The Hood
Wawa, and Da Bear are preparing to sell their house in Baltimore and migrate south to the Raleigh metropolitan area with Spud. The house, built in 1951, is one of millions in thousands of neighborhoods that sprang up following World War II to serve as homes to the Baby Boomers and their parents. It is a track house, the same as every other house on the street except for variations in the front facades. Looking down the back side, one sees they are identical — brick for brick and chimney for chimney — and are aligned in a perfectly straight row. The only variations are decks, sun rooms and other modern "add-ons".
The houses were built before plywood, when subfloors and roofs were covered with 1x6 wooden sheathing. The rafters in the roof are 2x6's. The floor joists are X-braced. and the flooring is oak. The pipes are iron. The sewer pipes are cast iron with Oakite caulking and poured lead seals. The electrical wiring in the basement is of the BX type with a sturdy metallic "armor" The light switch in the main bath has been in use for 57 years. These are substantial houses, old by American standards and new by European standards.
Many of the residents in these houses are also old. Their next door neighbor, for example, is an octogenarian who has lived in the house since it was built. While all the neighborhood is neatly maintained, you can tell in which houses the older folks live. They spend less time on their Blackberry phones and more time on lawn and garden maintenance than the younger generations who now buy the houses as "starter" homes.
Another lady, also an octogenarian, not only mowes her own lawn but those of others unable to do so. She moves the trash bins onto the sidewalk after the refuse is collected and removes the debris from the gutters after it rains ... for the entire street. And, she throws the newspapers on the front porches, for good measure. When her kids tried to get her to move to Florida, she refused, citing the need to stay in Baltimore and take care of her neighbors.
Of the work I've done on the house in preparation for selling it, none has been structural in nature. Indeed, most of the "fixes" have been to stuff added in later years and, of course, to cover up the oldness with a veneer of newness that will appeal to another first-time homeowners who, like Wawa and Ed, will stay three years and move on.
The houses were built before plywood, when subfloors and roofs were covered with 1x6 wooden sheathing. The rafters in the roof are 2x6's. The floor joists are X-braced. and the flooring is oak. The pipes are iron. The sewer pipes are cast iron with Oakite caulking and poured lead seals. The electrical wiring in the basement is of the BX type with a sturdy metallic "armor" The light switch in the main bath has been in use for 57 years. These are substantial houses, old by American standards and new by European standards.
Many of the residents in these houses are also old. Their next door neighbor, for example, is an octogenarian who has lived in the house since it was built. While all the neighborhood is neatly maintained, you can tell in which houses the older folks live. They spend less time on their Blackberry phones and more time on lawn and garden maintenance than the younger generations who now buy the houses as "starter" homes.
Another lady, also an octogenarian, not only mowes her own lawn but those of others unable to do so. She moves the trash bins onto the sidewalk after the refuse is collected and removes the debris from the gutters after it rains ... for the entire street. And, she throws the newspapers on the front porches, for good measure. When her kids tried to get her to move to Florida, she refused, citing the need to stay in Baltimore and take care of her neighbors.
Of the work I've done on the house in preparation for selling it, none has been structural in nature. Indeed, most of the "fixes" have been to stuff added in later years and, of course, to cover up the oldness with a veneer of newness that will appeal to another first-time homeowners who, like Wawa and Ed, will stay three years and move on.
Comments
Post a Comment