4 ms·

"Then last year, on a whim, the Millers bought a 15th-century, 52-room castle" Translation: https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/translation-of-a-new-york-times-

"Then last year, on a whim, the Millers bought a 15th-century, 52-room castle" Translation: https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/translation-of-a-new-york-times-real-estate-article-for-those-living-without-a-trust-fund https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/translation-of-a-new-yor...

throwup238 3y ago
I’d wager that 52 room castle is cheaper than the average 4 bedroom stick framed house here in Southern California. They’re prohibitively expensive to maintain so no one really wants them. European governments have a maze of financial incentives to keep them from falling into complete disrepair.
- fnorder 3y ago
  Imagine the heating bill.
  - shagie 3y ago
    HDD 16 (Degree (°C) days) for Tuscany in 2020 was 1310 (from https://www.iea.org/articles/italy-climate-resilience-policy-indicator https://www.iea.org/articles/italy-climate-resilience-policy... ) That's a 60° F HDD. Unfortunately, the HDD for the US tend to be based on 65° F. San Francisco has a mean of close enough to 3000 over 1948 - 2013 (it's probably lower now). As these are temperature degrees, to convert from HDD 16 to HDD 65 (and ignoring that its 60 vs 65), that's 1310 * 9/5 that's 2358. Ballpark, it needs less heating than San Francisco... though there's the "it's a castle and not well insulated" and "that's a large volume". However, it's not as big of an undertaking as one would imagine (to heat a castle) in a mediterranean climate. I'd compare it to heating a church in San Francisco. Again, ballpark estimates put this in $1.00 - $1.50 per square foot.
    - fnorder 3y ago
      Yeah but consider you're likely heating the entire building with wood fires.
      - shagie 3y ago
        Today, you'd likely do it with an under rug heater. https://cozywinters.com/shop/rug-heat.html https://cozywinters.com/shop/rug-heat.html for example. Though, the "heating a room with a fireplace" wasn't the way it was done then. https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2015/02/restoring-the-old-way-of-warming-heating-people-not-places/ https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2015/02/restoring-the-old-... Also https://youtu.be/inzamhtroO0 https://youtu.be/inzamhtroO0 > Kettle Moraine Heating & Air Conditioning installed solar panels designed to work with the brand-new Lennox systems and appliances used throughout the house. Now the owner—who bought the 10,000-square-foot historic home and updated the property with a 5,000-square-foot addition with help from Kettle Moraine—is saving a whopping $3,000 in electricity costs per year thanks to solar energy. And they’re pleased with the whole HVAC overhaul and new installation. https://www.buildingmycastle.com/an-energy-efficient-castle/ https://www.buildingmycastle.com/an-energy-efficient-castle/ Consider the equivalent question of "how do you heat Filoli Mansion?" When it was built, it was fireplaces and a diesel boiler.
shagie 3y ago
The story from the blog post - https://ipp30.blogspot.com/2022/05/breaking-puzzle-news.html https://ipp30.blogspot.com/2022/05/breaking-puzzle-news.html > I made a few jokes in my blog post on May 2nd about wanting to buy a castle. Well, we did it! Now here is the real story of how this happened: ... and then looking for the cost... https://www.jamesedition.com/real_estate/perugia-italy/a-real-15th-century-castle-right-in-the-heart-of-a-very-active-little-hilltop-village-10779718 https://www.jamesedition.com/real_estate/perugia-italy/a-rea... It's less expensive than many California properties. 6 Beds; 4 Baths; 10,172 sqft; $107/sqft (California *averages* at $425/sqft)
- hnfong 3y ago
  This thing is literally cheaper than the 2 bedroom 400ft apartment I'm renting... I mean, I'm living in the more expensive part of Hong Kong, but still.
  - shagie 3y ago
    Should head over to Japan... Exploring the eerie beauty of Japan's abandoned villages --- https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/08/18/japan/society/exploring-the-eerie-beauty-of-japans-abandoned-villages/ https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/08/18/japan/society/e... -- https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37270007 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37270007 171 points | 4 months ago | 126 comments The top comment by nataz: > If you are interested in buying an abandoned home in the Japan countryside highly recommend the YouTube channel Tokyo Llama. He's spent the last four years renovating a beautiful traditional style Japanese house and property about an hour outside of Tokyo. He talks about the renovation aspects, taxes, paperwork process, and the pros and cons of doing this with a family. Lots of videos the watch. > https://youtu.be/TwRjO3kHxU4?si=a9rw7FbwpiXEQLjr https://youtu.be/TwRjO3kHxU4?si=a9rw7FbwpiXEQLjr

throwup238 3y ago

I’d wager that 52 room castle is cheaper than the average 4 bedroom stick framed house here in Southern California. They’re prohibitively expensive to maintain so no one really wants them. European governments have a maze of financial incentives to keep them from falling into complete disrepair.

