With All Your Faults I Love You Still

 

With All Your Faults I Love You Still

(to the tune of “It Had to be You”)

All things Eichler! I knew when I downsized, I wanted to again live in a quintessential mid-century home. And………..voila! there was an Eichler townhouse available! This complex has the only Eichler townhouses he ever built. I had lived in an Eichler single family home before moving to a pre-war home close to my son’s school. The plaster walls and hardwood floors in a home on a tree-lined street had its charm, however it wasn’t my true love.

For those of you who don’t know about Joseph Eichler, he came from he east coast and was actually a “butter and egg” man working for his father-in-law. He landed in Burlingame, renting a home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It took no time for Joe to conclude that “indoor/outdoor” California living was far superior to living in boring traditional boxes.

No training in architecture nor design, but he was creative. He hired the best architects. And the “Eichler” was born! Low cost housing with pizzazz – no Levitt town boxes here. And………...the first tract builder to have no discrimination clauses in his CC&Rs! Over the years, Eichlers came up in the world and in price. I think the most recent sale was over $3M - that was in my old neighborhood.

Walls of glass, skylights, sliding doors to gardens, and………...the light! Because light comes in from all directions, there is no glare. Radiant heating, providing warm floors means that there are no noisy fans blowing dusty dry air. No glare, no noise just a serenely tranquil home.

But, we all know nothing is perfect. Radiant heat pipes crack, flat roofs leak, and all that glass means heat loss and high heating bills. And………...my roof didn’t just leak, it was actually raining in my TV room. Long story short - contractors from hell (CFH) screwed up, So I had some damage and had the CFH here for two weeks.

Besides the inconvenience and lack of privacy, there is another really big annoyance. Why, oh why, must they ask to use the bathroom, as if there was a possibility of a negative response. Okay, I understand needs, however when they are also seen going in with a magazine and spend the duration behind the closed bathroom door with no sound of a fan – this doesn’t bode well!

Anyway, Henry and I got through it none the worse for wear. My CPA appointment is over and so far looking as if my quarterly payments were sufficient, rain has stopped, and my cold is almost gone. Things are looking up! And I still love my Eichler!

Henry’s comment: OTD took all this better than I did. I’m still recuperating, but have left the closet for the guest room bed!