Remodeling and additions in Mountain View

Remodeling an Eichler

Mountain View's Eichler tracts were built as a system: a concrete slab with heating pipes inside it, exposed post-and-beam framing, a flat or low-slope roof with no attic, and walls of glass facing the yard. Remodeling one well means working with that system rather than against it.

Radiant floors. The original heat runs through tubing cast into the slab. Some systems still work; many have leaks that are hard and disruptive to repair. We have the system assessed before design, because the answer affects everything above it. Common routes are repairing the loop, abandoning it in place and adding a new heat source such as ductless heat pumps, or installing new radiant heat over the slab when floor heights allow.

Post-and-beam and the roof. With no attic, there's nowhere to hide ducts, wiring or insulation. The usual approach is to add rigid insulation on top of the roof deck when the house is reroofed, which keeps the exposed wood ceilings intact. The same framing means walls do a lot of structural work with very little solid wall, so moving a wall or adding glass is an engineering question first.

Glass walls. Original single-pane glass is a large share of the home's heat gain and loss. Replacing it with dual-pane glass in slim frames keeps the look; replacement glazing has to meet California's energy code.

What to keep. The things that make an Eichler work are the sightlines to the yard, the atrium if there is one, the exposed beams and the low roofline. An open kitchen fits the original plan well. Additions that follow the roof slope and stay low read as part of the house.

On the approvals side, Mountain View reviews most single-family work against its R1 zoning standards rather than through a discretionary design review. Mountain View has single-story overlays on a few small areas, such as the Eichler tract along Eichler Drive and Trophy Drive, limiting homes there to one story, so we check your parcel's zoning before planning any upward addition.

Our part: we arrange the slab and system assessments and testing for hazardous materials common to homes of this age, prepare drawings, coordinate structural engineering, prepare the submittal, respond to comments and schedule inspections.

Last reviewed: October 2026 · Sources: City of Mountain View — R1 zoning amendments, development review list (2022) (opens in new tab) · City of Mountain View — City Council item on a single-story overlay rezoning (2011) (opens in new tab)