Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because a lot of them are cheaply and quickly built monstrosities? If you can afford a truly custom home - from the site work to the planning and design to the finishes - more power to you. But I was appalled at the sloppy site prep and poor quality of the new build neighborhoods we toured...not to mention the fact that they all seemed to prioritize square footage over livable design or *gasp* a yard...

+1 All the new builds I see look the same. Big, ugly McCraftsmans in the same shade of blue with the smallest possible lawn. It's like people who buy those homes fear greenery.

Honestly, all homes and condos look the same in this area. I always laugh when someone says "New homes look cookie cutter" cause most likely, your place is just as generic and cookie cutter. You either get

1) What you just described
2) Boring basic colonials with brick or vinyl siding
3) Post-WWII shitshacks/ramblers that have shitty HGTV styled flips
4) Boxy looking luxury condos/mixed use urban condos

I think its because the new builds are generally out in the suburbs. In DCUMland, suburbs are to be hated.
(I am in a far-flung exurb and LOVE my new build. And it is not "cookie-cutter" as people like to assume all new builds are).

Anonymous wrote:Quality new builds are great.

Here’s what’s not great:

-building right next to freeway entrance ramps, gas stations, medical clinics, etc.

-faux stone in front and siding wraparounds.

-Ornate columns that look picked off the set of a Monty Python film that you use to hold up your sheet metal pediment.

-Stupidly selected landscaping that looks terrible and will die soon (palm trees??? Really????).

-Giant trash castles that are finished in bargain-basement builders’ crap. The quantity over quality places.

-No yards because of monstrosity footprints. Who wants green space when you can breathe plastic composites and cement board fiber all day!?

-Inability to be harmonious with the surroundings. Your faux French castle might look good in France. It looks bad bad bad on a .25 acre lot next to WWI shacks.

-Foyers with stupid compass designs inlaid in the floor. I don’t care what direction North is, where is the bathroom? You’re not Christopher Columbus and the foyer isn’t setting out to discover new lands.

-Oddly shaped and dissimilar windows and dormers that look like they were all bought from different liquidation sales and stuck onto your house to be fancy.

-That disgusting chalk-colored pink brick that makes it look like your house is crying.

-Coffered ceilings in rooms where they don’t make sense.

Lol. I haven't seen this before, is this a thing?

I think because many are badly done these days. A friend is actually in the process of trying to sue their builder because of the astounding number of problems they've had with their million dollar home.

Quality new builds are great.

Here’s what’s not great:

-building right next to freeway entrance ramps, gas stations, medical clinics, etc.

-faux stone in front and siding wraparounds.

-Ornate columns that look picked off the set of a Monty Python film that you use to hold up your sheet metal pediment.

-Stupidly selected landscaping that looks terrible and will die soon (palm trees??? Really????).

-Giant trash castles that are finished in bargain-basement builders’ crap. The quantity over quality places.

-No yards because of monstrosity footprints. Who wants green space when you can breathe plastic composites and cement board fiber all day!?

-Inability to be harmonious with the surroundings. Your faux French castle might look good in France. It looks bad bad bad on a .25 acre lot next to WWI shacks.

-Foyers with stupid compass designs inlaid in the floor. I don’t care what direction North is, where is the bathroom? You’re not Christopher Columbus and the foyer isn’t setting out to discover new lands.

-Oddly shaped and dissimilar windows and dormers that look like they were all bought from different liquidation sales and stuck onto your house to be fancy.

-That disgusting chalk-colored pink brick that makes it look like your house is crying.

-Coffered ceilings in rooms where they don’t make sense.

There is nothing that people on this website won’t crap on. New builds are just one of many.

Anonymous wrote:Because a lot of them are cheaply and quickly built monstrosities? If you can afford a truly custom home - from the site work to the planning and design to the finishes - more power to you. But I was appalled at the sloppy site prep and poor quality of the new build neighborhoods we toured...not to mention the fact that they all seemed to prioritize square footage over livable design or *gasp* a yard...

+1 All the new builds I see look the same. Big, ugly McCraftsmans in the same shade of blue with the smallest possible lawn. It's like people who buy those homes fear greenery.

Because people slapping up 6500 square foot new builds on 10000 sq ft lots in my neighborhood of smaller, older homes is aesthetically atrocious.

Nobody hates a nice house that suits the neighborhood. Plenty of people prefer established neighborhoods but that's usually because of location and trees and sometimes a better vibe if there are layers of architecture and a better variety (but some new developments can come close to that).

What people don't like is when houses in their neighborhood are replaced with much bigger houses that change the character of the neighborhood and when areas that used to be farmed suddenly look like the pod place in the Matrix.


Also if you honestly think there is nothing comparable to asbestos in new construction that just hasn't been "discovered" yet, I have some land in Florida to sell you. You can build a completely non-toxic new house on it!

Anonymous wrote:They’re ugly and gauche.

Yup. Generic, new money, flashy but bad quality. Gross.

Anonymous wrote:Because a lot of them are cheaply and quickly built monstrosities? If you can afford a truly custom home - from the site work to the planning and design to the finishes - more power to you. But I was appalled at the sloppy site prep and poor quality of the new build neighborhoods we toured...not to mention the fact that they all seemed to prioritize square footage over livable design or *gasp* a yard...

Agreed. The size is frequently obnoxious and will be out of fashion down the road.

They’re ugly and gauche.

The only thing I've ever seen people on DCUM hate on is McMansions. Everyone likes new builds.

Anonymous wrote:Because a lot of them are cheaply and quickly built monstrosities? If you can afford a truly custom home - from the site work to the planning and design to the finishes - more power to you. But I was appalled at the sloppy site prep and poor quality of the new build neighborhoods we toured...not to mention the fact that they all seemed to prioritize square footage over livable design or *gasp* a yard...

This was us exactly. When we built our house, we wanted large living spaces. If I could have nixed the yard, I would have. It's such a PITA.

Anonymous wrote:A new build, well done with quality materials is great. I can't afford one.
I'll stick to my 100 year old house made of real brick, old growth pine and plaster.
I'm not breathing asbestos as there isn't any. And all the lead has been encapsulated. And yes it's cold but it's also nice and cool in the summer.

Our home is just shy of the century mark, but one aspect I love is the radiant heating. It's not as fast as a forced air unit, but I can sleep without sinsuses becoming the Sahara desert. Otherwise, I think you have good and bad craftsmen and builders in every decade. It does seem like the 70s and 80s were a barren wasteland populated by awful split foyers though, but I'm sure someone, somewhere built a lovely home in those decades.