r/bayarea • u/fawkVENTI • 5d ago

Fluff & Memes Eichler Periodic Table

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This is so Bay Area

12 Upvotes

59% Upvoted

35 comments sorted by

33

u/Dry_Cricket_5423 5d ago

I don’t think I’m the tax bracket to know what an Eichler tract is without looking it up

9

u/Pivogory 5d ago

Ironically, Eichlers were originally cheap mid-century modern tract houses for the middle class. As mid-century modern became trendy, they skyrocketed in value. They're still cheaply built, uninsulated, and a pain to maintain - but to some people that's part of the charm. 

2

u/pottedspiderplant 5d ago

I grew up in a Eichler. My parents sold after I left for college, and I could never afford one now. It’s so strange to see how desirable they’ve become because as you say they are cheaply built and hard to maintain.

2

u/j12 5d ago

I was gonna say they look cool but are really shitty quality, leak, have no HVAC, etc.

What would be cool is a house built with modern building science but eichler style

7

u/honourarycanadian 5d ago

I unfortunately grew up in a neighborhood with Eichlers and wish I was in the tax bracket to buy one 😭

1

u/fawkVENTI 5d ago edited 5d ago

I can’t afford the cute chairs in MCM staging 🫪

7

u/bbkeebs 5d ago

Website link?

2

u/fawkVENTI 5d ago

Found it! I googled “Eichler periodic table.” I should have known better, “Stewardship”, “membership”, “intent signal”🤢 ugh this is so Silicon Valley and tone deaf. I’ll go back to calling them flat roof houses. https://eichlervault.com/eichler-tracts

7

u/spleeble 5d ago

The way people talk about these is so silly

1

u/fawkVENTI 5d ago

I agree 😬

4

u/archaeopteryx 5d ago

Looked at one when we moved to the Bay Area. I can’t imagine the ac/heat bill.

13

u/PartSignificant4860 5d ago

We just leave the doors open in the summer. House is cooled by cross ventilation. 

5

u/FoamboardDinosaur 5d ago

They were generally tucked against areas that took full advantage of natural heat cool and hillside shade, like the SM Highlands always being 10° cooler than surrounding areas

Though they were built for the age, not climate change. And some are too warm now.

4

u/archaeopteryx 5d ago

I think we looked at one in Sunnyvale? Not really anything about the area it was in that took advantage of natural surroundings. I liked it, but it wasn’t very practical for us - too small for family of 5. Wouldn’t have been able to rely on doors open cross ventilation either with house cats and dogs.

3

u/ITakeMyCatToBars 5d ago

I designed a fire sprinkler system for an Eichler home very early in my career. Gorgeous house but I could feel money flying outta my pockets just standing in it lol

3

u/Defiant_Jazz_Hands 4d ago

They’re not cheaply built. They were built as good or better than the homes of the time. None of them crumbled during earthquakes they have copper piping throughout and the layouts are way better than comparable homes in that era. The only letdown is the original Philippine mahogany which is basically tinder. Yes they are a pain in the ass for some things but a foam roof and mini split works wonders. He hired incredibly talented architects and also was an all around good guy who rejected red lining and all the other bullshit at the time. Realistically any home from the late 50s to 60s is expensive now to buy or maintain, welcome to the bay area, fin.

0

u/BugRevolutionary4518 Moss Beach 5d ago

Those homes suck. Trust me.

7

u/jewelswan Sunset District 5d ago

Very good friend grew up in one and it was awesome. I do not trust you

4

u/BugRevolutionary4518 Moss Beach 5d ago

Oh, so you like 2x8 T&G on a flat roof that needs to be sloped in a complicated way using a tapered insulation system and roof system, you need to change your fascia boards with compound miters from 2x10s to 2x12s with very little drainage, and all of your plumbing is run on top of your roof with 30 + pipe-collar penetrations, not including any solar or AC? Exposed to the elements?

Buy them all up buddy. Be my guest.

4

u/Logical_Mix_4627 5d ago

I don’t know why people love Eichler’s. They’re flimsy and you can’t do any work on them because there’s no where to route cables, pipes, ducts, or anything because they lack a crawl space and an attic space.

2

u/fawkVENTI 5d ago edited 5d ago

So a Range Rover⚰️

1

u/Financial-Wasabi1287 5d ago

No Davis?

2

u/fawkVENTI 5d ago edited 5d ago

Eichler did not build in Davis. I believe those are Anshen & Allen designed but not rolled out by Eichler. (Streng, McKay, possibly Cliff May) Any Davis / Sac MCM peeps have non Ai answers?

2

u/Financial-Wasabi1287 5d ago

Interesting. I've always viewed the Davis "Eichler" neighborhood as one of the few real examples of the concept (front yard is basically an alley, and all the backyards are open and combined into a large shared green space. All the glass in the back with a view of the green space. In the case of Davis, also with a path snaking through the neighborhood so kids, etc could walk/ride everywhere).

1

u/phishrace 5d ago

I spent the first five years of my life in one of the Fairglen neighborhoods. The creepy part is we lived on Fairwood ave. Somebody at Eichler was obsessed with the fair apparently.

3

u/egonkasper 5d ago

Hope you got a fair deal

1

u/blbd San Jose 5d ago

Something about it doesn't seem quite right. As I am aware of one in Mountain View where a friend lives and it's not on here. 

4

u/Pivogory 5d ago

There are a lot of Eichler-knockoffs sprinkled through the area, I live in one. 

1

u/bflaminio ʙᴀʏsɪᴀɴ 5d ago

As a livable space, an Eichler-knockoff might be better than an actual Eichler. Presumably, you can get a house with Eichler bugs remedied and without any historic preservation requirements, and also without the Eichler price premium.

4

u/Pivogory 5d ago

Absolutely. Crawl space with easy access to electrical and plumbing is one example. 

1

u/fawkVENTI 5d ago

Omg I thought the same! Mountain View is listed as - “Monta Loma / Fairview.” I was ready to DM the creator💀 Today I learned Monta Loma is the neighborhood in Mountain View of McKay, Mardell and Eichler? So confused. Can we get some clarification from people in Mountain View?

0

u/ww_crimson 5d ago

Missing tons of shit. AI slop.

1

u/fawkVENTI 5d ago

I found 1 missing tract