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Old 02-08-2018, 07:34 AM
 
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I've been wondering about this and it seems everyone has a different opinion so I thought I'd ask here. Are today's townhouses yesterdays row houses?

Is a house still considered a row house if the walls are not attached but separated by only a narrow space? Can only two attached houses be considered row houses?

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Old 02-08-2018, 08:25 AM
 
Location: Finally the house is done and we are in Port St. Lucie!
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A Townhouse shares a wall or two. A Row house can stand on its own if the houses on either side are taken down. A row house does not share walls typically.

A row house is still considered a row house if the space between is extremely narrow. I think 5 ft or less?
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Old 02-08-2018, 08:42 AM
 
Location: On the Chesapeake
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https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/de...n/us/townhouse

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/row%20house

Both definitions have the phrase "shared walls". Both have the units connected with each other with no gap between units.
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Old 02-08-2018, 08:52 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by North Beach Person View Post
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/de...n/us/townhouse

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/row%20house

Both definitions have the phrase "shared walls". Both have the units connected with each other with no gap between units.
Well, see that's a problem. That's really not an accurate definition of a row house. These are row houses in San Francisco. No one disputes as far as I know that they are row houses, yet they don't have shared walls
attaching them together.

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Old 02-08-2018, 08:57 AM
 
Location: On the Chesapeake
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Quote:
Originally Posted by marino760 View Post
Well, see that's a problem. That's really not an accurate definition of a row house. These are row houses in San Francisco. No one disputes as far as I know that they are row houses, yet they don't have shared walls
attaching them together.

It may vary by region. Baltimore area, actually most eastern city, rowhouses share a common wall.
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Old 02-08-2018, 09:06 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh
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Quote:
Originally Posted by North Beach Person View Post
It may vary by region. Baltimore area, actually most eastern city, rowhouses share a common wall.
Yes. I never heard of "row house" used except when they shared a common wall. "Townhouse" used to just imply a larger row house, but now I never hear the word "row house" for anything newly build regardless of size.

And, regardless of what you call them, even though they share a common wall, each unit can stand if you pull down the unit next to them. The wall between units serves as a firewall and structural support. The exposed wall will need to be covered somehow because it is both ugly and not weatherproof. It happens reasonably often around here that one unit in a group of row houses needs demolished. There are rules about when you can do it (e.g. not in the winter).
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Old 02-08-2018, 09:11 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh
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Quote:
Originally Posted by marino760 View Post
These are row houses in San Francisco. No one disputes as far as I know that they are row houses, yet they don't have shared walls attaching them together.
I will dispute that. What you have pictured is a row of houses but not row houses.
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Old 02-08-2018, 09:14 AM
 
Location: On the Chesapeake
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Moby Hick View Post
I will dispute that. What you have pictured is a row of houses but not row houses.

At least we're not arguing on whether "manufactured house" means a trailer or one built in modules and assembled on site.

I agree about the San Francisco houses. Each appears to be separate and discrete buildings, not connected with a common wall so not a town or row house.
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Old 02-08-2018, 09:39 AM
 
Location: Virginia
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Quote:
Originally Posted by North Beach Person View Post
It may vary by region. Baltimore area, actually most eastern city, rowhouses share a common wall.
I grew up in a huge rowhouse community in Baltimore. All of the houses shared common walls. We were lucky because ours was an end unit house, so we only had one shared wall. That allowed us to have a fireplace in the living room and a bay window in the dining room - both were my Mother's pride and joy. I hate to think what those homes cost now compared to 1954 when my Dad bought ours for $14K.
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Old 02-08-2018, 09:41 AM
 
Location: On the Chesapeake
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bungalove View Post
I grew up in a huge rowhouse community in Baltimore. All of the houses shared common walls. We were lucky because ours was an end unit house, so we only had one shared wall. That allowed us to have a fireplace in the living room and a bay window in the dining room - both were my Mother's pride and joy. I hate to think what those homes cost now compared to 1954 when my Dad bought ours for $14K.

In Middle River newly upgraded ones are going for $119K to $174K. Daughter 2 bought one last year, I think for @ $124K. It suited her but it wasn't the one I would have wanted which backed onto a park and river. That one was @159K.
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