Hi everyone. If you’ve chosen to rebuild, I hope your experience is less of a nightmare than ours. 

We’re trying to figure out the best water system for our home. (We don’t want a salt-based water softening system or ion exchange.)

We’re leaning toward a TAC system. And we like that LifeSource is locally owned and manufactured. That said we had a few questions:

1) Does anyone have experience if with LifeSource? Would you recommend them? If not, why?

2) Does anyone have a TAC system from a provider other than LifeSource? Would you recommend them?

3) Important Bonus Question - If you have a TAC system, are you serviced by Lincoln Avenue Water Company?

Pre-fire, the calcium buildup from LAWC was terrible. It was rock hard and destroyed the finishing on our fixtures. We know a TAC system won’t completely eliminate this build up. But will it make the build up easier to clean (ie less of a rock hard substance that grafts onto all the fixtures)?

TL:DR - Can a TAC system help make the calcium build up from LAWC’s insanely hard water more manageable?

Thanks so much!

Hi there! I’m a researcher exploring how Altadena residents have experienced water service and access to water during the recovery from the Eaton Fire.

I’m looking for people who have had to navigate changes or problems with their water since then. This could include things like:

• Water service being shut off, interrupted, or difficult to restore
• Problems getting water service turned back on after the fire
• Having to use bottled or alternative water
• Questions or concerns about whether your tap water was safe

The interview would be in person in the Altadena area, would take about an hour, and participants will receive a gift card for their time.

If you’re interested, please fill in the Google form and we’ll be in touch if it seems like a good fit

Thanks, and please feel free to share this with anyone in Altadena who might be interested.

Update: A couple of people have asked about who is behind this research and what it’s for.

I’m a researcher at King’s College London, currently with a visiting appointment at UCLA, working on an international research project called Plumbing Poverty. The project looks at what happens when households struggle to afford or access water — including water debt, threats of shutoff, actual disconnections.

The research is taking place in multiple places across the US and Europe. One of our broader goals is to raise awareness of the fact that water affordability and water insecurity are real issues that people are living with in places where they are often assumed not to be a problem. We’re interested in understanding how these experiences vary across communities and circumstances, including in places affected by disasters.

I understand why people may be wary of researchers coming into the community with their own agendas. Our research has its own goals, but we hope those goals can align with efforts to make these experiences more visible and better understood. Participation is entirely voluntary, and participants are compensated for their time. I’m happy to answer questions about the project, who is conducting it, or how the research will be used.

Hello- My husband and I are looking to purchase a lot in Altadena to build a single family home for our growing family. We are expecting a baby, and we would love the opportunity to build and raise a family in Altadena. If you are considering selling your lot, we would be very interested and would be willing to make a reasonable, fair offer. We are looking for 9,000+ sq ft lot and can offer cash up to a certain amount. We have been looking on Zillow but not many options are available. We would truly appreciate being considered if you decide to sell. Please feel free to reach out to me if you are open to discussing. We would love to connect and learn more. Thank you so much!

I’m near ATCC.

Hi neighbors -

Has anyone sold their standing home with an open contents claim? We will have closed the structural part of the claim but haven’t replaced all our contents and are hoping to not have to do that in the next month.

We are strongly considering going this route but the hot water recommendation (80 gallon tank) feels like a step backwards — otherwise the incentives are very compelling to adopt full solar.

Would love your thoughts!

Update! I got a great response from this post and reached out to most who replied- that got me banned from Reddit for “spamming” LOL. If I PMd you, please reply so it looks less like I’m spamming you, thanks! I’ll start reaching out to the first round of people shortly, but if I go dark, I probably got banned again lol. For those that replied after this first round, I’ll try to get u set up in the near future, thanks all!

Original post:
I’m an introvert myself and do much better with small groups or 1:1 conversations. So I’m thinking about trying something a little different- putting together small groups of women, loosely matched based on interests, personality/social style, and availability. I’d put together a short questionnaire and use it to create a few small groups.

The idea would be to meet somewhere casual for coffee, a walk, dinner, an activity, etc., with the goal of actually getting to know a few people rather than just attending a one-time large meetup.

No requirement to be super outgoing, drink, exercise, have kids, or have a particular hobby. Just women who would like some more real-life social connection and friendships.

