Seattle is built in a particularly difficult spot, with lots of water, steep hills and forrest in the way. This means very little level space to built on and some really challenging issues in regards to building infrastructure.
Combined with the somewhat explosive growth in recent years, and the per square foot property taxes, there has been a rash of sub-divisions of large lots into smaller ones.
Our house started life as a kind of weekend getaway cabin, south of Seattle along Puget sound. It was built in 1955, and at that time it sat on what was nearly two acres of land that has since been sub-divided twice, leaving us with just under half an acre. What used to be the cabin's frond yard now contains two houses, while our backyard has a smaller house on less acreage tucked into the NE corner.
This first picture is of a neighbor's garage, which we've named "The Hobbit House". This shows, rather perfectly in my opinion, the prevalence of moss on just about any roof that is not regularly cleaned.
We can't throw stones, of course, as this is garage. Until we cleaned it with, of all things, a snow shovel.
This is a shot of the "back" yard, towards the NW, showing the carport, garage, and off to the right the fence that separates the house sitting on the second sub-division. Our back yard is thus L shaped.
Closer to the house, showing the stone chimney a bit better. Like so much of this house, built in 1955, it needs work. The previous owner had a history of buying houses, running them into the ground, then selling them and moving.
Looking W, past the south end of the house, showing the small deck that was later covered over as a kind of mini-greenhouse. This is now the official rabbit hutch for Patches. Note the roof of one of the other sub-divisions just over the bushes..
Looking N, a better view of the greenhouse.
Looking N along the "front" side of the house. Lots and lots of windows! On a good day, this house is full of light. This shot was taken before we started working on the exterior. About one third of the original windows had been replaced by dual pane, but the rest were still single paned. We replaced those this summer, as well as having the electrical system reworked. The deck is rotten and also needs work, but painting the exterior is higher priority.
Looking NE, you can see the small house that was tucked into the corner of our backyard when it was sub-divided. An older couple live there.
Looking E, back towards the "Hobbit House", showing the chunk of the backyard left after the sub-division. With property taxes being what they are, and this being Seattle, most newer houses are built on lots only a little bit larger than the actual footprint of the house.
Front door and car port. Seattle really doesn't need garages, as the weather rarely gets that bad. Just a cover to make it more comfortable to get into and out of your car in the rain. Garages here are mostly used to store stuff, and as off-street parking for those homes that have no additional lot space.
Looking S from the N edge of our shared driveway. Yes, it is a two car garage, but one side leaks. We'll have to do extensive work on it, or possibly even replace it, as it has a dirt floor and I'd like a concrete pad.
There is this enormous cedar tree that hangs over the north end of the house. Our insurance is higher because of this tree, but there is simply no way to cut it back enough to satisfy the underwriters.
Looking W down the shared driveway.
Looking S. along 23rd Ave. SW.
One of the houses built on the sub-divided front lawn.
Looking back up the shared driveway, towards the E. You can just see the main floor of the house peeking through all the foliage.
Same view, from across the street. Just in case anybody ever visits. Even the pizza delivery man can't find the house!
From the deck, on a foggy day. Weirdly enough, just a half mile away and just over the hill, it was a sunny day. I have seen fog on the Sound repeatedly even though the Bay was clear.
The kid's new trampoline. A bribe to help them adjust to Seattle, and to demonstrate the trade off between a newer house (with no yard) and an older, less comfortable house that has the space for both a trampoline, and a dog.
This is just a shot I caught on the way home from work in the Fall of 2013. Due to a break that lets the light show through, this was the only spot of light and color on that street, which made this beautiful tree stand out all the more.
John Stevens
john at betelgeuse dot us