Friday, December 23, 2011

custom gates




Here is what 500.00 worth of Western Red Cedar looks like. It is clear, surfaced, and kiln-dried. I am building some custom gates with it. I also purchased some cool rustic hardware to go with the spanish style of house that these gates when finished, will belong to.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

cutting board




Look at this beautiful cutting board, completely handmade it is the only one like it in the world.



Made by the multi- faceted artist " Zelfad" it is a gift to a tennis friend.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Holiday gifts




Here is a project I'm building in my spare time, it's a tennis themed cutting board! With wood inlays.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

headlamp




Hey man turn your lights off, turn your lights off.

Monday, December 5, 2011

new job




Here's a look at a new job we are doing in beautiful Lomita, Ca. This is a custom bathroom addition. We have put the metal and building paper up, next is the "Hardi" siding. We papered this structure with standard Jumbo-Tex black paper, then put a layer of Typar over that, as is required when papering over plywood sheathing, U.B.C. code! Don't mess with it.

Monday, November 14, 2011

finishing jobs




We just closed out and finished a major rebuild repair job her in the southbay. It was a lot of work to get this house back in order, but we did. Now it is water tight, and has a new lease on life... so to speak. When we first started the garage opening was failing, the beam was snapped, do to dryrot and the forces of stress over many years. We love to repair and rebuild.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

uncouth people




I recently went to interview some folks that wanted a cabinet repaired. these people were messed up, I mean- they seemed like they were on drugs or something. i don't like dealing with humans like that! check out the clutter in their bathroom.

Monday, October 31, 2011

many people




Your attention please this is a public service announcement, there are now officially 7 billion souls on our little finite planet. Let's all try to get along. The birthrate minus the death rate is positive 240,000 souls per day. I hope none of them want to be surfers! Lastly food for thought, when the total population went from 1 billion to 2 billion it took roughly 120 years. Recently when it went from 6 billion to 7billion it took just 12 short years. Is this sustainable ? You tell me.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

blogmonster




Sometimes when you are in the mood to blog, you just do it,



there really ain't nothin to it.



Just press fingers to keys,



and before you can even sneeze,



words start to form on the screen,



as you decide if the tone should be nice or mean.



The Zenbuilder will see you through it!




Monday, October 24, 2011

demo and install window




Here is how you properly set up a small job with maximum efficiency. Notice the trash cans at either end of the scaffolding, the table, and plastic to catch stucco debris. If you set a job up properly, the clean-up, and overall progress will be smoother. This one man show is unstoppable!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

plastic fantastic




I had to create a hermetically sealed environment similar to a Dell computer micro-chip room, or a negative air-pressure chamber to both scrape and power sand the Walnut post. This temporary structure also kept the owner's dog and cat's at bay. Today it gets two more coats of clear semi-gloss, then i will start on replacing all the stair treads.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

I'm so ver-clamped.




I wrapped a 4 by 6 post in Walnut ( expensive) This son-of-gun took a lot of clamps as you can see. I will show you what it looks like at finish when it is.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Building paper




Typar building paper is awesome! The guy's who started Tyvek are behind Typar. This stuff is as good if not better than Tyvek. We have used it on our latest project, a major rebuild/repair job here in the Southbay. We could have used a lesser material, but that's not what we do here at Riviera Rich Builders- we only use the best. We project positive energy on every job.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Two men together

Pat

and Charley have been together for a long time. They are two very special men. They have stayed together through the thick and thin. The commitment they enjoy with each other is phenomenal. It takes a certain type of temperament to make a relationship last this long. I like working with them because they are so supportive of each other it inspires me to be a better man. I love these guys almost as much as they love each other. Rock-on boys!


Friday, October 14, 2011

bak to back blogs




Check this guy's truck, it's fully outfitted and ready for action! I'm not going to get political here, but I think he's onto something.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Busy as a beaver




The reason i haven't blogged in a while is becuase I am real busy right now. I just built a custom bathroom and am currently working on a giant dryrot wood rebuild and new plastering of entire structure from scratch. I love to be busy in construction, cause it inpires my artwork and poetry. here's the completed bathroom photo- zenbuilder out!

