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Crohn85

Only thought I have (a guess) is that in the summer something could be hung up to block the sun so keep the house a bit cooler.


Serxera

I've seen a few DIY heat shields over the years. Wouldn't be surprised if it was the case here. Are they located on a southern or western exposure?


MontEcola

That was my thought. It lines up with the direction of the sun quite well. It is not lined up with the house. It is lined up to give shade to those windows in the hottest part of the day. It can also be something to tie a line to. Such as fishing nets that need to be repaired.


Bammalam102

And the yellow grass around it where the angled tarp held down by bricks would sit.


AcrylicPainter

That's what I was thinking, the best way to block the heat is stop the sunlight before it hits your windows.


cambreecanon

Dang I was thinking laundry, as in attaching lines high and low to be able to double up on drying.


georgemarred

Could they have grown vines around them? Otherwise, I think they may havehad fabric or tarps over it for privacy, shade, or wind block.


randynumbergenerator

Seems like a weird design for a trellis, but maybe it's for a specific kind of vine or plant?


drewts86

I could easily see it as a trellis for growing hops. Tie strings to the horizontals and run them out a few feet and the hope will climb them no problem.


Acceptable-Chance534

I’ve seen people grow hops on strings from all sorts of supports. And beans and peas. Strings hang down, one for each plant.


_Amabio_

My first thought was growing hops 


brock_gonad

Interesting idea, but not nearly tall enough to grow hops. I have 4 bines in my back yard and they will go 25 feet if you let them.


drgrog13

Not tall enough foe hops


drewts86

It’s not the ideal height for max yield per acre, but it’s good enough for someone that maybe got the materials to build it for free.


BSB8728

An old guy down the street made something similar out of old pipes that arced over his driveway. They supported Concord grapevines, and walking by his house in the autumn was heavenly. After he died, the vines disappeared but the pipes stayed up for a long time.


WgXcQ

My bet is on shade tarps. The photo is a great example of forced perspective. From the hand rail on the left, we can see that the house sits a good bit further down and at a distance from the pipe structure. There are also holes in the pipes about a foot off the ground, indicating that more pipes (or something other going straight along) were there as a lower anchor for something. So, great for affixing tarps that have pre-made regular holes set along the edges. And very effective at providing shade to the house as a whole (which works the best for keeping a place cool) as well as the area between the house and the hill the structure sits on, making it a nice place to sit in summer.


BadToaster99

I’d wrap some of that nylon netting around that and grow some tomatoes and cucumbers! (probably a better view than the neighbors house too)


Smidge-of-the-Obtuse

I think the angle of the shot misleads how much space is between the metal and the house. You can see it anchored at the top of stairs leading down. Given the height of the railing down the steps the metal pipes might be about 8 foot tall, too tall normally for fencing.


ellirae

you're half-right. what's misleading about the angle of the shot is that you can't tell that the house is not flat - the stairs and the drop-down section indeed are about 8 feet from this structure, but to the right (our right) of the door, the house extends further. there, the structure is less than 2 feet from the house. you can tell by looking at the rocks on the ground on the right side - it's barely 1 (large-ish) rock away from the house.


Smidge-of-the-Obtuse

Lower in the thread someone posted a link to an overhead shot, there appears to be almost a full patio that runs the length of the house.


ellirae

either a GROSSLY misleading photo in several ways - one of the most absurd optical illusions i've ever seen - or that's not the same house. something's fucky. either way, wow, yeah, what a weird image.


WalkGood

So maybe it's 4 or 5 feet away from the house?


JFeth

It isn't actually that close. There is a retaining wall and a set of stairs on the left that leads to a whole lower section. It is a weird angle making it look really close. I'm still not sure what the metal frame is for, and the railing for the stairs seems to go right through it so it can't be a fence or anything enclosed.


