14-sided house in Oakland asks $795K

How many shapes does love come in? At least enough to allow for a fully three-dimensional infatuation with 6966 Shepherd Canyon Road in Oakland, a three-bed, two-bath, 2,100-square-foot hillside home noted for the 14-sided shape of its frame.

The word that is “tetradecagon” or sometimes “triskaidecagon,” for the curious, a somewhat finicky polyhedron that’s a little bewildering for those without a little extra tutoring in the math department to attempt to create.

But in this case, the house itself came together in a comparably easy way in 1994 via modular housing techniques. “The round house was before the current craze of prefab and modular techniques,” writes realtor Gaylen Roberts.

Oddly compelling is the tremendous retaining wall composed of hundreds of Earth Stones, a “gravity type retaining wall that is constructed using precast concrete blocks stacked one block on top of another without the use of mortar, grout, or geo-grid reinforcement.”

It’s also more affordable and faster to install than a traditional wall, at least according to the manufacturer’s sales pitch.

This shapely pad last sold not all that long ago for $701K in December of 2016. Since then it’s acquired a blue paint job in place of its old earth tones look. The last buyer evidently hopes that 14 will prove a lucky number and add up to another $100K or so in the end by asking $795K to start this time.

Note that tetradecagonal houses may be oddball, but not quite singular despite the alleged awkwardness of the shape, as homeowners have listed at least two others on Airbnb right now.

• 6966 Shepherd Canyon [KW Homes]
• Angle Trisection [American Math Monthly]
• EarthStone Retaining Walls
• 6966 Shepherd Canyon, 2016 Photo [Redfin]