MASTRIDICASA LLC
PO Box 311
Tahoe Vista California 96148
ph: +1 530-448-4280 (no texts please)
email: doug@mastridicasa.com
New residential constructions, accessory dwelling units, remodels, additions, and renovations - MASTRIDICASA can handle all of your project needs.
Serving the Lake Tahoe-Truckee area primarily, as well as Napa, Sonoma, Marin, San Francisco, and most jurisdictions throughout the United States, MASTRIDICASA provides a complete array of residential and commercial design, planning, and construction document/building permit plan preparation services, as well as numerous support services such as project planning, consulting, photo-real rendering, and as-built measuring to name a few.
These services are provided for homeowners, business owners, contractors, real estate agents, and other industry professionals; we serve the entire community.
At MASTRIDICASA, we make the design process simple...
Driven by client goals
Informed by experience
Guided by icons of architecture
Short answer - No and no.
Did you know that Frank Lloyd Wright was never a licensed architect? And no, we're not comparing ourselves to FLW. Just making the point that great design skills don't originate from possessing a title.
As strange as it sounds, California and most other states do not require anyone to be a licensed architect to design and create the building permit plans for most residential and certain commercial projects. See California Business & Professions Code Sections 5537, 5538, 6737.1, and 6745 as examples in California. Most states have similar civil code sections; some have square footage limitations, some have height limitations, etc. For scopes of work that may fall outside of the limitations placed on us, MASTRIDICASA collaborates with registered design professionals to fulfill all of the requirements mandated by law.
In California, all that is required is that the person who prepares the plans signs them (Sec 5536.1) for liability purposes. Just because you're not licensed doesn't mean you don't have to own it. Unlike most "drafting services", MASTRIDICASA carries professional-grade E&O insurance, the same kind licensed architects and engineers have. It costs an unlicensed designer about 3x what a licensed design professional pays for the same coverage. We consider the expense the cost of doing business properly and ethically.
MASTRIDICASA coordinates and collaborates closely throughout the design process with a select group of local consultants - civil, structural, mechanical, and geotech engineers, energy code specialists, and, when required, expert planning professionals. Working together, the design team provides a comprehensive set of superior construction documents tailored to your jurisdiction's requirements.
After 40+ years of AEC industry experience and leadership roles in the field and the office, asking many questions and paying attention, staying up on the latest construction methods, materials, and best practices through close collaborations with the builders MASTRIDICASA works with...
"It takes a village" applies to the whole process of taking your vision from concept to final certificate of occupancy. The designing is but one small part.
Most any kind... brand new residential constructions, remodels, additions, commercial tenant improvements, design-build projects. Most any size, most any scope of work.
If you can envision it, MASTRIDICASA can design it and prepare the construction documents to get your building permit.
In the words of Mr. Frank Lloyd Wright - "Regard it as just as desirable to build a chicken house as to build a cathedral..."
At MASTRIDICASA, there are no insignificant projects; there are no "lesser" design projects. From the smallest remodel projects to the multi-million-dollar estate and private compound projects, it's an honor to help facilitate a client's wishes for their project, regardless of its size or scope of work.
Simple. We're not after your money, we're after your satisfaction. We don't do this for the love of money; we do this for the love of the craft.
By employing the same state-of-the-art software, hardware, and design processes as high-end architecture firms, while eliminating many of the common overhead expenses associated with maintaining a larger office and a multitude of staff, MASTRIDICASA can offer a level of service that rivals expensive design firms without the exorbitant prices.
We keep our rates reasonable - extremely reasonable. Yes, we're capitalists, just not the very best capitalists we can be. We're not cheap, but we are a bargain, especially when you compare us to the high-priced design-haus firms. As a small office, we're not top-heavy or weighed down with massive overhead; we're immediately scalable, nimble, and aren't at the mercy of the economy.
Bottom line? We'd rather keep our prices where they are and design more projects.
2025
Starting at age five, our father, a principal for a highly esteemed multi-disciplinary AEC firm, would take us for ride-alongs on the weekends to job sites. There was a round house that still stands there today - a perfect circle with a staircase along the interior wall leading to a flat roof deck. That house evoked a feeling of indescribable giddiness in us that still drives us today. After that ride-along with Dad, we spent quite a bit of our "inside" time drawing houses on graph paper. At age 12, a state-issued work permit allowed us to start drafting for our father's AEC firm. The rest is history.
