Homes… Your Thoughts… Old or New?

[Jstpssng]

The only exception here is anything on the historic registry. Then you really have to watch what you do inside or out

A homeowner in the historical district in a nearby town is in trouble right now for replacing his slate roof with asphalt that looks like slate. Doing it their way would have cost him around $400K.
Interestingly enough, one of the members of the board dictating slate owns a slate roof company. How do you spell “conflict of interest”?

 

[lman]

Hard to imagine because where I live a public hearing is required to remove a planted backyard tree, pull and reset a toilet, replace a gas range or dryer, replace a framed window, etc.

Sometimes I take for granted the freedom we have here to do as we wish with our residences around here. I've never lived in a town, so I don't know what that's like. We've got about 25 acres here and our local government is not big enough to handle what you're describing. That sounds like a Communist system.
I'm sure you're location has many advantages. Maybe you can get 300 bushels of corn/acre there and we can only get 250 bushels. It doesn't sound like the kind of place somebody on a Tractor forum would want to be at.

 

[bdhsfz6]

Lots of good information so far in this thread and many interesting scenarios. I think much depends on how old is "old" and what is considered "new". Every situation is unique though and what works for some, may not for all.

I wrestled with this question in the 1970's when I first started my quest for the perfect home. At the time, I lived with my parents in an urban area in a Tudor style house built in the 1920's. Prices, lot sizes and regulations in the area forced me to relocate to the country. I bought 25 acres, lived in a used mobile home, and commuted 75 miles to work while I contemplated what to do about a house.

In my spare time, I helped a friend build his own house and learned a lot about construction. I met a few tradesmen, and with their help & encouragement, decided to build my own as well. I had seen the problems my folks had with the old home where I grew up, which also affected my decision.

I took out a home construction loan using the land as collateral. The building permit was written on the back of a matchbook and with no regulations or building inspections to worry about, it was a fairly easy but lengthy process. Yes, it's easy to get into trouble doing this with no oversight, but with the advice of the tradesmen I met, everything was done right and the way I wanted. I've been living in the house for almost 50 years now and have no regrets.

If I had to start over, IMO, the best approach would be to put up a modular home. There are several companies in this part of the state that let you select your own specs & materials. Some even allow you to inspect the construction process in their factory.

 

[Dftodd]

A homeowner in the historical district in a nearby town is in trouble right now for replacing his slate roof with asphalt that looks like slate. Doing it their way would have cost him around $400K.
Interestingly enough, one of the members of the board dictating slate owns a slate roof company. How do you spell “conflict of interest”?

A friend of mine just switched jobs from a superintendent for a extremely large construction company that built multi million dollar commercial buildings to working for a local college in the facilities maintenance department. His job is to deal with all the contractors working on the buildings.

He mentioned that quite a few of the buildings the college owns are on the historic registry.

He doesn't have much of an issue with doing repairs on the buildings. He just has to make sure and use specific vendors that specialize in those repairs, since certain things (slate roof) can't be handled by just anyone since it's more of an artisans trade.

 

[plowhog]

Lots of interesting comments. I can add two:

- About 6 years ago, we demolished a house that had been built in 1979. Then built a brand new residence in the same location and even used much of the original foundation since the floorplan design worked well for us. The original home was 2x4 frame construction, new construction was 2x6 frame construction. Going to 2x6 frame construction, and thicker insulation due to the added space, is an amazing difference when it comes to the insulating properties of a structure. We lived in both homes so we could directly compare-- the difference is astounding. We added nearly 2,000 sq ft to the original house plan, and even so, it stays much warmer in the winter and much cooler in the summer.

- When we fled CA, we bought a "move-in-ready" home in a Del Webb community. Years ago I went on a 4 hour tour of their corporate headquarters. It was amazing how deeply they study every aspect of home building. Far deeper examination than the public realizes. Very professional. Our experience of owning a Del Webb home matched up-- well built structure, a great community, absolutely no problems with construction.

The only thing controversial about their builds (in that area) was the use of a post-tension slab. Something I would never have in a custom built home, but for a production builder it works well. As long as you don't mess with them, you are fine. But there was one unfortunate person who tried drilling the concrete in the garage to bolt down a safe-- they didn't have a very good day.

 

[Oaktree]

Hard to imagine because where I live a public hearing is required to remove a planted backyard tree, pull and reset a toilet, replace a gas range or dryer, replace a framed window, etc.

Gonna venture a guess that compliance on most of those is fairly low. How is anyone gonna know if you put in a new toilet?

Nothing like that here. The county offices would laugh you out of there if you stopped to get a permit to change your toilet out.

The only exception here is anything on the historic registry. Then you really have to watch what you do inside or out

Anything outside city limits stays on the market for a super long time if it's on the historic registry.

Same here. Only permits you need where I live is septic, and that's a state regulation, not local.
Don't think I'd want to live in a historic district or something on a registry for that reason. I do try to keep renovations in the spirit of the era my house was built, but not gonna go overboard.

 

[Jstpssng]

Sometimes I take for granted the freedom we have here to do as we wish with our residences around here. I've never lived in a town, so I don't know what that's like. We've got about 25 acres here and our local government is not big enough to handle what you're describing. That sounds like a Communist system.
I'm sure you're location has many advantages. Maybe you can get 300 bushels of corn/acre there and we can only get 250 bushels. It doesn't sound like the kind of place somebody on a Tractor forum would want to be at.

A lot of that is because of their higher population density. There are two reasons for laws. The first to enforce social courtesy, which becomes more necessary as population increases.
The second is merely to force people to your way of thinking.

