I’ll fully concede that this four-family had already been screwed up for years before the current rehabber bought it, but that does not excuse what’s happened to this long-suffering property in the last six months.
Cheap crap that will fail when the next unsuspecting owner years from now owns it makes my blood boil. The beauty of St. Louis comes not just from aesthetics, but from quality.
Can we honestly say that the crap being built and rehabbed in the last five years is high quality? This is my city, too. And in many situations, the person engaging in this ugly rehabbing doesn’t even live here, so they don’t even have to look at this abomination on a daily basis. Enough.
Well said. That’s why some neighborhoods have codes…and some even enforce them.
Keep fighting the good fight
Thank you!
They’ve ruined this building structurally, not just aesthetically. We can only hope they lime-washed this brick and didn’t paint it. I imagine it’s paint and when paired with the ZIP sheathing at the top, they’ve fully enveloped the structure in an air/moisture barrier meaning this property is doomed to mold problems from now on. Our climate, and old brick buildings, require the bricks to breathe to diffuse moisture that condensates from temperature and humidity differences between outside and inside. Those bricks will now start to deteriorate from the inside, behind the paint, and will chip off and disintegrate over the next decade or two.
Much less of a concern but still concerning is the virtual guarantee no one maintains the exterior wood boards or hand railing. Whether they’re cedar or “cedar-tone” they still need to be treated every couple years to last.
Well, there is the whole structural aspect, too. Good points.
That is even worse than the last time I walked by it.
It does indeed get worse every time.
Bad developers and real estate sharks love to paint everything white. We live in a ‘neutrals’ world when it comes to renovations and interior design. The red exposed brick is offensive to their eyes. You can expect the interior to be a total white out with an ‘open plan’ kitchen merging with the living space. Never mind if it sticks out like a sore thumb and is completely ugly and impractical. The stuff chips off and you have to repaint it. Hopefully somebody will learn their lesson and sand blast the paint off.