In defense of tear-downs in neighborhoods of elegant old homes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love old houses, and the term "updated" makes me wince, because it means you've stuck some current trends on your old house. I warn you now, that's not going to age well.

What really makes me nuts, though, is people announcing that they fell in love with the charm of our neighborhood, and that's why they wanted to tear down one of the original houses to put up their new one.

Where do they think the charm is coming from, exactly?

They probably like the location more than the charm

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Improvements in construction materials and methods can be a good reason for a teardown, but windows are a terrible example of this. Windows are designed to be replaced, and are a small fraction of the cost of most houses.

Insulation and modern heating and cooling technologies are better examples. Its much easier to be energy efficient with new construction, and retrofitting new tech onto old houses can present real problems.

Architecture is subjective, but the bigger issue is that we should really aim to build buildings to last, and we don't always do it. Our architecture choices, construction methods, and urban planning should be done with the goal that most things will still be in use in a couple hundred years.

Do you really want to live or work in a building that is 200 years old? I doubt most people would like that.

are you kidding? Ppl are obsessed with Copenhagen and Paris... hmm why??? Homes built before the Second World War are better quality and can be retrofitted with everything, including a/c, new windows where necessary etc etc. The white house is almost 200 years old, ppl certainly want to live in it. Most houses built after 1940 should be pulped though, they are garbage.

[Anonymous]

Some people complain about losing "the old homes" when you tear down a house that is an eyesore, biohazard, not those big beautiful elegant homes. It seems people take on the exact same rhetoric for homes like this:

"Charming, has character, cozy, fitting for the neighborhood, good bones, solid builds done right not this shoddy new stuff" never mind that it's caving in on itself

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love old houses, and the term "updated" makes me wince, because it means you've stuck some current trends on your old house. I warn you now, that's not going to age well.

What really makes me nuts, though, is people announcing that they fell in love with the charm of our neighborhood, and that's why they wanted to tear down one of the original houses to put up their new one.

Where do they think the charm is coming from, exactly?

updated means that the asbestos has been walled off, lead pipe has been replaced by galvanized steel or copper, new efficient water heaters, new appliances in the kitchen, hidden ductwork in warmer climates. lead paint has been painted/papered over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The best is when gorgeous old architecture is tastefully updated

+1 I grew up in a neighborhood established in the early 1900s. Everybody tastefully updated their home, and it’s lovely. Huge homes; huge bedrooms; lots of character.

Which neighborhood??

Oklahoma City

Here is a house for sale in my old neighborhood: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1715-N-Hudson-Ave-Oklahoma-City-OK-73103/21846242_zpid/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The best is when gorgeous old architecture is tastefully updated

+1 I grew up in a neighborhood established in the early 1900s. Everybody tastefully updated their home, and it’s lovely. Huge homes; huge bedrooms; lots of character.

Which neighborhood??

Oklahoma City

Here is a house for sale in my old neighborhood: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1715-N-Hudson-Ave-Oklahoma-City-OK-73103/21846242_zpid/

Love the house. The “tasteful updates”, not so much. It certainly has character, though.

[Anonymous]

Maybe I should move to Oklahoma City