Major Kitchen/House Remodel
:) I am remodeling an original Eichler kitchen including the pantry, laundry room and walls separating the dining room from the family room. I have all original kitchen cabinets, kitchen table, stove top, all of the mahogany paneling for the entire house, doors, lights and globes, etc. If you have an interest in any or all please contact me and make offer :) .
It's great you are making the materials available to other Eichler owners. Some things that might be helpful:
- it takes patience to remove the panelling without damaging the wood (because of the staples holding the sides). If you or your contractor don't have the time/patience for removing these, you might want to ask the person(s) who want it to remove the panelling themselves. Significantly damaged edges can render otherwise good panels almost useless.
- details such as original quarter rounds (vertical strips at corners) and baseboards are hard to come by but, again, need to be carefully removed.
- if no one wants the ovens or stovetops, please post to the board again before throwing them out. Depending on where you are, one of the rest of us might salvage parts for our own or others' future use.
Although original parts in good condition are in demand by some, they do not generally command a high price. Still, it's probably cheaper than hauling it away and more environmentally conscious than tossing in a landfill. Thanks for mtaking the extra effort.
Jake
Ok, so I couldn't rest easy without asking...
Please don't take this as trying to change an informed decision you have every right to make as the homeowner. I simply want to let you know that lots of us have made remodelling or restoration decisions. Here are some things that seem to be common comments:
-Living in the home long enough to know for sure what works well for you and the home's architecture. There are scores of people who post to this board who will tell you their plans changed significantly from what they originally envisioned doing to what they ended up doing 6 mths or a year later--and they are glad they spent that extra time.
- Discussing plans with other Eichler homeowners or a Eichler real estate specialist--*not for approval* but for feedback and ideas. We have a lot of people on the board who have done some really beautiful and sometimes unique renovations that have improved the value of their homes. Others who have spent time and effort only to find the design or materials didn't quite work in an Eichler (e.g. carpet).
- Owners are sometimes surprised to find that well-maintainted original Eichlers can sell for more than fully renovated ones. (Of course that depends on the consistency of the renovations with the original architecture/design and the quality of materials used.) Some people unfamiliar with Eichlers buy a home and think "removing the ugly panelling" or "painting that stained ceiling" will lighten and brighten the home --only to find they just dropped the value of their home by $20,000 or more.
I hate to see someone invest time and money in a renovation only to say later that they they would have done it differently "if they had only known". So, if you've considered all your options and their implications, and don't need or want advice, great. But if you want to post your ideas for feedback or pointers to resources, don't be shy.
Jake
Hi,
I promise not to post on this thread again but could you provide your contact info (email) and general location for those interested?
For myself, if you have the front door hardware (the doorknob with large round backplate), I'm definitely interested in that.
Cheers.
Jake
(eichfan at rawbw dot com)
I no longer have the front door :( . I am in the San Rafael area and I will keep checking this site for more feedback. I'm not looking to get rich selling the original house parts, just looking to cover the cost of taking them out in one piece. If no one wants them I will just pull them out and throw them away, seems a shame though...
Jake,
You speak eloquently and respectfully what many of us here are thinking. Thanks for your support of the Eichler community.
Rick
where can we contact you at? I am interested in the globes.
what condition is the stovetop in ? and what size is it ?
Four burner. It looks good but the wires are shot. Someone else inquired already so it may not be available. If you are interested post again in about a month and I will let you know.
Does your kitchen table swing out? Also, in what condition is your paneling? And do you have original hardware on your inside doors?
Thanks,
When I was asking about the size of the stovetop, I was referring to the width in inches, not the number of burners. Is it a 45 '' unit or a 30 '' unit ?
The kitchen table no longer swings out although it did originally. I do not have any of the "swing" hardware. It is still expandable and I still have 2 leaves.
The paneling is in pretty good condition. Of course it does have cut outs for beams and plugs and a few small nail holes where pictures were hung.
The inside doors do have the original hardware :)
The stove top is 45 inches.
Keep the questions coming!
I'm wondering if there's a chance of seeing the house/materials. It would be easier to see what's available and make an offer (For instance, I would be interested in the interior doors and possibly closet doors but they came in different sizes/colors/materials. Ditto for other potential items.)
If so, you can reach me at eichfan at rawbw dot com .
Cheers.
Jake
I would be interested in lights and globes. My email is sparklefour at comcast.net. Thanks for posting. :)
We would be interested in the materials that you have left over for the swing out table. Would it be possible to come and see it/them? My email is [email protected] and phone is 650-224-9539.
Thank you very much!
Do you have and are you selling oginal screen doors an/or sliding door hardware?