Coasterrides

There is a patio area between this and the house. Looks like a lower area [https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/3wnn4jdt7olgh3t5xkhql/screenshot-www.google.com-2024.05.17-22\_33\_18.png?rlkey=05z6brjcvsmjunsw941ldk7vb&st=oeekk5lm&dl=0](https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/3wnn4jdt7olgh3t5xkhql/screenshot-www.google.com-2024.05.17-22_33_18.png?rlkey=05z6brjcvsmjunsw941ldk7vb&st=oeekk5lm&dl=0) [https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/q6zyj6vaie1ztcw1axfud/Screenshot-2024-05-17-224738.png?rlkey=dmx42cpwq8adyjs0g6iha5kk9&st=wmmgwcl1&dl=0](https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/q6zyj6vaie1ztcw1axfud/Screenshot-2024-05-17-224738.png?rlkey=dmx42cpwq8adyjs0g6iha5kk9&st=wmmgwcl1&dl=0)


RealHausFrau

I think this is it! So from what I see and what you said, it’s just a railing of some sort between the grassy area and the lower patio area….am I understanding that right? So it looked strange to me due to the perspective of the shot? Out of curiosity, how did you find the house on google maps?! A reverse image search?


Environmental_Sun822

Google image search shows it on zillow which gives the address that can then be looked for on Google maps.


RealHausFrau

Isn’t this a wonderful time to be alive? :)


boatymcboat

A railing for giants?!


Helpful-Fruit-1404

There is what looks like a handrail, at the left, which goes *under* the brown thing in question, and corresponds with the position of what appears to be steps on the overhead view. This handrail looks in normal perspective and scale to the house, so I don't think the brown thing being a railing makes sense, as one walks *under* it when using the stairs.


RealHausFrau

Likely solved!


mrmojangles85

I was thinking it used to be used as a trellis, possibly for grapes?


seicar

Or hops, or tomato or lots climbing veg.


Salty_Tale_1168

Yeah but would you want a wall of vines Infront of your door? Would grapes just not grow there? And wouldn't you want it to be sealed so you don't have grapes in your pipes?


Jim-Jones

Faces a golf course?


mikeybagodonuts

Maybe used to?


lothcent

all the windows seem to fall within the span of this thing so during winter- no vines. during spring/fall- grow the vines. harvest the fruit and veggies off the vine, can them and repeat yearly


Hot-Interaction6526

Golf course protection net


lothcent

could very well be. I am always open to different view points


Key-Sheepherder-1469

Perhaps it had a fence to protect the windows from balls/toys from above? It looks like a light fixture on the far right end?


Dtm_oskar

The whole house is built down below the level that the picture was taken from, the yard is below that you can see the stairs on the left hand side of the picture heading down to the house and that is the railing that is up close to where the picture is taken. Across the whole yard.


RealHausFrau

I think you are correct!


Pyrosalsa

FYI, there’s no way this is the solution. The stairs’ grab rail passes in front of the frame in question, making the former definitely closer to the camera


Dtm_oskar

Oh God I missed that. Wtf is this thing? 😂


Pyrosalsa

For real!!! The longer I look at it, the LESS it makes sense


Hot-Interaction6526

Has anyone said rails to hang a net if the house is on a golf course? Common by me


BillyZaneJr

I’m pretty sure that’s just a safety rail. It looks like a retaining wall and steps leading down. I think the rails are shorter than you think but are on a raised piece of ground.


JayTeeDeeUnderscore

Old-school drip irrigation if there are holes drilled in the bottom of the horizontal pipe.


Salty_Tale_1168

The only thing I could think is maybe some sort of clothes drying rack, but I have no idea why you'd need you clothes 10 feet off the ground?


Gratedfumes

That was my first thought. We had the same setup at my Nans house, except it was further away from the house and up on a hill. She'd use it in the summer, mostly for rugs and bedding, but before they got an electric dryer, sometime in the 70s-80s, it was the only way to dry clothes.


pinetree8000

Are there any other photos that show it from other angles?


RealHausFrau

There aren’t. :/


NoFig9882

There are: https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/s/KJJ1pzIrVe


Gbonk

Where about is the house?


RealHausFrau

Oklahoma


HatchlingChibi

Oklahoma makes me think it's more likely this was for some kind of wind block.


sensorydispensary

Probably for drying laundry.


Gbonk

Seeing how there is a drop off and I’m going to guess this is in a location that gets snow I’d venture they would hang tarps on it to act as a screen to help block snow from filling the lower area around the house.


