Is this a great house or what?

[Koolau]

No mountain lions in rural Wisconsin).

Not sure the mountain lions got that memo.

 

[Scuba]

Love this thread! Here is an interesting listing not too far from me. You can see the former residence of Bob Hope in the background.

Take a look at this home I found on Realtor.com
2400 Southridge Dr, Palm Springs
$8,900,000 · 5beds · 7.5+baths

https://apps.realtor.com/mUAZ/xe4c297n

 

[old medic]

I love it!

I do to.... bet the fridge would run forever... dont make em like that anymore. The original house we wanted to build was a half buried round house with a earth roof and southern exposure.

And FWIW... We took an old cast iron clawfoot tub, and cut a hole in the floor to put it in...

 

[Music Lover]

Channeling Frank Lloyd Wright. Not my taste... Also, flat roofs and snow load?

Flat roofs and snow loads are common in Canada, virtually every single large commercial building has them and there's rarely a problem with them.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Flat roofs and snow loads are common in Canada, virtually every single large commercial building has them and there's rarely a problem with them.

Yes, but aren't most of those commercial buildings made with steel? That tends to get pretty expensive for single family homes.

 

[Music Lover]

Yes, but aren't most of those commercial buildings made with steel? That tends to get pretty expensive for single family homes.

Maybe, maybe not. I don't know how much extra flat roofs cost, if any. Of course many homes have design choices that cost a lot of extra money when something less expensive would work just as well. High end stonework, $10,000 fridges, pools, $50,000 decks, etc.

 

[NW-Bound]

Eh, steel-and-concrete buildings succumb to leaks and corrosions too. Big time.

Do we forget the Champlain Tower building in Florida already?

 

[Music Lover]

Eh, steel-and-concrete buildings succumb to leaks and corrosions too. Big time.

Do we forget the Champlain Tower building in Florida already?

As always, it depends on the quality of material and workmanship.

 

[Out of Steam]

Channeling Frank Lloyd Wright. Not my taste... Also, flat roofs and snow load?

The curved roof supported by concrete arches should be fine, though I'd look into the moisture issue at the apex of one of the arches.

 

[Out of Steam]

Novel, interesting - but way out of date, would have to be gutted kitchens and baths at least.

Think I'd look to preserve the original kitchen style, minus the plywood backsplash, and have the lower cabinet row with the sink and stove duplicated by a cabinetmaker to accommodate modern appliances.

The current preference, of course, would be to move the kitchen sink under the windows on the opposite side. Possibly difficult without replacing the floor, but moving the sink would allow adding some floor to ceiling cabinets on the back wall.

 

[calmloki]

The curved roof supported by concrete arches should be fine, though I'd look into the moisture issue at the apex of one of the arches.

Joints are of course a roofing problem area - where the circular roof areas tuck in under the overhanging roof section covering the concrete arches is a natural for leaks. Wind blowing the rain or water pouring off the edges of the overhanging roof wants to soak the concrete arches if not get under the roofing material. I do think that is mold inside. Could be a lack of venting interior moisture and cold concrete = condensation too.

 

[ERD50]

...Wind blowing the rain or water pouring off the edges of the overhanging roof wants to soak the concrete arches if not get under the roofing material. I do think that is mold inside. Could be a lack of venting interior moisture and cold concrete = condensation too.

Could be, but "mold" is such a hot-button/red-flag in real estate today, I would have thought they'd have cleaned that up, at least for the pictures.

-ERD50

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Could be, but "mold" is such a hot-button/red-flag in real estate today, I would have thought they'd have cleaned that up, at least for the pictures.

-ERD50

Or photoshopped it out. R/E agents are getting VERY good at modifying pictures to make things look better than they actually are.

 

[calmloki]

Could be, but "mold" is such a hot-button/red-flag in real estate today, I would have thought they'd have cleaned that up, at least for the pictures.

-ERD50

With the rest of the house?

 

[Jerry1]

As always, it depends on the quality of material and workmanship.

And the level on ongoing maintenance. Even the best stuff needs periodic maintenance.

 

[calmloki]

I do to.... bet the fridge would run forever... dont make em like that anymore. The original house we wanted to build was a half buried round house with a earth roof and southern exposure.

