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Marin Eichlers
It's my opinion that Eichler homes are more popular today than ever before. While I wasn't born yet when they were first sold in Marin, I vividly recall how they were shunned by most buyers when I became a Realtor back in the 80's. All those attributes that people like today were originally looked down on. The floorplans were "too open", often without a separation between the kitchen and living areas. The vast walls of single pane glass, tall windows and sliders didn't insulate well and the gas-fired radiant heat all led to high energy bills. The yards were mid sized, flat and often without the great views so popular with the clients of the day. |
| Flat back yards are typical of most Eichlers, as seen in this Terra Linda home. |
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| An outdoor eating area can often be found in good weather areas like Marin. |
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| A floorplan once considered "too open" is now highly sought after by today's homebuyer in Marin. |
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| Post and beam construction means fewer walls and those walls present, can generally be easily moved around. |
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Guess what, things change and buyer's demands go with the times. Open floorplans became highly desirable and an effective use of space when there wasn't much to go around. Single pane glass is now easily fixed with remodeled windows and doors, often in a weekend and radiant heat? With natural gas prices now running the same as electricity, many new homes choose boiler-fed radiant pipes as the heating method of choice. The bills are the same, if not lower, and there is no blown dust. While Eichler had no place to put the air ducts due to the open beam construction, he again shows how he was far ahead of his time. |
| Most master bedrooms open up to the back yard, with original single pane doors easily being replaced. |
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| Master baths are traditionally small, but at least they exist, separate from the rest of the house and a true "suite". |
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Joe Eichler considered his homes to be an integral part of any family, as much a part of the neighborhood as they were for the people that lived inside them. So while he was very a much a "production" builder, constructing houses in a matter of months instead of a year, he believed in spending extra time and money on quality and individuality, not just throwing up a row of spec' homes. According to some now-retired Realtors I interviewed, the concrete slab of an Eichler was an engineering marvel of it's day. Rather than a standard 12" on level grade, Eichler had his teams dig down three feet and use a base of crushed rock and gravel, then tie the whole thing into a below ground spread footing. It's much like the perimeter foundation of a house today, in reverse, going down into the ground instead of up. This is the reason many of his copper piped radiant heat systems are still operating efficiently today. The slabs didn't settle or crack, so the copper is still as straight today as it was then. Check out some of the other neighborhoods of Marin (east Corte Madera or Santa Venetia, for example) where builders tried to emulate Eichler with cheap houses and slab-on-grade foundations. You'll often see sloped floors and wracked doorframes, both very difficult and expensive to fix. To this end, Eichler remains a pioneer, not only in giving people what they want and what they need, but at an affordable price and with a product that was built to last. |
| Outdoor spaces were capitalized upon with covered areas from a trellised atrium in front... |
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| To extra long covered patios in the back, both capturing the most amount of space. |
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Eichler had ideas for his initial designs, but he turned to a variety of architects to help bring those ideas to fruition. In 1947, he hired Robert Anshen to design the initial Eichlers. Anshen was a student of Frank Lloyd Wright and he partnership between he and Eichler went beautifully. The first prototypes were ultimately built in 1949. During the next 18 years, the designs changed, but the use of interior and exterior space remained a constant. Later versions emerged from two other architects, the San Francisco firm of Claude Oakland & Associates and the Los Angeles firm of Jones & Emmons. |
| The "Double A Frame" Eichler features two soaring A framed roofs, flaring out to flat on either side. |
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| The Atrium seen from the inside. I've seen these fixed up in a tropical motif and you feel like you're in Hawaii. |
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Eichler homes are unique, featuring the aforementioned post-and-beam construction, slab floors with integral radiant heating, and a standard second bathroom. Models introduced in the late 50's featured the signature Eichler Atrium, an entrance foyer that brings the outdoors inside and vice versa. Some models had sliding roofs on steel tracks that many owners swear by today. Open it up to the sky to suit your taste in fresh air and sun. Exterior rooflines are generally flat, though a low-slope or the tall "A" of the Atrium model was a clear signature and sign of an Eichler. Wooden, vertical siding remains a constant as do what some people consider to be a plain, almost blank wall facing the street.
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Ted Strodder
All Marin Real Estate
511 Sir Francis Drake
Greenbrae CA 94904
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Phone:
Mobile:
Toll Free:
Email: |
415.925.3205
415.377.5222
800.482.6164
ted@AllMarin.com |
Ted Strodder is one of the most experienced, top Real Estate Brokers in Marin County, with over 800 home sales in his last 25 years. Ted works in the Central Marin office for Frank Howard Allen, the #1 Real Estate company in the county year after year. He has been licensed since 1985 and has worked in the same building for over twenty years, remaining grounded in the community in the most productive environment in Marin. Ted is a native to the Bay Area and can answer any question you may have about specific property values, schools, weather patterns, commute times and recreation. He has personally remodeled twenty-four homes and is considered one of the county experts on fixer uppers and construction. He is available seven days a week and is always just an email, text or phone call away. You may reach him at the office, 415.925.3205, on his cell 415.377.5222 or toll free at 800.482.6164.
California Department of Real Estate Broker's License #01057081 |
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