New-build 21st century slums

westernpromise

Shoddy, unfinished, and sold by a powerful oligopoly, Britain's new-build homes are a scandal

Kelsey Aldritt was so concerned about her new Persimmon home in Pembroke that, after moving in, she hired an independent surveyor. Kelsey was “horrified” to find 167 snags, including insufficient fire-barriers – a fault Persimmon has since rectified. But her gable-end wall remains 30mm off the vertical, far exceeding the 8mm industry standard tolerance...We commissioned another independent surveyor to inspect a Persimmon home sold at the end of last month. He found almost 300 faults, including a defective fire door and a full set of leaking sinks – with over 70 per cent of the snags “below building regulations tolerance”....Buyers of new-build homes also aren’t automatically covered under the Sale of Goods Act or the Consumer Rights Act, which you are when you buy normal domestic appliances. So consumers enjoy more protection buying a toaster than when they buy a new-build home...

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/07/15/shoddy-unfinished-sold-powerful-oligopoly-britains-new-build/

When I was a kid and saw pictures in history books of Victorian slums, I always used to wonder how they came to be built in the first place. The answer would appear to be "Persimmon".

These are new-build slums, right?

RelievedSheff

It does amaze me when you see these news articles about shoddy new builds why people have handed over their money for them. Did they not see the house before they parted with their cash?

We have recently moved into a David Wilson new build and whilst we have found a few minor snags there is nothing major and what we have found has been sorted out very quickly. Having heard all of the horror stories regarding new build quality we inspected ours thoroughly before parting with any money and have to say that we are really quite impressed with the build quality which is really a world apart from the quality of our previous 2 bed 1930's semi which was very poor to say the least.

The only complaint that we have with our new 3 bed detached home so far is that it is far too hot in this weather. With the exception of one room (the third bedroom) all of the other rooms have south facing windows which means the house is stiffling when we get home after work!

westernpromise

RelievedSheff wrote: »

It does amaze me when you see these news articles about shoddy new builds why people have handed over their money for them. Did they not see the house before they parted with their cash?

We have recently moved into a David Wilson new build and whilst we have found a few minor snags there is nothing major and what we have found has been sorted out very quickly. Having heard all of the horror stories regarding new build quality we inspected ours thoroughly before parting with any money and have to say that we are really quite impressed with the build quality which is really a world apart from the quality of our previous 2 bed 1930's semi which was very poor to say the least.

The only complaint that we have with our new 3 bed detached home so far is that it is far too hot in this weather. With the exception of one room (the third bedroom) all of the other rooms have south facing windows which means the house is stiffling when we get home after work!

That'll be the insulation I guess. Keeps the house warm in winter and stifling in summer...

DunnersO

RelievedSheff wrote: »

It does amaze me when you see these news articles about shoddy new builds why people have handed over their money for them. Did they not see the house before they parted with their cash?

Many new homes, especially in sought-after locations are bought "off-spec" - meaning the prospective purchaser enters into an agreement for sale prior to practical completion of the build. Even if they then have the option to withdraw from the sale after it is completed, they will often be too emotionally and financially invested to make such a decision.


Quality control comes at a price, however. Employing a Clerk of Works to adequately oversee a construction project will either mean the consumer paying more (which they'll try and avoid by searching out a cheaper option) or the builder making less profit (which they do not feel compelled to do).


That being said, there being snagging items in a new build property isn't the end of the world. Nor does it make the home a 'slum' (which is an insult to the millions of people around the world who have no choice but to exist in genuine slums). So long as the house builder fixes any snagging and defective items within a reasonable timeframe, there's no reason why the homeowner cannot enjoy their home well into the future.


Obviously there will be examples when house builders have built a property which is genuinely not fit for sale or habitation. There will also be examples when they have utterly failed to address genuine snagging items and defects in any acceptable way. But while these cases capture the attention, they are by no means representative of the norm.

Sailtheworld

Absolutely the worst time to find problems with a house is after you've completed. There are bound to be snags found even after moving in but some of the more major problems highlighted in the article would indicate that buyers haven't conducted the most rudimentary of pre- completion inspections. A builder will be somewhat keener to do remedial fixes if they are found a week before rather than a week after completion.

