Stone houses on old farmland
For most of its history Wynnefield was farmland. The best-known survivor from those years is Wynnestay, which Thomas Wynne built in 1689 and which still stands on Woodbine Avenue. The neighborhood itself arrived with the elevated train and the trolleys, and the first wave of it was built in stone. Much like Chestnut Hill and Mount Airy, early Wynnefield was defined by heavy gray Wissahickon schist, and a lot of those houses are still here.
Stone houses of that age were generally built to be heated by a boiler, with radiators under the windows. If yours still works that way, it is worth keeping in good order rather than written off. A boiler that short-cycles, a radiator that stays cold or a pipe that knocks usually has one cause, and finding that cause is where we start. You hear the price before any work begins.
Cooling behind walls of schist
Air conditioning is the harder problem, since running ductwork in a stone house means cutting chases through plaster and finding room in closets, and the thick exterior walls leave little space to hide anything. If the attic has headroom, a compact air handler can be tucked up there to cool the bedrooms, and the rooms below stay on their radiators.
Rowhouses, twins and the alley out back
The 1920s changed Wynnefield’s streets. Rural lots were split into smaller parcels for rows of houses and Diamond Street went in during 1923. Many of the new houses came with rear alleys and garages. Twins were popular with upper-middle-class families.
That layout shapes where heating and cooling equipment can go. A rowhouse has neighbors on both sides, so the rear of the lot or a flat roof is usually the only place for an outdoor unit, and the alley is the easiest way to reach it. On a twin, each half normally has its own system, and a new condenser belongs on your side of the property with enough clearance to breathe. Row duplexes, with one apartment stacked on another, often have two of everything.
A short drive from our shop
Wynnefield sits directly south of City Avenue, and our shop in Bala Cynwyd is on the other side of it. We repair the same day when we can, and for a no-heat or no-cooling emergency you can call us at any hour.