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I came across this one in our search. 1326 Poplar Lane in Hillsborough
It's both geodesic and a passive solar house. Here's the description:
Serene Retreat! Unique Geodesic Passive Solar Home situated on a wonderfully landscaped and beautifully maintained 2+ acre lot! Enjoy the memorable scenes from nature while relaxing in the tiled Sunroom indoors or come outside into the fenced entertainment area with gazebo, patio with pond, and picnic area! Convenient to schools, shopping, restaurants, Historic Hillsborough, Hwy 70 and I85!
and pics too of course. It looks pretty futuristic, huh?
Omamia, I've seen that house on the listing before! So unusual. Thanks for putting it in here. I have a friend who loves geodesic homes & hopes to own one someday, so I told him about that house. Unfortunately for that seller, he's not interested in re-entering the housing market again right now.
I actually think it looks really cool. It has a ton of windows and the lot looks great as well. The big concern would be resale. There isn't a huge geodesic market and I wonder if geodesic roofs leak? It's got a a nice price tag though 180K.
North Raleigh Guy,
I think it's a shame what they did to that house on Glascock St. you have pictured. Yes, they cleaned it up, but they took away its historic character, too, which was not necessary. They covered the stone wall with concrete! What were they thinking? They covered up the exposed rafter tails, the hallmark of the Craftsman bungalow! The old porch posts were not original, but the new posts are all wrong. It would not have cost much more to use Craftsman-style battered porch posts. The new attic window is all wrong; they should have kept the original window. The whole job looks cheap and tacky.
These re-muddlers are making a big mistake in not making some attempt to understand the historical style of a house. The people who are willing to pay extra to live in a historic neighborhood want a historic house, not a re-muddled mess like this.
I think the choices of these re-muddlers make it clear that they just did it as fast and as cheaply as possible. I wouldn't trust that they have done a proper fix to any termite problem or any other serious issue. I would bet that they just covered up any problems. I wish we could keep these people out of our neighborhoods. It would have been so much better if someone bought this house to live in, and lovingly restored it in a true historical fashion, even if it took years.
North Raleigh Guy,
I think it's a shame what they did to that house on Glascock St. you have pictured. Yes, they cleaned it up, but they took away its historic character, too, which was not necessary. They covered the stone wall with concrete! What were they thinking? They covered up the exposed rafter tails, the hallmark of the Craftsman bungalow! The old porch posts were not original, but the new posts are all wrong. It would not have cost much more to use Craftsman-style battered porch posts. The new attic window is all wrong; they should have kept the original window. The whole job looks cheap and tacky.
These re-muddlers are making a big mistake in not making some attempt to understand the historical style of a house. The people who are willing to pay extra to live in a historic neighborhood want a historic house, not a re-muddled mess like this.
I think the choices of these re-muddlers make it clear that they just did it as fast and as cheaply as possible. I wouldn't trust that they have done a proper fix to any termite problem or any other serious issue. I would bet that they just covered up any problems. I wish we could keep these people out of our neighborhoods. It would have been so much better if someone bought this house to live in, and lovingly restored it in a true historical fashion, even if it took years.
Thanks for that perspective Mr. Brown. You bring up some very interesting points. I wonder, does Mordecai have some sort of Historical society that regulates remodels? I guess this example would suggest it doesn’t. I was under the impression that certain historic neighborhoods in Raleigh enjoyed some sort of protection to prevent unnecessary teardowns or remodel jobs that are not in line with the original time period’s architectural styles. I like to see these neighborhoods retain as much of their original character as well.
Thanks for that perspective Mr. Brown. You bring up some very interesting points. I wonder, does Mordecai have some sort of Historical society that regulates remodels? I guess this example would suggest it doesn’t. I was under the impression that certain historic neighborhoods in Raleigh enjoyed some sort of protection to prevent unnecessary teardowns or remodel jobs that are not in line with the original time period’s architectural styles. I like to see these neighborhoods retain as much of their original character as well.
Mordecai is not regulated by RHDC, and is not formally recognized as Oakwood and Boylan Heights are.
I am interested to see MisterBrown's take on this one! I saw Moderator cut: no mls listing as described in tos on craigslist last week (reposted today), and they had an open house on Saturday that I wanted to go to but missed because I was doing the Street Painting Festival. Fully renovated 4/2, 1400+ sf, circa 1910, asking $169,900. The home sits next to an infamous burned-out house that was featured in this N&O story (http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/706536.html - broken link)last week. I would love to invest near this area as my first home (full knowing that the area is "in transition"), but I also question the quality of these flips (purchased by renovators in late June of this year for $70k), not to mention the next-door neighbor! I've been reading another forum that has discussed the burned out house that has been sitting like that over a year, so I don't think the owner (who keeps selling within the family to keep the city from taking the property) has any plans to do anything with it until property values increase in the area.
Cary posted a pic of our neighbor's house! The Teers built Beverly Drive in the 1950s - seriously, the seller was the contractor who built most of our homes (even though their styles vary widely)! Their house was the piece-de-resistance! Expertly constructed, the height of Rat Pack cool inside (I can just imagine Sinatra & Dean in there) & exquisitely maintained the entire time I've lived here (since 2000) - their grounds & pool are beautiful! I hope the home sells to someone who appreciates the ARCHITECTURE & STYLE & doesn't do a harebrained gutting...such a nice place!
I’ll go look at it in person before I make a judgment, but from the pictures, it looks like a nice house. It looks like the renovators took off the aluminum siding, and the old siding looks nice; there are little wooden shingles in the gable. Unfortunately, the previous owner (not this renovator) removed the tapered porch posts and replaced them with the cheap little square columns, but that could be fixed later. Maybe the old porch posts were in bad shape. Also, the old posts were not original either. The house is in the Queen Anne style and originally had turned columns like some others in the area, including the gorgeous house that burned. They were replaced in the 20s or 30s by the tapered posts on brick piers; those are Craftsman style. I would go get the columns from the burned house and put them on this one.
I think the wing on the right side with the double window may have been added when they changed the front porch in the 20s or 30s.
I see that the ad on Craigslist says that the plumbing, wiring and HVAC “are in excellent working order.” Note that it doesn’t say that they have been replaced by this renovator.
But the ad is correct to say that this neighborhood is seeing rapid improvement and appreciation, and in five years or so, you will probably brag at how cheap you got this house for 170K. I really like that area; it is very charming and so close to downtown.
The renovator’s price is 100K over what he paid for it and he probably didn’t even replace the plumbing, wiring, or HVAC. He may have wiggle room in his price. But he could get 170K; he might just have to wait a while. He might be willing to wait; it depends on how big his cash reserve is. He may or may not need cash to get started on his next project.
I’ll report back after I look at it in person. Don’t worry, I won’t buy it. I prefer fixer-uppers myself! PM me if you want to go look together, miamiblue.
I think this definitely falls into the "interesting" category...I think it is a church, a house & 17 acres for $200k?
Moderator cut: no mls listing as described in tos
Last edited by SunnyKayak; 11-02-2007 at 09:42 AM..
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I have a friend who loves geodesic homes & hopes to own one someday, so I told him about that house. Unfortunately for that seller, he's not interested in re-entering the housing market again right now.
This one's not on the MLS yet...
