House Hunters - General Discussion

[amarante]

4 hours ago, chessiegal said:

Someone needs to tell them you don't need 2 shower heads to shower together. One is cozier. So a friend tells me.  😉 

They are also illegal in California because of water shortages and probably should be all over since there are very few places that should be wasting water.

In California you can't have more than one shower fixture able to operate at the same time (in a single shower or tub enclosure - obviously you can have multiple bathrooms with separate showers that can be sued at the same time.

You can have multiple fixtures in an individual shower but they can't work at the same time. For example I have an overhead shower head PLUS two hand held shower heads but I have to switch from one to the other as I can't use them all at the same time. Bathrooms are inspected multiple times while being built and the inspector will check to make sure that only one fixture in each shower can be used at the same time.

I think if there is a large space - I believe it's over 6 feet you can have two at the same time because the rationale is that one person isn't going to be using both fixtures and that they would probably be used if two people wanted to have separate showers at the same time - i.e. not romantic showers but actual cleaning up showers where they would have their own space and shower head.

11 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Gulf Shores and the Alabama beach towns have never cut back much on rentals, even during Covid lockdowns.    The second the lock down was lifted even a little, the rental places couldn't keep up with the demand for beach rentals.    Usually, with the big complexes, or even individual properties, the rental company does the cleaning, and inventory, between guests, and they make a bundle with pull out couches, bund areas, even in a 1 bedroom.    Or a bigger group will rent several of the vacation places, so everyone gets their own place to stay and they meet up at the pool or beach, and have group activities.     The party scene during Spring Break is huge all along the Gulf Coast in Florida and Alabama, except the towns that don't have Spring Break rentals. 

THe condo at the beach will be booked year round I bet.  

I am sure they will be booked but not with the kind of people I would want renting my investment :-).

Of course my idea of hell would be to rent a one bedroom condo and share it with six people. 

Edited July 16, 2022 by amarante

[chessiegal]

3 hours ago, amarante said:

In California you can't have more than one shower fixture able to operate at the same time. You can have multiple fixtures but they can't work at the same time.

This makes no sense to me. Say you have 4 people in a house with 2 showers. All 4 people plan to shower today. Aren't they all going to use the same amount of water if 2 people shower at the same time or if they shower at separate times?

[Johannah]

14 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

This makes no sense to me. Say you have 4 people in a house with 2 showers. All 4 people plan to shower today. Aren't they all going to use the same amount of water if 2 people shower at the same time or if they shower at separate times?

I think it's to stop a single showerer from using multiple showerheads, thus one person using more water.

[chessiegal]

2 minutes ago, Johann said:

I think it's to stop a single showerer from using multiple showerheads, thus one person using more water.

So, what you're saying is that if there are 2 shower heads in a shower, only one can operate at a time. But you're not saying that 2 separate showers stalls can't be used at the same time, because that makes no sense. If 4 showers are going to be taken in a house on the same day, they'll use the same amount of water if the showers are not done at the same time or if taken at the same time in different shower stalls.

[cameron]

Lived in California for three years and never heard that.  Even had irrigation in our yard.  Never saw a limit on water usage but the water bills call be extremely high.

Edited July 16, 2022 by cameron

[amarante]

To clarify, the rule in California is to prevent one person in one shower from using multiple shower heads or devices at the same time since that uses up quite a lot of water. There is also a regulation regarding how much water a single device can use.

As I stated if the fixture is far enough away so that it would NOT be used at the same time by one person, then you can have a second operational fixture. The rule effectively eliminates the kind of multiple water jets that some people have.

It does cut down on the amount of water that is used when a person uses a shower since they can't have multiple jets as well as an overhead or an overhead plus rain forest plus hand held going at the same time.

If you haven't lived in California for awhile you might not be aware of all of the new green rules. I remodeled in 2018 and they had only recently changed the maximum amount of flow a toilet could have.

Also you can't have a fixed light fixture (e.g. sconce or chandelier) which can use non-LED bulbs and the lights in your bathroom have to be automatic on motion detector so that they turn off after a person has left so there is no forgetting to turn off the light.

I think all of this is positive especially in an area like California where there are emergency measures in terms of water because there is such a shortage but why be wasteful of natural resources anywhere? 

Current rules in California limit watering to once a week on a certain day and strongly encourage xeriscape to conserve water. People in very affluent places who might flaunt the rules because they can afford to might have actual water restrictors placed at the source which will limit the amount of water for their entire household - but that is only if their use is very high and they have ignored notices to cut back.

