Pros and Cons - Living in an old House/possibly non-standard construction

NewShadow

Hello lovely people.

I'm in the process of looking for a house to buy and it seems that most of/many of the houses in the area I'm looking are non-standard construction: i.e. concrete.

Those that aren't, those that have any character at all, are older properties.

It would be good to get your experiences

The upsides I'm assuming are larger rooms - what were the downsides/ what did you do to overcome them?

If it helps, [link removed] this is the one[/URL] I'm looking at currently* - assuming the money worked out and there was nothing 'red' on the survey - what would you be concerned about if this was going to be your 'forever home'?

Thank you kindly for sharing,

NS

*for this particular house the Seller has assured me it's standard construction, but I know that's not guaranteed until after the survey comes back.

-taff

I'd be looking at insulation and heating systems. You've got original fireplaces and doors in there, nice, bu taking the paint off them and making them look nicer is going to be a job.
If it's an old council house it may well be non standard but more likely to to block built.
The garden is going to take a bit of work. The cons are mainly going to be the cost of updating everything, potential re-wire depending on what you do with the kitchen and whether you're planning on extending.

NewShadow

-taff wrote: »

I'd be looking at insulation and heating systems. You've got original fireplaces and doors in there, nice, bu taking the paint off them and making them look nicer is going to be a job.
If it's an old council house it may well be non standard but more likely to to block built.
The garden is going to take a bit of work. The cons are mainly going to be the cost of updating everything, potential re-wire depending on what you do with the kitchen and whether you're planning on extending.

Yeah - I've had a heads up that they're generally 'on the cold side'.

I'm thinking tapestries

thriftwizard

We live in an Edwardian heap with a number of rather random extensions. The upside is that usually any major problems, like subsidence or a sagging roof, are easily spotted, as they've had plenty of time to show themselves. The downsides are many & various, like drafts, damp where people have bodged repairs & "upgrades" & wood that's just - had enough! Most of that can be sorted out & you'd end up with more space than most new homes provide, particularly that potentially-lovely garden.

If, like me, you suffer from allergies, you are likely to benefit from living in a home that doesn't contain too many modern chemicals. We spent 8 months living in a 1970s house full of thermoplastic floor tiles, polystyrene ceiling tiles, chipboard and other sources of formaldehyde, and I needed to use my inhalers several times a day. They've almost never been used since we moved here.

Good heavy curtains are the answer to drafts. Look in secondhand shops, with tape-measure in hand; inter-lined are best. It's easy to cut them down from a larger pair. A sturdy sewing machine (an old hand-crank is more than adequate) is your best friend! It is now possible to get double-glazing that suits older houses, but it costs!

NewShadow

thriftwizard wrote: »

We live in an Edwardian heap with a number of rather random extensions. The upside is that usually any major problems, like subsidence or a sagging roof, are easily spotted, as they've had plenty of time to show themselves. The downsides are many & various, like drafts, damp where people have bodged repairs & "upgrades" & wood that's just - had enough!

Thanks. Someone was telling me that something will go wrong/need fixing roughly every six months - do people with older houses do an MOT?

I mean, I know it's sensible to get the boiler checked/have a look at the guttering before heading into winter, but is there anything else like that - preventative - that's sensible to put on the calendar? I've never owned a house before...

-taff

If you're going to use the fireplaces get the chimneys swept.
We could list a massive set of things to do, but ultimately, only you know how you live in it, and what you can put up with.
If the roof is sound and there's no damp, subsidence or structural work needed, you can do it as and when. Although if you are going to rewire then try and do that before you move in. It's very messy.

iamsalt

We have a maintenance schedule for our mxed age house 1800 with 3 pre 1900 extensions. It includes gutters, chimney sweeping, but also checking soil levels (this can be a cause of damp), checking window and door frames, loft etc. Keeping airbricks clear too.

We renovated and i found lots of info on period property forum.

We used lime and clay paints (asthmatics in the house), have 60cm insulation in the roof (we are limited elsewhere due to listing) and that and carpets were wool with felt underlay.

Hope it helps