This Old [or New] House

[Gomig-21]

Wow! Cool (and sad) story. Paying just $500K for a teardown in Brookline (even in the late 90's) is mind blowing. Those days are certainly over. Yeah a Victorian would have been a nicer option but sadly it all comes down to luck and money. My house is the result of a teardown. I was lucky to get mine a dozen years ago. Can't afford to do that now...but they still tear them down and sell for over double what I paid (rather scary). Plenty of buyers.

The lot was actually vacant, so it wasn't a teardown which is even more interesting. Sometimes when you drive around a residential area, you come across these vacant lots -- while very rare -- they're usually part of a zoned, 2-lot property where they only built 1 home back in 1929 or whatever and they kept the land as a garden or for parking or accumulating junk etc. This was one of those. Another one we did in Cambridge few years later was a teardown, and those are usually pretty scary because those homes are within 18ft of each other. Tearing them down with a giant excavator and the last thing that's left is the front, gable wall that's swaying back and forth looool. That's when you have to get in your truck and leave the area. Similar to the "tailgate" warranty LOL. Carrying a good liability policy certainly helps I tell ya.

 

[livingdead]

wow.. the houses are so big....

 

[NoOne'sBoy]

i want to live the american dream as well

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

The lot was actually vacant, so it wasn't a teardown which is even more interesting. Sometimes when you drive around a residential area, you come across these vacant lots -- while very rare -- they're usually part of a zoned, 2-lot property where they only built 1 home back in 1929 or whatever and they kept the land as a garden or for parking or accumulating junk etc. This was one of those. Another one we did in Cambridge few years later was a teardown, and those are usually pretty scary because those homes are within 18ft of each other. Tearing them down with a giant excavator and the last thing that's left is the front, gable wall that's swaying back and forth looool. That's when you have to get in your truck and leave the area. Similar to the "tailgate" warranty LOL. Carrying a good liability policy certainly helps I tell ya.

Ah! Now the $500K makes sense.

Certainly it is funny seeing smaller houses in Boston sandwiched in between larger ones and then noticing their build dates were 30 or 40’years later. You can then wonder if the city either allowed subdividing or redrew the lines to allow for expansion. My parents live on a street where the older houses are > 7000sq ft with ~3000sq ft ones tucked between a few of them. Living in a big house is nice. Fixing anything...is not so nice. You could easily throw $200K at that house and not notice a difference (insulate the exterior walls, replace all the windows, put in 3 pronged outlets, etc) luckily it already has forced air heat/ac. I’d love to go nuts on it but man what a money pit that would be. Circa 1880.

 

[Gomig-21]

That's exactly the two details I immediately noticed. Palm trees mixed with deciduous...interesting! No basements so it is indeed Southern. Atlanta bounced into my head but there would be far more trees. Plus it is flat..almost tornado country flat. So it is in a drier area more to the west. Texas? Hmmm..could be....lots of green lawns. Never been there. Can't say. However I'm guessing somewhere in California just south of the frost line (deciduous) on the east side near dry Nevada (palms, flat, not many trees).

You could very well be right about Cally. St. Augustine grass is what they grow in many of those development compounds in Texas. It grows in subtropical areas but it is a bit high maintenance. My brother has it in his lawn in TX along with his and many other entire neighborhoods. It's really thick and tough.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Augustine_Grass

You could easily throw $200K at that house and not notice a difference

You're not kidding. Average kitchen reno alone nowadays runs $75K.

Circa 1880.

This is too much, bro, too much of a small world ~ I have a plaque on my house that was hand-carved by yours truly with CIRCA 1880.

wow.. the houses are so big....

I hear that a lot from people in the UK. It must be a space issue. A lot of untapped land here in the US, but you have to go further out from the cities for that, of course, but still, even within the close suburbs there are very large homes and lots.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

This is too much, bro, too much of a small world ~ I have a plaque on my house that was hand-carved by yours truly with CIRCA 1880.

.

Lol! I guess you know all about closets so shallow that you can’t put a clothes hangar in it unless it is sideways. Bathrooms barely big enough to squeeze in a tub. Iron weights in the window casings with locks that don’t close easily. Iron key door locks in the bedrooms. However you probably have 9ft+ ceilings.

 

[Gomig-21]

Lol! I guess you know all about closets so shallow that you can’t put a clothes hangar in it unless it is sideways. Bathrooms barely big enough to squeeze in a tub. Iron weights in the window casings with locks that don’t close easily. Iron key door locks in the bedrooms. However you probably have 9ft+ ceilings.

Definitely! Seen it all from all the projects through the years. I wish I had 9'+ ceilings, bro. No such luck in this oldie. It's not one of those grand, old houses that's for sure!

Here's what's on the Christmas list for the crew this year, lol. Might as well spend money on something that offers a return on investment .

The Walabot. Can't believe I didn't think of this thing first.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

http://eyeonhousing.org/2017/12/air-conditioning-and-heating-systems-in-new-homes-2/

Air Conditioning and Heating Systems in New Homes

Air Conditioning Systems

Every year, the US Census Bureau publishes information on characteristics of new homes started in its Survey of Construction (SOC), including air conditioning and heating systems. In 2016, 93.5 percent of new single-family homes started included a central air conditioning system (Figure 1). The share of new homes with central AC rose steadily between 2000 and 2004, but remained essentially flat between 2005 and 2011. After 2011, the share continued on an upward trajectory.

