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Miscellaneous

johnnyboy said:
^That must be quite the assessment; they had to take out the park that was there to get at the parkade.
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My condo that I used to live in is doing the same thing next spring - replacing the parkade membrane. It's $1million job or more depending on any other work that may need to be done. Some landscaping options to minimize some costs on the exterior such as rocks etc as opposed to concrete everywhere can reduce a bit of the cost.

But a healthy reserve fund can cover a decent portion of it (and still leave a decent amount in reserve left over). A 50% assessment could mean $500,000 ÷ 80 units (of similar unit factor size) means $6,250 each.

Less than a roof replacement on a house perhaps.
 
These houses in Westmount-ish (west of 124, south of Stony Plain) look like proper Chicago two-flats.

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riker said:
I wish side setbacks were abolished (in some areas) to allow proper wall-to-wall rowhomes. These sideyards are pretty much wasted space.
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Yeah, the houses are close enough that you wonder why they don't just build rowhomes, aside from the inexplicable ick factor that exists in the Anglosphere about your house touching your neighbor's. Also, the sides are way less attractive than the façades.
 
constance_chlore said:
Yeah, the houses are close enough that you wonder why they don't just build rowhomes, aside from the inexplicable ick factor that exists in the Anglosphere about your house touching your neighbor's. Also, the sides are way less attractive than the façades.
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And it should mean some cost savings - fewer windows and siding required and better energy efficiency.
 
constance_chlore said:
Yeah, the houses are close enough that you wonder why they don't just build rowhomes, aside from the inexplicable ick factor that exists in the Anglosphere about your house touching your neighbor's. Also, the sides are way less attractive than the façades.
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This is probably more an American thing. I believe the UK has row houses, although not all as attractive. Regardless, I agree we should get over it.

The space on the sides is small, so it is sort of wasted or not that functional. Filling that space could also give a bit more living space.
 
David A said:
This is probably more an American thing. I believe the UK has row houses, although not all as attractive. Regardless, I agree we should get over it.

The space on the sides is small, so it is sort of wasted or not that functional. Filling that space could also give a bit more living space.
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A 50 foot lot (common width in mature neighbourhoods) can be subdivided for 2 skinnies. With side setbacks requiring 4 feet on either side for wasted space, a development of 2 skinnies requires 16 feet or just less than one third of the total frontage to be useless. So essentially, each skinny development could fit another full unit.

I'm imagining a world for infill where proper rowhouses are permitted and the massing is less obvious, thereby less of a concern to nearby residents with this simple change.

You could even build each of the 3 sites with a basement suit and garage suite and subdived into 3 legal lots for fee simple ownership.
 
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David A said:
This is probably more an American thing. I believe the UK has row houses, although not all as attractive. Regardless, I agree we should get over it.

The space on the sides is small, so it is sort of wasted or not that functional. Filling that space could also give a bit more living space.
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These spaces may be narrow but that doesn't mean they're completely useless. They will provide access from the front yard to the back (and vice versa) without having to haul things through the house (lawn mowers to snow shovels); they can provide a convenient service entry location for power and gas etc.; they can provide a convenient location for heat pumps and a/c units; and they are typically used to accommodate surface storm water drainage flows.

From a building perspective, these spaces also provide space to vent exhaust from kitchen ranges and household dryers, fireplaces, and to vent fresh air into attic spaces to prevent mould growth due to inadequate circulation patterns from relying on mechanical systems alone.

It's also worth noting that typical UK row housing is 30-35 feet in depth while Canadian narrow lot homes are typically 40-50 feet in depth and can easily reach 50-60 feet on deeper lots.
 
kcantor said:
These spaces may be narrow but that doesn't mean they're completely useless. They will provide access from the front yard to the back (and vice versa) without having to haul things through the house (lawn mowers to snow shovels); they can provide a convenient service entry location for power and gas etc.; they can provide a convenient location for heat pumps and a/c units; and they are typically used to accommodate surface storm water drainage flows.

From a building perspective, these spaces also provide space to vent exhaust from kitchen ranges and household dryers, fireplaces, and to vent fresh air into attic spaces to prevent mould growth due to inadequate circulation patterns from relying on mechanical systems alone.

It's also worth noting that typical UK row housing is 30-35 feet in depth while Canadian narrow lot homes are typically 40-50 feet in depth and can easily reach 50-60 feet on deeper lots.
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Interesting points. Considering ventilation would make designing for rowhomes difficult wrt placing kitchens and laundry.
I always understood the side setback was for fire safety based on intuition, not sure if that's accurate. I know the fire code requires a flame proof wall between units which would be expensive.
Would be still worth exploring how regular infill might benefit or hurt from wall-to-wall construction.
 
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