We took a break from the renovations to stop by a local open-house. This home is in the Oakland hills in one of the smaller, "lost" Eichler developments of Sequoia Hills. As the story goes, it's been sitting empty and vacant, (save the silver '78 Camaro Z28 in the garage) for the past 7 years. The home is a one-owner and was bought by a woman and she lived there with her son.
While I'm not a fan of this pagoda-style roof, the chance to step inside was amazing. There were literally no modifications to the home save the replacement of a few doors. The floors were original, the baths, the kitchen... there was even a lack of multiple coats of paint. Even more amazingly, the oven and dishwasher had never been used... seriously... not light use, no use. That's the original punch-card warranty slip in the bottom rack.
It's like a car that had been bought and put into storage for 45 years. However, in that analogy, you'd still be dealing with dry-rotten hoses and belts... and that was the case with this house. Don't try to fire up the dishwasher without a few towels handy. While all-original, some of the tiles have shrunken with age. The rubber welting on the windows had dried and cracked and there was some overall "yellowing"... but, wow, what a specimen. It was a joy to take a peek and will hopefully be bought by someone who appreciates the period-correct specimen.
Since it was a 3 bedroom model, all rooms were noticeably larger which was kind of nice... not sure which I prefer: more or larger rooms. The garage was even larger with a nice laundry/boiler-room configuration.
Since we're in renovation, I was focused on the details on how this-met-up-with-that, but here are some images that hopefully show the overall lightly-used condition of the house.
I know these homes. One of two areas where Eichler and California Modern homes where built of hills. The other is Castro Valley. 78 Camero, HOT!
Posted by: Sam Benson | December 18, 2007 at 07:08 PM