plans have passed the Plan Check process at San Diego County Planning & Development Services and are now at the City of Vista for the next steps in [...]

Concrete, consisting of portland cement, sand, gravel and water, is a critical component of construction projects.  Concrete will be poured for the foundations of our cottages.  Jon Hill, Instructor in the AGC Apprenticeship Program, asked Dave Weintraub of Robertson’s Ready Mix if Robertson’s would donate a load of concrete, 9 cubic yards of 3,000 psi Concrete Pea Gravel Mix, for the foundation of SM #1.  This much concrete is expensive.  So, we were very grateful when Dave said Yes.  Robertson’s has facilities throughout southern California, the Bay Area, and southern Nevada.  But, the concrete will probably be delivered from their Escondido [...]

Cosmic Solar & Roofing installed a solar system expansion at my house two years ago.  I contacted Cosmic because they were highly recommended by neighbors who had solar systems designed and installed by Cosmic.  I was very   happy with their work and have recommended them to     others.  Pey Shadzi, Cosmic’s Operations Manager, has  advised me about solar requirements under our new building codes.  They are a great group, so when I asked Bahram Shadzi, Founder and President, to donate 2 solar panels, 2 inverters, some rails, wiring, connectors and hardware for our BITA curriculum, I was pretty confident that Bahram would [...]

You read in our August newsletter that the Building Industry Technology Academy (BITA) curriculum has been updated to include solar system installation.  Students will build a mock-up roof to hone their roofing and solar installation skills.  We asked Will Picquelle, owner of Temecula Roofing Co., if he could donate some asphalt shingles for this project.  His response: “Thank you for the opportunity to assist you on this project.”  He even offered to work with our students when they return to school.  In addition to running a successful roofing business, Will volunteers countless hours to the community, including with the Alaska Adenture [...]