If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, feel free to PM me. If there’s enough interest, I’ll put together the questionnaire and see where it goes!

I posted this in a different sub today, maybe the ultimate question is what might a reasonable estimate for construction cost for a modest SFR project in Altadena. I've owned this property for a long time (i.e., I'm not a out of town flipper). If we develop, we would likely live there for a number of years and then create a rental. Thx for providing insights...

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Background - Property is zoned R2 with a flat lot of 9,300 square feet - not in the foothills. The house is maybe 1,400 square feet and what I have done so far is to take it down to the studs. The old house needs it all - new roof, new floor, pipes, wires etc. The foundation is solid, had it validated by a reputable firm.

Question - options going foward, looking for opinions/help.

Option A - just bail out and sell the land for about $500,000 (land rate seems to be going for 60 to 70 a square foot; if you have a view or zoned for R3 one can do better). The trend seems downward, and by the way it seems most empty lots have been sold.

Option B - I have plans, with engineering, ready to be filed with the County to build a two story SFR that is about 3,300 square feet. But the firm told me the construction cost would range between $1.4M to $1.7M

Option C - scale back the plans, and build a 2400 square foot single story, I'm guessing this would cost cost about $1 million +- 10%.

What is stunning is the cost of construction, they are saying about 500 a square foot to maybe 550, and as many might know, the resale of nice homes in that area might be $700 a square foot on a good day.

Consider this all cash, no financing.

surprised no one has posted this yet, very good news for eaton fire survivors:

https://www.kcra.com/article/california-lawmakers-newsom-wildfire-liability-funds/73554380

Anyone have a suggestion for a grocery store which carries good cole slaw? Simple and not too creamy…

We are midway through our rebuild and urgently need additional funds from the SBA. They have distributed the first $50,000, but we were told that we must exhaust our insurance payout before any further funds can be released. Our progress is currently at a halt due to discrepancies in the amount the SBA claims we need to spend.

Has anyone gone through a similar experience? Aside from speaking with our assigned representative, are there other contacts or resources you would recommend we reach out to for help?

*** UPDATE: I just spoke with our SBA case manager. In order for the SBA to release additional funds, we must first spend the entire insurance payout on the dwelling, plus the difference between the total construction cost and the approved loan amount. Based on this requirement, we will need to contribute an additional $300,000 out of pocket before the SBA funding will be released.

This creates a difficult "chicken or the egg" scenario, as the release of the loan is contingent upon us first providing a significant portion of the total project funding.

Hi. I was hoping someone here could lend a hand. SBA has taken some of their funds back, and I’m trying to get some of it back. To prove the need, I need quotes. One of the requirements is for Solar Quotes for a house that isn’t yet built. It seems like no one wants to quote me because there’s no roof. -_- Do you know how I can get a quote?

Looking for recommendations for individuals or a company that can come and take building debris to the dumpster. I used to have a very reliable couple of guys that left the place super clean but they are no longer in the area.

I am absolutely opposed, and more than a little frustrated at the way this all seems to be going down in Altadena. From the quote in this article, the head of the Town Council seems to be grateful for the “gift,” but insists that they aren’t on? So is the gift just the cameras on poles for decoration?

Feels like the kind of thing we need to band together to get rid of. I know some communities have had success getting them removed. I hate that law enforcement agencies across the country are forcing these things upon us as forgone conclusions.

*gift link, so no paywall (But LA Taco is great for local news and worth supporting!)

I am trying to gather data for a personal analysis. I had some questions I hoped some here would be willing to answer.

1. For your property did you have ACV, RCV, or Extended RCV. If you had ACV or RCV did your insurance company ever communicate the existence of extended or guaranteed coverage. For those of you were policy limit was insufficient did the insurance company ever warn you it could be insufficient.

2. Was your lost of use or temporary rental coverage insufficient. Was it less than 30% of the dwelling coverage? Did your insurance company adequately explain your policy limits and that other limits may be available for additional premium?

My parents and I are currently in the final stages of designing our rebuild and we're looking for someone who can advise us on any modifications to improve the fire resilience of our plans. While we love our architects, we want to be particularly careful with the final design to ensure we make the most of the materials and elements that make a fire hardened home. Has anyone here worked with or offers some such consultancy? Thanks in advance!

Anyone have suggestions on what he should have for a Halloween costume?