Edited July 16, 2022 by amarante

[chessiegal]

Thanks for the clarification. Your original post made it sound like if you had 2 separate shower stalls in your house, only one shower stall could be used at a time. Which as I said, makes no sense.

[amarante]

10 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

Thanks for the clarification. Your original post made it sound like if you had 2 separate shower stalls in your house, only one shower stall could be used at a time. Which as I said, makes no sense.

I suspect what was confusing people was the "six foot" rule which applies to ONE very large shower and so if a fixture is sufficiently far enough away from the other fixtures it is viewed as being a separate fixture because a single person taking a shower wouldn't use that fixture.

I don't think most people have showers that large in their bathrooms so I think it is more for communal types of bathrooms where you have multiple shower heads along a wall like in a gym or barracks.

[amarante]

23 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

Thanks for the clarification. Your original post made it sound like if you had 2 separate shower stalls in your house, only one shower stall could be used at a time. Which as I said, makes no sense.

I think there are some unfortunates with terrible water pressure or hot water tanks so that effectively only one person can shower at a time AND there might not be enough hot water for the second shower unless they wait for a bit.

And of course there are the horrible plumbing setups where you are either scalded or frozen in your shower if someone flushes a toilet or uses hot water elsewhere in the house. 

[StatisticalOutlier]

6 hours ago, amarante said:

In California you can't have more than one shower fixture able to operate at the same time. You can have multiple fixtures but they can't work at the same time.

That's not quite right.  Each showerhead in California is limited to 1.8 gallons per minute (gpm).  If you have one showerhead in a shower, it is limited to 1.8 gpm.  If you have multiple showerheads servicing a shower, you have two choices:  (1) limit the total combined flow among all showerheads to 1.8 gpm, or (2) design the shower to allow only one showerhead to operate at a time.

Perhaps it could be argued that nobody would want to split the 1.8 gpm total between two (or more) showerheads, but it is allowed.

2 hours ago, amarante said:

I don't think most people have showers that large in their bathrooms so I think it is more for communal types of bathrooms where you have multiple shower heads along a wall like in a gym or barracks.

Those are called "gang showers" (!) in the California Plumbing Code, defined as two or more showers in a common area.

In the Plumbing Code, there aren't any specific provisions or exceptions relating to showerheads in gang showers (but there are other provisions, like for gutters and mixing valves, so it's not like they were inadvertently left out).  The "six feet" rule you mentioned actually does apply to residential showers only, but it's not actually in the Code, and because of where it is, it's not actually a rule.

There's an Appendix L in the Plumbing Code, called "Sustainable Practices," which says right below the title, "The provisions contained in this appendix are not mandatory unless specifically adopted by a state agency, or referenced in the adopting ordinance."  So presumably anything in the appendix that is required has been adopted into the Code itself.  Appendix L is where the "six feet" rule appears, in a section addressing multiple showerheads. 

That "six feet" rule is actually 1800 square inches--Appendix L provides that if you have a shower compartment with more than 1800 square inches, you can double the total amount of flow you're allowed, and it doesn't dictate that the showerheads have to be any particular distance from each other.  And it provides an exception for gang showers "in nonresidential occupancies," which are allowed to have a total flow per "showering position," so the 1800 square inches rule is obviously meant for residential showers and not gang showeres. 

However, the 1800 square inches rule doesn't appear anywhere that I could find in the Plumbing Code, which means it doesn't apply at all.  If that's the case, then no residential shower compartment can have more than a total of 1.8 gallons per minute of water flow, regardless of how big the shower compartment is.

But I'll tell you--if you're just reading the California Plumbing Code, it's not at all apparent that none of the appendices are part of the actual law.  I did find portions of the Plumbing Code that referenced an appendix, which indicates that if any of the provisions of Appendix L (such as the 1800 square inches rule) are intended to be mandatory, the Code itself either would have a reference to that provision in the appendix or have the language in the appendix included directly in the Code.

[Johannah]

Thanks, Amarante, for explaining better than I did.

And I live on the opposite side of the country from California, so I'm not sure why I stuck my nose in.  🙄 

[ByaNose]

Just watched a Palm Springs. I have always said if I won the lottery I’d buy a home there. Give me sunshine and a pool all year long and  I’d be a happy camper. I’m not even a huge MMC person but for that area that’s the appeal of it.  Also, why do parents allow their kids to have purple hair? Just because they want it doesn’t make it right. LOL!!!!! I do have one question. What exactly did the husband (who I liked) do for a living? I also liked the realtor. He looked like a fun guy. You gotta love a guy who’s a sharp dresser. 

