Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Often described as "having character" or "being interesting," old homes can just as often be described as "challenging" -- both to maintain and to renovate.

All older homes, which were not designed to anticipate today's electricity requirements, need electrical updates.

"If original wiring was used for what it was intended, it is fine," said Tom O'Connor, who owns O'Connor and Sons Electric in Palo Alto. "Lots of people have a lot of stuff in their homes now that no one imagined 40 years ago."

Sean Smith, who owns Smith Electric in Los Gatos, agrees.

"Back in the 1950s and 1960s, the biggest piece of (kitchen countertop) technology was a toaster or maybe a plug-in waffle iron," Smith said. In addition to the refrigerators, stoves and ovens that would have been in a 50-year-old kitchen, today's kitchens have dishwashers, powerful stove hoods, microwaves and many other countertop appliances that run on electricity.

Eichler homes, built throughout California for approximately 25 years starting in the early 1950s, are known for being among the most challenging older homes for electrical upgrades. Inside, Eichlers are not very different from other homes -- modern and old -- because the interior walls are standard 2-inch by 4-inch framed lumber, except these are covered with wood paneling instead of Sheetrock, Smith said.

What separates Eichlers from other older homes are the logistics required to get electrical wires inside the home.

Eichler homes are named after Joseph Eichler, a developer who oversaw the design and building of entire neighborhoods. The homes were designed in the style of midcentury modern architecture, with simple lines, open floor plans and exterior walls with many floor-to-ceiling windows and large glass sliding doors.

Certain aspects of the simple and clean Eichler design make performing electrical work more laborious than other older homes. Eichlers have no attics or crawl space; the underside of the roof is the home's ceiling. The homes also have a concrete slab foundation that includes embedded radiant-heating elements.

Some original wires lay directly underneath the roof and some run through metal pipes, called electrical conduits, beneath the concrete slab, Smith said. One or two conduits supplied power to the kitchen while others powered the washing machine and dryer, Smith added.

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Electrically eclectic Eichlers

By Jessica Bartlett, Boston.com Staff

Hopes to open the Scituate Harbor Community Building to the public by December have fallen by the wayside, with ongoing construction work delaying the target over a month.

Problems have been a mix of contractor and product availability as well as bidding delays, according to Scitiate's facilities manager, Kevin Kelly.

Its open [to town groups], but the upgrades werent completed and new rental policies arent in place or activated. But Id estimate that were a few weeks away from that, Kelly said.

In November, Kelly told Selectmen he hoped most building repairs could be completed by the end of the month. Other work was to be finished by Dec. 14.

Yet work has continued in mid-January in the buildings kitchen. Installation of a new rug was held off due to roof leaks. The New Year nor'easter added to the work.

Even though half the roof was replaced in mid-November, some leaks reappeared in the back half of the building. Water came in doors as well, damaging the carpet.

Kelly said he was disappointed, but not surprised to see that even some new sections of the roof were problematic, as the roof has equipment sitting on it that make it difficult to weatherize.

Though a new carpet will be installed in the next few weeks, problems are likely to reoccur, Kelly said. A more resilient flooring option would likely be too expensive and wasnt discussed, he said.

Its not a new building, its right on the ocean. I would anticipate that there is always the possibility of problems to happen to the building, Kelly said Weve done everything right to make repairs and do things. But its a building that does need and will continue to need attention.

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Public opening of Scituate Harbor Community Building delayed

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