I wouldn't. It would just make me sad every time I looked at it. ( unless super posh detached). Old buildings are so much nicer. Mines 1870s
…on a main road, some are link-detached (the new buzz word for a semi!), on a main road and next to a very busy pub. Price? Yeah – we’ll charge a fortune for them!!! 🤣🤣🤣
They look like farm sheds!
They look like farm sheds!
…this was done by the same developer - again very busy main road and close to a very busy pub…
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/86411676
…completed a couple of years ago and two have come up for sale recently but haven’t sold.
They look like farm sheds!
To be fair, it's an improvement on the normal "looks like a house" architecture. At least someone sat down and actually had an opinion.
Live in a new build at the moment. Don’t mind it but wouldn’t buy another. Sold a Victorian house to buy it which was over a hundred years old. This house won’t be here in a hundred years….
The design is fine - it’s just the price they want for the location they are in. Those who know the areas won’t buy them.
No way, in an estate anyway. All the reasons above, shoddy quality, small gardens, insuffient parking, all crammed in.
New spec built of one / half dozen by a smaller local company, maybe.
Current house was spec built in 1989, internal finish was a bit cheapskate (cheap pine doors, few sockets, kitchen and bathroom not high quality) but, in 2017 everything was end-of-life, so suited me as a project to do a complete refit, and sort out a terrible downstairs layout. Very happy now, comfortable, modern home, with lowish running costs. And can fit 5 or more vehicles in the front yard, and thats only using 1/3 of the driveway down the side of the house (log stacks occupy part of the rest).
Interesting comments above storm damage to new builds, I thought B-regs had changed to require all tiles nailed (traditional was every other tile?), but also now have to use dry (no mortar) verges and ridges, is that a weakness letting the wind under the tiles I wonder?
Small to mid scale developer with good reputation should be fine.
Except as per that Guardian article they’re being squeezed out of the market by the big boys?
I do love how the artists' impressions always seem to show just the one (usually BMW) parked on the drive. Truly aspirational living.
Im happy with my old(built 1901) tenement flat. Big rooms, but not so high ceilings(9') been a bit of subsidence somewhere in its history from flooding I think, so the door frames are a bit of a parallelogram, but other than that its solid and sound.
With many new builds, the rooms are tiny with thin walls, sometimes little better than stud partitions. The plumbing aint great, but you know where you are with it and its not too bad really.
Cavities were all insulated a few years go with a free government scheme, and ive had new double glazed put in front and back so its all good there.
Too many times i hear stories like the above, of super duper award winning new builds, that turn into a nightmare of maintenance within a couple of years of moving in.
Except as per that Guardian article they’re being squeezed out of the market by the big boys?
I wonder how much of that is down to the governments house building targets though.
Round here it goes
- speculative application that shouldn't stand a chance (e.g. it's inside the AWE fallout emergency preparedness planning area)
- rejected
- well where can we build then?
- what? You don't own any other land?
- you have to find space for 5000 new houses before the end of the year to meet your target or approve this one by default
So if they don't rubberstamp the big developers thousand home developments in barely appropriate locations, they have to deal with hundreds of smaller ones in even worse places.
Not a chance.
Built to a price point by barely skilled labourers.
1 day to complete the bathroom, 2 day to do the kitchen. Wiring run god knows where.
I have heard dozens of horror stories from distraught people who have just dropped £300k on their dreams home only to find out it's a pile of poo.
I'm sure some are absolutely great, and I would buy a new build.built by a small local building firm who has been trading for years, not a new build estate built on an old waste site , signed off by themselves with Bulgarian and Romanian plumbers.
When I was first married our toddler son could only walk in one direction in his bedroom - downhill & all his toys ended up in one corner the floor was that sloped, mind you the house was built in 15th century.
Everything was a new build once....
Having spent 25yrs crawling all over and under our old slightly shonky 60s bungalow rectifying and improving, installing my own kitchen and bathroom etc, I really thought I'd struggle with a new build.
But it has been generally great. Small estate and developer, not crammed in. Location is a bit remote, so they struggled retaining trades and site managers, resulting in a bit of dodgy finishing and plumbing. But watched it being built from footings up so know the important stuff is done ok and it had a massive warm dry spell before and during roofing.
Kitchen was installed direct by the manufacturer to avoid builders trashing everything - nothing fancy but that was done really well.
Massive insulated floor slab has been a revelation (I did netting and rockwool under our old floor but this is way better). Similarly celotex wall insulation that doesn't bridge the cavity and has a big overlap with the floor insulation (and external bricks were left out at regular gaps so cavity could be inspected for debris).
Thought I'd hate dot and dab plasterboard walls, but using Corefix plugs for heavy stuff has been really clean and easy (same for adding sockets / back boxes). Wish we'd taken more photos of pipes and wires at first fix....
Properly finished and accurate sized window openings, with well fitting frames (not dodgy lintels, undersized aftermarket frames and a ton of cludge).
