Fortunately for Bill Graham, flames from the November fire that swept through 7609 Raytown Road didn’t reach the 6,500-square-foot space he leases on the west side of the building. A little smoke damage is all Graham Plumbing Supply has suffered.

But it took several months to get power back after the fire, and the whole ordeal has caused 71-year-old Graham to think a little more deeply about retirement lately.

“I’m looking for a successor,” Graham said recently, leaning back in a low chair behind the store’s long wooden counter.

Graham is Kansas City’s go-to source for antique toilets, pedestal sinks, and the thousands of obscure (in some cases obsolete) repair parts that help funnel water in and out of these fixtures. He’s the guy plumbers could call when they need a specific brass valve for a 100-year-old sink. He’s something homeowners could call upon when remodeling a bathroom and want a toilet with a little vintage character.

“I would say I’m probably the only company in town that has the parts, inventory and knowledge that I have,” Graham said. “At least I don’t know any others.”

Bill Graham recreated this pedestal sink and antique soap dish manufactured by Crane Company in 1914.

Two men have owned Graham Plumbing Supply for the nine decades the company has been in business. Graham’s father, LA, founded the company in 1932 and ran it for the next 50 years. Graham bought it in LA and has been at the helm ever since.

Graham Plumbing Supply has always sold spare parts but used to specialize in general plumbing repairs including boiler and water heater maintenance. Back then it was based in Midtown. From 1940 to 1980, LA owned a 20,000 square foot lot at 3122 Main St.

“Then the city gave Wendy’s Hamburgers the right to the property,” Graham said. “We ended up at 3833 Broadway. That was in 1980. I ransomed my father in 1982. Then, in 1999, comes Walgreens.”

The pharmacy chain wanted half a lot on the corner of 39th Street and Broadway Boulevard. Graham eventually sold out. (Like Wendy’s on Main, Walgreens is still in that location today.) He packed up his antique toilet bowls and gas caps, along with his brass pipes and old galvanized fixtures, and took it all to Raytown Road.

Graham reviews some notes while helping a client. His plumbing supply business moved to Raytown from Midtown Kansas City in 1999.

In Raytown, progress was slow at first. Downtown has had steady business from property management companies who needed hard-to-find parts for the maintenance of all the old homes in the area. Raytown wasn’t quite that old-fashioned in that regard. “Also, they immediately tore down our old building and no one knew how to find us,” Graham said.

Then, around 2001, Graham made a smart move. He bought a 1-800 number from Westburne, a large nationwide plumbing supplies distributor that was going out of the parts business.

“They had vendors across the country selling this catalog called Star Plumbing and Maintenance Parts,” Graham said. “I asked to buy the number and they said yes. There was no copyright on it.”

Soon customers were calling Graham Plumbing Supplies, thinking it was the line for Star.

“We told them Star was out of business, but we probably had what they were looking for — faucet parts or cabinet screws or something,” Graham said. “What we did. At that time, however, we also started to buy more in bulk. So this was a whole new game for us.”

Graham said he still has several hundred customers across the country calling and placing orders based on that old catalog: large plumbing companies, general contractors, local governments. If he doesn’t have the part, he will order it.

Nowadays, Graham is more interested in the ancient side of his business. He loves to buy things, fix them and sell them.

Graham owns a couple of vintage toilets that say “Kansas City, Mo.” They are stamped to indicate that they were made in the greater metropolitan area.

“Come back this way,” Graham said. He rounded the corner to a cluttered back closet and pulled a small box from a shelf. Inside was a shiny faucet.

“This is a Chicago Faucet, one of the finest faucets ever made,” he said. “I had it re-chromed and put in new parts – state-of-the-art quarter-turn ceramic cartridges. This would fit in an antique pedestal sink, that’s where I’ll put it.”

Sometimes plumbers come to Graham with discarded pre-war toilets that they can’t stand being towed to the landfill. He once bought 83 Kohler toilets from a St. Louis hotel, all from 1930, which came with their original fittings. He has two left: a purple one and a yellow one.

