WCB: Wayne, what is involved in getting a building permit in Sonoma?
WW: Please see our web handout Obtaining a Building Permit and Permit Submittal Requirements which explains the process.

WCB: Is there a design review, and if so, what is considered in that part of the process?
WW: The need for design review depends on the type of project. Design review is typically required for demolitions, new non-residential projects and non-residential projects that undergo exterior alterations, exterior alterations to historic or older residential buildings, etc. Typically exterior appearance, site issues and landscaping are considered in the design review process.

WCB: Does the city or county enforce green building, energy or water standards as part of the planning process?
WW: The City of Sonoma has adopted a mandatory green building program and a new mandatory Green Building Code has been adopted by the State of California (scheduled to become effective throughout California on January 1, 2011). The City will also be considering new water efficiency regulations for landscaping later this spring.

WCB: What are the fees associated with permitting?
WW: Permit fees vary depending on the project. The City of Sonoma provides free permit cost estimates for specific projects on a case by case basis.

WCB: What’s your advice to a builder or landowner on how to have the most efficient and expeditious permitting experience?
WW: The best and way to make the permitting process go smoothly and expeditiously is to have frequent conversations with City staff and ask lots of questions. We to make the process as efficient as possible and it works best when we are able to regularly review the project with builders, owners and design professionals to discuss and resolve potential issues as early as possible.

Trust and Respect: First and foremost is to have a relationship built on trust and respect. The builder must trust the architect’s experience and expertise, and the architect must trust the builder’s skills and knowledge and will produce a quality building.

Team Effort: Any successful project takes a team effort of owner, architect and builder, working together, with clear and open communications flowing between one another. The builder plays a key role in this due to the construction experience and know-how he brings to the team, and his day-to-day involvement in the construction process.

About Vic Conforti:Vic Conforti is a small architectural firm specializing in high quality work for the local area. The firm is a sole proprietorship formed in 1972, providing architecture tailored to local needs, heritage, and environment, as well as cost-conscious construction practices Mr. Conforti is one of the leading architectural professionals in the area, having designed many of the prominent buildings in the Sonoma area, including numerous civic as well as commercial projects, all in harmony with the local historical architectural character.

This sink is a concrete wave sink with slot drains made of integral colored concrete was done by Sonoma Cast Stone out of Petaluma. The installation, because of the depth of the basin, requires special attention to plumbing and cabinet fitting.

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Under Title 24, there are mandatory measures that each new building must comply with, as well as an overall energy budget projection for the house that must be met. New homes are reviewed in the planning stage, and again in the inspection stage, to determine if they meet Title 24 requirements. There are many components to these new standards, including choices in lighting, ventilation, refrigerants, roofing, insulation and more. Your Title 24 compliance, and perhaps even additional green building enhancements that go beyond the minimum, need to be considered from the outset of your project.

http://www.energy.ca.gov/title24/

http://www.energy.ca.gov/title24/2008standards/index.html

Bringing your builder or contractor in early in the design process is one of the best things you can do to ensure a well planned and executed building project, with as few surprises as possible. Sometimes, that may be as much as a year in advance of ground being broken.

There are important benefits to doing this. First, when you begin the team building process early on, you get buy-in from all parties on your vision, which ultimately saves time and makes a project run more smoothly.

Secondly, you get a much more accurate sense of pricing on your project. Your builder can help inform the design process by providing preliminary pricing as the project goes along. In addition, you will find that a lot of pertinent information comes out in the subcontracting/bidding process. For example, in the feasibility and bidding stages, an expert might take a look at a plan of one of the subsystems in a house and suggest a more optimized alternative based on their experience (eg, 2 tankless water heaters placed strategically, instead of one traditional set up). This helps create a better final result for the client, and a more complete final bid.

There are many ways of getting a contractor involved early. A common method is to bring the builder in for a flat or hourly consulting fee, which can be applied toward the construction phase if the builder’s final bid is accepted.

In either case, when you embark on a building project, collaboration is a critical element of a satisfying experience, and when the owner, architect and builder are working together, everyone wins.

Take this example of a bathroom faucet. If a contractor puts in an allowance for a faucet, which one does he mean? What generally happens is that the contractor makes one set of assumptions, and then the homeowner goes shopping for finishes and hardware, and the variances begin adding up.

This Moen Faucet is $209.

This Grohe Faucet is $510.

This Rohl Faucet is $1,118.

These kinds of differences can really make a difference in the final outcome of a project. Make sure you and your contractor are on the same page when it comes to what’s “allowed” for, and when comparing bids from contractors, be sure to ask what, if any, numbers for allowances were included in the bid.

Once connected, your refrigerator can’t tell whether the power’s coming from the roof or a coal plant in another state.   The solar energy then runs into your household electric system in the same way as the power from your utility company- there’s no interior wiring needed.

If you generate more power than you need, the utility absorbs the excess.   When you need power, the grid serves as a backup.   Eventually, your excess power may be able to be SOLD back to the power company (something called a feed-in tariff), for the utility to resell, and as a money maker for you effectively being a distributed power generator.

The Economics of Solar:

Solar power equipment and installation cost are driven by size and complexity of the project and can range from $15,000 to upwards of $100,000.  Most people finance this project as part of a renewable energy production loan (in more than 20 states), or through home equity.  This effectively locks in the monthly payment- you will now know what you’re monthly utility cost will be.  In a highly inflationary market, where power costs are rising 8-10% per year, being able to predict your energy costs, and effectively gave free power after the installation is complete, is a great benefit.

There should be no net difference in monthly cost to the homeowner from a solar project. Once the install is complete, the homeowner generally pays nothing or very little to the power company, and this money offsets the payment for the equipment.

Solar Energy Installers serving Sonoma County

www.Solarcraft.com
www.Akeena Solar

This client wanted a place to cook and gather, and had worked to create a warm, wooded feeling. Note the detailed finish work in the cabinetry.

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