After decades of working for several well-respected large multi-disciplinary AEC firms on both the East and West coasts, as well as several smaller offices, it seemed obvious that a void existed that needed to be filled. A residential design service that provided the same detail-oriented, top-tier performance for discerning clients who desired a white-glove experience, all at a price point that was palatable for the 99%.
In 2014, MASTRIDICASA Design Works was established for this very reason - to provide bespoke, cost-effective residential and commercial design services, as well as building permit plan production and a host of other support services, for all those who seek the very best value in this discipline, making stunning design accessible to anyone and everyone who seeks it - no matter their budget.
YOU DESERVE A BEAUTIFUL SPACE...
MASTRIDICASA would love to help you make that possible.
Sincerely,
Douglas A. Mastri
Owner / MASTRIDICASA
GRAY'S CROSSING FARMHOUSE
When an accomplished and esteemed local design professional commissions you to design their dream home, it's quite humbling...
Located in the upscale development of Gray's Crossing, and subject to their explicit design guidelines, this collaboration between MASTRIDICASA and the owners was a true labor of love - and none of it seemed like "labor" at all. As a team, we successfully navigated the rigorous design review process, and when all was said and done, Mr. Gray commended us with "that's a damn fine looking house".
This spacious and flowing design features a see through entry foyer that connects all of the living spaces - an open floor plan kitchen-dining-great room with a corner window pointed to the picturesque view corridor, an entire separate floor level dedicated to the master suite above the garage, a separate guest wing en-suite, another private in-law en-suite on the ground level, a secluded, tranquil studio space looking out to the preserved woods and green space behind the house, and multiple private screened patios and courtyards surrounding the residence.
As of May 2025, construction is 99% complete, finished photos expected very soon.
GRAY'S CROSSING FARMHOUSE
Gray's Crossing Truckee California
NEW CONSTRUCTION
4,557 SF
4 BR
4.5 BA
3 CAR GARAGE
Project Team
Designer:
MASTRIDCASA
Contractor:
530 Builders
Structural Engineer:
CFBR Structural Group
Civil Engineer:
Porter Engineering
Interior Designer:
Design Bar Truckee
Photography:
MASTRIDICASA
Tell the story, start at the beginning...
Every project should have:
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A backdrop context image - full screen gorgeous image (https://unsplash.com/)
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An existing site context - either a photo or GIS / Google Earth Aerial
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A proposed site layout - usually take from your site plan drawing
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Design development drawings:
floor plans concept style from Revit
perspectives
elevation exhibits in Photoshop
section exhibits in Photoshop -
Construction phase ?
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Finished pics if available
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A misc gallery
IF the images don't have good resolution, just photoshop them into groups of 2 or 3?
The story begins with a blank canvas...
With a favorably draining slope to the street, a dedicated green space to the rear of the property, and a southern exposure that basks this parcel in sunlight, the possibilities are endless.
Design development begins after a careful review of the design review committee guidelines. Stepping gently with the topography, using the existing fauna to frame the residence, and designing a deliberate layout that creates private outdoor spaces screened from the neighbor's view where possible.
SITE VIEW
SITE PLANNING
Our client had a few must have's...
The northwestern view corridor that framed the green space knoll and trees had to be be captured and visible from the casita and the great room.
The square footage must include a secluded dance studio.
Typically, a design starts from the inside out, and the exterior falls into place. However, with specific requests that several of the exterior environment constraints be accounted for, a simultaneous 30,000 foot view and detail oriented approach was necessary.
A most deliberate and precise placement of the footprint was paramount to meeting all of the requirements of the client, the design review committee, and all of the authorities having jurisdiction.
Several versions of the modern farmhouse concept were modelled - seen here is the final version that was approved by Gray's Crossing Design Review Committee.
CONCEPT SKETCH
CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS
FINISHED CONSTRUCTION
Steel moment frame
CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS
FINISHED CONSTRUCTION
Streetview of garage with master en-suite above
STREET VIEW
Owners putting the finishing touches on the final exterior construction and moving in
Several versions of the modern farmhouse concept were modelled - seen here is the final version that was approved by Gray's Crossing Design Review Committee.
PLACED IN CONTAINERS
THIS IS A SECTION GRID WITH 200 X 100PX GAPS AND 100 PX PADDINGS
THE CELLS HAVE 0 X 0PX PADDINGS
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THE PICTURE IS TRYING TO KEEP IMAGE RATIO
