So that sounds promising!! What was the conclusion on the mystery panel, was it a dog door??

Also, did she say whether there were lots of other folks at the open house?

It’s a dog door. Fate?

Not many people looking at it.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Miller:
Kim and her MIL went to an open house at the Brownhelm Station house today. She said that it's a really nice house, stuck in the 90's despite a lot of recent work. MBR not real big but the rest of the house felt spacious. She really liked the sunroom, and the whole house had a very sturdy feel to it.

They did have a flood in the basement about a year ago. Power went out and the sump overflowed. Explains the drywall but not necessarily the ceiling tile unless it started to mold for some reason. Points out the need for a generator, which I am considering anyway.

Or a backup sump pump, though that only works for a relatively short time.

That observation notwithstanding, I would still put one in. If the primary pump fails mechanically, you're in the same boat as if the power went out.

If you can afford it, the generator is the way to go. Could you do the work yourself?

Does this house have natural gas or would you have to go propane?

Also, listing says public sewer. Where does water come from, well or city?

I priced generators today and they’re not as expensive as I expected. I can easily install one myself.

The house has gas, the only question being whether or not the main is large enough. Again easy enough to fix in a house with an open basement.

I’m 99% sure it’s on municipal water but I’ll make sure to check.

Thanks!

In my neighborhood with 60 year old houses, it runs around $7500 to 8000 to install a 13 or 16kW model. That includes a new electric panel, as there are a lot of 1960s Pushmatic panels here and people just replace/upgrade when they're having the other work done.

We're also 100 amp service; I don't know of anyone that has upgraded to 200 amp, so that price assumes you stay at the same service level.

They also end up running a larger pipe from the gas meter to accommodate the demand from the generator. I think that's rolled into the cost of the whole installation, but maybe it's a couple of hundred bucks extra for NICOR Gas to come out and do that.

Generac seems to have some really nice models. They have a pretty small footprint and are *much* quieter than the Kohler that my one neighbor has. He's had some issues with stuff with his; I would avoid Kohler for those reasons.

I see one huge opportunity for WTF's housewarming presents for Steve if he buys this house.....lots of room for plastic plants on top of the cabinets!

quote:

Originally posted by wtg:
I see one huge opportunity for WTF's housewarming presents to Steve if he buys this house.....lots of room for plastic plants on top of the cabinets!

I swear that’s an Ohio thing. Around here we use full height upper cabinets.

I think it's a reflection of the vintage of the house. Around here...

New construction always has full height.

Older homes like mine (50s/60s/70s) were always built with soffits and 30 inch cabs. When people remodel these homes, for the most part (unless they are super budget conscious) they are removing the soffits and putting in full height cabs.

Homes built in the 80s and 90s seemed to go the soffitless route with 30 inch cabs but they're getting 42 inch cabs when they are remodeled.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Miller:

Not many people looking at it.

Realtors around here don't do a lot of open houses any more. That was true even before COVID.

I haven't done a formal analysis of comps, but looking at homes that are currently under contract, it seems they are of similar size and quality but are priced lower. Wonder if it's overpriced for the market.

This one just came up. Same neighborhood as the house on Brownhelm Station. First floor MBR and laundry, 3 car garage, somewhat larger. 2 more bedrooms, one of which would surely make a nice den for me. Immaculate basement. 2016 build, high efficiency furnace and AC.

It's hard to tell what it really looks like because the interior finishes were selected by the same designer who did the Ice Palace. The disembodied heads hanging on the wall in the family room creep me out, as does the saddest looking basement exercise bicycle I have ever seen. Kitchen floor has to go as well.

31890 Pepper Ridge Run

Liking black and white, I find this very appealing but OTOH perhaps as an all-over look in such a good sized house it might get kind of frigid (oh ,is what what you meant by "Ice Palace"?).

I'm intrigued by the kitchen floor (assume it's also black, white, grey)l although I never did see the like. Still, that doesn't make it bad - but it may be a lesson in not going for unusual decor choices in a house up for sale. OTOH what else could complement the otherwise stark, geometric B&W everywhere else? (NOT crazy about wall to wall carpeting especially so comprehensive Perhaps to the touch, it's a nice texture?)

Certainly a very classic minimalist approach, though the flat white cabinets strike me (purely personal) as a bit dull. Can't think what, but to come up to the standard of the rest of the house I'd have liked to see something more elegant (beveled edges? A different material?).

Yes, WHAT a basement!

(Franz Kline comes to mind.)

I dub the new house "Goth Grows Up"
No wait! It's the Edward Scissorhands Homestead ...
Or is it, Morticia Addams in the Burbs?


Aside from the over-the-top presentation of the "gray" trend (which they have interpreted as completely black oh my god what is wrong with them ), I think there's a lot to like about the new house.

Although, talk about a mismatch, did the people doing in the interior decorating not look at the outside of the house?? Totally does not match...

Also, I am not fond of the everything-gray popularity right now. I remember when we were house hunting and someone had taken a very nice house and done tons of great updates -- expect the cabinets in the kitchen (and trim etc.) they painted a very dull, flat, dreary gray. It was horrible.

Sorry Steve, back to you!

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Miller:
This one just came up. Same neighborhood as the house on Brownhelm Station. First floor MBR and laundry, 3 car garage, somewhat larger. 2 more bedrooms, one of which would surely make a nice den for me. Immaculate basement. 2016 build, high efficiency furnace and AC.

It's hard to tell what it really looks like because the interior finishes were selected by the same designer who did the Ice Palace. The disembodied heads hanging on the wall in the family room creep me out, as does the saddest looking basement exercise bicycle I have ever seen. Kitchen floor has to go as well.

31890 Pepper Ridge Run

Floor plan is OK, but the house feels lifeless and with no personality.

Maybe I just can't get past the decor.

It's close to the highway. Real close.

https://www.google.com/maps/pl...689947!4d-81.9721639

I’ve seen gray interiors that look terrific ( never in a faux tract Colonial, but still ...)

The trick is to use textures and interesting things to look at. Wall art, nubby things, subtle bits of color. Interesting shapes, things like that. Rarely done well, but when it’s good it’s really good.