A Bit of History

I thought I would share a bit of the history that I have discovered about this home.

Firstly, it was built in 1995ish by a man whose name is all over the basement.   We believe this architect was a contractor because the house is made up of so many different pieces, strange pieces.  Our theory is that he used bits and pieces from job sites.  And there are so many strange features to this house.  Of course it is these features that made us fall in love with it.  It is nothing like I have ever seen.   Then again we have only lived in, as many call them, "cookie-cutter houses".   

The basement, pictured above is the main tell of this theory.  You can see a name on the rafters which are actually concrete forms.  There is corrugated steel and commercial i-beams used here too.   The door pictures is one of 2 in the basement.  To me this door looks like a school house door.   The entire house is made from various varieties of cinderblock, concrete and brick with cedar on the upper part of the house.     It is situated high on a hill which gives the impression of hugeness.   However, not including the basement the finished area adds up to roughly 2600 sq ft.  Its the walk-out basement and garage and the fact that it is up on a hill that give the illusion that it is huge.

concrete, brick, cinderblocks and cedar

Continuing on with the history.  The man that built it designed it with his wife in mind. But he never finished it.   He left it built on the outside and most of the features were done but the inside was not livable.  We found out recently that he and his wife ended badly during the build and so he abandoned the house.

It sat for a short while before the next owners came along.  They were lotto winners!  $5m.   They purchased this home and finished the main floor and upstairs.  They added their own features and flare and lived here for 20+ years.  Unfortunately, they had a hard time maintaining the house and loving it the way it needed to be loved.  I don't know much more but it was foreclosed on which is the reason we are here now.