You do realise how little DIY most people can do - we're in a tiny minority that could do our own patio, trim doors after carpet etc.
Glad we like it - I never ever want to go through the stress of selling / moving house again.
It’s not, it’s because huge numbers of people are wombles and won’t park on their drive incase someone else parks outside their house. Also parking on the drive is for one or two cars and many households have three or four.
It’s absolutely not a “new build” specific problem.
it is a new build issue though. Government policy for a while was to push for roads that were narrow and houses with at most space for one car on the drive to avoid "car focussed neighbourhoods". This was wishful thinking, as having to stuff a car half on the pavement doesn't stop someone's "need" for a second car. Older estates have a similar issue, but often have a front garden that can be paved over and a road wide enough to park on both sides and still drive down.
. Even the “nice”, well built new builds are horrible, IMO, because of this
Nice new builds can be lovely. These are the last two developments the builders of our house did, plenty of space.
You do realise how little DIY most people can do
Surely this only holds true if you keep moving into new builds every few years.
As much as the quip about everything being new build at one point holds true so does the converse point of eventually everything needs repaired.
urely this only holds true if you keep moving into new builds every few years.
Met a guy once who'd lived in loads of new builds. Instead of doing the usual property development thing of buying scruffy properties and doing them up for a profit he'd buy one of the first few homes available on a new development. There would be considerable discounts and incentives from the builders to sell houses while the estate was still being built and also because so many houses were on the market at the same time they weren't exactly hotly contested. So he'd buy, move in, then once the estate was finished he'd sell. Everyone else on the estate had just moved in there would be no other houses there for sale or likely to be for a while so for anyone who needed to move to the area his was the only option available so there would be a bit of bidding war.
He made very similar margins to many developers but did absolutely zero work for the money
His day job was building houses 🙂
Parking..hah.. all the old houses round here have no off-street parking at all 🙂
Interesting comments above storm damage to new builds, I thought B-regs had changed to require all tiles nailed (traditional was every other tile?), but also now have to use dry (no mortar) verges and ridges, is that a weakness letting the wind under the tiles I wonder?
Our previous house (link in post at top of this page) lost 300+ roof tiles 6 months after the build was finished and we'd moved in. Storm over Hogmanay 2006-07, high winds took off some tiles complete with battens, other tiles bent and snapped in the wind. Utter devastation: we were the only house without damage to our cars (the only ones to use our garage, and other car was away with us). Even before that we'd seen whole sections of roof tiles flapping up in the wind. Builder blamed planning regs but it became clear he'd used an unsuitably lightweight tile for the location. Entire roof replaced at his expense on all 10 houses, replacement tiles used were 3-4 times heavier than the originals.
New builds round here are crazy prices, but the old stuff is pretty poor quality, mostly run down and needing repair etc....of course our own house fits into this category too...
Parking..hah.. all the old houses round here have no off-street parking at all
All the new builds round here have 2 spaces. But you better drive nothing bigger than a fiesta.
I'll stick to my late 40s ex council house with it's drive way that fits 5 cars and isn't just the entire front garden paved.
As for nailing tiles down. Ours has very few nailed. We lose 1 or 2 tiles every year or so in a very exposed hill top location If they were all nailed it would be hellish.
But then. The structural engineer was surprised when I told him the dimensions of our roof woodwork when doing calcs suggested the extension could be almost half the dimensions rather than his usual catch all comment of "match existing timbers" and being old and Scottish has full sarking and not just tiles on battens over membrane hanging on with a hope and prayer.
My old man was. A site manager for a large collapsing floor based company up in this area for a few months before he got asked to leave due to refusing to sign off on shoddy / nee dangerous houses as finished.
I went to have a look at one of these new builds in Sheffield, I liked it: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/138847091#/?channel=RES_NEW
Tiny developer (actually a pair of architects), triple glazing, underfloor heating, solar panels. A bit of a premium but it seemed fair compared to what else is available.
I live in a 4 year old house, bought 2 years ago. No problems with build quality other than they specced rubbish appliances. It's warm and cheap to run.
I think you generally get what it says on the tin: no character, not much privacy/space, warm and IMO very low maintenance.
Would I buy one off plan... Yes, but I would get an anally retentive builder to do the snagging list.
When I was a kid every time it was windy people lost tiles. I haven't seen a single one leave a roof on this street of 2007 houses.
We lost concrete tiles as a kid on a new build( built in 88 and tiles lost in 91)
I mean it was the hogmanay hurricane and most houses in the town had some damage.
My grandparents on Shetland saw 190mph winds in that storm. They saw complete(wooden) houses blown over.
#3pigs
There's new builds here in the new town that ban solar panels and all sorts of other rules.
We recently moved into a new build. Prior to that we lived in a bit of a Victorian project house.
Prefer a character property with high ceilings as I'm a tall git. Decided on new build as there weren't any character properties with 4/5 bedrooms and we wanted to stay in the local area.
