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Minor Deity |
Boston area.
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Has Achieved Nirvana |
Snow country question. Rather than making elaborate plans for generators and such to keep the pipes from freezing when the power goes out, is it possible to set it up where you can blow all the water out of the lines if you’re gonna be gone for a while? Does anybody do that?
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Minor Deity |
In a rural area you can just shovel the driveway apron. It depends on your city or town's regulations. I live in a city so am required to shovel my sidewalk from border to border, but city lots have much less frontage.
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Has Achieved Nirvana |
It's a common approach in vacation homes. Most of the cottages on our street were built in the late 60s and early 70s and were three season homes with electric baseboard heat, which was way too expensive to keep running during the winter. They were all set up so they could be easily winterized. http://www.superterry.com/wint...tion-homes-plumbing/ Our house was a regular four season home with great insulation, etc. We were told it was best for the house and furnishings to leave the heat set between 55 and 60 degrees during the winter when we weren't there. We never drained out the water in the house, but we did turn off the well pump so that if for any reason the pipes froze, the only water that could leak out was in the pipes inside the house. In 30 years we never had a problem. Most of the years we owned the house were before home monitoring systems were readily available and affordable, so we had a caretaker that stopped in maybe once a week, more often if it got really cold. Never had a problem. Having said that, if we had kept the house, we would have looked into setting up a monitoring system with temperature and water sensors, and cameras. I don't know how your geothermal system operates. I'm assuming it has some kind of antifreeze and that it's a closed system, separate from your house water. If that's the case, you could just drain everything as outlined in the article.
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Beatification Candidate |
We have friends with a lake house - when they close down for the winter they drain the pipes and place anti-freeze of some kind in the toilet and all drain traps. I think they have some kindof heater in the pump room for the well to keep that warm enough not to freeze.
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| Serial origamist Has Achieved Nirvana  |
Pacific Northwet. Much more hospitable climate.
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Has Achieved Nirvana |
Knew a guy with the orignal Hummer, just like the one the military used. He was compensating. Glad he did not have a UniMog.
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| Serial origamist Has Achieved Nirvana |
Oh, and about living on a corner. I live on the corner of two fairly busy suburban streets. My actual lot is about 75 feet by 100 feet. I have an extra 20 feet of city property between my property line and the pavement on two sides. I get to use this space, but the city requires me to maintain it. Some people think that the strips that I maintain are fair game for parking (you may recall a few years ago I put some big rocks along the outside edge of the part in front of the house to prevent people from driving on it. And I get people putting up signs. A lot of realtors just plop their "open house" signs on the corner without asking if I mind (I mind). I also get a LOT of trash thrown from cars. I am on the main route between the high school and a very popular beach park. I suspect most of the trash is from teens driving to or from the park. Bottom line, yes I get a bit more space and one or two fewer neighbors. But the downside far outweighs the bit of elbow room. And on a busy corner, you sometimes get this:  There were two kids -- five and seven -- in the back seat of the VW. After five or ten years of asking nicely, I sent that picture to the city traffic engineer and demanded a four-way stop. We haven't had a collision since then.
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| Has Achieved Nirvana |
We're visiting Ohio in two weeks, and if the house on Dean Road is available we'll take a look at it. Beautiful piece of property, but I'm not sure about the amount of maintenance it will take and the remote location. So here is another option, and this one seems like a good compromise. Suburban lot, new-ish construction, first floor MBR and laundry, Indoor community pool and weight room. Not crazy big, not much to do except change some finishes. Way less expensive than Dean Road and taxes are lower. Close to the lake without the seawall issues. Not as sterile as the pureed food house. The kitchen could be much larger if you just kept adding cabinets down the side of wall of the big addition. Your thoughts? (and please let me know if you are getting tired of this thread): 4290 Brownheim Station Road
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| Has Achieved Nirvana |
Well I certainly love this thread! House looks very livable as far as floor plan and the major stuff. Landscaping is mature and the house is nicely set apart from the adjoining homes There's nothing that screams major issue. It checks the important stuff, I think, for what you're looking for. They dropped the price after a month, which must mean that people aren't biting. Gotta assume people are looking because it looks good in photos, so wondering why it's not generating buying interest. I saw the little handle on the post on the front porch which I'm guessing was an assist for an older person. Makes me think possible smoker. Here's the street view in Google Maps. Looks like the house is another corner property, and one side of the property is on Vermilion Road, which seems like it might a busier street. https://www.google.com/maps/pl...125658!4d-82.3382587 Flood factor info: https://floodfactor.com/proper...-ohio/392652006_fsid
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| (self-titled) semi-posting lurker Minor Deity  |
Absolutely not!!! Keep it coming!! Re the new house, definitely has potential and lots to like there. As to why it hasn’t sold, my guess is too much carpet and those wallpaper strips along the top of all those walls. Even though those are easy fixes, it makes the house look dated and people may find that a turn off. Like the wine bottle wallpaper and hideous curtains in our house before we bought it. I’m grateful to those details bc I think that’s partly why the house didn’t sell more quickly!  I’m remembering a house we went to see that was beautiful and updated throughout in terms of wall paint/colors and those kinds of details, that house sold on the first day it was listed. We were actually the first people to see it, then the next could that visited (just an hour after us) made an offer on the spot! I remember being so upset at the time. Not any more though!
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| Serial origamist Has Achieved Nirvana |
Agreed... keep it coming. I will go back and read this from the beginning when I have some time. I have never bought a house. I inherited this house free and clear. I hope to sell this one and buy another house elsewhere in a couple years. I would like that to be the last house I ever buy.
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| Has Achieved Nirvana |
Also wonder why the basement is partially finished. Would love to know what's under that wallboard....cracks in foundation? signs of water intrusion?
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| Has Achieved Nirvana |
That remains to be seen and may well be why it hasn't sold. Ditto why the ceiling tiles were removed.
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Has Achieved Nirvana |
Love this last house. Nice landscaping too.
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