Awnings in Pittsburgh: Tacky. (Meadville, Warren: lease, salaries, living in)

[pcc09]

A remodeling rookie transforms 100-year-old fixer-upper into a beauty

Just a semi-relevant story I noticed on the Post-Gazette about restoring a couple of old row houses. Toward the end of the first article it mentions that he's saving up to remove the vinyl siding and redo the facade.

[Wiley-X]

I like Perry Como.

Awnings are practical. They keep the sun out of the house. Why one Earth would anyone want sunlight in their house? It fades things, boosts the cooling bill.

Aluminum awnings are more practical than canvas as they rarely need to be replaced. Canvas only lasts a few years.

My house had an aluminum awning over the picture window in front as well as over the front door. The one over the window collapsed during the great snow and I haven't had it replaced yet. I've already noticed a decrease in the comfort of the living room.

As for the old houses with siding, I remember most of those having a brick pattern shingle type material on the walls when I was a kid. Vinyl siding was an upgrade. Remember, most of the people who lived there were working class folks with bills to pay and mouths to feed, not overpaid yuppies with deep pockets.

Don't make the mistake of judging the past by today's standards.

[Herodotus]

Originally Posted by Wiley-X

As for the old houses with siding, I remember most of those having a brick pattern shingle type material on the walls when I was a kid. Vinyl siding was an upgrade.

That was the infamous Insulbric. Didn't look horrible when new, but aged very badly. Pittsburgh housing prior to 1920 was split fairly evenly between brick and frame construction. Afterwards though, the trend swung overwhelmingly towards masonry. Insulbrick was also an attempt to make older wooden houses look more like the brick houses that everyone wanted. You still see it occasionally, but most was covered with aluminum siding when that material became the rage in the 50's and 60's. The aluminum has largely been replaced with vinyl today. Having your house painted is expensive, and it needs to be done fairly often. Most people don't want to deal with it.

[Catia]

well, I LOVE my awnings-tacky as they are!!!

I NEVER thought I would. I tore them off of a previous home before I moved in...

--when I bought this house I thought I'd tear them down--BUT--after actually living with them--
--my mind is changed forever.

My entire porch can be used and remains dry no matter how hard the rain & wind, and they keep my house so much cooler in the summer!
I can grill on my porch-without fear of CO poisoning lol-because I also have those *NIFTY* aluminum side vents!!!
Torrential downpours we had this past week--I sat on my porch-which was bone dry & watched and listened to the rain--nothing like it if you enjoy the rhythm of the rain, read a book, have a coffee & listen to the rain.

I am moving from this house, and one of the things I will miss most is the sound of the rain on my awnings--sleep like a baby when it rains at night!

But then there's another thing Pittsburghers do--fall asleep on their porches LOL even in the rougher neighborhoods!--You gotta get a *glider* -n-at--not that deck furniture from the big box store--the aluminum glider with the cushions--yins Pittsburghers know what I mean--it's front porch heaven!!!

[Copanut]

Man, back in the 60's there was nothing better than throwing dry Navy beans aka Tic Tacking metal awings on Halloween.

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by pcc09

I've wondered this about Pittsburgh forever! haha. There are so many houses with those ugly old awnings and vinyl siding too! The awnings make me think that nobody wants any sun light getting into their house. Like they'll turn to stone if they get a little vitamin D in their system.
The thing is, so many of the old houses with awnings and vinyl siding, especially in Lawrenceville, Bloomfield, and the Southside, could be so beautiful if the owners just ditched the awnings and siding and had the original brick cleaned up.

I just moved from a house that had one of these nasty awnings. There was a view from one bedroom, but if you wanted to see it, you had to look at all the scuzz (mold?) under the awning, too. I kept the blinds drawn most of the time, and moved at the end of the year (not because of the awning, but that was depressing).

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by Catia

I can grill on my porch-without fear of CO poisoning lol-because I also have those *NIFTY* aluminum side vents!!!

Does that mean your next-door neighbors get to breathe in your CO? I just moved from a house like that. The next-door neighbors were Glade addicts, so I couldn't keep my door open when theirs was open.

[Copanut]

Originally Posted by Catia

Torrential downpours we had this past week--I sat on my porch-which was bone dry & watched and listened to the rain--nothing like it if you enjoy the rhythm of the rain, read a book, have a coffee & listen to the rain.

I am moving from this house, and one of the things I will miss most is the sound of the rain on my awnings--sleep like a baby when it rains at night!

But then there's another thing Pittsburghers do--fall asleep on their porches LOL even in the rougher neighborhoods!--You gotta get a *glider* -n-at--not that deck furniture from the big box store--the aluminum glider with the cushions--yins Pittsburghers know what I mean--it's front porch heaven!!!

I'm crackin' up, listening to rain bounce off the awnings is one of my favorite sounds, kinda like hearing the train whistle.

And "glider", I thought I was old, haven't heard that word in years. But, back in the day before air conditioning, I slept on ours on the front porch when it was hot.

Nothing better than spending time in porchville.

[Catia]

Jay5835--
Did it EVER occur to you to maintain the place you live??? Get out your hose and clean your awning man!!!--what's wrong with you??? Houses require maintenance inside & out.
Don't you clean your outside in the spring???

**It's Pittsburgh--you HOSE OFF THE HOUSE!!!**

Honestly, I can't believe you'd rather not have a view and would close the curtains instead of cleaning your awning.
I hate to break it to you, BUT
There is no ***outside of the house maintenance fairy***
It's your responsibility to clear the scum from the place you decide to live.
If you maintain it, there will not be scum.

It will however still be tacky.

Awnings aren't a fashion statement, they are a working part of the home as a discreet unit. Awnings save BIG $$ on HVAC & utility bills, keeps the furniture from fading, and blocks the sun when your watchin an early steeler game, gives acoustical rain, privacy & cross ventilation--amoung other things!

And no, I never bothered my neighbors while grilling--They'd come over with some Kielbasa and some cold Irons and shoot the sh*t Pittsburgh style.

But, of course, being Pittsburgh, my nieghbors have awnings too--and theirs *ALSO* had *NIFTY* aluminum side vents--these *ALSO* serve a function--privacy and cross ventilation--these things were specifically designed with these functions at heart.

***Also, as a teen, you could close 'em and your next door neighbor couldn't see you makin' out on the front porch***

If your family didn't have as much $$--your porch may not have had the side(s) done with the louvered vents

Pittsburghers can be nebby sometimes...just close da louvers!

Copanut--ahhh--I remember back in da day livin' dahn der on the Sahside -n'at--not just the train whistle--but the whole train--I loved the rhythm of it at night too...

Pittsburgh--porch Luvin, tacky awnings, gliders, trains & rain--these things bestill my heart...

To know them is to love them!

(ps--gliders are an 'old' thing? sigh, I'm not yet 40!)

[Tallysmom]

Originally Posted by Catia

well, I LOVE my awnings-tacky as they are!!!...

...You gotta get a *glider* -n-at--not that deck furniture from the big box store--the aluminum glider with the cushions--yins Pittsburghers know what I mean--it's front porch heaven!!!

I love the glider! Much safer than the old fashioned porch swing.... been sent sailing on a couple of those in my life... thankfully when I was young....