Weird Houses, etc.

[Rolodex]

We built our current house in 2010 (well, really 2009-10). I have always loved the look of dry stacked stone, so that's what I went for. We used natural stone. The masons were amazing - they just found all the right pieces to stack. They did use mortar, but then used a small stick to scrape out the mortar from the edges so it looks dry stacked. I was in awe watching the men. These were just rock piled in barrels and they put them together like a puzzle and were incredibly fast.

Here's a back corner, but our whole house is stone except for the garage mass.

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[AndyinPA]

Lovely!

[bill_g]

That's very nice rolo. Something to be proud of. Great looking.

[Maybenaut]

Beautiful!

We live in a truly weird house. It was originally a store. Well, first it was a fruit stand, then it was a store.

We’ve tried to make changes so it looks more like a home and less like a strip mall. We’re putting a garage on the main level, and we took out the storefront windows and replaced them with double hung. The columns in front had these trading-post diagonal braces, and we took out all those columns and replaced them with fewer, larger square columns.

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[northland10]

We built our current house in 2010 (well, really 2009-10). I have always loved the look of dry stacked stone, so that's what I went for. We used natural stone. The masons were amazing - they just found all the right pieces to stack. They did use mortar, but then used a small stick to scrape out the mortar from the edges so it looks dry stacked. I was in awe watching the men. These were just rock piled in barrels and they put them together like a puzzle and were incredibly fast.

Here's a back corner, but our whole house is stone except for the garage mass.

backcorner.jpg

That is wonderful

[pipistrelle]

But the electrical outlet directly above the sink is a nice touch

The apartments in my building have an outlet above the bathroom sinks. It may seem unsafe but it's convenient...

[Maybenaut]

But the electrical outlet directly above the sink is a nice touch

The apartments in my building have an outlet above the bathroom sinks. It may seem unsafe but it's convenient...

As long as it has a GFI, it’s OK, I think

[bill_g]

Beautiful!

We live in a truly weird house. It was originally a store. Well, first it was a fruit stand, then it was a store.

We’ve tried to make changes so it looks more like a home and less like a strip mall. We’re putting a garage on the main level, and we took out the storefront windows and replaced them with double hung. The columns in front had these trading-post diagonal braces, and we took out all those columns and replaced them with fewer, larger square columns.

► Show Spoiler

IMG_9657.jpeg

IMG_9656.jpeg

I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but Portland, especially close in Portland where there are some steep hills, people build homes that run down the cliff. At the street level, it looks like a modern 1500sf ranch style home with double garage. No big deal.

Then you step inside and find out it's four stories, all of them stacked on several steel beams that are hammered into the bedrock. Lots of glass on the view side. Two or more floors have cantelever patios with waist high handrails to prevent you from tipping into the 50ft gorge below, and probably into someone elses backyard.

There's a house up there shaped like a 1950's space ship, or like the Seattle Space needle crashed into the side of this mountain. This semi-circular building juts out over open air. The bottom level has the living room with a clear glass floor. Designed and built by an architect of course.

The roads wind like serpents up there. Some of the homes have short wooden or conrete bridges to connect the house to the dirt. They look like driveways at first. Then you realize they have air for a front yard, and their Audi is suspended in space. There are trees everywhere masking the edges.

The neighborhoods are almost magical. Every house is custom. No overall look is trying to be achieved. There will be a tiny fairy tale stone house next to a craftsman next to a square varnished wood and concrete modern home. Someone built a plantation style home. Someone else wanted a fake church with pointy spires and stained glass. It was one of our favorite summertime drives.

Point being - Portland has houses that look just like yours that hug that hill, but give a spectacular view.

[Maybenaut]

Our house is three stories. There’s an upstairs with shed dormers on the back. The main floor, and a basement that runs about half the length of the house.

[Reddog]

But the electrical outlet directly above the sink is a nice touch

The apartments in my building have an outlet above the bathroom sinks. It may seem unsafe but it's convenient...

As long as it has a working GFI, it’s OK, I think

GFCI’s instructions generally specify that they be tested every month. For the one used regularly close to the sink it will be more important.

[Shizzle Popped]

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https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/150- ... /?mmlb=g,0

I don't know where to begin. The "design" looks like something a fourth grader would come up with and is the result of a series of bad choices. Originally built in 2003 and resold in 2013 and 2022. The inside doesn't look like it was ever finished and if it was it's all been stripped out. It doesn't even look like the electrical rough in has been completed. There has to be a story behind this place. Follow the link the see the rest but it's a real head-scratcher.

[bill_g]

A clear example of too many cooks and not enough kitchen.

[roadscholar]

A clear example of too many cooks and not enough kitchen.

Maybe they're adherents of the "Brutalist" style in architecture?

If not, they captured it accidentally.

Is ugly really the new beautiful? In the same process as the music of the Sex Pistols displacing that of the Beatles?

[sugar magnolia]

Six bedrooms and a 1 car garage with no driveway?

[northland10]

Six bedrooms and a 1 car garage with no driveway?

The "3rd" floor bedroom patio doors need at sign that says "step down."

A little spackle and duct tape ought to be able to fix the missing deck.

[pipistrelle]

Six bedrooms and a 1 car garage with no driveway?

Description says 4 attached spaces. If you can find them.

Also says no heating or cooling.

[pipistrelle]

Six bedrooms and a 1 car garage with no driveway?

The "3rd" floor bedroom patio doors need at sign that says "step down."

A little spackle and duct tape ought to be able to fix the missing deck.

Is that in a photo or the floor plans? I want to take a look.

[northland10]

There is a photo of the back of the house. The 2nd floor which is the lowest level in back also has patio doors. The 3rd floor master bedroom has the doors with the slight dip on your first step.

[Suranis]

That Garage door looks like it could be 15 feet tall. Are they parking a Truck in there?

[northland10]

That Garage door looks like it could be 15 feet tall. Are they parking a Truck in there?

Apparently, some past owner had a dump truck parked there, or rented it out for a dump truck.

[MN-Skeptic]

Honest to God, that's a tear-down. It's been sitting empty for 21 years. If you have the kind of money to complete the house, you aren't going to spend it on this house. You'll start from scratch with your own vision.

[pipistrelle]

Honest to God, that's a tear-down. It's been sitting empty for 21 years. If you have the kind of money to complete the house, you aren't going to spend it on this house. You'll start from scratch with your own vision.

I was thinking if I had the money I’d rip it it down and not build a tortured McMansion.

[Shizzle Popped]

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https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/Nhn- ... 54790_zpid

Prepper Cabin? This thing is WAAAAY off the grid. There don't appear to be any windows on the first floor at all and there are two shipping containers on the approach to the house. This place gives me the creeps. The construction is very obviously substandard and if it doesn't currently leak from several places it will before long.

[RTH10260]

That Garage door looks like it could be 15 feet tall. Are they parking a Truck in there?

With so many bedrooms they likely planned for an RV or schoolbus

[RTH10260]

da5eef353a8f8ae791821f01162939e5-uncropped_scaled_within_1536_1152.webp

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/Nhn- ... 54790_zpid

Prepper Cabin? This thing is WAAAAY off the grid. There don't appear to be any windows on the first floor at all and there are two shipping containers on the approach to the house. This place gives me the creeps. The construction is very obviously substandard and if it doesn't currently leak from several places it will before long.

This one would be to my liking. The container sheds possibly held the tools during construction, now may also be a garage for ATVs and snowmobiles. As-is a bit of an eyesore, but some paint will do the job. Or put up some boards to hide the metal structure, include some slanted roofing, also good for solar panles.