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Steping in do do

Yesterday I stepped onto some dog excrement while working. I was focused on my work and did not see the dog waste. My shoes were both caked with a rich smearing of the smelly substance, so I just removed them, placed them into a plastic bag and deposited them into the trash. I then drove to my local Big 5 store ( in my socks) purchased some new shoes, and went back to work. I'm sorry I cannot provide a photo of this experience, it was just too tramtic.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Truck loading






Hi, I'm back! Let me tell you how to properly load a truck. first you take the materials and increase the height and length of your bed. Once that is accomplished, you fill it up carefully, leaving the large items for last. When the box you enlarged is full, simply strap the large items on top, creating down pressure on the entire mass... and whalla! You have a properly loaded truck!

Saturday, August 6, 2011

flying saucers.




We are currently busy with lot's of construction projects, but that's not what's important. What's important, is the skunkworks project we have started and you will soon see on Utube. I will post a picture of the project and the progress I have made so far.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

bac to back




Hi, I am feeling good right now. Another productive day on the job, and another photo of the awesome closet i just finished. Keep the faith, and keep it real. - zenbuilder out.

Friday, July 29, 2011

Custom closet in the craftsman style.








I love to build beautiful intelligent closets! Look at this one cedar lined from floor to ceiling, perfect utilization of space. This is stain grade, no to be confused with paint grade, which is o.k., but not what the discerning person wants, if quality is their goal. I will publish more photos of this closet as the days progresses

Monday, July 25, 2011

Vacation




Hello, it's been a while, and it's high time for a new post. Where do I start? How about discussing my new projects? Naa too boring, let's talk about my recent family trip. We just returned from a college scouting trip with our daughter Ashley and son Trenton. While on this journey kept a diary/journal of our experiences. Nothing incredible happened good or bad, so that's a positive though some interesting and amusing things did occur that were worth writing about. I am currently editing my journal some 60 some odd small pages all printed in a masculine scribble that only I can decipher.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

creating Art




Recently i traveled to San Luis Obispo to visit my son who attends college there. My son took myself, my wife, and our guests to an organic farm where he is interning. the manager of the farm was a cool, energetic, man with a degree in horticulture, and boy did he know his stuff! I will try to load a video of our experience. ( If not you will see a picture.) If you are reading this please add your comment.... any comment. thanks- Zenbuilder

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Threshold masterpiece.



Hey people out there, how are you today? I just worked on a tricky little job. I removed a rotten Oak threshold and replaced some dry-rot framing underneath. How exciting! Actually how i replaced was interesting. I purchased a new oak threshold, then Covered it completely with an extruded aluminum sill cover and caulked it with silicone. It was a weird scenario with living space directly underneath the sill so that's why I made it completely water impervious.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Tax season



Wee! it's tax season again. I built this custom sign for a tax business in Redondo Beach about 6 years ago now it needs to be refurbished. I actually painted over the lettering as one can see from the photo. Zenbuilder loves to do small jobs... cause he meets people and makes connections for bigger jobs.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

custom door. installation



Well here's the finished installation! What a lovely little playhouse, now it's a doghouse for Zena the warrior puppy. Oh yeah did i mention that I built the playhouse to match the custom house. This was built about 5 years ago.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Craftsman movement

IMG_1182.JPG

The Craftsman movement will never die! Even when I'm gone many talented people will pick up the torch and carry on, The more Chinese garbage products, and mass produced crap that ends up in the marketplace, the more hand made items from artisans like myself will flourish! Remember your history Arts and craft movement started as a direct result of the "Industrial Revolution" This door was made from one hand selected 2*8 * 12" piece of Redwood. This wood was recycled from a old Trellis we recently demoed. Keeping it real- Zenbuilder.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Meditation garden.



In a world of noise and confusion, a person needs to have a place of solitude and beauty, where they can relax and release all the negative energy particles they have encountered during their day.