What else bugs you about new and new-ish building designs?

Zerforax

Detatched properties are always super close to each other and tiny gardens.

Obviously the developers do it to maximise the use of the land for more profit but still not a fan!

p00hsticks

w12ee3e said:

It seems the architects are making the presumption that both neighbours are going to want to maximise the opportunity to see each other coming in and out so the wives can of course catch up with the latest gossip about each others husbands (as if we're all married or coupled up by default whatever/maximum cringe factor) etc etc.

Are you the same person who thought it was a daft design feature for toilets in 1900's terraced houses to be downstairs at the back fo the kitchen ? You do seem to come up with some wild flights of fancy as to possible reasons for these arrangements whilst completely missing the (IMHO) fairly obvious explanations - in this case, as Doozer girl points out, so that staircases and hallways are next together and noise from the adjacent propeties is minimised... (not seen so much in older semi's, as they often shared chimney stacks).

SugarDatesAndPistachios

They tend to be top heavy - four bedrooms upstairs, downstairs - relatively big kitchen but very small living area. 

Detached new builds are crammed in together.

They are often called ‘luxury’ perhaps due to fittings but the sheer overlooked nature of them, I feel, negates this. 

Very small gardens!

SugarDatesAndPistachios

And yes as echoed above, they’ve put the doors together so each house has less noise pollution from the other, I imagine.

SavingPennies_2

w12ee3e said:

It might just be me but I absolutely loathe the design of placing two front doors right besides each another. Why do they keep doing that? What is the rationale behind that? Usually you see this joke on terraces and/or semi's. It seems the architects are making the presumption that both neighbours are going to want to maximise the opportunity to see each other coming in and out so the wives can of course catch up with the latest gossip about each others husbands (as if we're all married or coupled up by default whatever/maximum cringe factor) etc etc. IMO most people want to be left alone and be not be 'forced' at see each other at ever given opportunity. Who gives the house builders to try forfeit people's privacy any more than putting windows in the party-walls?

Usually the said buildings have walls no thicker than a 3mm sheet of plywood so when little Tommy is crying again at 2.30 AM you'll be sure to hear it too.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/122787599#/?channel=RES_BUY

I would prefer this in some ways. Not because I'm sociable with the neighbours (I also like my privacy and and don't have a husband or gossip about other husbands - eh? ). The benefit of this layout means the main bedrooms and living room have no adjoining wall with the neighbours, so better for a quieter life. My old semi had the doors on the outer side, yes it gave privacy but more noise from next door coming though the living room and bedroom. I seem to recall in your other post you were complaining about the layout of old houses having downstairs bathrooms but you don't like new houses either! This might be part of the reason you are struggling to find somewhere to buy, most people have to compromise on something unless you have very deep pockets 

ironlady2022

Odd shaped rooms where a corner is cut off for eg. Just make it straight and rectangular on rooms.

RelievedSheff

SugarDatesAndPistachios said:

They tend to be top heavy - four bedrooms upstairs, downstairs - relatively big kitchen but very small living area. 

Detached new builds are crammed in together.

They are often called ‘luxury’ perhaps due to fittings but the sheer overlooked nature of them, I feel, negates this. 

Very small gardens!

Our new build detached is about as far away from any other property as you can get in a new build estate.

The closest neighbour is 6m away across a double width driveway. The next closest is 13m away at the bottom of the garden. Both properties are gable end to ours so no overlooking.

We also have a very private garden off the kitchen with a tall wall around it and the garage forms the other boundary so absolutely no over looking in the garden at all. It is a lovely sun trap in the morning and until around about 3pm. Granted it isn't the biggest of gardens but that isn't what we wanted. We are not huge fans of looking after the garden.

RelievedSheff

ProDave said:

If you are going to pick apart that particular house I would add:

Clearly the front of the house is north facing.  So why put the living room at the front where it will never get any sun and the kitchen at the back?  I would want the kitchen at the front and living room at the back with a nice big set of patio doors onto the garden.  The real issue here is builders stamp out standard designs with little or no thought how they fit onto the plot and build the same house on different direction plots. sometimes it works sometimes it does not.

I don't like the (almost) no front garden and don't get me started on the tiny back gardens.

At least that one, because of the retaining wall, has a tall fence around the garden so is a lot less overlooked than many others.

I wouldn't dream of having patio doors off the living room instead of the kitchen.

Why would we want to take BBQ stuff through the living room? Much more practical to have the patio doors off the kitchen diner IMO.

ironlady2022

RelievedSheff said:

ProDave said:

If you are going to pick apart that particular house I would add:

Clearly the front of the house is north facing.  So why put the living room at the front where it will never get any sun and the kitchen at the back?  I would want the kitchen at the front and living room at the back with a nice big set of patio doors onto the garden.  The real issue here is builders stamp out standard designs with little or no thought how they fit onto the plot and build the same house on different direction plots. sometimes it works sometimes it does not.

I don't like the (almost) no front garden and don't get me started on the tiny back gardens.

At least that one, because of the retaining wall, has a tall fence around the garden so is a lot less overlooked than many others.

I wouldn't dream of having patio doors off the living room instead of the kitchen.

Why would we want to take BBQ stuff through the living room? Much more practical to have the patio doors off the kitchen diner IMO.

Totally agree, patio of kitchen anytime. 

HRH_MUngo

I don't like the way they are so overlooked.  My 1930s bungalow has a long garden and bungalows at each side and the back, so is not overlooked at all.  But  on the estate where our rental flat is, the houses are crammed in, even the detached ones, and there is no privacy in the  (tiny) gardens whatsoever.

I don't like the tiny gardens.  I had more garden space in my Victorian terrace!

I also don't like the small windows that many of the modern boxy houses have.

I would never choose a new build to live in.