Are new builds really that bad?? Everyone is warning me off them

leveller2911

[QUOTE=rochja;60605341

]Hefty premium? We own a new-build in Thrapston bought at the peak of the
property boom and can get more for it now than we could then.

New builds are always overpriced compared to similar standard/spec re-sales, generally 10% at least(thats why the banks like at least a 10% deposit, negative equity as soon as you moved in).Your paying extra for the warranty,fluffy bits,carpets,tiles etc. When you see a DFS sofa sale they increase the prices of the sofas for 28 days previous to the sale then drop the prices to the original price,Its all smoke and mirrors.

For the square footage we are paying no more than the going rate.

"Paying the going rate"...Compared a similar spec new-build?

With new and old houses it is always a case of let the buyer beware.

Agreed

As for build quality. Have you not got eyes? Do you not visit and check?

You can only check what you can see and there lies the problem.You can't see the footings,drains,fewer timber studs in the walls,9.5mm Gyproc bording on the walls instead of 12mm.Poor pipework,incorrectly fitted boiler,flooring laid with too few fixings etc etc. Its not what you can see its what you can't see.

Are you not aware that in building as everywhere else advances in technology are
making the skill of the tradesman an irrelevance?

Look up "truss roof" on google.They are preformed roof trusses, they are simple to erect.You just nail then on the timber plates each end, then nail timbers (wind bracing)across them.It couldn't be simpler but you would be surprised how many so called Carpenters can't fit a truss roof properly let alone a traditonal cut and pitched roof.
If skilled tradesmen are obsolete then why have their incomes increased .In a recession rates drop but thats down to lack of demand and nothing to do with technology and site tradesmen have suffered due to increase competition from immigrant workers.All tradesmen grasp new technology, new tools, machinery etc enable them to produce more, but not necessarily to a high standard.Don't confuse skilled tradesmen who have done a full apprenticeship with a numpty with a nail gun.......

How often will you have to replace a tiled roof?

[/QUOTE]


All depends on whether or not it was fitted correctly the first time.


There will always be work for skilled tradesmen.We still have houses standing that were built 700 years ago, can you honestly say that any Bovis etc house will be standing in 100 years time?.Technologically far in advance of a 14th Century house but is that an advantage ?. I doubt it ...

puregeordie

bclark wrote: »

I am beginning to like new builds even more now too as I have just been told that if we want to drop off all of our light fittings, curtain poles and other things a few days before we move in then they will fit them for us so that they are all there when we move in.

You just wouldn't would you, well I wouldn't anyways.

bclark

puregeordie wrote: »

You just wouldn't would you, well I wouldn't anyways.

Wouldn't what?

rochja

Going rate for the area. I thought my meaning there was obvious but apparently not. And in my experience you can see every stage of the build. If I cannot then I walk away. I can't see the footings [if any] of a hundred year old cottage either. Your assertion seems to be that if a building is older it is constructed better for the job it does. Try telling that to the victims of the San Francisco earthquake. The Japanese know the opposite is true. Tha tis before you even look at the quality sector such as Huffhaus

lessonlearned

rochja wrote: »

Going rate for the area. I thought my meaning there was obvious but apparently not. And in my experience you can see every stage of the build. If I cannot then I walk away. I can't see the footings [if any] of a hundred year old cottage either. Your assertion seems to be that if a building is older it is constructed better for the job it does. Try telling that to the victims of the San Francisco earthquake. The Japanese know the opposite is true. Tha tis before you even look at the quality sector such as Huffhaus

I would love a Huffhaus - maybe one day;)

fionajbanana

I live in a property built in 2009 and I have no issues with the rooms being dark, despite of having small windows. I find large windows make rooms cold.

Both my bedrooms have recesses which I have built in wardrobes in my bedroom, which does not box the room.

