Rancho Rinconada, Cupertino, California

Rancho Rinconada is a residential neighborhood in the eastern part of Cupertino, California. It is bordered by Saratoga Creek (just west of Lawrence Expressway), Stevens Creek Boulevard, Miller Avenue and Bollinger Road. Cupertino High School, Sedgwick Elementary School, and Hyde Middle School serve Rancho Rinconada.The homes in Rancho Rinconada were originally low cost single-story houses built in the 1950s by builders Stern and Price. These ranch houses or "ranchos" were based on a Cliff May modular design and marketed under the name "Miracle House". Similar projects were later undertaken in Palo Alto, CA and Long Beach, CA.The modular construction and materials used were designed to keep the cost of construction to a bare minimum in order to produce a very affordable home. This modular design reduced materials and man hours to the point where a single home could be put up in a single day.Since the Rancho Rinconada home residences lived outside of any city limits up until the 1990s and only subject to county regulations, modifications to the home were not tightly regulated as typically found within a city limit. Over the years, many homes in Rancho were remodeled or changed in some way, and much was done without regard to building codes or good building practices.With the advent of the era for two income families came the need for two car garages, which became more prevalent in the 1960s. Rancho Rinconada homes were built with one-car car ports. More time saving kitchen appliances were going into kitchens. The 1970s brought the Microwave Oven in as a common kitchen appliance, but the Rancho kitchen was not designed with but a couple of low amp outlets connected to the other house's outlets and a total of two electrical breakers for the whole house. Then computers and their peripherals came alone in the late 80s putting even more demand on a home's electrical system for which Rancho homes were not designed.