What's wrong with resident house in Britain?

Smarta

This is already my third time I am moving house and still I can notice this very very poor built architecture here in terms of streets, soundproof, toilets.
All the houses / "flat" I've been the sound is awful that I can hear everything yes everything from footstep to kitchen to toilet flush, and other that it's shame to mention it.
I been living in other countries and never ever had such miserable life to live like this situations.

Is this common in Britain ? How you deal with it ...?
Thank you and happy weekend!

theartfullodger

Bozo and his chums

AdrianC

Smarta wrote: »

Is this common in Britain ?

In new-built places, yes.

How you deal with it ...?

Older properties.

AFF8879

theartfullodger wrote: »

Bozo and his chums

Not quite sure you can blame decades-long problems with housing stock on someone who’s been in power a matter of months, even though I get it’s fashionable to blame all your own problems on the Tories (or Blair/Brown, depending which way you lean politically).

OP, whereabouts in the country are you living? Making the assumption that you’re renting, if it’s in a high demand (especially urban) location, unfortunately many landlords will try to squeeze as much profit from a property as possible. In addition to overcrowding, this often means repairs and maintenance suffer too. Not all landlords are like thus, far from it.... but if you see a room / property advertised at what seems way below market value, it’s often too good to be true.

Then there’s the issue with new builds and the size / space standards being diminished over time as property/ land became more valuable (of which all political parties have been guilty of neglecting). The flip side of that of course is you would have fewer, but higher quality, properties than exist today which would arguably make living costs even more expensive.

kinger101

The short answer is by being more discerning about the accommodation you rent or buy.

I hear the same nonsense when people from outside of the UK say our food is terrible. You ask them where they've been eating, and you find out they're tightwads frequenting Wetherspoons or some greasy spoon.

Igol

What AdrianC said.

I walk past a new build site taking DD to school. Three houses are built and the lower walls are in place for another three.
Mrs looked at the three completed ones and said she thought the two semis looked ok. I pointed out her mistake and directed her gaze toward the others, she changed her mind.

trex227

I lived in a flat once that was built in 2007. The neighbour would play extremely loud music that could be heard in the communal hall, but nothing could be heard in our flat. Considering we shared walls I was always very impressed.

Before this I lived in a flat built in 2005ish. Playing music at normal volume during the day would result in the upstairs neighbour going mad.

Building standards vary widely. From external appearances the 2005 flat seemed to have been built to a higher standard as it had more decorative features than the 2007 flat which looked more basic. But they’d obviously skimped on details like soundproofing in the 2005 flat!

[Deleted User]

My flat was built around 1930 and I can hear my neighbour watching football very loudly, which they do most days. Films are also watched with maximum volume. I don't think it helps that my neighbour replaced carpets with sanded floorboards but on the bright side I am above them so no matter how much noise they make I can always drown it out. Now if I lived underneath them I would probably have ripped the satellite dish off the wall by now.

I suppose back when the flats were built people didn't have such powerful speakers.

sammyjammy

Lover_of_Lycra wrote: »

My flat was built around 1930 and I can hear my neighbour watching football very loudly, which they do most days. Films are also watched with maximum volume. I don't think it helps that my neighbour replaced carpets with sanded floorboards but on the bright side I am above them so no matter how much noise they make I can always drown it out. Now if I lived underneath them I would probably have ripped the satellite dish off the wall by now.

I suppose back when the flats were built people didn't have such powerful speakers.

And were perhaps more respectful of their neighbours

Davy_Jones_II

I’m fortunate enough to have more than one place. The 160 year-old family home would probably survive a direct hit by the luftwaffe. The 217 year-old flat did survive a hit by the luftwaffe, and the new-build has been built exactly the same as the other house, to last centuries.

We’ve also an old family property in France that sadly may not survive because the foundations are built over an old river and are being lost.

Age may be a guide to quality (after all, the badly built houses of 200 years ago have generally all gone) but it’s not cut and dried.

elsien

Smarta wrote: »

This is already my third time I am moving house and still I can notice this very very poor built architecture here in terms of streets, soundproof, toilets.
All the houses / "flat" I've been the sound is awful that I can hear everything yes everything from footstep to kitchen to toilet flush, and other that it's shame to mention it.
I been living in other countries and never ever had such miserable life to live like this situations.

Is this common in Britain ? How you deal with it ...?
Thank you and happy weekend!

Emigrate?
Alternatively move to a mansion where you can carry out your ablutions in a separate wing to the rest of the household.