RealHausFrau

We get snow, but not an excessive amount, I’ve never known of any house around here having anything special implemented to deal with snow specifically. Tornado’s for sure, but not snow. ;)


Gbonk

Right but with the lower area, blowing and drifting snow would pile up for sure. Also good for blocking blowing tumbleweed, hanging your buffalo hide, etc


RealHausFrau

Haha. I definitely need one to hang my buffalo hide on and hitch my horse too…


pans-hand

Pole beans?


cremestick

This is my thought as well. My uncle used to grow them on trellis supports like this but his were made of wood. It looks like there used to be a garden there, or at least something other than grass that has now grown over the area.


SwimmingNoise2

Isn't that just the guardrail from a higher point, leading to stairs on the right that lead down to the house? You can see the grass at the bottom of the poles / the top-down perspective of the photo - as if someone was crouching when they took it. Non?


RealHausFrau

I think you and the others that suggested it’s a railing are correct!


TheBoldMove

In my region of the world (Germany) installations like that were called "Teppichstangen"; some also had little hooks attached to the underside of the top bar and were placed adjacent to each other, so you could string up a laundry line between them. Without the hooks, this was used to hang up carpets and beat the accumulated dust and dirt out of them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpet_hanger Source: my house was built in 1925 and I have my own carpet hanger in the garden, only a single arch though.


RealHausFrau

Interesting! It is an older house, so you never know!


jojoamethyst

Could it be washing line support?


Competitive-Use1360

It's for shade sails.


zweigramm

That's probably a carpet beating rod or carpet hanger. https://sammlung.wienmuseum.at/en/object/1075602-frau-vor-teppichklopfstange-stadlau/


TopLengthiness8568

It could have been a fence for any numerous types of vegetation such as grapes tomatoes, and so forth you can grow in 5 gallon buckets.And then it vines up into string that goes horizontally and it helps to make ease of picking


RealHausFrau

My title describes the thing. I don’t know much other than it looks like rusted metal framework installed very close to the home, running almost across the length and a bit taller than the bottom of the roof line.


RepFilms

I'm very curious. It seems to have holes about 12 inches above the ground on each vertical pole.


Temporary-Map1842

One house we were looking to buy had an oil tank in the basement that leaked and they had piping like that to pull vacuum on the soil to remove it before they dug up the contaminated soil and carted it away


Salty_Tale_1168

Except there holes meaning it couldn't hold a vacuum or a liquid.


Temporary-Map1842

the pipes have holes down the length to suck in the oil, of course it should be under a foot of soil, but it did look exactly like this, maybe they tried to pull them up.


GinnyS80

It could of been sports related or for clothes.


rlb408

Can you tell if that side of the house faces the equator (south in the northern hemisphere)? That looks like a hops trellis.


RealHausFrau

I cannot.


VerySimilarDude

I lived in a house with something similar in the back and I think it was a frame for hanging rugs to beat in the spring. Edit: looking again, though, that’s a whole lotta rug they would be beating!


bountifulknitter

Maybe they had some kind of screen or chicken wire and it was a guinea pig run?


idigclams

South side of the house? Hops! As in beer. It’s the frame for a hop trellis. In the winter there’s no foliage, so it allows passive solar on that stone wall (heat sink/thermal mass), and in the summer it shades the wall so it doesn’t absorb that sunlight. Source: had the same setup.


Alert-Pea1041

My guess is to stop errant golf balls. Is/was there a golf course right there? Was because… man did a lot of the golf courses disappear where I grew up learning golf. Every single course except one that I spent tons of time working on my game for college is gone. RIP north course, Cherry Hills, Mountain View, Paradise Knolls and Diamond Valley.


FullSpecial

it probably was a fence, there is a serious drop from that lawn to the house, hence the stairs.


Wonderful-Gold-953

Fence? There’s a connector on the top right corner


jamesonkh

noice sleuthing


OnePaleontologist975

Optical illusion, it’s probably 20’ or more from the home. So it’s probably…I have no idea.


BusaGuy1300

Might be for growing hops.


the_Heathen11

Sports ball netting


Limefish5

Here is my 2 cents. Frame for an awning? Or porch roof? Looks like newer shingles on the roof. Could have been removed during the roof replacement. Just a guess.


Kazfather

Frame for a batting cage


Anastephone

A place to tie up seasonal inflatable yard items like Santa?