Graham’s showroom floor, if you can call it that, is a sea of ​​dozens of white and pastel colored sinks and toilet bowls that sit on the carpet with no price tags. Some are for sale, others are waiting to be picked up, others are ongoing projects. Most are kind of vintage. They are arranged in a long rectangle that gives a walkway from the door to the counter.

Graham’s showroom floor is a sea of ​​dozens of white and pastel colored sinks and toilet bowls that sit on the carpet with no price tags. Some are for sale, others are waiting to be picked up, others are ongoing projects.

A customer came, an elderly man in a blue and yellow Navy veteran cap. He cautiously approached the counter and Graham met him on the other side. Graham had sold the gentleman a brass fill valve for his 1955 American Standard toilet a week earlier. Now he wanted a brass ball valve for it.

Graham tried to talk him out of it.

“If it was my toilet, I’d put new guts in it,” Graham said. “I just completed a toilet this morning roughly the same year as your vintage and I installed a Fluidmaster flush valve and a Fluidmaster fill valve. You can’t beat these Fluidmasters. They eliminate the need for your rod and float ball. They are easy to insert and replace, and cost $12.”

The old man wasn’t ready to make that decision. He said he would think about it and come back. He went.

“I would say I’m probably the only company in town that has the parts, inventory and knowledge that I have,” Graham said. “At least I don’t know any others.”

Graham returned to the subject of his retirement. He and his wife would love to spend more time with their three children and one grandson, and he wouldn’t mind spending a little more time golfing and fishing. But first he needs someone to do his one-man business for him.

“I think people see all this, and maybe it puts them off,” Graham said, gesturing vaguely at the mountain of inventory surrounding him. “It’s true that few people have the expertise I have. But damn, I’m ready to train. And I’m not asking a ton of money for it.” He reckons $100,000 should seal the deal.

“I don’t know when my number will be available,” Graham continued. “Something happens to me, there’s probably going to be an auction of all this stuff and that’s it.”

He shook his head and seemed to think about it for a moment. A large industrial fan gave out a steady roar. Country music was playing softly on an old radio behind the counter. A customer came in. Graham stood up.

“Hello,” he said.

Originally published June 6, 2023 at 5:30 am

The post KC enterprise sells vintage bogs and sinks nationwide. However proprietor says it’s time to go appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

The exterior of the house.Lynn studied photography

• A fairytale home with a red brick facade in Visalia, California is on the market for $639,000.

• The 3,400 square foot property features three bedrooms and four bathrooms.

• The eclectic interior features elements such as a fireman’s pole and a breakfast nook made from old church pews.

A home in Visalia, California with a striking red brick exterior is on the market for $639,000, and its interiors will transport you to the “era of Gatsby,” according to the listing.

The exterior of the house.Lynn studied photography

The 3,400-square-foot home — also known as Laurelwood — was built in 1931, according to the listing.

In the ’60s, a prominent local businessman named Don Douglas bought the home and expanded the property’s footprint with architectural salvage from around the world, listing agent Ruben Olguin told Insider. Olguin holds the listing with his Melson Realty colleague Chris Jolly.

“It was originally just a Tudor style house – built on the same half acre it now stands on – but when Don Douglas bought it he decided he wanted a Victorian mansion,” Olguin said. “He’s been building it for 30 years, and it’s grown from 1,400 square feet to 3,400 square feet.”

Douglas lived in the home for over four decades, from 1960 until his death in 2003, Olguin added.

Each space Douglas added was designed around a single object — like the spiral staircase and fireman’s pole he bought at auction in London, Olguin said.

The spiral staircase and a fireman’s pole.Lynn studied photography

The property has changed hands several times since Douglas’ death.

When Douglas died, another family bought it with the intention of turning it into a wedding venue, Olguin said.

“They could never get the deviation from the city to turn it into a wedding venue because it’s in the middle of an apartment block.

Another family then bought it when it was a foreclosure property and used it to house all their antiques, Olguin said.

