Buying a 1930's detached house - pros and cons?

Rambosmum

We have a 1930s semi, I personally prefer older houses to new builds but see why someone would like a new build.

Our 1930s house had standard width batons in the ceiling so we didn't need to pull down the old plaster - just fixed the new plaster board to the batons, through the old plaster and skimmed - several builders/ plasterers recommended this method, despite us being happy to pull the ceilings down ourselves. Because of the good height ceilings, and lack of original coving (the house isn't posh enough to have had coving) you can't tell the ceilings have been lowered 2 inches in some rooms.

As long as the house is recently rewired and plumbed it should be fine, but obviously a survey would be needed.

densol_2

Ive bought 4 new builds and one 1930's house. Personally I hated it - worked seemed to be endless. I would have and do have a new build - which was traditionally built and the builder allowed a significant number of enhancements.

agrinnall

I also bought a 1930's semi earlier this year. The one thing I would do before going to far down the line is to get the roof checked - if it hasn't been replaced then it's likely to be approaching the end of it's life so you'd need to either budget for a new one or look for another property.

Mallotum_X

I live in a 1930s house and have done for 10 years.

If you want a perfect look then there may well be a lot of work involved in rewiring, re-plumbing and then making good - skimming walls and ceilings make a huge difference.

The ceilings will be due to lath and plaster. as suggested above, easiest solution is to board over and skim.

Many 30s houses do not have cavity walls so can be more expensive to heat, well worth adding a lot of insulation to the loft. We have extended ours and added a porch - all with modern cavity walls and higher levels of insulation than building regs needed which has made a big difference.

The main pros for us - you tend to get much bigger gardens, less over looked. Houses from this era have a lot more character than new builds and in general well built. Solid internal walls rather than plaster board. You tend to get more space and ceiling height than an equivalent new property. Also tend to be easier to extend - add value to due to taller roofs for loft conversions, big gardens for extensions or space to add a summer house/home office.

But well worth having a budget when you move in to update and modernise.

Davesnave

To be fair, people will need to consider a rewire with many younger properties than 30s houses, and even 70s ceilings may be suspect, to say nothing of what their pipes may be like by now!

You're either up for a bit of work, you buy from someone who's done it (which is good in theory, if only you can find one done well!) or you go new/newish built.

Houses are like people: once you scratch beneath the surface, they may be falling apart or actually be much stronger than was ever anticipated.

LittleMax

If it has a gable roof over bay windows and the windows have been replaced with upvc check that adequate supports have been put in. My parents had to have entire front of their house removed and the bay completely rebuilt and gallow brackets installed to take the weight of the roof.

If the roof has been retiled check that appropriate tiles have been used - often people have re-roofed in heavier tiles and this again causes problems. If it hasn't been retiled, don't assume it will need it, my parents tiles are still going strong, they had some roofers in to quote for re-roofing with replacement tiles and were advised that it isn't necessary.

clint_S

Hedgehog99 wrote: »

Some of the pros hopefully include nice high ceilings, picture rails (saves holes in the wall) & possibly a high loft suitable for a loft extension?

When re-decorating, beware of old lead paint layers.

Check what's underneath the house - the one I lived in had space deep enough to -belly-crawl under the house. Floors seemed warmer than concrete floors.

Curtains might cost you more, but you get bigger windows.

Just moved from a 1930's house that had picture rails. I had no idea what they were until now, so plenty of holes in the wall, just though they were a high dado rail.


The previous house, also 1930's, had rising damp issues, around the fireplace, and the chimney hadn't been capped correctly so damp also around this.

GoldenShadow

Don't forget to look at similar properties for things like the roof. If others have newer ones that's a tell ta,e sign it's towards the end of its life. Our 1930s house is on a road full of others and all have original rooves, literally every single one. We had a builder put a few slipped tiles back and he said it's fine and was 'built to last'.

Luckily ours has been re plastered in the last decade from the look of it although the bathroom had paper that's been painted and I am in no hurry to remove at...

Our house is quite quirky, two cavity walls two solid etc. it's not uncommon to have a few cracks here and there but a surveyor will be able to recommend if they need someone to look more closely at them.

We have half cast iron guttering half plastic and the cast iron is towards the end of its life, that'll be half the guttering needing replacing as its all one big piece. broken cast iron guttering isn't that easy to fix up witho replacing I don't think.

Waterlily24

Most of our houses have been 1920s/1930s, we've had one new build and would never go there again. lol

Have a good survey done before you decide though.

The first house had woodworm and there was a retention until the treatment had been done but that was 1968.

lisa110rry

Our detached home for the past 28 years was built in 1932 by an esteemed local family-run firm which is still in business three generations later. We live in the country in the north, so the style of the house could be described as 20s rather than 30s.

The doors are all panelled and the door knobs are all brass with copper finger plates. There is an internal window which is leaded to match the external windows in the bays. There is not one internal right angle, all are rounded with the skirting reaching around the bends, having been applied in very small pieces so as to appear curved.

It's bliss, I love it.