Cool poster!

An "Obey the Eichler" poster from Crestview Doors via Tikimama of Atomic Tea Party totally cracked me up today!

The poster is part of Crestview Doors' Save Your Neighborhood Campaign: "... an effort on behalf of Crestview Doors to promote awareness of mid-century modern residential architecture and to support efforts to preserve, protect or reinvent it."

I've been meeting more of the neighbors this last week and several of them have mentioned how much they love the original intent and architecture of the Eichlers in the neighborhood.

South Land Park Neighborhood Association

Just a little post to spotlight the South Land Park Neighborhood Association. The association is a non-profit group of neighborhood volunteers and does the following:

• Represents our members to City and County government, and work with other neighborhood associations on issues that affect our residents and businesses
• Provides a non-partisan forum for discussion on neighborhood concerns
• Monitors local government programs or decisions that affect our neighborhood
• Keeps members informed on neighborhood issues

You can join the association for $10 per person/year, or $25 per person/3 years. They send out quarterly newsletters, regular email updates about neighborhood activity, concerts, and events, and offer several events for members only throughout the year. See their website for further details.

Up on the roof

Anyone who owns a home knows (and particularly those of us who own quirky flat topped homes) that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. We recently have been busy taking preventative measures to protect our investment. Our first Big Project was making sure our roof wouldn't leak. This is an ongoing vigilant matter with Eichler owners.

Local roofer Hugh Barnes from The Roof Repair Company assessed our roof, came in with some proactive minor repairs and also kindly cleaned our roof and gutters in the process. He resealed all the items on the roof that had penetration flashing with modified mastic and granules, repainted all flashings with aluminum colored paint, and worked on an area that needed repair over our garage. All areas with edges were resealed as well as all areas that were suspect for future leaks. We also invested in a two year roof certification so that in the event the roof leaks he would repair it.


I found Hugh and his coworker easy to work with, professional, and competitively priced. They were also very happy to make sure my clumsy butt didn't fall off the roof when I went up to take pictures.

Hopefully we won't be needing to make use of our roof certification but if we do, I will report back regarding the outcome. You may reach Mr. Barnes at 916.643.3605.

Won't you be my neighbor? Part One

I recently took a walk with our dog around the South Land Park Hills neighborhood (aka "South Hills") and wanted to share these pictures with you, which can be seen in detail in this Flickr set.

In addition to a small number of Eichlers, our neighborhood is filled with 1950's - 1960's custom modern ranches nestled among giant native oaks and built on gently curved streets. Features include: stunning grand double front doors with large ornamental escutcheons; linear textures; large plate glass windows; extra wide soffits; and use of natural materials such as sedimentary rock. Design elements are mostly geometric, including repetitive patterns of brick and negative space. Many homes in the area have Asian-influenced designs.

Some interesting + cool Eichler ephemera

Via Nicholls.net (link now defunct), found some interesting and useful copies of old paperwork for Eichler homes.

My favorite among the posts is the "Eichler Checklist" (pdf) -- a sales brochure for various Bay Area neighborhoods. It lists "special features" and the various brand name materials used in Eichler homes.

This site also includes a terrific schematic of Racon radiant heat systems which were installed by Arro Company.


You can find several sales brochures, such as this one: "Enter the Wonderful World of Eichler" (created for the Fairglen Tract). Love the graphics!


Also on this website, there are also copies of old magazine articles regarding Eichler homes from the late 50's.

Another awesome find: a charming 1956 Thermador oven and range brochure -- with specifications!

Update re: solvent + static electricity = Eichler fire?

The worker who was burned in the Palo Alto Eichler fire was released from the hospital and will make a full recovery.

While the family was not home during the fire, most of their possessions which were stored in the garage were destroyed. A family friend is collecting donations for them.


More here.

Local resource: windows

Just a little over a mile from our Eichler neighborhood is the headquarters for renowned window manufacturer Blomberg Window Systems. Blomberg specializes in a proprietary line of aluminum windows and doors.


We are in the middle of a renovation at our other midcentury house (circa 1961) and I can vouch these windows are the best. We chose four three-pane Series 1400 casement windows (two with hoppers and two with transoms) and a slider -- all with LoE2-172 glass and clear anonized frames. I have really been impressed with their solid quality and smooth operation.


Please don't put cheesy white plastic vinyl windows on your midcentury modern home. You and your house deserve better. This concludes our public service announcement.

The Flat Top

I don't know what it was about the 1950's that predisposed houses and hairstyles to be flat, but I did make an awesome discovery regarding our roof!

I revisited the plans left behind by the former owners. According to the plans drawn by Caywood and Associates back in 1979, extraordinary measures were taken to improve the roof, including a layer of foam insulation.


As most Eichler owners are aware, the roof can be a real challenge to maintain. At least two different installation companies in the Bay Area specialize in foam roofing for flat top and low slope roofs.


We are currently in the process of getting a two year certification for our roof and I will be sharing these extensive roof remodel plans from 1979 with our roofer.

Solvent + static electricity = Eichler fire?

While this did not happen in Sacramento I feel it is a significant and important issue and thus have decided to post.

My heart goes out to the worker who was burned and to the family who lost their Eichler home in Palo Alto on December 16, 2008.


A worker was using solvent on the walls and the spark was reportedly caused by rubbing. The solvent also acted as an accelerator for the flames. So terrible and sad!

I was informed by a neighbor here in the South Land Park Hills tract that at one point there was once an Eichler on our street that has since been replaced by a conventional home. Reportedly, it burned down in just 20 minutes!

More on the Palo Alto fire here. I will be following this story and issue; will post if further details follow.

More "before" photos, for the curious

A set from Flickr, for those of you who wish to see more of the house.