Is there a contractor who builds "historic" homes? (Pittsburgh: neighborhood, buying)

[Der Schwabe]

Originally Posted by NYCTelevisionWriter

Thanks. I couldn't have said it better (without sounding snobbish).

And at the risk of sounding snobbish, I've been quite disappointed with what passes for "high end" finishes these days. A "Sosso" house (apparently he's one of the top builders in Pittsburgh these days) just completed in a plan in Franklin Park listed for more than a million dollars (!!!!) smallish with an overblown master suite and three small bedrooms (and not even a living room, just one of those dreadful "great rooms" that have kitchen appliances clustered on one end) had oversized, boxy rooms trimmed out with the same 3-inch baseboard throughout and stock balustrades they use in much lower-end Maronda homes (and I'm not knocking Maronda homes, I'm only making a market-rate comparison here).

Yes, I've been doing my homework, as you can see.

For a MILLION DOLLARS in the Pittsburgh area, I was expecting at least some architectural detail and craftsmanship, not just stock woodwork and cabinetry slapped up inside of a giant empty box (on a crappy hillside lot, no less, that aside from the footprint of the house and driveway was otherwise completely unuseable).

This is why I'm putting feelers out for anyone who might know of any contractors -- even the small guys who typically don't compete with these big guys -- who would be interested in building a house to historic specs.

It doesn't take a whole lot of research to realize that the finishes on new builds, even expensive, are crap. But you're going to sink 3-5x the cost minimum into trying to replicate an old house than you would taking a well built older example with land (and as someone mentioned up thread, examples are always available in Sewickley and the hills, among many other places) and end up chasing your tail the whole time trying to match quality of materials that simply aren't available anymore.

If you're replicating with old growth woods, solid brass hardware, true divided light windows, old flat edge porcelain tile, etc etc, you'll soon realize that these materials come at 10-30x the price of the Home Depot/new build equivalent. The only old growth wood is reclaimed and must be remilled if you're looking to trim out an entire house, and any solid brass hardware reproductions you'd find are of a lighter/inferior grade for the most part. Restoration grade tile is $20/ft minimum for material alone.

This whole thread seems like a roundabout way of taking a dig a new construction while simultaneously dismissing 70% of the housing stock around here that is pre-war. I can't tell if this is an attempt to gently, or not so, imply that your superior tastes cultivated in New York have brought you to a higher plane of sophistication that simply cannot tolerate what passes for upscale new construction down here, or if you are simply buying into the new build McMansion mentality but desperately want to set yourself apart from the herd.

If you had truly done your homework, you'd know that most with any sense of "good taste" (using the term loosely), in New York or elsewhere, would gladly take and renovate (in a historically appropriate fashion) an older house because you cannot replicate the charm of an older house. I fear that you will end up with a dim replica built at exorbitant cost that convinces no one. I do, however, wish you all the best in the project.

[eschaton]

Not too many pictures, but this one in Highland Park looks up your alley.

Or this one in Bellvue - absolutely fantastic, and no way you'd get that built today.

Both are on over a half acre of land, which I'd call plenty. I figure you wouldn't agree though.

[Der Schwabe]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Not too many pictures, but this one in Highland Park looks up your alley.

Or this one in Bellvue - absolutely fantastic, and no way you'd get that built today.

Both are on over a half acre of land, which I'd call plenty. I figure you wouldn't agree though.

Both are absolutely excellent examples. The Highland Park house has a much nicer setting, though. More pictures of the N. Highland House: http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/82...87995517_zpid/

[theta_sigma]

Is the King Estate still for sale? Now that's a house!

[fleetiebelle]

There's always the Mesta Mansion: 540 Doyle Avenue, West Homestead PA For Sale | Trulia.com

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by fleetiebelle

There's always the Mesta Mansion: 540 Doyle Avenue, West Homestead PA For Sale | Trulia.com

Hasn't that place been gutted down to the studs?

[sealie]

I still am not convinced the OP is not a bull**** artist, but this is at least more amusing than the usual "Why can't Pittsburgh motorists all do what I want?" "Cloudy winters here!!!" "Is this an east coast city?" banality. What he allegedly wants he'll never be able to sell for what he paid to build it, but why not humor him with a home like 526 Scaife or 845 Blackburn in Sewickley, he can tell us why he can't throw another half mil into it, still staying well under the price of new construction, and still meet his standards. It's Friday, I am avoiding productive work, let's have some fun.

[NYCTelevisionWriter]

Originally Posted by Der Schwabe

If you had truly done your homework, you'd know that most with any sense of "good taste" (using the term loosely), in New York or elsewhere, would gladly take and renovate (in a historically appropriate fashion) an older house because you cannot replicate the charm of an older house. I fear that you will end up with a dim replica built at exorbitant cost that convinces no one. I do, however, wish you all the best in the project.

Ignoring your subtle insult, I would very much agree with you: I much prefer old over new, in nearly every aspect. I love old houses, vintage appliances, antique furniture, etc., because it has a connection to history, which I love.

That being said, I assure you I'm not trying to "convince" anyone of authenticity except myself. I want to build this home for myself and my family. But I have very specific needs and requirements and I'm finding that trying to find the right home that meets all of my very specific criteria is nearly impossible. So, as I've repeated many times already, I'm considering building, and I'm reaching out to see how feasible this project really would be.

I cannot believe that something builders did 100 years ago, minus the significant technological advances we've made since then, cannot be replicated today. In fact, I refuse to believe it.

[NYCTelevisionWriter]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Not too many pictures, but this one in Highland Park looks up your alley.

Or this one in Bellvue - absolutely fantastic, and no way you'd get that built today.

Both are on over a half acre of land, which I'd call plenty. I figure you wouldn't agree though.

Thank you for these!

I've seen them both, and they are both awesome. I think I might like the Bellevue property a bit more, but despite what the pictures show, there's quite a lot of roughness that needs to be smoothed out, and a lot of restoration necessary.

The Highland Park property comes DARN close, however, to exactly what I'm looking for. And that woodwork is absolutely jaw-dropping.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by NYCTelevisionWriter

I cannot believe that something builders did 100 years ago, minus the significant technological advances we've made since then, cannot be replicated today. In fact, I refuse to believe it.

I've seen arguments that 3D printing is going to bring back ornament in a big way 10-20 years from now. Once it's widespread, after all, you can just print whatever customized shapes you want in a material (wood composite, metal, concrete, stone) and plop it in place.

Hell, the Chinese are now printing entire houses and apartment blocks. Just give it some time.