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Old 10-24-2014, 07:22 PM
 
3,278 posts, read 5,360,340 times
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I like large modern homes. Older homes don't really do it for me. I like high water pressure, fast heating furnaces, an absence of termites, etc.

Likewise small homes don't do it for me either. I have mild claustrophobia. I need my living space.
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Old 10-24-2014, 07:55 PM
 
5,075 posts, read 11,028,856 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mandalorian View Post
I like large modern homes. Older homes don't really do it for me. I like high water pressure, fast heating furnaces, an absence of termites, etc.

Likewise small homes don't do it for me either. I have mild claustrophobia. I need my living space.
I'm not sure that has anything to do with the height of the home so much as current style. There are a bunch of restored MCM homes in my area that have a low overall height, but are updated to modern standards and offer 3000+ sq ft of living space (which is huge around here). The new homes tend to be lot taller but that has more to do with changes in permitting for basements, land costs and a desire to maximize views on lots that have none at street level.
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Old 10-24-2014, 08:02 PM
 
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It is interesting to hear that this is going on all over the country as it is in my neighborhood too. At first it upset me because it felt like my neighborhood was disintegrating. It wasn't just about the little traditional houses being replaced with modern shoe boxes but more about a shift in the "neighborliness" that disappeared with every scraper gone. The people that eventually move into the McMacs don't seem to be interested in becoming involved with the neighborhood. But maybe that's just something that has changed about our culture in general. It is amazing to me how much expectations have changed about housing in just one generation. 2000 sf or less used to be just fine and now it has to be 3000 sf minimum. So...when the house next door gets scraped, if I am still here, I don't think it will bother me anymore. They get to pay for that monstrosity and all its upkeep. Everything changes...
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Old 10-25-2014, 10:38 AM
 
3,278 posts, read 5,360,340 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mkarch View Post
I'm not sure that has anything to do with the height of the home so much as current style. There are a bunch of restored MCM homes in my area that have a low overall height, but are updated to modern standards and offer 3000+ sq ft of living space (which is huge around here). The new homes tend to be lot taller but that has more to do with changes in permitting for basements, land costs and a desire to maximize views on lots that have none at street level.
I am in the 3000+ sqft camp. I need high ceilings, the low ones make me claustrophobic.

I understand why people like the older houses, but I'm not very sentimental myself. I care more about substance than style. A home built in 2000 or later offers me much more substance than anything else.
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Old 10-25-2014, 01:28 PM
 
Location: Brentwood, Tennessee
49,932 posts, read 59,693,231 times
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I don't really care if you like large or small houses. I have lived in both. What I find offensive (yes, I'm weird that way) is when people build a megahouse in the middle of a neighborhood of smaller houses.

Of course, landowners can do what the law and code allows. But IMHO a neighborhood is better when the character is maintained, and to me that includes keeping the houses generally of the same style. And there are ways to renovate and expand with that in mind.

In our area, we have a few original neighborhoods (built in the late 60s) that have traditional ranch homes on acre lots. Lately, because the homes are smaller and consequently less expensive than the new mansions built on the outskirts, investors have been scraping the lots of the existing ranches and building homes way out of proportion and of different architectural styles. One couple whose house is surrounded by 2500-sq-ft brick ranches built a 4500-sq-ft blue beach house with a metal roof on a corner lot on the main road. It then becomes like a tourist attraction and, IMHO, detracts from the character of the 'hood.

To me, that is the bigger issue than just "big houses." As usual, context is key.
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Old 10-26-2014, 11:02 AM
 
687 posts, read 911,667 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by oh come on! View Post

I would like to think the younger generation would be more accepting of mcmansions, especially since pop culture glorifies them.

I am of the "younger generation" although having looked to my grandfather as a moral compass during my childhood and teenage years I consider myself well grounded. I absolutely abhor the McMansion concept and the "race to acquire the biggest/newest/most expensive STUFF" that keeps people in the rat race and prevents them from truly connecting with a community.