And FWIW... We took an old cast iron clawfoot tub, and cut a hole in the floor to put it in...

Back around 2009-10 we had an offer in on this foreclosure dome-buried-into-a-cliff-face home overlooking Prescott. For $160k. Bank dithered and we bought in La Quinta instead - they literally contacted us to see if we would still be interested as we were loading up to go south. The people that bought it did some great upgrades I see, but I wonder how or if they dealt with the efflorescence in the bottom of a buried wall.. Amazing place though. Still regret not getting it.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/858-E-Fawn-Hill-Rd-Prescott-AZ-86303/60121543_zpid/?

We did a floor-recessed clawfoot as well! Did Saltillo tile covered 14" high pad and dropped an uncommon 6' clawfoot in at an angle - looks great, but it was a real so and so to make the hose connections to the old faucet between the tub and pad wall, working under the floor.

 

[Time2]

This not a house for sale but a designer that rented from an 84 year old landlord and ask if he could paint, he went much further. The video presents the first time the landlord has seen the inside since the designer moved in.

 

[NW-Bound]

Back around 2009-10 we had an offer in on this foreclosure dome-buried-into-a-cliff-face home overlooking Prescott. For $160k. Bank dithered and we bought in La Quinta instead - they literally contacted us to see if we would still be interested as we were loading up to go south. The people that bought it did some great upgrades I see, but I wonder how or if they dealt with the efflorescence in the bottom of a buried wall.. Amazing place though. Still regret not getting it.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/858-E-Fawn-Hill-Rd-Prescott-AZ-86303/60121543_zpid/?

Above home sold for $150K in 2011. Bank would have done better selling to you. Home sold again in 2015 for $390K

 

[Sue J]

Here's another one that's unique -

https://www.zillow.com/homes/970-Chestnut-St-Deerfield,-IL-60015_rb/68136345_zpid/

It looks almost normal from the front, but it's pie shaped and very narrow. The floor plan is the last picture on Zillow.

 

[NW-Bound]

Here's another one that's unique -

https://www.zillow.com/homes/970-Chestnut-St-Deerfield,-IL-60015_rb/68136345_zpid/

It looks almost normal from the front, but it's pie shaped and very narrow. The floor plan is the last picture on Zillow.

Yes, very unusual home. They cleverly put a toilet at the pointy end to make use of the space.

To see the peculiar lot that forced this house foot print, I went on Google Street View, and the reason was obvious. The setback from the curb takes away much of the lot. I wonder how it was first divided like that.


See: https://goo.gl/maps/PtAkaCtBByXj2UqaA

 

[street]

As always, it depends on the quality of material and workmanship.

I agree. Flat roofs are everywhere you look if they weren't sustainable that type of structure would not be used. A lot of new construction is flat roof.

 

[MarieIG]

This not a house for sale but a designer that rented from an 84 year old landlord and ask if he could paint, he went much further. The video presents the first time the landlord has seen the inside since the designer moved in.

Wow! I enjoyed that.

 

[Calico]

This not a house for sale but a designer that rented from an 84 year old landlord and ask if he could paint, he went much further. The video presents the first time the landlord has seen the inside since the designer moved in.

That is the most delightful thing I have seen for a long time!

Just pure joy from both gentlemen - thanks for sharing!

 

[ERD50]

That is the most delightful thing I have seen for a long time!

Just pure joy from both gentlemen - thanks for sharing!

That was good. I like how you sort of expect the landlord to be kind of slow since he's elderly and needs to be wheeled around, but he was sharp - "Hey, this looks so nice now, I'm going to have to raise your rent!" - made me laugh.

And it all looked so good and artistic and well done, but not phony/showy. Not sure I'm expressing that right, but I liked it!

-ERD50

 

[ERD50]

Yes, very unusual home. They cleverly put a toilet at the pointy end to make use of the space.

To see the peculiar lot that forced this house foot print, I went on Google Street View, and the reason was obvious. The setback from the curb takes away much of the lot. I wonder how it was first divided like that.


See: https://goo.gl/maps/PtAkaCtBByXj2UqaA

When I got to slide 4, and saw that narrow edge, I thought it looked familiar. I'm pretty sure that's the view you get from the train that we would sometimes take from Libertyville, IL into Chicago. Those tracks pass right by (behind) it.

-ERD50