fnorder 3y ago
Imagine the heating bill.
- shagie 3y ago
  HDD 16 (Degree (°C) days) for Tuscany in 2020 was 1310 (from https://www.iea.org/articles/italy-climate-resilience-policy-indicator https://www.iea.org/articles/italy-climate-resilience-policy... ) That's a 60° F HDD. Unfortunately, the HDD for the US tend to be based on 65° F. San Francisco has a mean of close enough to 3000 over 1948 - 2013 (it's probably lower now). As these are temperature degrees, to convert from HDD 16 to HDD 65 (and ignoring that its 60 vs 65), that's 1310 * 9/5 that's 2358. Ballpark, it needs less heating than San Francisco... though there's the "it's a castle and not well insulated" and "that's a large volume". However, it's not as big of an undertaking as one would imagine (to heat a castle) in a mediterranean climate. I'd compare it to heating a church in San Francisco. Again, ballpark estimates put this in $1.00 - $1.50 per square foot.
  - fnorder 3y ago
    Yeah but consider you're likely heating the entire building with wood fires.
    - shagie 3y ago
      Today, you'd likely do it with an under rug heater. https://cozywinters.com/shop/rug-heat.html https://cozywinters.com/shop/rug-heat.html for example. Though, the "heating a room with a fireplace" wasn't the way it was done then. https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2015/02/restoring-the-old-way-of-warming-heating-people-not-places/ https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2015/02/restoring-the-old-... Also https://youtu.be/inzamhtroO0 https://youtu.be/inzamhtroO0 > Kettle Moraine Heating & Air Conditioning installed solar panels designed to work with the brand-new Lennox systems and appliances used throughout the house. Now the owner—who bought the 10,000-square-foot historic home and updated the property with a 5,000-square-foot addition with help from Kettle Moraine—is saving a whopping $3,000 in electricity costs per year thanks to solar energy. And they’re pleased with the whole HVAC overhaul and new installation. https://www.buildingmycastle.com/an-energy-efficient-castle/ https://www.buildingmycastle.com/an-energy-efficient-castle/ Consider the equivalent question of "how do you heat Filoli Mansion?" When it was built, it was fireplaces and a diesel boiler.

shagie 3y ago

The story from the blog post - https://ipp30.blogspot.com/2022/05/breaking-puzzle-news.html https://ipp30.blogspot.com/2022/05/breaking-puzzle-news.html > I made a few jokes in my blog post on May 2nd about wanting to buy a castle. Well, we did it! Now here is the real story of how this happened: ... and then looking for the cost... https://www.jamesedition.com/real_estate/perugia-italy/a-real-15th-century-castle-right-in-the-heart-of-a-very-active-little-hilltop-village-10779718 https://www.jamesedition.com/real_estate/perugia-italy/a-rea... It's less expensive than many California properties. 6 Beds; 4 Baths; 10,172 sqft; $107/sqft (California *averages* at $425/sqft)

hnfong 3y ago
This thing is literally cheaper than the 2 bedroom 400ft apartment I'm renting... I mean, I'm living in the more expensive part of Hong Kong, but still.
- shagie 3y ago
  Should head over to Japan... Exploring the eerie beauty of Japan's abandoned villages --- https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/08/18/japan/society/exploring-the-eerie-beauty-of-japans-abandoned-villages/ https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/08/18/japan/society/e... -- https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37270007 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37270007 171 points | 4 months ago | 126 comments The top comment by nataz: > If you are interested in buying an abandoned home in the Japan countryside highly recommend the YouTube channel Tokyo Llama. He's spent the last four years renovating a beautiful traditional style Japanese house and property about an hour outside of Tokyo. He talks about the renovation aspects, taxes, paperwork process, and the pros and cons of doing this with a family. Lots of videos the watch. > https://youtu.be/TwRjO3kHxU4?si=a9rw7FbwpiXEQLjr https://youtu.be/TwRjO3kHxU4?si=a9rw7FbwpiXEQLjr