New Eichler Homes in Marin?

If you’ve driven around the neighborhoods of Terra Linda, Marinwood, or Lucas Valley then you are no doubt familiar with the home design style of Joseph Eichler, a mid-century American developer. Recently the Marin IJ printed an article about how home builders are buying new plans for Eichler homes. These plans are drawn up with all of the modern building code specifications, so that new home owners can appreciate the Eichler design along with the latest innovations in building technology.

“Monique Lombardelli, owner of Modern Homes Realty in Menlo Park, bought the original drawings to several Eichler floor plans, had them modified to today’s code standards and is selling them for $5,000 apiece as templates for anyone who wants to build a new Eichler.”

Now anyone who wants to build a new Eichler today can. So far most of the interest has been outside Marin, with a number of new Eichlers being built in Palm Springs. That being said, there is interest in building new Eichlers from home builders all around the United States and around the world. With the updated floor plans, these homebuilders can create an Eichler home that meets the highest standards for Green and sustainable building. Truly a home for the future!

One notable feature of the Eichler home is the slab on grade concrete flooring. This is a very ergonomic feature and makes it so that the homeowner never has to step up or down to get anywhere in the house.

In addition the home is kept warm with a radiant heating system. Radiant heat systems use pipes or tubes that are set in the flooring and radiate heat throughout the rest of the room. The early Eichlers had galvanized steel pipes that were set in the concrete flooring, but the newest Eichlers will incorporate the latest in electric radiant floor cables that will bring in even more efficient heat to keep new Eichler home residents cozy all year round while using less energy. A criticism of early Eichlers is that the radiant heat systems took too long to kick in. The new radiant floor systems can start up and heat rooms effectively in a much shorter time.

Though there are not currently any plans to build new Eichlers in Marin, there is plenty of concrete work to be done on the 3,260 that are currently here. Driveways built in the 1950s and 60s, most without steel reinforcement are far past due for replacement if they haven’t been already. Exposed aggregate floors can be ground down and polished for a fresh modern look. And of course, old inefficient radiant floor systems can be replaced with the latest technology.

If a developer ever does decide to use the updated plans created by Lombardelli and build new Eichlers in Marin, Van Midde and Son Concrete would like to be a part of continuing the design tradition started by Joseph Eichler over 60 years ago. Our crew of concrete service professionals have the experience required to provide the best results on concrete projects on Eichler homes and any other home in Marin County and the San Francisco Bay Area.

For work on your Eichler home in Marin, or for any other concrete related inquiry please give us a call at (415) 459-2530, or fill out our free estimate form here.