One of the living areas in the house.Lynn studied photography

“They never really lived in it. They just held parties and gatherings there,” Olguin said.

The story goes on

That family then sold the house to Olguin and another investor a few years ago, Olguin said. The two bought it in January 2021 for $525,000 per listing.

Olguin resold the property months later in August 2021 but eventually got the home back when the buyer defaulted on payment according to the listing documents.

“We sold it on our own, so we took over the financing. But then the buyer basically defaulted on it, and we got it back through foreclosure,” he added.

Although updates have been made to modernize the house, many of the furnishings are original to Douglas’ time.

The kitchen has an intricately carved stove.Lynn studied photography

“We restored it and brought it up to where it is today,” Olguin said. We changed a lot of the electrical, a lot of the plumbing and the floors and we brought it all back to life.

Olguin listed the property in August 2022 for $749,900, listing documents show. It has traded at $639,000 since January.

Homes in Visalia have an average listing price of $375,000, according to data from real estate platform Realtor.com. There are currently 389 single family homes for sale in the area ranging in price from $107,000 to $2 million.

Laurelwood is in the mid-range at $639,000.

Olguin describes the interior of the house as “eclectic Victorian”, although he says it contains a mixture of other architectural styles.

The sunken conversation pit in the living room.Lynn learned photography

“Don Douglas built it for himself based on his wishes. So there’s Victorian, French Normandy, early American, and there’s also Gothic,” Olguin said.

Douglas was also a big fan of Disney and Playboy, and there are touches inspired by both in the house, Olguin said.

“Out on the front is a large dome designed after buildings on Main Street Disney. The exterior of the house was also made out of brick, and it’s very similar to the Haunted Mansion ride,” he said.

The conversation pit in one of the common areas of the home is also inspired by the Playboy mansion, he added.

Douglas loved to entertain and frequently had guests at his home, Olguin said.

The second floor used to be the master bedroom, but the space has since been converted into a playroom.Lynn learned photography

“He loved people and would allow any school or anyone who had married to come and take pictures in his garden,” Olguin said.

Douglas used to have photo albums with pictures of people coming up to him for photoshoots, Olguin said.

“He would never blame anyone, but he would ask for a copy of one of the pictures they took,” Olguin added. “So he had stacks of photo albums with these high school pics, prom pics, wedding pics and graduation pics, all taken in the yard of the house.”

Almost all of the items in the house are antiques that Douglas collected and renovated for use in his home.

A breakfast nook made from old church pews.Lynn studied photography.

The seats in the breakfast nook are refurbished pews, while the kitchen range was originally an 1880s saloon range modified with a gas hob, Olguin said.

The property has three bedrooms and four bathrooms.

One of the bedrooms in the house.Lynn learned photography

Olguin met Douglas and his son after moving to Visalia around 30 years ago.

“I bought a house about a block from this property and I’ve always been intrigued by it because it’s such a beautiful place,” Olguin said.

A few years later, Olguin started working at the same real estate company as Douglas’ son.

“I got to know his son really well and we’re still friends. And so he used to tell me all the crazy stories about this house,” he said. “When the opportunity to buy it came up, I spoke to my investors and just felt like we couldn’t pass it up.”

An ideal buyer would be someone with an interest in antiques or someone planning to convert it into an Airbnb, Olguin said.

One of the bathrooms in the house.Lynn learned photography

The house is almost equidistant from Los Angeles and San Francisco; According to Google Maps, it takes about three hours to get to Los Angeles and a little under four hours to San Francisco.

The property is also about 36 miles from Sequoia National Park, known for its giant sequoias – the tallest trees in the world.

No additional permits are required to convert the space into a short-term rental, Olguin said.

“It is probably the most famous house in Visalia. People come by and just ask for it – I feel like I’ve been a tour guide for this house for the past three years,” he added.

Read the original article on Insider

The post Practically each merchandise on this California home is an vintage that is been collected or refurbished, and it is listed for $639,000. Have a look inside. appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.