[Mia49]

What is important is that Denise likes her style. It makes her happy and she looks great.  She’s an independent thinker, a successful Psychologist writer mother and wife. She lives a life that most of us only dream of. So stop trying to find ways to belittle her and get a life!

[CrazyInAlabama]

13 hours ago, ByaNose said:

Just watched a Palm Springs. I have always said if I won the lottery I’d buy a home there. Give me sunshine and a pool all year long and  I’d be a happy camper. I’m not even a huge MMC person but for that area that’s the appeal of it.  Also, why do parents allow their kids to have purple hair? Just because they want it doesn’t make it right. LOL!!!!! I do have one question. What exactly did the husband (who I liked) do for a living? I also liked the realtor. He looked like a fun guy. You gotta love a guy who’s a sharp dresser. 

The couple from Seattle were real estate investors, and the husband was the builder/contractor.    I don't see the MCM Palm Springs house as anything but an investment property to rent out.  That's also why they kept demanding one bath per bedroom.  

 The third house was the one I think had the 30-day or longer rental policy, so that's why they passed on it.   If that house was really for the family, they would have bought that one. 

[Bastet]

13 hours ago, ByaNose said:

Also, why do parents allow their kids to have purple hair?

Because it's the kid's hair?  I don't know how old a kid we're talking about, but hair and clothing are among the few ways they have of expressing their emerging personalities as they start to make their own decisions.  It's just hair dye; it's not like letting your kid get a tattoo.

[StatisticalOutlier]

12 hours ago, ByaNose said:

Also, why do parents allow their kids to have purple hair? Just because they want it doesn’t make it right.

I don't think it's that different from experimenting with makeup, or glasses, or a haircut.  At least it's temporary (unlike a tattoo) and not nauseating (unlike a facial piercing).  I've also noticed purple hair being popular among women of a certain age.

12 hours ago, ByaNose said:

Give me sunshine and a pool all year long and  I’d be a happy camper.

That sunshine's not quite so wonderful when it's 110 degrees.  But if I had to pick between being in Phoenix when it's 110 degrees and Palm Springs when it's 110 degrees, I'd take Palm Springs mainly because of the way it looks.  Except electricity is waaaaay more expensive in California, so winning the lottery is a sound plan.

Mid-century modern is by far my favorite architecture, even before I knew what it was called.  I think I've mentioned before that Mr. Outlier and I once did a 20-mile slow roll on our bikes all around the Palm Springs neighborhoods where the MCM houses are concentrated.  It was heaven, except a little artificial because it was pretty obvious that many of them were Air BnBs, where they make an effort to make it look like it's "supposed" to.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I'm surprised the pools don't have a hard cover like a huge patio cover to keep the pools from getting too hot, and so you can exercise in comfort.     One of the Phoenix Sun City pools has a walking path in the pool, with a huge cover over it and it's used a lot during the height of the summer. 

[ByaNose]

2 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I don't think it's that different from experimenting with makeup, or glasses, or a haircut.  At least it's temporary (unlike a tattoo) and not nauseating (unlike a facial piercing).  I've also noticed purple hair being popular among women of a certain age.

That sunshine's not quite so wonderful when it's 110 degrees.  But if I had to pick between being in Phoenix when it's 110 degrees and Palm Springs when it's 110 degrees, I'd take Palm Springs mainly because of the way it looks.  Except electricity is waaaaay more expensive in California, so winning the lottery is a sound plan.

Mid-century modern is by far my favorite architecture, even before I knew what it was called.  I think I've mentioned before that Mr. Outlier and I once did a 20-mile slow roll on our bikes all around the Palm Springs neighborhoods where the MCM houses are concentrated.  It was heaven, except a little artificial because it was pretty obvious that many of them were Air BnBs, where they make an effort to make it look like it's "supposed" to.

Thanks. It didn’t even occur to me to take a nice bike ride. That’s such a good way to see the neighborhood (or any neighborhood) instead of a car. I haven’t been to Phoenix and hear how hot it always is. I’ve been to California but it was in Anaheim and it rained all week. That sucked I may add. LOL!!! I have heard that Palm Springs is really big with the Airbnb and Vrbo crowd and it’s often mention on HH, too. In theory, I guess it’s a good investment property. 

[Kenzie]

32 minutes ago, ByaNose said:

I’ve been to California but it was in Anaheim and it rained all week.

That was just rotten luck! I can't remember the last time it rained for a week here (I'm an hour north of L.A.) Normally we don't get any rain between April and October and our average is 12" a year. This year it was unusual that it rained one time in June but it was at night. 

Both Palm Springs and Phoenix are too hot for me but if I had to choose it would be Palm Springs - it's just a more interesting city.

