neighbor did what???

19 years ago

This doesn't really affect me, but there was this gorgeous tudor style house about 5 houses up the street from me. The houses on this half of the neighboor hood were built in the late 60s - 70s, and up the street there was a second phase of development in the 90s. I'm not sure of the exact age of this house, but on the outside looked fairly good. Brick first story, second story was the stucco/exposed wood beams. There were a couple of places where the stucco needed to be repaired, but nothing major.

The owners recently covered all the wood beams/stucco with tan vinyl siding! I loved the house before, and we talked about buying it if it ever went on the market, but now it looks strange. It made me very sad when I saw that they did that! I want to know what they were thinking.

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Comments (12)

western_pa_luann
19 years ago
"I want to know what they were thinking."

MY guess is that they wanted something with lower maintenance.... but if you really want to know, ask em!
yborgal
19 years ago
It really bothers me when new owners take it upon themselves to drastically alter the character of a classic home like a Tudor. I know it's their right to do as they wish, but it still doesn't seem the right thing to do.

We owned a gorgeous, authentic (inside and out) Tudor that was classic down to the last detail. We sold it and the next thing we knew, interior walls were coming down, Grecian pillars were being installed as room dividers and art niches were being cut into some walls.

The outside remains Tudor, but the interior is open modern and it's disconcerting when you walk in and see pastel colors where deep, rich colors once were.

So you see where my heart is as I read what these people did to the exterior of the home you're describing.
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Nancy in Mich
19 years ago
Given the recent construction of the home, and given the problems with stucco in recent years, I would bet that they covered over the exposed beams and stucco to get a better, more water resistant exterior finish. Unless this is a fine custom home, I bet those "beams" were all for show and were not structural. Is there anything other than "beams" and stucco that makes the home look Tudor? Is it otherwise like the other neighborhood homes? If yes, then I can't blame the owners for going for the cheap fix.

Monablair, I just get the impression from the neighborhood description and age that there was no comparison between your old home and the one in the original post. I can imagine what a shock it was to learn how your home had been changed.
chris_ont
19 years ago
I had stucco on my previous home. What a pain.
While it looked fine from the street, close up it was a roadmap of cracks. It also covered the chimney (which ran up the side of the house) where it actually had started to fall off in big chunks.
Whenever I inquired, I was told that there were few people around here that specialized in 'proper' maintenance of such stucco and that I should try to repair and paint it myself. Yah, right.
My next major upgrade was to cover it with siding. But then I just sold the house :)
sid_79
Original Author
19 years ago
nancy_in_mich, I wish I had before and after pictures. This home is not "otherwise like neighborhood homes". I'm pretty sure it was custom and it looks very strange with vinyl siding. The doors, windows, shape of the house, etc all look strange with the siding. This house was definately built before the "new" neighboor hood development in the 90s

anyway, not a huge deal, but I loved the house before and was keeping my eye on it in case it ever went on the market
klimkm
19 years ago
There are some people who just have BAD taste.
Nancy in Mich
19 years ago
Yes, it DOES sound like a case of bad taste.
glennsfc
19 years ago
You want to view bad taste? Come to Staten Island and drive around a bit. I just don't look anymore.
logic
19 years ago
glensfc:
"You want to view bad taste? Come to Staten Island and drive around a bit. I just don't look anymore."

ROFLOL! So true! The one that immediately comes to mind is the pseudo-castle that is on the service road of the eastbound SI Expressway.....

For those who can't visit Staten Island, the pseudo-castle was and still is a standard two story tract house...covered with what looks like a bad stucco job in battleship gray...with a fake castle turret facade stuck on the front.
blubird
19 years ago
If I recall correctly, that pseudo-castle with turret in Staten Island is actually 1/2 of a semi-attached house! It would be bad enough as a stand alone house, but it is bizzare because it's completely different from its attached-on-one-side neighbor - a real split personality.
cearab
19 years ago
Now I'm laughing. My mom, sister, cousin and I went to a baby shower and came back to NJ via Staten Island last summer. We were stuck in traffic, and got a huge laugh out of seeing that house for many minutes! We still talk about how tacky it was. Kind of like putting a RR bumper on a Pinto!
suburbanmd
19 years ago
I've noticed that house many times on the way to Brooklyn. With the Staten Island Expressway carrying well over 100,000 vehicles per day, can you imagine how many people recognize it? The owner might well be proud of that. Come to think of it, if I were in his place I'd probably be proud of it too.