If you really want to build a new house, what is the most ethical approach? (Pittsburgh: buying, construction)

[ML North]

Originally Posted by greg42

The goofy example I always think of immediately isn't a McMansion but is VERY out of place: in Polish Hill there's a split foyer house probably dating to the 80s or thereabouts (maybe 90s, been there as long as I can remember but then I can't say if I ever went through there 20 years ago and saw it or didn't).

Like these? They don't really bother me. They all seem to be occupied and reasonably maintained. Of course they'd seem very out of places in some settings, but for these neighborhoods I think they're better than vacant dilapidated buildings.

Manchester - Pittsburgh, PA

Bloomfield - Pittsburgh, PA

Hill District - Pittsburgh, PA

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by greg42

Trying to find a good example of what I'm typically thinking of. This one is pretty close I think

Note the portico!

We could get a lot of mileage out of that rule . . .

[safak]

I don't know, unless you are building something really appalling i say if you own the land, build what you want.

those examples above..i mean, its not like the neighborhoods in those pictures are beautiful...i can't think of any semi-normal looking house that would look any worse than a generic split-entry house.


of course i must not be normal, i think gregs example of 'ugly house' is a pretty nice looking house.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by greg42

The goofy example I always think of immediately isn't a McMansion but is VERY out of place: in Polish Hill there's a split foyer house probably dating to the 80s or thereabouts (maybe 90s, been there as long as I can remember but then I can't say if I ever went through there 20 years ago and saw it or didn't). It wouldn't be any better if it were made out of other materials on the outside or with minor revisions but using the same plan; it just doesn't fit. The same would be true of many (but perhaps not all) styles that most people would consider McMansions, even in a neighborhood that already had homes that size.

Oh that's a good example--I remember somebody posting photos of that a few months ago, and you're right that it does look out of place. OK, let's completely forget the word McMansion and change it to "any architectural style that doesn't match the rest of the neighborhood."

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

I'd just add the "no two-story portico" rule, which means selecting one of the more tasteful plans available.

LOL, you know, I could approve a rule like that! They look funny to me but maybe I'm just not accustomed to them. So those column thingies are called porticos? Amazing how I manage to learn something new every day. Thanks Brian.

[Caladium]

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Originally Posted by greg42

Trying to find a good example of what I'm typically thinking of. This one is pretty close I think:

Franklin Park Real Estate - 1602 Brimfield Court, Franklin Park, PA, 15143

Originally Posted by greg42

Even if it doesn't have shoddy materials, the whole point is that it looks bad.

Interesting, and what a great example of different strokes for different folks. You think that house looks bad, but I think that house is gorgeous. Where I live the people I know would be proud to own a house as beautiful as that. But, everyone likes different things, and I like the fact that what people think is attractive in Pittsburgh is not necessarily the same thing people think is attractive in VA. Americans may not be as cookie cutter as people think. Cool!

Speaking about not being as cookie cutter as people think, I find it interesting that this house has the brick on all four sides. So the wall of vinyl siding may just be a Virginia thing. And the 2-story portico is more of a western thing. It's interesting that people think the era of architectural variations has passed and that all new construction is interchangeable across the US. Yet, as we can see, there are such things as local idiosyncrasies.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by safak

of course i must not be normal, i think gregs example of 'ugly house' is a pretty nice looking house.

Me too! I like the portico on that one, too, so I guess I'm not against porticos in general. Just that one particular one in Brian's photo.

[SammyKhalifa]

Originally Posted by ML North

Like these? They don't really bother me. They all seem to be occupied and reasonably maintained. Of course they'd seem very out of places in some settings, but for these neighborhoods I think they're better than vacant dilapidated buildings.

Manchester - Pittsburgh, PA

Bloomfield - Pittsburgh, PA

Hill District - Pittsburgh, PA

I grew up in a split-entry ranch. While the looks don't really bother me, it's a really dumb way to design a house. It basically taking a two story house and a one story ranch and combining the worst aspects of each.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by ML North

Like these? They don't really bother me. They all seem to be occupied and reasonably maintained. Of course they'd seem very out of places in some settings, but for these neighborhoods I think they're better than vacant dilapidated buildings.

Manchester - Pittsburgh, PA

Bloomfield - Pittsburgh, PA

Hill District - Pittsburgh, PA

This is an important point. On the one hand it's good to maintain a consistent architectural look, but on the other hand tastes change and it's better to have a neighborhood with a healthy population (even though there is a variety of housing styles) than an architecturally pure area with a lot of vacant buildings.

[greg42]

Originally Posted by Caladium

Interesting, and what a great example of different strokes for different folks. You think that house looks bad, but I think that house is gorgeous. Where I live the people I know would be proud to own a house as beautiful as that. But, everyone likes different things, and I like the fact that what people think is attractive in Pittsburgh is not necessarily the same thing people think is attractive in VA. Americans may not be as cookie cutter as people think. Cool!

I think it looks cookie cutter. Obviously many people find them appealing else there wouldn't be many developments full of them! But some people liking them doesn't make it not a McMansion. That house will be situated with many other houses looking very similar.

Where you live, in a suburban neighborhood full of houses like that, of course people would be proud to own a house like that! That is what everyone who buys one of these has aspired to, absolutely.

BTW, the brick on the back certainly makes it a higher level of trim. I don't think having vinyl on the back or even vinyl (or that Hardie Plank or whatever) all over makes it a McMansion or not. But houses with brick fronts and vinyl on the other three sides certainly do exist here. And it looks goofy as all hell especially when the two end sides are quite visible from the just a little off center from the front, such as one that I drive by every day out in my neck of the woods.