Suzanne O’Connor’s Bargains LA

The Last Throws of our Renovation Saga

Our home renovation saga and bank accounts are nearly at an end. We are finishing up a new patio cover, window coverings, the garage conversion and the biggie…a complete chimney rebuild.

We knew about the dangerous condition of the chimney from the inspection report and did get a credit back from the previous owner to cover it. But building a chimney today is different than in 1927. For us the big set backs came from the bad weather and the atheistic design issues. The new chimney came with a kit with code elements including a pre-set spark arrestor and topper. Problem was, they looked like they belonged on a 2010 sleek modern Townhouse… not a 1926 Mediterranean.

Our chimney company, Fireplace Freddie has gone way out of their way to accommodate us. First they came in $1000 less than any other Chimney Company. They also saved the original brick so we could use it in our landscaping and were really good about making certain nothing in the interior, especially our new floors, got damaged during the work. But they also worked with us to keep the architectural integrity of the home.

One of their guys, John wanted to design a shroud to cap off the top of the chimney to hide the shiny stainless steel spark arrestor. He and our contractor, Al worked together to custom design a shroud to cover the top of the chimney so it fit in with the original architecture and still met all design and city requirements.

Between the design issues and the winter rains, the chimney took 8 weeks to finish, not the original 5- 6 weeks quoted. I guess doing anything right has it’s set backs. But the results are worth it. We will be having a cozy fire every night for the rest of our lives.

Fireplace Freddie
3033 Angus Street
Los Angeles, CA 90039
(323) 953-1538

We also discovered the heat of the sun this last week and it’s effect on our back porch.  Intense sunlight and heat ...and it only got up to 75 degrees!

The last owner had installed a cranked out fabric awning to give the needed cover in the summer. This awning had seen better days and was in need of repair or replacement. The repair quote from the original awning company at $800 was absurd.

Once again our ever creative and willing contractor, Al came up with a design for a wood patio cover for $1200. He’d even used wainscoting on the underneath side to stay in line with the era of the home.  Built from scratch, Al painted it and added architectural wood detail to compliment our home. A much better use of $1200 than repairing an old faded fabric awning.

Al Menendez, Licensed Contractor (626) 831-2429