Anyone taking a stroll down bustling Lincoln Avenue (a.k.a. “The Ave”) today might be hard pressed to believe that the neighborhood dates back to the mid 1800’s. With its busy cafes and sushi restaurants not much remains of the hop farms, the marshes and the dry creek that characterized the Willow Glen area over a century ago. One of the things that is still standing is the railway trestle on Bird Avenue, that was built for Southern Pacific Railroads, whose President at the time was another famous Californian Leland Stanford, the benefactor of his namesake university.  

While all the talk is about Google coming to San Jose Diridon, older neighborhoods like Willow Glen are changing literally one home at a time. As the older residents pass on, new buyers are moving in and replacing and/or updating the older structures. As a long term resident of Willow Glen, I can anecdotally attest to the diversity and the vibrance that new residents are bringing with them to the area, while thankfully keeping the architectural traditions and charm of the neighborhood alive. 

My husband and I recently purchased a property that was built in the 1950s and decided to take the existing structure down and re-build it as a home for our family. This blog aims to document our adventures as we build the house – from demolition to foundation to framing and beyond!

We hope you will find it instructive for your own home building efforts.