[Johannah]

They are both too hot for me, too, and if I had to choose, I'd run away to Canada.

I'm old and I like purple hair on kids.  Other colors, too.  Like already said, it's better than a permanent disfigurement that could affect them later in life, depending on their choices.

[LittleIggy]

6 hours ago, Johann said:

They are both too hot for me, too, and if I had to choose, I'd run away to Canada.

Me, too.

[Grizzly]

Jersey Shore. I understand where Jeannine is coming from in not wanting to renovate. A full kitchen and bath plus taking down walls (and we all know the problems that can be found) could get expensive. The Franklin stove was charming but the stovepipe chimney that stuck out of the roof was an eyesore.  Didn't like the floor plan either. The turn-key house was perfect even though a little further from the beach. There was so much stuff in there, no way was it really for sale. Why were they showing their son around the house while he was driving?!

[cameron]

Had to look up the definition of the Jersey Shore husband job title.  In my days, we call them Head Hunters.  Also found him to be overbearing.

Guess what, the whole show was for pimping the sale of the improved version of this.  Original house sold to them in 3/22 for the $500's and after their improvements now on the market for the $800's.  So much for the family at the beach scenario.  

Just found their first house.  This guy is definitely a flipper.

Edited July 20, 2022 by cameron

[CrazyInAlabama]

23 hours ago, cameron said:

Had to look up the definition of the Jersey Shore husband job title.  In my days, we call them Head Hunters.  Also found him to be overbearing.

Guess what, the whole show was for pimping the sale of the improved version of this.  Original house sold to them in 3/22 for the $500's and after their improvements now on the market for the $800's.  So much for the family at the beach scenario.  

Just found their first house.  This guy is definitely a flipper.

Good find!   I supected they were flippers, and the whole 'don't want to live in a reno project' was a story line.     I figured that the first house was it, after seeing they started demolition on the porch, and removed the oil tank.   I have to give them the HH 'shoppers' story line award for selling that the beach house was for family.  However, I was suspicious of selling a previous home, just to go house shopping and ending up with a major fixer.    I bet the oil tank removal was another way to get the price down, and they didn't care about anything but flipping quickly before beach season rentals started. 

new episode.  San Diego to Columbus Ohio.   Annette, a children's book illustrator.  Her two children are settled.  After her husband died of pancreatic cancer, she wants a new start close to her remaining family, and friends, and her best friend Rashmi will be a side kick. 

She wants a Craftsman, or funky 80's house, wants a first floor bedroom  and bath for her mother who will be living with her.  Needs a studio for her art.      She has an adorable Corgi, so needs a fenced yard.   House prices are 1/3 of San Diego.  She's willing to go to $325k to  $425k. 

House 1-$419k, carftsman or bungalow or four square, but vintage, about 8 to 10 steps to the front porch, treacherous on icy and snow.  Close to downtown, 3 bed (2 bedrooms or so upstairs, and another possible for her mother on the first floor) 2 bath sq ft  Lots of exposed brick, pocket doors that work, original hardwoods floors.  renovated kitchen.    1 full bath on the first floor, and 1 full bath on the second floor.   Thinking about putting in an armoire or closet, and turning the pocket door rooms into mom's room.   Main bedroom is upstairs, and adorable.  There's an attic finished dormer, for the art studio.   1 car garage detached, fully fenced back yard for the dog.    I didn't like the front and back stairs for the mother, and didn't like the finished attic for the art studio. I bet it would need a separate heat/cooling for that area, and the stairs looked too twisty, and narrow. 

House 2-3 bed, 2 bath, 1916 sq ft , $295k,  single story, attached 2 car garage attached. she would replace all of the flooring to match.    Kitchen is a galley.  main bedroom with en suite would go to the mother, back deck is huge, and finishing the fence would cost $10k.  20 minutes from downtown. 

House 3- 3 bed 2.5 bath sq ft $349,900, 2 car attached garage.     20k to 30k to convert first floor to bedroom for her mother, from the first floor family room.  2 story house.   I think the kitchen has room for more cabinet and counter space on the outside wall.   This would make the house a 4 bed, 3 full bath, with a first floor main suite.   Back yard is nice size but needs a fence (make sure you can fence, not all subdivisions allow fences.  Notice the neighbors don't have fences).   j

She chooses #3 , and turned the family room into a suite for her mother.  

Edited July 21, 2022 by CrazyInAlabama

[BAForever]

Really liked Annette, she could verbalize what she liked and wanted using specific language! Plus she was a "creative". Andromeda said it, she didn't. Annette picked the right one- space for her mom. I want to hang out with her house hunting friend, she seemed cool. 

