KUDOS HOMES AND GARDENS-April

Kudos Homes and Gardens

By Harvey Winje

The Alley occasionally features aproject in the Community that has accomplished an improvement project that adds to the view on the street, is pleasing to the occupants, and deserves special attention so that everyone knows that others care and appreciate it. The Kudos this month go to the work on 2704 16th Avenue by Tahoe Holdings and SafeHaven Development.

If you know of a small or large project you enjoy seeing, let us know so we can feature it here.

An Ode to Porches

Porches are more than an amenity. Porches have historic and architecture value that adds to the livability of a house, complementing the house as they beautify the streetscape. Some suburbs have begun building porches on new developments calling them one feature of a “New Urbanism” referring back to the folksiness of people enjoying a summer”'s evening on the porch in plain enough view to greet the neighbors and passersby.

Porches in this area usually didn”'t have frost footings—a stone or concrete pad beneath the supporting members deep enough at a minimum of 42” locally to withstand the heaving of the earth during freeze/thaw cycles. Because of the lack of such footings as houses usually (but not always on older houses) have, porches would start to lean away from the houses from the changes and also from deterioration of lumber underground.… Read the rest “KUDOS HOMES AND GARDENS-April”