The share of new single-family homes started with central AC differs by Census Division (Figure 2). One hundred percent of homes started in the West South Central, East South Central, and South Atlantic divisions had central AC installed, followed by 99 percent of homes in the West North Central division. Ninety-two percent of new single-family homes started in the East North Central and the Middle Atlantic included central AC, as well as 86 percent of homes in the Mountain division.

The New England and the Pacific divisions had the smallest shares of new single-family homes with central AC installed: 77 and 72 percent, respectively. However, from 2015 to 2016, these two divisions experienced the largest percentage point increases: up 5.3 and 4.5 percentage points, respectively.

Heating Systems

The majority of new single-family homes started in 2016 had either a forced air system, or an air or ground source heat pump system. The share with a forced air system steadily declined from 71 percent in 2000 to 55 percent in 2015, however it edged up slightly to 57 percent in 2016. The opposite is true for air or ground heat pump systems: it grew from 23 percent in 2000 to 42 percent in 2015, but leveled off to 41 percent in 2016.

The share of new homes with an air or ground source heat pump varies significantly by Census Division (Figure 3). In warmer regions of the country, these systems are more prevalent: 72 percent in the South Atlantic, 69 percent in the East South Central, and 46 percent in the West South Central. In colder regions, air or ground heat pumps are not as common: 29 percent in the West North Central, 13 percent in the Mountain division, 9 percent each in the East North Central and the Middle Atlantic, and only 4 percent of new homes in New England.

Approximately 55 percent of new single-family homes started in 2016 use natural gas as the primary heating fuel, compared to 40 percent powered by electricity. The primary heating fuel source varies significantly by Census Division. The divisions with the most expensive average residential electricity prices in 2016 also have the smallest shares of new homes using it as the primary heating fuel source: 13 percent in the Pacific, 10 percent in Middle Atlantic, and only 6 percent in New England. Electricity as a heating source is much more common in the South Atlantic (72 percent), East South Central (62 percent) and the West South Central divisions (41 percent).

 

[Gomig-21]

Funny cuz around here, you probably need to turn on the AC for 15 or maybe 20 days out of the whole year!

New kitchen. The black countertops are a granite with a leathered finish. Really terrific looking.

 

[Divergent]

@Gomig-21 @SorryNotSorry

Something slightly like this. The cooker will be integrated and units below it and the oven/microwave against wall high up

 

[Gomig-21]

Few more pics from other projects.

Red oak spiral staircase.

Master bath with an restored claw-foot tub and a pretty large, his & hers shower and very elegant 1x5 mahogany flooring.

The pool shower for the kids, double fixtures on each side and all glass tile with a stone pebble floor. Seamless, all-glass shower doors.

Guest bath will all Italian handmade marble tile including the vanity mirror frame.

This project had a very neat design to the new construction which included this guest bedroom that was a 16ft diameter round room with lots of windows. White oak flooring.

 

[Divergent]

Few more pics from other projects.

Red oak spiral staircase.

View attachment 454999

Master bath with an restored claw-foot tub and a pretty large, his & hers shower and very elegant 1x5 mahogany flooring.

View attachment 455000

The pool shower for the kids, double fixtures on each side and all glass tile with a stone pebble floor. Seamless, all-glass shower doors.

View attachment 455001

Guest bath will all Italian handmade marble tile including the vanity mirror frame.

View attachment 455002

This project had a very neat design to the new construction which included this guest bedroom that was a 16ft diameter round room with lots of windows. White oak flooring.

View attachment 455003

Your work is good. Do you have any kitchens? We’ve recently had our bathroom done.

 

[Gomig-21]

View attachment 454998

@Gomig-21 @SorryNotSorry

Something slightly like this. The cooker will be integrated and units below it and the oven/microwave against wall high up

Very nice. That counter surface looks like a synthetic material like quartz where they make a huge variety of colors and patterns and is actually more durable than natural stone like marble or granite. It also has a very decorative edging to it. Usually you can pick what type of edge you want.

It also looks like they made a special area for the cooker (we call it the "range" here) but must have a blower vent unit above it to ventilate. That's a code here in the US not sure about the UK but I'm guessing the same there.

Nice spray painted cabinets. Ceiling is acoustic tiles because I'm guessing that's a showroom?

 

[Divergent]

Very nice. That counter surface looks like a synthetic material like quartz where they make a huge variety of colors and patterns and is actually more durable than natural stone like marble or granite. It also has a very decorative edging to it. Usually you can pick what type of edge you want.

It also looks like they made a special area for the cooker (we call it the "range" here) but must have a blower vent unit above it to ventilate. That's a code here in the US not sure about the UK but I'm guessing the same there.

Nice spray painted cabinets. Ceiling is acoustic tiles because I'm guessing that's a showroom?

Yes it is but I liked the colour combination

 

[Gomig-21]

Your work is good. Do you have any kitchens? We’ve recently had our bathroom done.

Sure, many kitchens but for some reason having a tough time finding them!? Here's one for now but I'll post some others that are probably more along the lines of what you're looking for when I find the darn things.

Yes it is but I liked the colour combination

The one in post #69 is probably closer to what you're looking for, I think. It has the same color combinations of grays and whites and black like the pic you posted. Just the cabinet colors would be something you would have to decide. Some type of "off-white" color will give you many more options for the other colors such as the countertop surfaces and wall paint colors, even tile. If you go with a darker colored cabinet style, it will limit your color options a little bit for the other items.

You can also mix and match your cabinets. For instance you can do the main set of cabinet run in an off-white, then a separate section of cabinets in a dark grey or even black and then introduce a 3rd option in a wood grain. That makes for a really terrific look.