[Hedgehog2022]

16 hours ago, cameron said:

Had to look up the definition of the Jersey Shore husband job title.  In my days, we call them Head Hunters.  Also found him to be overbearing.

Guess what, the whole show was for pimping the sale of the improved version of this.  Original house sold to them in 3/22 for the $500's and after their improvements now on the market for the $800's.  So much for the family at the beach scenario.  

Just found their first house.  This guy is definitely a flipper.

Wow...after they made a big deal about it being a family "shore" house for the kids and grandkids. 

[Kiddvideo]

Columbus. She was calm and soothing. A nice change! I didn’t care for the 3rd house (it felt like a flip where they wanted to open up the kitchen and their design chopped up the space), but it seemed best for her needs, and she had the money to customize it for Mom and the dog. I hope she and her family are living well.

[laredhead]

I enjoyed the refreshing change of the HH in the San Diego to Columbus episode.  She didn't harp on white cabinets, SS appliances, ability of neighbors to see her, or 99% of the usual stuff we hear so often.  I agree with Kiddvideo that her personality was calm, soothing, and even uplifting.  She is someone I would love to have as a neighbor and friend.  She did not mention selling a house in San Diego, but if she did, she probably made a lot of $$ and could well afford to buy and renovate that Columbus house with no problem.  I did laugh when her friend commented on the low level of the bathroom counter and the HH said it didn't bother her because she and her mother were small.  I also liked the friend.  She pointed out some valid things about the winter weather in Columbus, and why an attached garage would be desirable.  I hope we see more episodes like this.        

[proserpina65]

10 hours ago, Kiddvideo said:

Columbus. She was calm and soothing. A nice change! I didn’t care for the 3rd house (it felt like a flip where they wanted to open up the kitchen and their design chopped up the space), but it seemed best for her needs, and she had the money to customize it for Mom and the dog. I hope she and her family are living well.

I personally would've gone for the Craftsman (pocket doors!!!), but you're right, the 3rd place did fit her needs the best.  And yes, she was nice, the friend was nice, the episode overall was enjoyable as a result.

[amarante]

21 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Good find!   I supected they were flippers, and the whole 'don't want to live in a reno project' was a story line.     I figured that the first house was it, after seeing they started demolition on the porch, and removed the oil tank.   I have to give them the HH 'shoppers' story line award for selling that the beach house was for family.  However, I was suspicious of selling a previous home, just to go house shopping and ending up with a major fixer.    I bet the oil tank removal was another way to get the price down, and they didn't care about anything but flipping quickly before beach season rentals started. 

Oil tank removal is a real thing and if you are gutting the house as they were, it made sense to have it removed. 

I do think they meant oil FURNACE and not oil tank because typically the oil tanks are in the ground under the lawn and the oil company would then fill up the tank by accessing the exterior.

My childhood home originally had a coal furnace so the cellar actually had the old coal bin which was a small "room" that was close to a window so that there must have been a chute at one time to fill it. 

At some point after WW II the original coal furnace was converted to oil - classic Northeastern heating system with a boiler that ran the radiators and provided hot water as well.

When oil prices became really hot my father installed a gas furnace but the original furnace was left in the basement because taking it out would have been a monstrous undertaking especially since it was coated with asbestos so leaving it in place was safe since asbestos is fine unless you disturb it.

[CrazyInAlabama]

My parents post WWII built house started as coal, was converted to oil.  The fill pipe for the tank (tank was under the interior basement stairs on top of the concrete floor) was in the back, and has a whistle mechanism to alert the delivery driver when to stop filling the tank.    When it was changed to gas, they took the old furnace out in pieces, and the new gas one was so much smaller than the coal/oil furnace. 

 They took the tank out at the same time, since it was in the basement under the stairs it just had to be drained, and removed.     A funny note, when they took the furnace and oil tank out, they removed the pipe to fill it from the outside.   They started removing and filling in the wall hole for the pipe to fill the tank  after some oil delivery services got the address wrong, and filled a basement full of oil using the pipe that was no longer connected to the tank.   That happened to a house not too far from where we lived, and it was a horrible mess. 

I think it's funny how differently they install things in different locations.    I saw one on Home Inspector Joe, where they had to prove the tank was gone (that was in a basement), and one was buried in a yard, and they had to excavate, remove and were very glad to see it didn't leak

Yes, Annette's husband was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and he died fairly quickly after the diagnosis.    She moved back to Ohio, that's not too far from where her sister is, her mother was going to live with her, and her friend was a short plane ride away. 

