What Works Well
One of the huge downsides about buying a home on the west side is that most of them are old and that can sometimes translate into lots of chores and unrewarding home repair expenses.
We've tried to take good care of this place -- and whenever it came time to fix something, we tried not to cut corners.
All of the nasty old original pipes have been decommissioned and replaced with top-of-the-line copper. (i made up that that "top of the line" part-- we just got whatever copper the plumber guys had in their truck.) The kitchen was "rebuilt" about five years ago which included a full rework of the electrical system -- even a new main and brand spanking new wire going all the way from the pole! Our electrons fly around here! I mean really fast. And we never overload/trip circuit breakers. You can make toast, brew the coffee and reheat a burrito in the microwave all at the same time.
A water drainage system was installed about a year ago to thwart the problem which occurred when it poured hard.
What about the inbound water pipe? Glad you asked.
Hot And Cold Flashes - Gone
But the house was still cold and drafty during the winter months...
So to fix that, two years ago we installed modern, easy-to-clean
thermal windows on all floors and drafty rooms are a
thing of the past.
Squeaky But Nice
Cold in the winter and hot in the summer -- which is what this place was
for the first six years we were here. Then about four years ago, we changed
all that with new central air and a high efficiency furnace. Both units are
excellent and made a huge difference.
If you like hardwood floors, that's great - because we've got em.
We've exposed them on the first floor and had them refinished last year.
The look pretty darn nice. The dang boards do squeak a bit, so if walking
without sound is your plan, forget about it. First few years you probably
won't even notice it-- unless you're trying to sneak up on someone.