A camera, a check-list and three hours are all that's needed. Leaking sinks, a wall 3cm away from vertical etc are examples of both shoddy workmanship and a customer signing it off because they couldn't be bothered to inspect properly.

A bit like people complaining they bought a house with a 'secret' leasehold when they wanted a house with a freehold.

PasturesNew

My current top tip is: avoid MDF skirting/fixings, they damage easily, look rough quickly, doors warp easily. I bet many have to entirely replaced within 10-15 years of a build in a house that has "average to high people traffic"... whereas many Victorian houses still have these things in perfect nick.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

I've visited friends in new build houses and they just feel so cramped:


Tiny overlooked back gardens
No front garden, just a narrow drive with the car parked right up against the front window
No storage
No loft
No space to extend
Surrounded by 1000s of houses crammed in as close as possible



I live in a 2 up 2 down 1930s terrace, but it somehow feels more spacious than the new 3 storey, 3 bathroom places I've seen.

Jonbvn

When we bought a NB many years ago we got a professional snagging inspection company to assist. In my view it was money very well spent.

The developer was a bit reticent to allow access before completion, but I insisted & they agreed.

If you're spending this sort of money, then due diligence is not an optional extra IMHO.

BTW, there is a whole website dedicated to this very issue. (NB. I have no connection with it).
https://www.snagging.org/

Owain_Moneysaver

RelievedSheff wrote: »

It does amaze me when you see these news articles about shoddy new builds why people have handed over their money for them. Did they not see the house before they parted with their cash?....

The only complaint that we have with our new 3 bed detached home so far is that it is far too hot in this weather. With the exception of one room (the third bedroom) all of the other rooms have south facing windows which means the house is stiffling when we get home after work!

Many of the most serious defects (like fire barriers in walls) can only be inspected as the work progresses as they are covered over during later construction.

If your house gets stifling that is a clear indicator of faulty design and site planning as your house has excessive solar gain and insufficient insulation. Typical spec builder problem though as they only have a small number of house types and use the same ones everywhere regardless of alignment on the plot. Your opposite neighbours probably have north-facing windows and find their house dark and cold.

Developers will often prohibit professional inspection/snagging before completion.

andrewf75

I find the standard of new homes shocking in the UK. Couldn't bring myself to buy a new build.

RelievedSheff

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

Many of the most serious defects (like fire barriers in walls) can only be inspected as the work progresses as they are covered over during later construction.

If your house gets stifling that is a clear indicator of faulty design and site planning as your house has excessive solar gain and insufficient insulation. Typical spec builder problem though as they only have a small number of house types and use the same ones everywhere regardless of alignment on the plot. Your opposite neighbours probably have north-facing windows and find their house dark and cold.

Developers will often prohibit professional inspection/snagging before completion.

I work with the developer that we bought our house from. They have in excess of 100 house types on their books so it isn't a question of limited house types, more as you say lack of planning of the alignment of the plots. And to be fair with my job I should have known better and checked this out prior to reserving the plot. But we fell in love with it and all rationality went out of the window.

We may well appreciate the solar gain during the winter months but we are finding that at this time of year it is a tad on the warm side most notably in the master bedroom which unfortunately has the en suite window on the south elevation and the main bedroom window on the west elevation.

The only room that stays reasonably cool is the single bedroom which has it's window on the eastern elevation so only gets the sun first thing. The northern elevation which faces onto the driveway and garage has no windows.

The neighbours opposite have their kitchen-diners on the southern elevations so I imagine they have the same heat issues in their, but their living room is on the northern side so will stay cooler. Unfortunately with the layout of our house the kitchen diner has windows and doors on both the eastern and southern elevations and the living room has windows on the southern and western elevation, so no escape from the sun!

All that said we do love this house. The build quality is generally very good and is certainly a lot better than the 2 bed 1930's semi that we part exchanged for this 3 bed detached. Despite not being a lot bigger on paper the new house feels a lot more spacious and is laid out much better for modern living making much better use of the available space. We were concerned about the lack of storage space but actually upon moving in we have found that there is more than ample storage and our worries were unfounded.