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

[SammyKhalifa]

I vote for "cabin out in the woods somewhere."

[UKyank]

For me a McMansion is a large, new construction, mass produced house that trades higher quality construction methods/materials for the ability to have a larger house which one would not otherwise have been able to afford. I'm not saying they're poor quality just lesser so. And are in a designed community with multiples of the same home with slight variations here and there that are available as add-on options to the buyers.

To define a McMansion as just a mini mansion is too vague for me & I'd counter as to what the difference would be to a so called McMansion then to many of the stand alone houses we have here that have been around for 100+ yrs.

[SammyKhalifa]

Originally Posted by Velvet Jones

Not trying to be rude or condescending, but do you have any background in electrical or HVAC? Do you know what can happen to old wiring when you have it connected up to a 15 amp breaker while running a fridge, computer, or any other modern electronic appliance? Are your sockets grounded all the way back to the box? What about that 60 year old furnace that is probably at most 50% efficiency? That means 50% or more of your gas is going up your chimney instead of heating your house. How about those single pane windows that have basically a zero R value? Of the daily stories on the news about a fire leaving a family homeless, how many of those are in new construction? As I said in the other posts, old homes are charming and offer character lacking in new construction, but unless you're willing to gut it down to the studs and replace almost all of the inner working they're not really worth it if you want a safe and reliable dwelling.

You know, when I lived in Orlando for a few months (this was '98) I stayed in a brand-spankin'-new apartment complex from 1995. It turned out that the contractors didn't bother to termite-proof the wood before slapping the buildings up. (There were other "safe and reliable" aspects as well, but that's what sticks out to me.) I do know that they ended up ripping those buildings down just a year or two after I left and that there were several pending court cases at the time.

Geez, just a few posts ago I had to make the point that not everything old is awesome. But it doesn't all suck, either.

[greg42]

Originally Posted by Caladium

The big difference I see between the photos is that yours shows a building that has obviously never been lived in. There are no trees, and no signs that anyone has put their personal stamp on it. Mine show what these buildings look like after people have lived in them, and added their own personal touches. You also see the impressive difference trees make. Since we're discussing building in an already established neighborhood, I think it's more accurate to include trees in the vision because anything built in your neighborhood, for example, would be surrounded by trees. Of course that might just be the way I see things--I'm a huge tree lover, so including trees really makes a difference to me.

Better landscaping and more trees certainly help appearance a bit but don't make the house less of a McMansion.

FWIW, it doesn't really matter what you do when you build a new house in an old neighborhood, someone's gonna be pi$$ed off no matter what.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by greg42

FWIW, it doesn't really matter what you do when you build a new house in an old neighborhood, someone's gonna be pi$$ed off no matter what.

Well, that's cool. I started this thread to see what people think, and it's cool if people would be ticked off about it--that's what I was trying to find out. I just wanted to be clear that I wasn't talking about someone building a house with shoddy materials. Apparently the word McMansion has that connotation in Pittsburgh--I'm sorry I used it, because that wasn't what I meant.

Maybe "new construction" is a better word to use.

Going back to the original question, what I meant was someone tearing down a house to build new construction, with the intention to build a large structure with an appearance similar to Brian's or my photos. A house built from a pre-drawn set of plans, not a custom design. But this house would be built well. The building materials would be good quality materials (mass produced, but still quality).

[fleetiebelle]

Originally Posted by greg42

Better landscaping and more trees certainly help appearance a bit but don't make the house less of a McMansion.

FWIW, it doesn't really matter what you do when you build a new house in an old neighborhood, someone's gonna be pi$$ed off no matter what.

I don't know if it's happening so much in Pittsburgh, but where I grew up in Cincinnati there was a boom in modest small or ranch houses post-WWII. Because of the school district, individuals and developers are buying and knocking down these houses, and then building 2 or 3 McMansions on the lot. It looks terrible, and I really don't like the mindset that a family can't live in a 3 bedroom home. The kids may have to share space! Horrors!

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Caladium

A house built from a pre-drawn set of plans, not a custom design. But this house would be built well. The building materials would be good quality materials (mass produced, but still quality).

That's how I interpreted "no vinyl", so that more or less works for me (and again, many, many nice homes in Pittsburgh were done that way).

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

[SammyKhalifa]

Originally Posted by Caladium

Well, that's cool. I started this thread to see what people think, and it's cool if people would be ticked off about it--that's what I was trying to find out. I just wanted to be clear that I wasn't talking about someone building a house with shoddy materials. Apparently the word McMansion has that connotation in Pittsburgh--I'm sorry I used it, because that wasn't what I meant.

Maybe "new construction" is a better word to use.

Going back to the original question, what I meant was someone tearing down a house to build new construction, with the intention to build a large structure with an appearance similar to Brian's or my photos. A house built from a pre-drawn set of plans, not a custom design. But this house would be built well. The building materials would be good quality materials (mass produced, but still quality).

Grandview on Mt Washington has several newer buildings that blend in just fine. I don't understand the issue that some people have with it. I guess to me it would matter what it was replacing.

[greg42]

Originally Posted by SammyKhalifa

Grandview on Mt Washington has several newer buildings that blend in just fine. I don't understand the issue that some people have with it. I guess to me it would matter what it was replacing.

Well yeah. It certainly helps if it fits with the neighborhood. But like I said, even then someone's gonna have a problem, just about guaranteed.

In most city neighborhoods, a McMansion, even with no vinyl, probably wouldn't fit. But people do what they want to do, as long as it conforms to whatever laws and covenants are in place.

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.

[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

Keep in mind, McMansion is universally a term of derision. So there's nothing Pittsburgh-specific about assuming it has shoddy materials, bad appearance, etc. Even if it doesn't have shoddy materials, the whole point is that it looks bad. And you plop it on a lot that's out of proportion, it looks even worse, no matter how you landscape it.

So yeah, definitely the wrong term if that's not what you meant. I certainly fixated on the idea of McMansion, as you can see.

Build a new construction house that fits the neighborhood, that would be the best idea. Most people, short of some unusual motive to live in that particular spot, would not want to do anything less.