 

[WinterDeere]

A homeowner in the historical district in a nearby town is in trouble right now for replacing his slate roof with asphalt that looks like slate. Doing it their way would have cost him around $400K.
Interestingly enough, one of the members of the board dictating slate owns a slate roof company. How do you spell “conflict of interest”?

I grew up living in a historical district, and yes, maintenance costs were insane due to the materials required. When we added onto the house, we were forced to use only copper for the gutters, slate or traditional formed-on-site raised-seam tin or copper for roofing, and mahogany for the siding... because that's how the house was originally built. The siding was painted, how anyone would even know it's mahogany under that paint was beside the point.

But on the flip side, sale prices on every house in that part of town was already into 7-figure territory by the early 2000's, for regular 3000 sq.ft. homes on 3/4 acre lots. It remains one of the most exclusive and desirable places in an already expensive area (central Bucks County), as the high prices keep the riff raff out, so to speak. Of course it's a borough of mostly all doctors and lawyers, now.

That's not my thing, I moved out of the area. But I can see the appeal for those into that kind of "keeping up standards" BS. You will never have a slob living next to you, mucking up the view, in that environment.

Different strokes for different folks. I'm glad places like that exist, for those who want that sort of thing. They're an interesting place to visit, even though I chose to not stay myself.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

My wife worked for the housing authority for a while years ago and they would sell houses in the historic districts for a dollar. The new owner had to restore it exactly to it's former glory. Two examples:

 

[Dftodd]

Gonna venture a guess that compliance on most of those is fairly low. How is anyone gonna know if you put in a new toilet?


Same here. Only permits you need where I live is septic, and that's a state regulation, not local.
Don't think I'd want to live in a historic district or something on a registry for that reason. I do try to keep renovations in the spirit of the era my house was built, but not gonna go overboard.

Yeah, my septic permit was filed with the health department. The reason is to make sure the septic isn't gonna be a problem for someone else.

But if you have 10 acres or more, no septic permit is required.

 

[Jstpssng]

Yeah, my septic permit was filed with the health department. The reason is to make sure the septic isn't gonna be a problem for someone else.

But if you have 10 acres or more, no septic permit is required.

After my father passed away in 2017 somebody wanted to lease the greenhouse. He had put in a flush about 40 years ago but I couldn't find a permit and nobody else seemed to care. The plumbing inspector was supposed to file every permit with the state but there was no record so I thought he must have bootlegged it.

Last month while cleaning out the house I finally found the signed paperwork. I mentioned it to our lessee who informed me that he's been paying $150/month for a portapottie, apparently because he has employees.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

A few more in nearby city historic district.
Imagine in middle of 100 acres.

 

[Jstpssng]

To each their own, I guess. There is an old farm house I drive past on a regular basis which once compared to those. The maintenance bills obviously overwhelmed the owners.

 

[ultrarunner]

Gonna venture a guess that compliance on most of those is fairly low. How is anyone gonna know if you put in a new toilet?


Same here. Only permits you need where I live is septic, and that's a state regulation, not local.
Don't think I'd want to live in a historic district or something on a registry for that reason. I do try to keep renovations in the spirit of the era my house was built, but not gonna go overboard.

At sale, certification of low flow toilet is required which raises the permit question.

Building departments had a habit of going to suppliers checking sales of gas appliances and then cross check for open permit at the address…

I have not run into it in the Internet age but it was real when I started out…

Window and exterior door replacement is easy… can’t hide it.

My last 3 roof replacements with permit never had more than a drive by… no inspector on the roof but still had to pay fee to the city.

 

[Jstpssng]

Google Earth photo.

 

[ultrarunner]

Sometimes I take for granted the freedom we have here to do as we wish with our residences around here. I've never lived in a town, so I don't know what that's like. We've got about 25 acres here and our local government is not big enough to handle what you're describing. That sounds like a Communist system.
I'm sure you're location has many advantages. Maybe you can get 300 bushels of corn/acre there and we can only get 250 bushels. It doesn't sound like the kind of place somebody on a Tractor forum would want to be at.

SF Bay Area… it’s interesting owning acreage in a city of 450,000 in a metro with 12 million…

Yet I have a dozer to maintain fire trails I was required to put in, a Deere 110 TLB and Kubota BX23…

The dozer was easy… the cost to hire out fire trail construction was twice the cost of the dozer… and that is how I came to own my first tractor… a few years later I had to install culverts so I bought the backhoe..

 

[Oaktree]

View attachment 3258940

Google Earth photo.

Heating bill alone would put many into the poorhouse.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

Some people with large houses I know close up some rooms in the winter.

 

[ultrarunner]

Growing up we never heated except the week around Christmas when the Greats would come to visit…

Oakland California has nearly perfect climate based on the number of heating and cooling days measured in major metros…

It’s easy to find homes well over the million dollar mark with no A/C…

A lot of the older homes only had side heater option on the kitchen gas range… no insulation and with single pane double hung windows…

With the push to ban gas heat almost all new installs are heat pumps requiring a service upgrade…

When you cook, heat, dry and make hot water with gas not a lot of electricity needed.

 

[WinterDeere]

Some people with large houses I know close up some rooms in the winter.

That’s what we do. We have four floors in the main house, plus two floors in the 1990’s addition, plus two floors in 1890’s addition, plus two floors in carriage barn. We close off entire floors in some of these sections when we are not using them, and just leave the heat set down at 62F in those parts of the house, or 55F in carriage barn. It’s no problem to open a door and crank up the heat when needed.