Hi
where are you located? I would be interested in original cabinetry esp a pantry if less than 36 in. in width...
you can email me at sallyhaatpacbelldotnet
regards
S
Hi
If you have parts/or a working in-counter blender or a dishmaster sink, let me know. I'd like to scavenge for parts.
regards
S
If you still have the original sliders, I desperately need 1 Arcadia handle - only 1 missing in my whole house.... Thanks. You can contact me at ammendez at comcast dot net. :)
I realize that there may be huge mistakes in trying to update our new Eichler home...but some updating is unavoidable. All our aluminum sliding doors are so bad...but all the window and door guys are telling us we need the dual-pane sliders...'R' value ??? etc. Aluminum is no longer an option...or if it is, it is at a great expense. The electrical in the Eichler is bad too. Wires from the wall and stapled on the ceiling to a track system. 2-prong plugs in all the rooms. A circuit board that still holds that old-style large cylinder circuit that you pull to shut off.
There's got to be a better way.
Ok, so I couldn't rest easy without asking...
Please don't take this as trying to change an informed decision you have every right to make as the homeowner. I simply want to let you know that lots of us have made remodelling or restoration decisions. Here are some things that seem to be common comments:
-Living in the home long enough to know for sure what works well for you and the home's architecture. There are scores of people who post to this board who will tell you their plans changed significantly from what they originally envisioned doing to what they ended up doing 6 mths or a year later--and they are glad they spent that extra time.
- Discussing plans with other Eichler homeowners or a Eichler real estate specialist--*not for approval* but for feedback and ideas. We have a lot of people on the board who have done some really beautiful and sometimes unique renovations that have improved the value of their homes. Others who have spent time and effort only to find the design or materials didn't quite work in an Eichler (e.g. carpet).
- Owners are sometimes surprised to find that well-maintainted original Eichlers can sell for more than fully renovated ones. (Of course that depends on the consistency of the renovations with the original architecture/design and the quality of materials used.) Some people unfamiliar with Eichlers buy a home and think "removing the ugly panelling" or "painting that stained ceiling" will lighten and brighten the home --only to find they just dropped the value of their home by $20,000 or more.
I hate to see someone invest time and money in a renovation only to say later that they they would have done it differently "if they had only known". So, if you've considered all your options and their implications, and don't need or want advice, great. But if you want to post your ideas for feedback or pointers to resources, don't be shy.
Jake
I realize that there may be huge mistakes in trying to update our new Eichler home...but some updating is unavoidable. All our aluminum sliding doors are so bad...but all the window and door guys are telling us we need the dual-pane sliders...'R' value ??? etc. Aluminum is no longer an option...or if it is, it is at a great expense. The electrical in the Eichler is bad too. Wires from the wall and stapled on the ceiling to a track system. 2-prong plugs in all the rooms. A circuit board that still holds that old-style large cylinder circuit that you pull to shut off.
There's got to be a better way.
What do you mean by "so bad?" Do you mean that they are cracked? Or do you mean that they don't slide well? Or that they let in too much heat/cold? If they slide bad that can be easily fixed by a sliding door repair person...and if they tell you that you need dual-pane sliders then they're just trying to sell you a product. Unless, you are talking about too much heat/cold let in the house. I've heard that dual paned windows help greatly in insulating from heat as well as cold.
We had every single outlet replaced with a three prong and all the outlets around the bathrom and kitchen turned into GIF (self-turning off if there is an overload of power)....for $400. All of our outlet prongholes were loose---that's bad news! Don't know what to say about electrical stapled to the wall...don't sound so good!
Aluminum is no longer an option...or if it is, it is at a great expense. The electrical in the Eichler is bad too. Wires from the wall and stapled on the ceiling to a track system. 2-prong plugs in all the rooms. A circuit board that still holds that old-style large cylinder circuit that you pull to shut
Why is Aluminum not an option? We had all our old Aluminum windows and doors replaced with new Milgard Aluminum units a few years ago and it was not that expensive. The look is clean and modern, if not strictly "orginial". The new windows work great and are double paned. Frankly, the quality of the original windows and sliders was so poor I never thought they were worth trying to repair and save.
As for the stapled electrical, that sounds like a shoddy previous owner addition rather than an Eichler problem. And 2-prong outlets can easily be upgraded. So update away.
re what AJM said about the outlets,
I dont think 2-prong outlets are easy to update, especially if you want them well grounded. We had the 2-prongers in the bathrooms grounded to the water pipes and turned into GFI circuits. But to get grounded lines to the bedrooms was not a minor fix. We opted for new grounded lines run to the circuit box. What's an easier option?
