A Question for Home Builders and/or People Who Like One-Walled Structures in Their Front Yard

Posted on February 21st, 2008 11:35am by Adam McGill
Filed under Real Estate

construction-wall.jpgTim and I stoked each other’s curiosity as we drove by this house being built at the corner of Armstrong and Bryan. What’s up with the mini-house out front? It’s not even a mini-house, but barely more than a wall of a mini-house. I noticed that the wall’s progress reflects that of the larger project: When the house was just a wood frame, the wall was a wood frame. House gets a roof; wall gets a roof. Sheetrock; sheetrock.

Tim thought it might be a city-mandated structure. Something something about codes. I pointed out that other home projects did not have them. He now thinks it’s a really small mother-in-law suite. (LOL, right?) Me? I think it’s a home-builder flourish—a way for passersby (and future owners) to see the level of completion.

But certainly someone out there knows the answer(s). I’ll post this over on DallasDirt, too, to see if anyone over there knows.

22 comments

  1. Possibly a security guard hut?

    @ 11:38 am on February 21, 2008

  2. There are quite a few houses under construction in HP (specifically on Beverly) that have this. The ones I’ve seen, though, are usually fully finished (as opposed to slowly progressing at the same rate as the house). I think that the houses where you see this are usually spec homes, so I always assumed it was a way for the builder to show prospective buyers what the finish out of the house will look like when it’s completed.

    As a side note, there is a house at the corner of Beverly and Hillcrest that puts a miniature scale model of the house out in the front yard during Christmas time. It’s fully decorated with lights, etc., just like the main house. I don’t know what that’s all about.

    @ 11:50 am on February 21, 2008

  3. gatehouse for evil troll to live in?

    @ 11:50 am on February 21, 2008

  4. I assumed they are used to show the stone workers the correct pattern.

    @ 11:53 am on February 21, 2008

  5. the old Mary Kay house on Douglas had such a structure see here

    http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Dallas,+TX&ie=UTF8&ll=32.876163,-96.807189&spn=0.009605,0.017338&t=h&z=16&layer=c&cbll=32.871437,-96.808496&cbp=1,269.78664685478543,,0,2.4828714581691718

    @ 11:56 am on February 21, 2008

  6. Maybe its a Burger Street?

    @ 12:06 pm on February 21, 2008

  7. Trolls live under bridges.

    @ 12:15 pm on February 21, 2008

  8. It’s a mockup….meaning they will use the same materials on this little structure as they do the house to make sure they like the materials.

    You see them all the time on commercial projects and large residential projects.

    Just a way for the owner/architect to be on the same page before they start ordering thousands of dollars worth of material.

    @ 12:26 pm on February 21, 2008

  9. In parts of the country, this would be a place for kids to wait for the school bus in the morning, but I’m GUESSING that’s not the case here.

    @ 12:41 pm on February 21, 2008

  10. I don’t ever remember seeing a foundation for a mockup.

    @ 12:49 pm on February 21, 2008

  11. Mmmmm. Burger Street.

    @ 1:18 pm on February 21, 2008

  12. Wick’s HP residence?

    @ 1:46 pm on February 21, 2008

  13. I dare y’all to show up and do an afternoon puppet show.

    @ 1:53 pm on February 21, 2008

  14. Armstrong and Byron?? Bryan is downtown! Most houses have them now, it’s a PC thing to do!!!

    @ 1:54 pm on February 21, 2008

  15. LOL. The puppet show comment is the best blog of the week!

    @ 2:15 pm on February 21, 2008

  16. It is a mini-Starbucks so the owners don’t have to mingle with the crowd at HP Village.

    @ 2:27 pm on February 21, 2008

  17. Just another way for some of the dallas type people to come across as snooty look at me folks. lol attention whor$3

    @ 2:29 pm on February 21, 2008

  18. They’re cell phone only huts. It’s a convenience in HP so that drivers can exit their vehicles and use their phones without being exposed to the weather during the phone calls. Also, it provides a safe place for HP kids to smoke weed outside the house and, again, without being exposed to the elements. What do you expect them to do, go down to the creek by the HP pool and smoke there? How bourgeouis!

    @ 3:58 pm on February 21, 2008

  19. In fact, I’m seeing more and more T-shirts on HP teens with the slogan, “My maid smokes weed down by the creek by the HP pool.”

    Seriously, though, the cute lil’ structure in the photo is where the lawn-jockeys bunk up at night. If they’re not drinking whiskey and playing poker, that is. You know how hard it is to find good lawn-jockeys these days!

    @ 4:19 pm on February 21, 2008

  20. It’s Marty Cortland’s way of showing you how small your house would look compared to his.

    @ 7:16 pm on February 21, 2008

  21. Keeps the valet parkers warm and dry…NOT!

    @ 9:38 pm on February 21, 2008

  22. The little structures in front are “Mock ups.”
    The trim colors, roof and veneer samples are applied in a small scale for owner approval. Once it is approved, the full house quanity of material is ordered,delivered and installed.

    @ 1:21 pm on September 10, 2008