I do know that with the new water heating efficiency, airing cupboards aren't as great for storage as they used to be. I have a large landing which I have a under window storage cupboard for towels and bedding. My parents used to have a double airing cupboard in two of their previous properties (built in 1978 and 1986 respectively) and they used to put so much stuff in there. Their new property has a huge water tank which takes up 75% of the space and only have room to put cleaning stuff at the bottom and two shelves - one for bedding and one for towels. The other stuff is placed in large stack n store boxes on the top shelf of the guest bedroom's wardrobes.

Another advantage with new builds is a blank canvas. Neutral colour scheme, clean kitchen cupboards and oven etc. When moving into a property which has been lived in before, you have to put up with the previous vendors' (or perhaps the one before that) horrid decor and some don't bother to clean out the oven and kitchen cupboards.

About 10 years ago, I watched on ITV a programme called New Homes from Hell. It featured a family with two young children who moved into a new build. The estate was built on a former mental institution or hospital. On digging to do some work, they found bottles of arsenic, rusty syringes etc. They decided to dig up the entire garden and filled TWO large skips full of medical stuff! One of my parents' former neighbours found a plasterer's hawk (the plasterer's board), trowel and ladder under the turf. It just shows that builders are in a hurry and cannot be bothered to clear the stuff.

fionajbanana

anotheruser wrote: »

To throw a controversial question out there, why should I have my house designed for someone who uses a wheelchair, but no wheelchair users will be using it?
That's like having braille on light switches and door handles for those who need help with their sight, but I don't see that happening.

You never know what is going to happen to your health and those that live in your home. Tomorrow, you could be in a car crash and be left confined in a wheelchair. Then the adjustments will be stairlift, making a bathroom or en-suite into a wetroom etc.

leveller2911

rochja wrote: »

Your assertion seems to be that if a building is older
it is constructed better for the job it does. Try telling that to the victims of
the San Francisco earthquake. The Japanese know the opposite is true. Tha tis
before you even look at the quality sector such as Huffhaus

Not at all, you posted "new technology making skilled tradesmen obsolete" I just pointed out that houses built 700 years ago are still standing (old technology) and I doubt any Bovis/Barrett house will be standing 100 years from now so there will always be work for skilled tradesmen and new technology doesn't necessarily mean its better it may be that its just cheaper.

Think your grabbing at straws giving earthquakes and Sunamis as examples and zero relevance.

Huf-haus and Skandahus make good quality houses but they are the exception.What percentage of houses built in the UK are Huffhaus/Scandia-hus 0.00000000001%? so again irrelevant.

The general build quality and design of modern homes in the UK ranges from average to dire IMO but there will always be small builders bucking the trend and building quality............. There just aren't many of them.

rochja

You are right, of course. What was I thinking of? Where am I going to live for my last 500 years? Your point about there being poor quality builds out there is of course true. I said on balance we prefer to buy new. My point was you get rubbish only if you allow it to happen. I agree you should try to stick with builders like Kiegar homes in Lincolnshire or at least get to know the site manager. On the other hand unless you get a full structural survey it is just as easy to buy a pig in a poke from the older housing stock AND it is definitely harder to establish build quality for yourself.

bclark

leveller2911 wrote: »

Not at all, you posted "new technology making skilled tradesmen obsolete" I just pointed out that houses built 700 years ago are still standing (old technology) and I doubt any Bovis/Barrett house will be standing 100 years from now so there will always be work for skilled tradesmen and new technology doesn't necessarily mean its better it may be that its just cheaper.

Think your grabbing at straws giving earthquakes and Sunamis as examples and zero relevance.

Huf-haus and Skandahus make good quality houses but they are the exception.What percentage of houses built in the UK are Huffhaus/Scandia-hus 0.00000000001%? so again irrelevant.

The general build quality and design of modern homes in the UK ranges from average to dire IMO but there will always be small builders bucking the trend and building quality............. There just aren't many of them.

I bet you that the vast majority of Bovis/Barratt homes will still be standing in 100 years.