Blog

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25th

11:00 AM-4:00 PM

1276 Richardson Avenue- Los Altos

Join us for refreshments, meet the designers and builders, get a free tour of the home

Let us know you're stopping by: openhouse@tldesign.net

Andreza Ashraf joined the Timeline team in early 2018 as our newest Job Captain, specializing in 3D modeling. Her deep desire to learn coupled with her educational prowess have made Andreza a welcome addition to the architecture department.

Holding a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture and Urbanism and a Master’s Degree in Environmental Studies, Andreza is well educated for her career in architecture. With her experience working as a Junior Architect and Architect Consultant, Andreza has the knowledge and know how to excel with Timeline.

Presently, Andreza enjoys working on projects she is truly passionate about, gaining experience in architecture, and modeling beautiful homes for our clientele. Her duties include residential schematic design and drafting, 3D modeling and rendering, as-built measures and drafting, and coordinating with project consultants.

Bi-lingual in Portuguese and English, Andreza has spent the majority of her life in Brazil before making the
big move to the Bay Area 4 years ago. Outside of work she enjoys reading, exploring new parks for hiking and camping with her husband, cooking and eating out with friends.

Jennifer Woods has spent over 20 years handling the finances for various South Bay companies in her career as an accountant. For over 10 of those years she has worked specifically in the construction industry. A whiz with numbers and naturally detail oriented, Jennifer has enjoyed a successful career.

Holding a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from SFSU, Jennifer is both educated and experienced. Always dressed for success with a winning smile and positive outlook, Jennifer is a great new addition to the Timeline team.

“This is one of those jobs where I love getting up every day and going into work because I enjoy working with the Timeline team…I enjoy smaller companies where all the employees know each other by name at a more personal level.”-Jennifer

In her spare time, Jennifer enjoys spending times with her two sons and seven siblings as well as hiking, photography, travel, poetry writing and all things crafty.

Recently, two of our Timeline team members spent a day donning their construction hats and using their skills to help rebuild homes with the volunteer organization “Rebuilding Together.” Rebuild recipients range from senior citizens who are unable to do the repairs themselves, low-income households who cannot afford the upkeep or nonprofit organizations which need renovating.

Jennifer Woods, our Timeline Accounting Manager, has been volunteering with Rebuilding Together for the past 10 years and has really enjoyed all of the projects she has been a part of. Volunteer projects are typically coordinated every May and October, and the work ranges from installing a new stove, vent hood, toilet, faucet or garbage disposal, to fixing a fence, patching walls, painting home exteriors and fences, trimming bushes and trees, weeding, etc.
Jennifer’s last volunteering session was in May, and fellow Timeline employee Andreza A

shraf joined her to prime and paint the exterior and trim of a mobile home, where they were photographed below.
If you would like to join Timeline in donating your time, let us know. No special construction skills are required to help out.

For more information on the organization see below. https://rebuildingtogethersv.org/rtsv-volunteer/

Luis Rodriguez (Left) and Dennis Laugesen (Right) looking over a set of plans

There are many things to consider when interviewing builders. Our biggest advice is to start the interviewing process prior to designing your home. This way you will have a clear understanding of whether it makes sense for you to use a design-build firm or hire an architect and then later a builder. It also helps you understand the costs to build before designing a home that you can’t afford to construct.

1. How many years have you been in business? How many homes have you built?

2. Are you licensed and insured?

3. Have you done work in my city? (This is important because if they have, they understand the codes and permitting needs for your location, and every city is different).

4. What type of warranty do you offer?

5. Can you provide references from past clients? Do you have homes I can tour?

6. What departments do you have in-house? Who do you sub-contract and how long have you been working with them?

7. Do you have a process to ensure that the build will happen within the timeline you state? If so, what is it?

8. Who will oversee the construction of my home? Will I have one dedicated project manager?

9. From the estimate you give me to a final construction price, how close to the original estimate are you typically?

Does that cost take into account finish selections, consultant fees, permitting?

10. Do you have a process for inspections at key points during the build, and at final walk-through to address matters that need to be corrected or finalized?

Flag lots can be tricky to design a home on, but, with some creative thinking and good problem solving, our team at Timeline can find unique ways to make the most of these sometimes-awkward shaped pieces of land. A flag lot, for those of you who have never heard the term, is a long, slender strip of land resembling a flag pole, that extends from the typically rectangular main sections of the lot — or the “flag” — out to the street. Each “flag pole” typically provides just enough frontage for vehicle access and is often shared by several neighbors.

One of our newest clients has such a lot. To reach their home, they have to turn into an access road from a busy street and drive down a narrow driveway to reach the front. Originally wanting to just remodel their home, Timeline came up with an option to give them access to their home directly from the street. How? By rebuilding the home and reorienting it so that the back of the house, which sits at the very end of the lot up against a cul-de-sac, is now the front of the house. Not having considered this as a possibility, the clients were excited to move forward.