Yeah...another teardown (Austin: house, asbestos, construction)

[capcat]

Originally Posted by balor123

The trend is the opposite in the Northeast. There's a few (highly prized) mid-century moderns scattered about and they're usually architect designed. Somewhere along the way you'll see someone charm it up in remodels to look like the neighboring houses and then there's one less gem to go around. There's a 5500sf Gropiyus designed Bauhaus style gem for sale in Boston right now for example, though I've seen worse.

People make changes that they later regret. Sometimes that can be undone, but at greater expense than if they went into it informed on the period style and its importance. I know I did, though thankfully I didn't do much harm. I would have chosen different materials rather than current trends (however, I didn't succumb to that to a great degree). Anyway, I do have some things to undo and restore. Some are lost forever. We had a contractor come in and say we should knock down a wall and make the whole of the living areas a "great room". Thankfully, we didn't. We are the second owners in 60 years and after living in it for a few years, I see the design care the original owner took, down to the hardware choices, some which would be irreplaceable.

However, with builders/developers coming in and flattening these (good sized) homes to replace and put up for resale, the "human" factor never gets to enter the picture. And, once these homes are gone, they're gone, and with it, the story.

It not only affects that home, but those around it. The two midcentury moderns that flank the home I mentioned are dwarfed, and they were spacious and gorgeous in their own right. They somehow look out of place now. They too, will probably be just a potential lot now, though their owners have carefully restored them over the past two years. The homes and the new home simply no longer compliment each other.

It's sad to see Godzilla come in and devour these neighborhoods. I'd hope people could educate themselves and get to know the house before making changes, but that could only happen if the buyer is the person who will live in it, not a builder/developer. That doesn't seem to be happening very often lately. Slipping by what is really to be done, by leaving up a portion of a couple of walls that end up coming down, should be re-evaluated.

Speaking of the practices you mentioned in the northeast, below are some guidelines that I wish I had fully considered. Maybe it will save just one house. . Btw, it's not the midcentury modern alone that I am concerned about. It's the midcentury modest, as well. Those are probably the first to go. Mid Mod Remod Do's and Don'ts

[orngkat]

They too, will probably be just a potential lot now

This is what is unnerving to me. Many folks like myself have lived here for 20 years or more and will eventually sell for various reasons. It is unlikely now that a buyer will pay $400K+ for a cottage but the developers are offering just a little bit less for as is condition thus eliminating those other potential buyers.

And, once these homes are gone, they're gone, and with it, the story.

It is so bizarre to walk by what used to be our neighbor's homes, people we were friendly with, and see their houses just gone - replaced by something very large, sterile and anonymous.

[capcat]

Originally Posted by orngkat

It is so bizarre to walk by what used to be our neighbor's homes, people we were friendly with, and see their houses just gone - replaced by something very large, sterile and anonymous.

I agree, it's difficult to grasp.

[verybadgnome]

Originally Posted by orngkat

This is what is unnerving to me. Many folks like myself have lived here for 20 years or more and will eventually sell for various reasons. It is unlikely now that a buyer will pay $400K+ for a cottage but the developers are offering just a little bit less for as is condition thus eliminating those other potential buyers.

It is so bizarre to walk by what used to be our neighbor's homes, people we were friendly with, and see their houses just gone - replaced by something very large, sterile and anonymous.

Maybe those adjectives are on target, but quite often what is on the left is being replaced by what is on the right and I don't have a problem with that.

[gpurcell]

The reality in a lot of Austin is that there just isn't that much historical stock at all. Heck, even Hyde Park was never built out back in the day--lots of empty lots, double lots, etc. And much of what "historical" stock does exist was never of any interest in the first place. I don't see much loss in tearing down post-WWII asbestos-sided cottages or East Side shacks.

[Spacepup]

Speaking of asbestos I don't think I've ever seen actual asbestos abatement being done on these teardowns. It all gets tossed in the bin by crews with no PPE. I've even seen kids up in there stomping the debris down!

[petro]

Yeah, I have to agree with the few previous posters. I've lived in my house on the eastside for eight years now and have witnessed the progression first-hand. I would estimate that 50% (or more) of the homes on my block, and close-by surrounding blocks, have been demolished and new homes have gone up in their place. For the most part, these are high-quality homes that are replacing what were dilapidated <800 SF cottages. I can say with certainty that the majority of these cottages really weren't in any condition for restoration—they were just too far gone.

Here's a recent example that's a block away from me. The google maps picture is mid-construction, but the completed house with landscaping and fencing is really quite nice. This is in line with most of the new construction in my area. For me, I don't mind houses like the "before" picture being torn down and replaced with higher-quality housing.

[austin-steve]

Saw this today off Guadalupe north of 51st. Took less than 1 hour to take the entire house down to a pile of rubble. To be fair, the homes in this area are not craftsman quality and many are at end of life condition.

http://youtu.be/dUJ1RPMNgag

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by austin-steve

Saw this today off Guadalupe north of 51st. Took less than 1 hour to take the entire house down to a pile of rubble. To be fair, the homes in this area are not craftsman quality and many are at end of life condition.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUJ1...GVbax2wSpG3W8Q

Didn't some of the siding back then contain asbestos? Sure hope they turned the gas OFF

[ScoPro]

What a lot of the younger people these days should understand is the fact that a large percentage of those postwar "mid-century modern" ranch houses were really poorly built crackerboxes at the time. Volume builders quite often cut corners after the inspectors had come by (crews removing rebar from foundation forms, and the like). So the finished & painted product looked good, but underneath....

Some big builders in Austin during late '40s & '50s were no exception.

So some of those old crackerboxes are best relegated to the demolition bulldozers.

But putting up a great big square box that looks like an ugly overgrown Lego cube leaves a lot to be desired too, as far as some of the older neighborhoods are concerned.