Hawaii homes

A customer asked me about the requirements for repairing a fence. They own an older house in Kailua and a portion of the fence fell down during one our December (2008) storms. I had a general idea, however I checked with a contractor to make sure my advice was accurate.

Cy at Hawaii Gate and Garden (808) 955-3258 was very helpful. I had not met him before and he was willing to spend a few minutes with me even if it didn't generate an immediate sale.

Here's what I learned:

- Technically, any work costing over $1,000 requires a building permit.

- If the work is a repair of an existing fence that already had a building permit, then a permit is not required if the cost is less than $1,000.

- If the work is a repair of an existing fence that was not permitted, it is recommended that the owner get the work permitted (even if the work costs less than $1,000).

- New fences will almost certainly cost at least $1,000 and a building permit should be obtained.

- The permit requires a sketch. Contractors will usually make the sketch and apply for the building permit as part of their work.

This information applies to the City and County of Honolulu (which is the island of Oahu). Rules for Kauai, Maui and the Big Island may vary.

Aloha, Mike Bates

I got a call from the Honolulu Star Bulletin the other night. Ho hum, another telemarketer trying to sell me something I don't need. Wait - this was a good deal! She said I could get a one-year subscription to the Honolulu Star Bulletin (including Sundays) for $50!

Oahu's most popular newspaper is the Honolulu Advertiser, which I've subscribed to for decades. Could I handle the change?

Here are some differences:

- The Honolulu Advertiser is delivered early in the morning. The Star Bulletin is delivered in the afternoon, except on weekends, when it's delivered in the morning.

- As for news content - the Advertiser is probably a bit better.

- The Honolulu Advertiser subscription rate is $39.15 for 12 weeks. That works out to about $170 per year. Versus $50 per year for the Star Bulletin - sounds like a deal to me!

Now I'm getting both papers and comparing them. I think the biggest adjustment is waiting until the afternoon (on weekdays) to read the Star Bulletin. When my Honolulu Advertiser subscription runs out I think I'll just read the Star Bulletin - maybe pickup the Advertiser on Sundays.

Check it out - that's a great deal for a daily newspaper. I called the Honolulu Star Bulletin and asked if the offer is open to anybody. They said yes - for a limited time.

Call: (808) 529-4848

We're getting a cool new stamp in 2009! It commemorates Hawaii's 50th year of statehood. The stamp features a surfer catching a wave in the foreground and two persons in a Hawaiian canoe in the background on the same wave.

This stamp reminds me of surfing in Waikiki, where we frequently see canoe paddlers catching waves along with surfers. One of the top surf spots is Canoes, located right where the Duke Kahanamoku statue stands on Kalakaua Avenue.

Note - if you're out surfing and a canoe is catching a wave, steer clear of it! Hawaiian canoes are heavy and don't manuever as quickly as surfboards.

The stamp is set for release in May, 2009. Note the "42"has a line through it because the USPS is planning to raise rates - but the new postage rate has yet to be determined.

Aloha, Mike

Hi All,

I did some research and wrote about house roofs in Hawaii. The article includes information about roofing styles, materials used and reflective roof coatings.

Take a look at our article, titled Roofs and Hawaii homes. Prior to writing this article, I appreciated the older style roofs seen in neighborhoods like Manoa and Kahala, but knew little about them. I hope you will find the information useful.

Aloha, Mike

On the day after Christmas, Oahu residents found themselves in the dark. Electricity went out in the evening and was restored sometime the following morning.

We were at my mother's condo in Hawaii Kai having dinner. I noticed the lights flickering several times. I asked my mom about it, she said it was not normal. As we finished up dinner the lights finally went off! We first thought it was just the power in her building. Then we walked out to the lanai and this was our view of Hawaii Kai from the 12th floor.

Mostly, it was dark. There were a lot of cars on Kalanianaole Highway (the line of light in the upper right portion of the photo). A few buildings had backup power to light their stairways and grounds.

We bumped around in the dark and found the candles and flashlights. We also have a hand-crank radio/flashlight that came in very handy.

Most cell phones were still operational, so we called family and friends to see if they had electricity. Nearly the entire island was in the dark. Makakilo and Kapolei were the only areas with reports of power.

We cranked up the radio and listened to KSSK. For the first hour, phone calls to the station were ridiculous. It seemed like every person said "We don't have electricity! What's going on - is it out all over the island?" The same thing over and over. I guess these people weren't listening to the radio, they were just calling in.

By 9 p.m. we started getting reports from Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO), the mayor and the governor. Power was out everywhere. Makakilo and Kapolei had still had electricity when most of the island lost theirs, but then it went out in those neighborhoods too. They urged Oahu residents to stay off the roads and conserve water. Predictions were that power would be restored in about 12 hours.

Another concern was for President-elect Obama! He's vacationing in Kailua. Obviously, the secret service was on its toes, checking out the neighborhood where Obama was staying. Callers to the radio station said they could see flashlights darting all around the property. Later in the evening, callers said the property had electricity. They most likely had backup generators available, since other homes were still in the dark.

We woke up around 7 a.m. this morning and electricity was back on! That's a relief. HECO was unsure what caused the outage last night. There was lightning in the sky, it's possible that it struck a transformer and/or power lines. As of 9 a.m. we have not received our newspaper yet. They probably were unable to operate the printing presses overnight. We'll learn more in the coming days.

Follow up 12/27/08

The Honolulu Advertiser (the main newspaer in town) apologizes online, there will be no newspaper delivery today.

Although we were lucky enough to have power restored when we woke up this morning, many other neighborhods on Oahu still do not have power as of noon. Some of the neighborhoods awaiting electric power are Kaneohe, Hauula, Kakaako and Aina Haina.

In Waikiki, ABC stores had brisk sales as tourists shopped for food and drinks. Most restaurants and stores closed when the power went off.

The Honolulu Star Bulletin reports that a Hawaiian Airlines jet was struck by lightning, earlier on Friday. The jet was flying from Honolulu to Hilo. The damage appeared to be superficial. The jet flew back to Honolulu without passengers for a detailed inspection.

Aloha, Mike