HeyWiredyyc

Community golf course and this sits along side a hole


Airport_Wendys

The longer I look at this the more it weirds me out


Nestvester

This one won’t be definitively solved unless the owner comes forward.


korikill

The perspective is very skewed. The steep berm extends the length of the house and the poles are on top of the berm, even with the top of the stairs, and about 8-10 feet away from the house the whole length. Look at the shadows made by the extended roofline. If the poles were close to the house, we'd see shadows on the house. So it's probably what's left of a fence.


manrata

Is there a photo of an angle away from the house? Might be a similar set on the other side of the garden, to hang wires between, and dry clothes or something else. Also, from looking at the stair, the seem to be a drop right behind it, meaning it’s likely further from the house than it seems, so could also just be a framing for a fence.


PointandStare

Carcass or skin drying frame.


wetwater

Other people mentioned something having to do with strings and having vines and hops growing on the strings, which seems plausible, but I'm also wondering if a previous owner was a hunter and used this to hang deer or whatever to butcher them.


Metalorg

Maybe a frame for a fence


AGM-65_Maverick

Old. Cricket netting.


AGM-65_Maverick

And if not. Golf netting.


Scaramoochi

The mismatched lawn is the giveaway here. The area has been deprived of watering and so a roof type shelter must have been in place.   My best guess is a DIY summer gazebo or a greenhouse even. You have a horizontal indentation of the ground near bottom of pic... from outer framework perhaps?  But definitely not a trellis. 


ExceptionallyFound

Bird feeders. I've seen this set up for hanging birdfeeders. Squirrels can't climb these poles. No close trees to jump from. Excellent viewing from home.


cakencuffs

I'm 80% sure this house was featured on This Old House/Ask This Old House...


RealHausFrau

Wow, really? I would kind of be surprised lol


GriffShama

Could be a set up for a clothes line. If there are wholes about a foot down from the top bar. I have lived places with these before. If not that I don't know.


Hairy-Glove3261

My guess is it was built for large sun shades that can be attached to the frame and then anchored to the ground. Moving away from the house. You would have a comfortable shaded area. The house would be protected from the sun more, too. Even if it wasn't built for that originally, the current owner could use it for shade coverage.


Bzart2112

Could have been trellis for growing hop bines at some point.


estacado

I think there used to be a chain link fence there, now the frame is all that's left. It's for the kids playing football/soccer on the field, to avoid hitting the house.


JubileeBubilee

Could it be used for netting to protect the property from cricket balls?


unorthodoxreligion

is it next to a golf course?


Sirefly

It could be a hops trellis.


spastical-mackerel

Perhaps they grew hops as a hobby


tehMightyBob

You'd install netting and then let it do it's job so the kids don't wreck your windows with baseballs


1000thusername

I think it’s for growing grapes.


drawredraw

Heat shield. Stone and brick houses absorb and retain heat like a pizza oven. On a hot day the walls just radiate heat even after the sun goes down.


emmy-lieu

It looks like a fence. It’s not that close to the house, the fence framing is on top of a hill and the house is down steps. Mostly an optical illusion


Princess_AK47

Hang clothes? Or sheets?


EevelBob

Maybe a prior owner made and sold quilts?


teknosapien

Could it be a grape arbor?


FlippantGoat

Be cool if it was for growing hops. But very unlikely.


thermometerbottom

That looks like WWII German POW stonemason work on that structure.


No_You_7545

My cousin has exactly this setup, in her side yard through the backyard. Maybe four feet from the house along the side yard and runs a straight line from there for about an acre. It was, and now is again, a simple grapevine trellis. The previous homeowners were wine makers. The current home owners (my cousin & her spouse) are currently growing and aspire to make wine.


RealHausFrau

Thanks for that! Are grapes grown in specific areas mostly? I know we have a few wineries in OK, but am not familiar with the temperate needs of growing grapes.


No_You_7545

They can grow in a wide variety of climates. My cousin in Southeast Washington, which can be snowing and frozen or sunny and hot as heck, depending on the season. Different grape varieties are better suited for certain climates than others as well. ...and the presence of vineyard trellis does not necessarily mean that grapes were successfully grown in that location.


RealHausFrau

True, as indicated by the numerous tomato planters and cages that I have had in the past. Their presence was absolutely no proof that I had ever successfully harvested tomatoes at any given time. Lol