The New House in Tucson

Today we went through the new house to plan work to be done once it is ours.

UPDATE: Escrow has now closed and we are the owners. The work on the ceilings had begun. I was there yesterday and the contractor did some demo work to convert the little laundry room so it faces the garage. The wall between is thin and has a header existing so the wall can be opened. The water lines look old and he will replace the valves. There is no gas access so he will tap off the gas to the A/C and water heater which are across a small hallway. We have a gas dryer and like it. The A/C unit is old but, hopefully, has some life left in it.

house-front

Here is Jill walking out of the front door. The view shows the west side. The slope down to the street is our property. We will have some of the trees trimmed and clean up the slope a little but it has many interesting plants and we will keep it pretty wild.

house-view-west

This shows the view to the west. The hill down to the street is our property. Most of it is not useful except for privacy,

pool view

The pool will have to be drained and replastered. We will get a quote on adding a little water feature like a waterfall for the return. There is no heater but most pools here are warm enough by midsummer. If we were to add a spa we would add a heater. Not for a while.

Patio view

The patio is nice with a grass yard, rare in Tucson, for Juliet. The far wall has cracks and needs repair but we will probably move it to make the yard larger. The grass will stay the same but we may add another palo verde tree.

wall cracks.

This wall needs repair and I will get a quote for moving and rebuilding it. This area can be incorporated into the yard with a palo verde tree and some cactus. The grass area will stay the same. That may be a project for next year.

house-kitchen

The Kitchen has formica counter tops that are in good shape and we will leave them alone. Some day, we will replace them. We will bring our own refrigerator and washer and dryer from California. The garage is large and has two recesses where we can put the washer and dryer. It will require some replumbing. The present washer and dryer are front loading and stacked in a small nook that can be converted to a closet. See above. The washer and dryer are now gone and the closet space they were in is larger than I remembered. The appliance we are moving will fit easily and there will be minor replumbing. A new gas line will be run from the A/C source and there run will be only a few feet. I don’t know if there is a gas outlet for the range. The electric range is staying and we can use it until we decide to get a gas range. The kitchen has no pantry and I think we will convert a closet adjacent to the kitchen to a pantry.

The two bathrooms are 1970s era cabinets but that can wait until we have done the other work. There are popcorn ceilings which will be stripped and painted before we move in in January.

Bedroom

This is one bedroom and has the adobe wall painted. The entire house will be painted an off white instead of the colored walls.

Bedroom 2

The other bedroom has a sliding door going outside. That bathroom, Jill is already planning some remodeling. It has a nice walk-in closet and she wants to remodel a closet opposite. I should add there is a third bedroom currently used by the seller as a workshop. He is a clockmaker. All three bedrooms are nice size. The workshop bedroom is the smallest.

I am very pleased with the location and view.

We are on the foothills with Oro Valley just to the west.

January can’t come fast enough. It’s here and we are packing like mad. The seller has moved. WE let him stay until the new year. Now the work begins and will take most of the next two weeks.

8 Responses to “The New House in Tucson”

  1. doombuggy says:

    Looks nice. Congrats.

  2. dearieme says:

    We got a joiner in to adapt our kitchen cabinets from shelves to drawers. Money well spent.

  3. Mike K says:

    I had pull out shelves in my pantry in my former house. It will take us a while to get settled and figure what we want to to do.

  4. Brett King says:

    Congratulations on getting out of taxifornia. What made you choose that particular area?

  5. Pamela V. says:

    I’m an Althouse fan, Const. lawyer,1968 CAL Berkeley grad, who, with my artist husband, also lives in Tucson (85718) and recently moved here from CA. We’ve done a lot of work on our burnt adobe ranch house that might interest you.

  6. Thanks. Where are you ? We are moving Jan 15.

  7. I have been a fan of Tucson for 25 years. I used ti come over there to play golf and sometimes act as an expert witness for med-mal lawyers. I once testified in Bisby. I stayed in the Copper Queen Hotel. I almost bought places there multiple times. I had a house and spent time with useful enterprises.

  8. We are in the Shadow Roc community near Ina and 1st. Right now, we are just trying to get the floors done. Took out carpet and will be all tile. Basics first. Let me know, if you like, what you have done. Thanks.