Handyman in Scotch 80s

The Scotch 80s sits in the southeast corner of Charleston Boulevard and Rancho Drive, just west of downtown across Interstate 15. The usual story behind the name is that the town's first mayor bought 80 acres here in 1911 with money from Scottish investors, though local historians treat it as unsettled. As a handyman in the Scotch 80s, we work in houses built from the 1950s through the 1970s and in newer homes built since.

Many of the older properties are ranch estates on generous lots, with the mid-century modern lines the neighborhood is known for. By one housing count, the median home here was built around 1960. Bob Baskin Park is the nearby green space.

A house that has stood for 60 or 70 years has often been rewired or replumbed in pieces, by different people at different times. Before adding anything that draws power, such as a new light, a ceiling fan or an appliance, it pays to know whether the circuit is grounded, what size the wire is and whether the panel has room. Electrical repair here often begins with that survey.

Plumbing follows the same pattern. Supply pipe in a house this age may be steel, copper or a mix of both, depending on what earlier owners replaced. Low pressure at a single fixture often traces back to one corroded section or a clogged valve, and fixing that piece is an ordinary plumbing repair.

Updating a mid-century house does not have to mean erasing it. Lighting installation can bring in fixtures that suit a low ceiling or a long room, and door installation can keep a wide original opening while adding a better-sealing door. In a kitchen remodel or bathroom remodel, you can keep an original built-in or a period tile color and still replace the plumbing and wiring behind it.

Big lots come with long exterior walls and plenty of trim. Exterior painting on a ranch estate is a larger project than on a tract house, and resealing old window frames before summer is worth doing even in a year without paint.