Nicely updated MCM home

[mattl]

Nice update on this mcm house.   Still has much of the character but feels fresh.

This Flint mid-century modern home got the makeover of the decade

They say all good things must come to an end, and that's the case for this Flint mid-century modern home that sold quickly. But can we blame its future owners?

www.metrotimes.com

 

[appnut]

Coulnd't tell if there's a dishwasher with integrated custom panel.

 

[circlew]

Turned out nice. The exterior looks much better in the new colors. The house reminds me somewhat of the one my friend Brenda lived in for several years. It was built in 1953, and enlarged and renovated in the early 80's.

 

[DADoES]

 
Dishwasher ... it may be left of the sink.

 

[bradfordwhite]

As is often the case THESE DAYS, the BEFORE pics are often of a desirable house that may or may not need a standard cleaning and fair lighting and camera positioning
Whereas
the AFTER pics are .....a total disgrace.

I'm to the point where I don't even bother with the after pics. Often all one sees these days is gray/black/ugly blue paint, ugly cement/tile/granite counters, gray plastic wood look floors, over sized unpainted appliances, cheap particle board cabinets, ugly aluminum hardware and lighting, a lack of walls, a lack of charm, little color, .....over all just an undesirable place that's not good enough for me to spend time in even if you paid me.

Now, the house above is not my style anyway, but I can just picture how it was ORIGINALLY with the appliances, cabinets, etc and it would certainly be better than the blah, blah, blah that one sees in any house flip.

 

[mattl]

As a builder/contractor I understand you have to appeal to your market, I think the folks who updated this property walked a fine line between old and new.  I've seen so many comments like the one above about the "original", but limited countertops and vintage appliances appeal to less than .001% of the population.

 

Keeping much of the original character yet meeting today's needs is much better than one more tear down.

 

[tolivac]

Kitchen---YUCK!!!!Would tear all of that out and go back to what it was-same with the exterior paint job-The home and the kitchen now looks like a morgue.The kitchen worktable would double as a good workbench for the shop.As a kid we lived in a place that had a flat roof-AFB housing.The flat roof ALWAYS needed repairs-always leaking.The AFB maintenance dept took care of it.

 

[qsd-dan]

The flat roof ALWAYS needed repairs

Worked in 2 brand new 210,000 sq ft buildings with flat roofs. Facilities was constantly chasing leaks from the day they were built until the lease was up 15 years later. Flat roofs are such a horrible design. 

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

Seems as though there are quite a few houses there with just about all the antique plumbing fixtures and vintage appliances entirely updated replacing all the good old that we all know and love…

— Dave

 

[foraloysius]

I think they did very well. I like both the inside and the outside.

As for flat roofs, I knew a builder who used to say that there are two certainties in life: 1 is that we are all going to die sometime and 2 a flat roof will start to leak at some time. lol

 

[tolivac]

When I remember my days in that house-we were visited regularly by the tarpot trainler,tarpaper on the roof-then the gravel spread on fresh tar over the tarpaper-then the gravel.And when leak time came-no patching-they redid the roof.

 

[estesguy]

I lived in a house that had a flat roof with significant pitch. But the issue I had, is that with the ceiling attached to the joists inside, and the roof on the outside, my house had around 4-6" of batt insulation in between, with NO way to upgrade and add more. To add insult, the walls had no insulation at all. Sheetrock inside, 1" fiberboard with tar paper and lap siding outside. I guess back then, when the house was built mid 50s, energy costs weren't a prime concern.

 

[vacerator]

I like it!

Must be in the township, not Flint proper. My 3rd. grade teacher gave me a light like the one over the dinette.

 

[vacerator]

Also saw

Bose 901 speakers! True classics.

 

[mattl]

No, the house is in Flint proper.  It's located in the College and Cultural area which is a smallish enclave near downtown.  If you haven't been to Flint lately it's really blooming into a college town, at least the downtown area - Mott, U of M, MSU and Kettering all have facilities.  Lot's of small pubs and unique restaurants and such.

 

[davey7]

Really nice job - not a fan of open kitchens myself, but that's the cabinetry I'd do for a renovation. Looks like they kept one bathroom. Sometimes you have to renovate - fixtures and pipe do fail - and we're assuming that the kitchen hadn't already been renovated with 70's-90's oak or Merrilat cabinets which don't fit the style. Interesting that they used those fiberglass panels in the LR - I knew people with those in a similar vintage house, don't know if it's just a ceiling system or an actual structural system - something similar is still used in Europe and Canada and is appearing here again.

Flat roofs don't leak when installed right, unless you go up on them too much (like our neighbor with a roof pond - yes, intentional - who went up in golf shoes to break up the ice in winter). It's usually the flashing that fails or a roofer who doesn't know how to do the install properly - European architects were wowed at American industrial buildings before WWI but didn't see how they were detailed and (while probably ok when done in Europe with quality construction) that led to European inspired residential architects who didn't know the details or using inexperienced roofers, led to leaks (and then there's FLW.... the Maude of the architecture work I guess).

 

[bradfordwhite]

When I think of Flint...


I mean Michigan and other Great Lakes states are blessed to be surrounded by fresh water. That's something L.A. , Phoenix, texas, and the slithery subsiding sandbar state of Florida surrounded by useless salt water, can only DREAM of.

Yet Michigan managed to screw up water delivery for an entire city and it's still not fixed.



Can anyone really be blamed for being hesitant?

 

[mattl]

Perceptions -bad ones - die hard.  The water is back to what it should be, and like dozens, or hundreds of towns with lead supply lines, they are being replaced.  They are closing in on the finish line. There is still a lot of poverty, but much good is happening.

 

The damage done to kids will never be rectified.

 

[vacerator]

True Matt, and I think blame is also on the

Appointed emergency manager by Snyder. The one he appointed for the Detroit schools in the early millennium shafted retring teachers. When the required quota of 500 didn't retire, an additional bonus of $15,000 was added to the retirement annuities of additional ones only a week after the first ones submitted for retirement. The union fought it but lost. Now many districts don't have enough teachers.