New builds... is it just me?

Furts

martinsurrey wrote: »

and all the rubbish 1930's houses (and there were millions, have fallen down/been torn down by now.)

my 1880's house is still standing by the grace of god and fortunate ground conditions, the 10 inch foundations aren't really doing much, the ones like mine build on softer ground have already subsided away!

The 1930s houses were not "rubbish". My the standards of the day they were what people sought. They have stood the test of time and exceeded their expected lifespan by a margin of two decades. The vast majority, perhaps 99%, are still standing - just look at the suburbs of any town or city for the proof here.

martinsurrey

Furts wrote: »

The 1930s houses were not "rubbish". My the standards of the day they were what people sought. They have stood the test of time and exceeded their expected lifespan by a margin of two decades. The vast majority, perhaps 99%, are still standing - just look at the suburbs of any town or city for the proof here.

I didnt say that 1930's houses were rubbish, I said the ones that WERE rubbish have already fallen down, so all we have now are the good ones, and all suffer from Survivorship bias.

Can you tell me how many 1930's houses fell down or had subsidance in the 1950-1980's?

andrewf75

You only have to see the standard of new houses abroad to see how poorly built British houses are. And the reason why is obvious. We buy houses an an investment, to "get on the ladder" so building companies get away with knocking up these rabbit hutch style homes as cheaply and quickly as possible. In other countries people often self-build or view them as places to live for the long term so demand higher standards.

Ganga

Furts wrote: »

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.

Whilst i agree with you about the way houses are thrown up now,the analogy with cars in my opion is wrong,modern cars are better built,have better rust corrosion protection and better paint jobs than cars that were beign built 20/30 years ago.
Modern houses now have skirting boards,door frames etc. made of MDF!and every item that can be used in the construction that can be purchased cheaper is used whilst thr prices continue to rise.:eek:

martinsurrey

andrewf75 wrote: »

You only have to see the standard of new houses abroad to see how poorly built British houses are. And the reason why is obvious. We buy houses an an investment, to "get on the ladder" so building companies get away with knocking up these rabbit hutch style homes as cheaply and quickly as possible. In other countries people often self-build or view them as places to live for the long term so demand higher standards.

Try and self build in the UK and unless you've got really deep pockets you'll not even find a patch of land you can afford to start to build on.

If builders made zero profit (during the good times) new builds would only be 20% cheaper, of course then they would all go bust during the downturns.

Self building in other countries is easier because planning is easier, in France you can pick up a build plot in a lot of areas for under €10,000, over here that'll cover your driveway!