Under what conditions would you allow a 2 story house to be built next to you?
What if they planted a row of dense trees so they couldn't peek into your backyard from the 2nd floor?
Everything is local as far as codes and zoning go, but around here we have variances that are expensive to overcome. I have worked on houses (newly built custom homes) where the new property owner was required to do any number of special tasks such as terrace the landscaping, build a fence, and even pay for a neighbor's well and sewer line, in addition to their own upgrade, to comply with the square footage of their monsterous homes.

Often there are limits to how much sq. ft. you can build on a given lot, and there are sometimes height requirements. Of course when it comes to the new custom home industry even the low man on the totem poll can figure out that in the end enough money usually trumps any law, ordnance, code or variance.
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Old 10-26-2014, 08:55 PM
 
Location: Raleigh NC
25,119 posts, read 16,121,624 times
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I can't speak to CA, but in NC, you can't simply grease enough palms in any municipal area to be able to build whatever wherever you want.

if in CA you're able to protest something within the law and win, then I am glad that I don't live or work in CA. It's almost like country risk, for those who understand economics (nevermind property rights).
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Old 10-26-2014, 10:18 PM
 
1,161 posts, read 2,437,998 times
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There are many "old" houses that have high ceilings. Those large Victorian houses are a perfect example. My house of the 1920s has ten foot high ceilings on the first floor and nine on the second.

And yes, I have good water pressure and an efficient furnace.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mandalorian View Post
I am in the 3000+ sqft camp. I need high ceilings, the low ones make me claustrophobic.

I understand why people like the older houses, but I'm not very sentimental myself. I care more about substance than style. A home built in 2000 or later offers me much more substance than anything else.
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Old 10-26-2014, 10:23 PM
 
1,161 posts, read 2,437,998 times
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The OP seems to have edited or deleted a post as I can't find the one you responded to.

To quote him:

"I would like to think the younger generation would be more accepting of mcmansions, especially since pop culture glorifies them.

I am of the "younger generation" although having looked to my grandfather as a moral compass during my childhood and teenage years I consider myself well grounded. I absolutely abhor the McMansion concept and the "race to acquire the biggest/newest/most expensive STUFF" that keeps people in the rat race and prevents them from truly connecting with a community."

I'd like to ask the OP why he thinks people were less materialistic and less inclined to participate in the race to acquire the biggest/newest/most expensive STUFF in the past?

People have always been materialistic and always have had a desire to live as well as they could. It's just that more people have the means to do so today compared to the past.

I don't think the OP has seen the large houses of the 19th century and early 20th century!

Quote:
Originally Posted by mapmd View Post
Everything is local as far as codes and zoning go, but around here we have variances that are expensive to overcome. I have worked on houses (newly built custom homes) where the new property owner was required to do any number of special tasks such as terrace the landscaping, build a fence, and even pay for a neighbor's well and sewer line, in addition to their own upgrade, to comply with the square footage of their monsterous homes.

Often there are limits to how much sq. ft. you can build on a given lot, and there are sometimes height requirements. Of course when it comes to the new custom home industry even the low man on the totem poll can figure out that in the end enough money usually trumps any law, ordnance, code or variance.
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Old 10-26-2014, 11:16 PM
 
Location: los angeles county
1,763 posts, read 2,038,721 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallybalt View Post
The OP seems to have edited or deleted a post as I can't find the one you responded to.


I didn't delete or edit. That other guy mapmd replied within my quote.

This line is not mine.
Quote:
I am of the "younger generation" although having looked to my grandfather as a moral compass during my childhood and teenage years I consider myself well grounded. I absolutely abhor the McMansion concept and the "race to acquire the biggest/newest/most expensive STUFF" that keeps people in the rat race and prevents them from truly connecting with a community."
I'm perfectly fine with big houses. I've seen plenty of big old houses, and I know from the internets that people were building mansions even during the great depression.
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