Edited July 22, 2022 by CrazyInAlabama

[rhofmovalley]

I liked Annette and her friend too! Unfortunately Sling was having a tantrum so I missed the first seven minutes of the episode. Did her husband pass away recently?

Nice people.

[deirdra]

Some old houses actually had the oil tank buried under the dirt floor of the basement - it depended on lot size. Later it was disallowed as a fire hazard. I know someone who dug down the basement for more ceiling height & removed the tank at the same time.

[mojito]

Annette knows how to pick her spots. San Diego is a great city and Columbus is touted as being one of the really nice northeastern cities to live these days. She did her homework!

[amarante]

7 hours ago, rhofmovalley said:

I liked Annette and her friend too! Unfortunately Sling was having a tantrum so I missed the first seven minutes of the episode. Did her husband pass away recently?

Nice people.

He died relatively recently. He had a stomach pain and was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died six weeks later.

Pancreatic cancer has a real low survival rate and kills quickly as there don't seem to be any effective treatments yet. I worked with a young guy (early 40's) who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was dead within six months. He was a really lovely guy and we had a very close department with a supportive boss so he stayed on as employed so that he could continue to college salary and health benefits until he died and we all picked up his work during that period. Nothing official like giving him vacation days so long as his work was getting done by the rest of us no one investigated.

[Grrarrggh]

On 7/20/2022 at 11:55 PM, Hedgehog2022 said:

Wow...after they made a big deal about it being a family "shore" house for the kids and grandkids. 

Can just see the grandkids watching a rerun a few years from now..... how touching. 

[Hedgehog2022]

On 7/21/2022 at 5:49 PM, mojito said:

Annette knows how to pick her spots. San Diego is a great city and Columbus is touted as being one of the really nice northeastern cities to live these days. She did her homework!

Yes...Columbus is a hot city right now...especially for young professionals. It's proximity to Cleveland and NYC where her sister (Cleveland) and daughter (NYC) live makes it the ideal spot for her and her mom. I just loved Annette...I hope she's happy and enjoying her new life there.

[Pickles Aplenty]

Well...I haven't watched HH for a few years, but I recently got hooked on it again, and I purchased a couple of older seasons on YouTube.  Since I haven't seen it in a while, I have a question: is the Holy Trinity still desired by most HHers, or has it changed?  Have the granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and hardwood floors gone gentle into that good night, or are they still somewhat trendy?

I know nothing of house trends, so someone needs to enlighten me.

[CruiseDiva]

22 minutes ago, Pickles Aplenty said:

Well...I haven't watched HH for a few years, but I recently got hooked on it again, and I purchased a couple of older seasons on YouTube.  Since I haven't seen it in a while, I have a question: is the Holy Trinity still desired by most HHers, or has it changed?  Have the granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and hardwood floors gone gentle into that good night, or are they still somewhat trendy?

I know nothing of house trends, so someone needs to enlighten me.

It seems that the popularity of granite has given way to quartz countertops. SS appliances are still in demand, as are hardwood floors. However, a newly popular flooring option is Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) that mimics the look of hardwood and is water and scratch resistant. I actually have that type of tile in my kitchen, but mine looks like stone, not wood. The house next door to me was just  flipped and remodeled with LVT flooring in a greyish wood looking finish that I think looks cheap. And, yes, it's much less expensive than real wood and engineered wood flooring so flippers use it a lot.

[Pickles Aplenty]

16 minutes ago, CruiseDiva said:

It seems that the popularity of granite has given way to quartz countertops. SS appliances are still in demand, as are hardwood floors. However, a newly popular flooring option is Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) that mimics the look of hardwood and is water and scratch resistant. I actually have that type of tile in my kitchen, but mine looks like stone, not wood. The house next door to me was just  flipped and remodeled with LVT flooring in a greyish wood looking finish that I think looks cheap. And, yes, it's much less expensive than real wood and engineered wood flooring so flippers use it a lot.

Thanks.  Do they still like the dark, wood kitchen cabinets, or are people all about white kitchen cabinets, now?

Actually, I'm looking for one episode in particular, so maybe someone can help me out.  It had a young, quirky couple from New Orleans that wanted a craftsman fixer-upper, and the wife/girlfriend kept calling chandeliers "chandies".  Does anyone know what I'm talking about?  This episode is haunting my dreams.

[CrazyInAlabama]

On 7/23/2022 at 6:34 PM, Pickles Aplenty said:

Thanks.  Do they still like the dark, wood kitchen cabinets, or are people all about white kitchen cabinets, now?

Actually, I'm looking for one episode in particular, so maybe someone can help me out.  It had a young, quirky couple from New Orleans that wanted a craftsman fixer-upper, and the wife/girlfriend kept calling chandeliers "chandies".  Does anyone know what I'm talking about?  This episode is haunting my dreams.

