Hi, Bob!  Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:

BA>  My sister lives in Pleasanton, CA.  Last weekend she
BA>  told me about a recent fire in an 'assisted living'
BA>  condo complex.  Even though the nearest fire station
BA>  was only a couple of blocks away the 12-unit building
BA>  burned to the ground.  All those folks' possessions -
BA>  and memories - reduced to ashes.


           Ouch!  :-(



BA>  Fortunately, I guess, no fatalities.


           Agreed....



BA>  At the time the building was built - early 1960s -
BA>  there was no requirement for fire-rated walls
BA>  between units ( or that the attic spaces be divided).


           When we were first married, Dallas & I lived in an apartment
building of a similar vintage where we could easily hear what was happening
next door.  I guess we were lucky there wasn't a real fire in this
building!  I was horrified, though, when the fire alarm went off & I
saw people standing around in the halls saying "Oh... I wonder why the
fire alarm is ringing??"  As a teacher I was used to grabbing my purse
& my class list, getting myself & my students outside ASAP, and
asking questions later.  Assuming that the majority of tenants had
completed grade 12, they would have gone through the same drill at least
144 times.  But I was the only person, i.e. apart from the manager &
the fire marshall, who exited the building (Dallas was at work).  Good
thing it was just a test of the system. All this stuff people have to do in
school, y'know, it's not relevant... (sigh).

           At any rate, the "leaky condos" were built more
recently.  It appears someone in the industry had an idea... the result of
which was that water became trapped inside the walls.  This method of
construction is no longer allowed, and AFAIK it was used only in
apartment-style buildings.  But folks who bought units in these buildings
often face restoration costs of over $100,000 per unit.  Some of the units
aren't worth much more than that, and some folks just abandon them.



AH>  An old house may have its problems too.

BA>  Oh boy do they.  This one needs to have its foundation
BA>  replaced (might as well dig a basement while I'm at it),
BA>  a new roof, a new furnace, new insulated windows and
BA>  doors, and a paint job.  Plus replace the back porch
BA>  with a sun room that runs the length of the east side of
BA>  the house (about 40 feet).


           Sounds to me as if you have enough projects to occupy you for
umpteen years... that's good!  My father used to complain about how there
weren't enough hours in the day, but I think it helped keep him young.  He
had his stroke while he was cutting grass at the age of 93.  And he had a
wonderful time in hospital, challenging all the female doctors & nurses
to arm-wrestling contests etc.  :-))



BA>  I figure the whole bill will approach $60K, but it'd
BA>  cost twice that to build a completely new house of
BA>  comparable size.


           Many people in our neck of the woods have also come to the
conclusion that it makes more sense to do a bit of fine-tuning on a house
which has already stood the test of time.  There's one down the street from
us... it has been well looked after & tastefully updated, and it sold
quite quickly when it went on the market.  A much newer house in the same
neighbourhood has been on the market for months.  Dallas & I wouldn't
consider it either.  We saw it being built....  ;-)




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+