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The most obvious, water. They face the Columbia River and are at river level or below. The back yard is large and damp. If you look closely at the left of the house in the little side garden there is a pipe, the sewage pipe. For some of the homes it is quite high and a struggle to step over. These are old "shotgun" homes used for housing mill workers in mills no longer here. As luck would have it I almost bought this home fifteen years ago. It was damp and in very sad shape and I could not face what it would take to make it habitable. The house next door was part of the deal and they were both cheap but I just did not want to face all the rehab they would require. The house itself is real eye candy now and the folks who live there are very nice. Had I done the deal I would have had income property in a funky little area of Astoria, almost entirely hidden, quite independent and kind of self-regulating.

The space under the houses is known as a "summer cellar" here. To my knowledge they are just enclosed space over a cement slab and not used. We also have "Finnish stairs" which are too many stairs in too small a hole. The result is that the rise is too great in relation to the tread and the stairs are very steep. I have two sets of them in my home and they sure are a generous opportunity to fall. The Finns who built their homes did it with the help of friends and neighbors, not architects. We also have "Astoria basements" for basements whose foundations are far above the ground. Again, I would guess it is water that is the cause. We get 80+ inches of rain a year. Sunshine is a vague memory. ;o)

<blockquote data-quote="Boojum" data-source="post: 13191" data-attributes="member: 3485">The most obvious, water.&nbsp; They face the Columbia River and are at river level or below.&nbsp; The back yard is large and damp.&nbsp; If you look closely at the left of the house in the little side garden there is a pipe, the sewage pipe.&nbsp; For some of the homes it is quite high and a struggle to step over.&nbsp; These are old &quot;shotgun&quot; homes used for housing mill workers in mills no longer here.&nbsp; As luck would have it I almost bought this home fifteen years ago.&nbsp; It was damp and in very sad shape and I could not face what it would take to make it habitable.&nbsp; The house next door was part of the deal and they were both cheap but I just did not want to face all the rehab they would require.&nbsp; The house itself is real eye candy now and the folks who live there are very nice.&nbsp; Had I done the deal I would have had income property in a funky little area of Astoria, almost entirely hidden, quite independent and kind of self-regulating.&nbsp; The space under the houses is known as a &quot;summer cellar&quot; here.&nbsp; To my knowledge they are just enclosed space over a cement slab and not used.&nbsp; We also have &quot;Finnish stairs&quot; which are too many stairs in too small a hole.&nbsp; The result is that the rise is too great in relation to the tread and the stairs are very steep.&nbsp; I have two sets of them in my home and they sure are a generous opportunity to fall.&nbsp; The Finns who built their homes did it with the help of friends and neighbors, not architects.&nbsp; We also have &quot;Astoria basements&quot; for basements whose foundations are far above the ground.&nbsp; Again, I would guess it is water that is the cause.&nbsp; We get 80+ inches of rain a year.&nbsp; Sunshine is a vague memory.&nbsp;&nbsp; ;o)</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Boojum, post: 13191, member: 3485"] The most obvious, water. They face the Columbia River and are at river level or below. The back yard is large and damp. If you look closely at the left of the house in the little side garden there is a pipe, the sewage pipe. For some of the homes it is quite high and a struggle to step over. These are old "shotgun" homes used for housing mill workers in mills no longer here. As luck would have it I almost bought this home fifteen years ago. It was damp and in very sad shape and I could not face what it would take to make it habitable. The house next door was part of the deal and they were both cheap but I just did not want to face all the rehab they would require. The house itself is real eye candy now and the folks who live there are very nice. Had I done the deal I would have had income property in a funky little area of Astoria, almost entirely hidden, quite independent and kind of self-regulating. The space under the houses is known as a "summer cellar" here. To my knowledge they are just enclosed space over a cement slab and not used. We also have "Finnish stairs" which are too many stairs in too small a hole. The result is that the rise is too great in relation to the tread and the stairs are very steep. I have two sets of them in my home and they sure are a generous opportunity to fall. The Finns who built their homes did it with the help of friends and neighbors, not architects. We also have "Astoria basements" for basements whose foundations are far above the ground. Again, I would guess it is water that is the cause. We get 80+ inches of rain a year. Sunshine is a vague memory. ;o) [/QUOTE]

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