New builds... is it just me?

FreeBear

RainbowLaura wrote: »

If I were to buy again, I'd be looking 1930s or earlier.

My house was built to guidelines laid out by the Tudor Walters report (the Housing (Building Construction) Committee Report (1918)) around 1928 - One of some 1.1 million houses constructed in the inter-war years. Much of the construction leave plenty to desire in comparison to modern building standards. A pokey little kitchen some 8'x7', an even smaller bathroom, and of course, no insulation in the walls or roof space. The four main rooms have open coal fires as central heating wasn't readily available in those days... And the decor is something to die for - Really, you would want to die looking at it....

Over the years, some modernisation has taken place - Central heating, loft insulation, double glazing, and a modest kitchen extension. The bedroom fireplaces have been bricked up and a gas boiler & wood stove fitted to the downstairs rooms. Any DIY that involves drilling in to the walls can be a source of frustration or an adventure depending on whether you hit a mortar joint or a brick - The former is a lime mortar and has no holding power, the latter is tough to drill until you hit an inverted frog in the brick (just empty space).

Having solid brick walls on the upper half of the building requires careful consideration when it come to renovating or decorating - Lime render externally and lime plaster internally means modern paints are unsuitable. They trap moisture in the walls that can lead to significant damage in a short period of time.

On the plus side, the rear garden is over 100ft long by about 40ft wide. The area has been declared "of little architectural significance" which means planning permission for an extension is unlikely to be refused. And being a relatively low density housing area, I'm not fighting the neighbours for rabbit food :T

Furts

RainbowLaura wrote: »

Sorry pogofish, because it does concern things inside my house I posted here, but yes it appears not the correct location. Is is possible for this thread to be moved?

Mine is McLean, which I believe has since been bought out by Wimpey. Just as you describe SailorSam. Fireplace was first on our to-do list funnily enough!

Times change, and regions can be different. What I can say with certainty is McLean Homes originating from the company that had an office in Swindon in the 1980s and 1990s were dreadful quliaty. This poor quality was replicated throughout SW England and S Wales.

Your experience with your home is to be expected - that is a typical build quality. in mitigation there is a variation from site to site and from builder to builder, but in general this is not huge differences.

Furts

patman99 wrote: »

I work on a Bellway site and they put proper heavy duty (3 newton) block walls inbetween adjoining properties and these extend up into the roof.

No sure about the Charles Church (Persimmons) houses being thrown up on the site next door, but would assume they are the same.

As for radiators falling off the walls, I would gues that the wrong wall fixings were used at the time of original installation.

Concrete block seperating walls is hardly anything to be proud of. It is simply the minimum standard of build in the cheapest conceivable way. It ticks a box, but is a statement of the obvious - a bit like saying my new car has a coating of paint on it.

thescouselander

Modern houses are poorly built IMO. Mrs thescouselander likes to go round show houses to get decorating ideas and all I can notice is the poor workmanship. Things that should be square are not, bits hanging off, paint issues etc and if that's the show house the mind boggles at what the rest must be like.

We do live in a modern house ourselves though and the internal walls are very flimsy so hanging heavy objects off them is difficult. I've just had to hang a radiator on an internal wall made of stramit board (basically straw) and that was a right pain as there's nothing for the fixing to grab onto. In the end I used 4 fixings on each bracket backed up by grip fill.

Even the outer walls, which are concrete block on the inner layer, aren't that much better as they seem to crumble very easily.

The only good bit about our house is the bricks on the outside layer of the walls which are very strong engineering bricks as I discovered when I had to drill a new 120mm hole for an extractor.

Head_The_Ball

SailorSam wrote: »

I built a false fireplace then got a steel tube exhaust which i put through the wall (into the garage) then up the outside. After i did mine the guy opposite did the same, but he had the pipe going straight up through the bedroom to the roof, and hid the pipe inside fitted wardrobes, he said it helped to heat the bedroom.

How much condensation risk might there be on that tube when the fire is not in use.

Chanes

I have owned a Victorian Terrace that was built by Victorian Era cowboys! Never again! I have owned two houses less than 25 years old and both were built to a good standard. I am opposite to you, I wouldn't buy a house more than 30 years old now. Some of the horror stories I have heard and seen about old houses from no foundations to walls that were not tied together...my Victoria house had a supporting wall built onto a wooden plank! I think it is harder to get away with those kind of tricks now.

RainbowLaura

That's an interesting one Chanes, I suppose there must have always been cowboys about yes! I've only ever heard people say good things about the houses of that era, but you're right, if people did do seriously bad work then it must have been a lot easier to get away with.

Chanes

RainbowLaura wrote: »

That's an interesting one Chanes, I suppose there must have always been cowboys about yes! I've only ever heard people say good things about the houses of that era, but you're right, if people did do seriously bad work then it must have been a lot easier to get away with.

It's worse than that, repairing that old Victorian house because of the materials used was stupidly expensive.

However, repairing a house built in the last 30 years is much cheaper.

When I have seen images of a mini tornado that rips across an area, I notice the most damage done is to the older slate roofed houses. Newer houses have much heavier tiles and much stronger roofs as a result I expect.

AnnieO1234

Must admit I've lived in pre 1900, 1950, 1970, 1990 and 2012 (our current home) and by choice I would always live in a new build but be picky about the developer.

Falling radiators sounds as though the incorrect fitting to wall type has happened on the day.

Furts

I have said it before and I stand by my judgement. Indeed, nobody has ever come back and queried my view, so let us see what happens this time!

UK private house building by the large developers like Taywood, Barratt, and so on, reached a peak of design and quality around the later 1980s - later 1990. There after it has been downhill in many ways. Consequently this thread does not surprise me. As one who works in construction it is something I am well aware of.

In some ways this is not surprising. When one looks at a car made today it is likely the paint thickness, the corrosion protection and the all round durability is inferior to cars made 20 years ago. Houses are no different.