It's a Teardown

Hooked on Houses is hosting her "Hooked on Fridays" blog party; I hope y'all will click here and have look. I'm also participating in my 6th Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch! I'm ambivalent about teardowns but hooked on the process. Are they tearing down houses in your neighborhood, in this economy? Well, they are in mine.

Here it is, the building permit sign went up this week. It's across the street a few houses down. It's a postwar minimal traditional built in 1947. The owner was a veteran, raised a family here, mighty nice folks.

This is the kind of house most folks my age were raised in - me too. Probably about 1,200 square feet when built on about 1/5 acre. With additions it's about 1,400 square feet. They don't build like this any more, not with these details at this size. It's quite handsome but not old enough to be a classic, not new enough for "modern" tastes.

It's on the high side of the street. The driveway and steps look tired and have settled a little. Imagine how many girl scouts and trick-or-treaters have made the climb. My girl scouts and trick-or-treaters did.

All it needs is some paint and fixing up, the roof looks pretty good. Plenty of life left for a few more generations. That's what would happen in most neighborhoods. But in mine, it sold for $332,500 this spring and they are going to tear it down.

The back yard is flat, a nice place to park if you have a load of groceries.

As with nearly all postwar houses, the owners added on. What do you think: Kitchen bumpout on the right. Laundry room in the middle, new master bath on the left? The single car garage, like most on the street is gone. You could barely get a car in there anyway.

Well they are going to tear it down and build a whopper, more that 4,000 square feet I'd bet. I'm going to watch the whole thing.

Portico Design / Construction has their sign out front. I'm expecting great things from them

Thanks to Hooked on Houses' "Hooked on Fridays" blog party..

P.S. Here is another teardown from my street, a couple of years ago. They did keep the foundation. Turned out pretty good but I don't have the a picture of it finished and landscaped.

Thanks to Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch.