Synopsis: This is a cautionary tale. A seriously disturbed couple find the charming, old ruin of a Queen Anne Victorian in Russellville, Arkansas, and buy it for $1.00. They tore the roof off, cut it in half, and had it moved to some land they owned sixteen miles away because they didn't know any better. Since then, they have hired and fired contractors, had all of their tools stolen, re-wired, re-plumbed, insulated, and essentially rebuilt the entire house. Their only problem is that after four years it still isn't finished. Now they are tired, broke, and wonder what in the hell it is they've done to themselves. And, it's haunted.
(Last updated on April 3, 2008)
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Another Reason Why Old Houses Kick Ass
In short, they are not new, half-assed McMansions.
Check out this
article to remind yourself why pulling up all that cat-piss soaked shag carpet to refinish your hardwood floors is worth it.
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5 Comments:
Unbelievable. Even though we have had to repair each corner of our foundation, the only reason is because they didn't make pressure treated wood in 1907. The quality of construction shows in that the house was still standing, and doing just fine, with the rotted posts. Yes, another great reason to have an old home and not a "mold" home. I couldn't resist...
My brother just bought a big new stucco home with vaulted ceilings, granite counters, and all the other bells and whistles. For his sake I hope the house lasts longer than the mortgage. I’ll keep my 110 y.o. Victorian made entirely out of old-growth redwood, thank you very much. My house shrugs off water, laughs in the face of bugs, and loves a good earthquake now and then. Even after 80 years of neglect as a rental property it is still standing strong on all of its original post and beams and will be here long after I’ve gone.
This is a very sad story. Don't forget, however, that not only old homes can be built well. The woman in this story had no input when her home was being built. DH and I have literally built our home ourselves, and I am confident that it will last for years to come. So, maybe it's not about the age of the home, but about the quality of the workmanship, and the only way to tell that is to observe it carefully.
My boss just bought a house like this, and was asking me yesterday what I thought the molding might be (since it obviously wasn't solid wood) - now I can tell him, it's PAPER! I'm sure he'll love to hear that.
Oh, and his upstairs tub drain hadn't been connected either. AND, I know another couple up in Maine who had that problem too. Must be a common occurence....... one wonders why the builders wouldn't test those things, eh? I know they're short on time, but geez.
My take on it is, with a new house, you can't have all three things - quick, fast and cheap. It's that old "two out of three" scenario again. It's terrible that people are getting taken advantage of so badly.....
As always, I'm glad we own an old home, even if it sometimes consumes us!
That is a living nightmare, the American dream gone way sour and south in this case. Shame on the Texas legistlature if they don't do something about this.
It's true that new homes CAN be well built, but they so often are not built as well as older homes.
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