Mostly they want white cabinets, quartz or even marble counter tops (I would never get marble for all of the maintenance issues), want hardwoods, but usually whine about the shade and want to refinish them.    Stainless is replaced by the darker fingerprint hiding stainless often.    If you watch the older reruns on OWN, the 2010 to 2016, some still wanted the darker cabinets.    

I'm sure that in a couple of years, the all-white kitchens won't be the 'in' thing, and they move to another color.    

Edited July 25, 2022 by CrazyInAlabama

[mojito]

4 hours ago, Pickles Aplenty said:

Since I haven't seen it in a while, I have a question: is the Holy Trinity still desired by most HHers, or has it changed?  Have the granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and hardwood floors gone gentle into that good night, or are they still somewhat trendy?

They used to request the Holy Trinity up front. Now they expect it and criticize homes that don't have it. Add to that the gigantic kitchen island, and the need to see the kitchen from the front door. You have to be part of the party when you have guests over and you're in the kitchen slaving over the microwave oven full of pizza rolls.

[CalicoKitty]

And I still don't get it.  I have stainless steel appliances in my house only because they came with it.  I really do not like them, and would never buy them.  I do have upgraded LVP floors, which I like very much.  I like my quartz counters, too.  But I wish I had out-of -trend, old-fashioned white appliances.  Much less upkeep, at least in my opinion.  But I get everyone has their personal likes and dislikes.  But not liking a perfect house just because of the color of the appliances makes no sense to me.

[amarante]

Most of the HH are very unsophisticated and are also at the tail end of design trends.

They want stainless but have absolutely no idea that the stainless finish they are getting is actually a cheap low end model. 

They have no idea that the builder or whoever has installed the cheapest cabinets possible - as long as they are white they don't notice that there lower cabinets aren't drawers. Other horrible design features include cooktops in the island with no ventilation and islands that actually block the flow of the kitchen work triangle.

And don't get me started on HH ask whether the floors are "wood" or whether it is granite or quartz when it is formica or call a standard single bowl sink a "farmhouse" style.

And I don't know whether the realtors are stupid or just attempting to make a sale when they toss out insanely low costs to install new kitchens and bathrooms. And HH and realtors who toss out "painting cabinets" as being a simple job when the reality is that it is difficult to do correctly and either very expensive if done by a professional or would take a very long time by a HH who attempted to do it correctly. By expensive I mean at least $6000 or so for a standard kitchen. 

[cameron]

1 hour ago, amarante said:

Most of the HH are very unsophisticated and are also at the tail end of design trends.

They want stainless but have absolutely no idea that the stainless finish they are getting is actually a cheap low end model. 

They have no idea that the builder or whoever has installed the cheapest cabinets possible - as long as they are white they don't notice that there lower cabinets aren't drawers. Other horrible design features include cooktops in the island with no ventilation and islands that actually block the flow of the kitchen work triangle.

And don't get me started on HH ask whether the floors are "wood" or whether it is granite or quartz when it is formica or call a standard single bowl sink a "farmhouse" style.

And I don't know whether the realtors are stupid or just attempting to make a sale when they toss out insanely low costs to install new kitchens and bathrooms. And HH and realtors who toss out "painting cabinets" as being a simple job when the reality is that it is difficult to do correctly and either very expensive if done by a professional or would take a very long time by a HH who attempted to do it correctly. By expensive I mean at least $6000 or so for a standard kitchen. 

It's interesting your take on bottom kitchen cabinets with drawers.  When I have a new kitchen; prefer only one cabinet to be all drawers, while the rest have doors with a drawer on top.  Find it much easier to have slide out shelves for all my pots and pans so I don't have to stack them.  We are have our own likes and dislikes.  My MIL had her bottom kitchen cabinets with drawers and everything had to be stacked.  Not my choice or style.

[CrazyInAlabama]

14 hours ago, CalicoKitty said:

And I still don't get it.  I have stainless steel appliances in my house only because they came with it.  I really do not like them, and would never buy them.  I do have upgraded LVP floors, which I like very much.  I like my quartz counters, too.  But I wish I had out-of -trend, old-fashioned white appliances.  Much less upkeep, at least in my opinion.  But I get everyone has their personal likes and dislikes.  But not liking a perfect house just because of the color of the appliances makes no sense to me.

It amazed me when a friend wanted a white fridge, and found out the it cost more than the other colors, including stainless, and would take a ridiculously long time until it arrived.   

My pesonal preference is black appliances, but my house came with white cabinets.     If I have to replace anything I'll just go to my favorite appliance store and see what is in stock, and go with that.    I also love my LVP fully glued down floors, if I ever replace them, I can just get LVP click together, and it will go right over the current floor.    

Edited July 24, 2022 by CrazyInAlabama

[cameron]

1 minute ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

It amazed me when a friend wanted a white fridge, and found out the it cost more than the other colors, including stainless, and would take a ridiculously long time until it arrived.   

My pesonal preference is black appliances, but my house came with white cabinets.     If I have to replace anything I'll just go to my favorite appliance store and see what is in stock, and go with that.    I also love my LVP fully glued down floors, if I ever replace them, I can just get LVP click together, and it will go right over the current floor.    

I have had  all the colors of appliances (avocado, harvest gold, black, white, bisque and stainless.  My preference is stainless but I do agree with you about how easy the white appliances were to maintain.

[amarante]

1 hour ago, cameron said:

It's interesting your take on bottom kitchen cabinets with drawers.  When I have a new kitchen; prefer only one cabinet to be all drawers, while the rest have doors with a drawer on top.  Find it much easier to have slide out shelves for all my pots and pans so I don't have to stack them.  We are have our own likes and dislikes.  My MIL had her bottom kitchen cabinets with drawers and everything had to be stacked.  Not my choice or style.

I am not understanding how pull out shelves provide better storage than drawers.

I have both in my kitchen for aesthetic reasons but the deep drawers are infinitely easier to access since there is only one motion - open the drawer versus the two (or actually three) motions for a pull out - open door - pull out roll out - push back roll out - shut cabinet door. I also have to make sure the roll out is back in or else the door won't close versus my deep drawers which I just push shut - Blum soft closing hardware :-)

I have some cooking items that are stacked with dividers including my roasting pans but that is a different type of storage than a standard roll out.

At any rate, drawers are considered to be an upgrade on lower cabinets and are more expensive than a cabinet with doors and shelves. 

[CruiseDiva]

48 minutes ago, cameron said:

I have had  all the colors of appliances (avocado, harvest gold, black, white, bisque and stainless.  My preference is stainless but I do agree with you about how easy the white appliances were to maintain.

I just replaced my 21 year old almond colored side-by-side fridge. It was difficult to find a new side-by-side fridge that would fit beneath the cabinet that's above the refrigerator because my house was built in 1987 and refrigerators weren't as tall then. My friend's husband, who is a custom cabinet maker, said he couldn't cut the upper cabinet down enough for a taller fridge. What to do? I'm a widow and don't need the latest and greatest appliances. I bought a smaller fridge with the freezer on top. Black, to match the other appliances I've replaced over the years and no ice maker. It works for me nd I was happy that a local appliance store had it in stock. It would have taken 2 months to get from a big box store. What I was told is that black appliances are hard to find... they are going out of style. I'm very happy with my new fridge (and ice cube trays). 🤣 House Hunters would shrink in horror!

[cameron]

32 minutes ago, amarante said:

I am not understanding how pull out shelves provide better storage than drawers.

I have both in my kitchen for aesthetic reasons but the deep drawers are infinitely easier to access since there is only one motion - open the drawer versus the two (or actually three) motions for a pull out - open door - pull out roll out - push back roll out - shut cabinet door. I also have to make sure the roll out is back in or else the door won't close versus my deep drawers which I just push shut - Blum soft closing hardware :-)

I have some cooking items that are stacked with dividers including my roasting pans but that is a different type of storage than a standard roll out.

At any rate, drawers are considered to be an upgrade on lower cabinets and are more expensive than a cabinet with doors and shelves. 

34 minutes ago, amarante said:

I am not understanding how pull out shelves provide better storage than drawers.

I have both in my kitchen for aesthetic reasons but the deep drawers are infinitely easier to access since there is only one motion - open the drawer versus the two (or actually three) motions for a pull out - open door - pull out roll out - push back roll out - shut cabinet door. I also have to make sure the roll out is back in or else the door won't close versus my deep drawers which I just push shut - Blum soft closing hardware :-)

I have some cooking items that are stacked with dividers including my roasting pans but that is a different type of storage than a standard roll out.

At any rate, drawers are considered to be an upgrade on lower cabinets and are more expensive than a cabinet with doors and shelves. 

So do you stack your cookware in the drawers.  Too me if you do, then you have to take pieces out you don't need to get to the skillet/pan you need.  Customer kitchen cabinetry built to a buyer's specifications are expensive either way.  And slide out shelves  are actually expensive unless people go cheap "charlie" and do a do it yourself job.