As others have said choosing a good plot is key. We have a nice old oak tree out the front of our house and live at the end of our little road so no passing traffic.
Drive and garage is nice to have.
Nice and warm with minimal use of the heating.
Snagging list was quite extensive. Nothing major and the builders are fixing things. Frustrating as most of it was obvious and avoidable but seems some of the trades didn't give much of a shit.
Best thing is not having to do much to the house so have more free time to ride bikes.
Also leasehold issues, I would not buy anything that came with ground rent or charges to management company.
Is it the case that on many "estates" the roads aren't adopted by the local council?
We've been in our new build for 2.5 years. Zero issues. It's a small development with only 50 houses and it's pretty much an isolated development with woodlands behind us and open countryside in front so it doesn't feel like a typical new build estate. Our snagging list was very small. Some minor cosmetic stuff.
The house is spacious with a large garden. Roof has 9 solar panels so our electricity bill is very low. The house is very well insulated so the gas bill is also very low.
I definitely wouldn't have bought it if it was a huge development but we've really lucked out. Neighbours are nice and everyone keeps themselves to themselves.
Probably the biggest attraction with a new build was avoiding the crazy bidding system in the Scottish market where as well as having a 20% deposit we'd also need another 20-30% of the home report value to plow into the place in order to win, and even then that would've been on a place that probably needed a new kitchen or bathroom etc. Knowing the price the builder wanted and no hassles with bidding was a very attractive scenario
My first 2 houses were an 1890 2 bed cottage and a 1902 Edwardian detached 4-bed. The last one was ‘modernised’ in the 1980s, so had the ‘benefit’ of an uninsulated concrete slab floor to stop it subsiding, draughty windows and minimal insulation.
2 years ago, we had this house built by a local, family building firm. We changed the interior from a 3-bed upside-down to a 2-bed, working with the architect. Built during COVID it took 9 months - we were living on the other side of the country. I had to get pretty hands-on in terms of the interior layout, kitchen, bathrooms etc. sourcing and ordering stuff in order to keep things moving. We moved in 2 months later than planned and it still wasn’t finished. I also had to fit out my workshop inside the garage, plus building the polydome and another bike shed.
The ‘garden’ was just bare earth, so that’s been landscaped, lawned, installed raised beds, a chicken run, fenced and gated. I’ve still got a jobs list after over 2 years of living here.<br />
I’ve heard too many horror stories about volume house builders to want to buy one - cutting corners, not meeting building regs, useless NHBC guarantees. I’m sure there are plenty of smaller to medium size builders/developers who turn out good quality properties, but you need to be pretty hands on, have a pretty well-defined idea about what you want so you don’t end up disappointed. I’m hoping this will be the last move - we can live entirely on the ground floor if needed.
On the parking issues, our development is pretty good. We have a good sized drive, although not overly deep, but we could fit 3 cars side by side on ours. We're currently waiting for the road to be finished, been notified it's happening next month which should finish it off nicely.
We've struck lucky with great friendly neighbours too.
sure, any developer can buy a farmers field in the middle of nowhere & build a spacious development. Location, location, location tho innit. What the snazzy brochure doesn’t tell you is that it’s next to a busy bypass & the only pub within walking distance is shit 😂. Hard pass from me! 🤣Nice new builds can be lovely. These are the last two developments the builders of our house did, plenty of space.
Good God no! There’s a new estate being built somewhere here in the South-West, I honestly can’t remember where, but half the houses already built and sold are having to be demolished because of issues with the ground they’re building on!
Here in Chippenham the government have forced the council to build hundreds of new houses because ‘local plan wasn’t adequate…’ one small estate sits on a narrow wedge-shaped plot that’s between the London - Bristol railway line and a fairly busy road bringing traffic onto the A4 into town from the A350. It’s sloping down from the railway embankment on all sides and the top is a thick band of solid grey clay, perfect for making pots with. God knows what their drainage is going to be like, although there’s a large drainage pond just as you drive into the estate. Meanwhile the town centre is dying on its ass because the four car parks have no free parking for the first hour, while all the big retail parks surrounding the town have free parking and cafes and other eateries close by. And the councils keep saying they’ve got regeneration plans in hand. 😖
My house needs some remedial work doing, I’m waiting on details of a load of pensions at the moment to see what sort of lump sum I can get without degrading my annuity, but it’s solid otherwise. It should be, it’s 90 years old, built just pre-WW2. I wonder how kind 90 years will be to all these timber-framed buildings will be.
I wonder how kind 90 years will be to all these timber-framed buildings will be.
Aye. Timber is such a short life span material in buildings.
Drives that might accommodate 2 cars if you’re lucky aren’t much use in 3-4 bed houses once those kids hit driving age.
"Driving age" only needs to be driving age where public transport is dogshit...which it usually is on new build sprawl estates.
What the UK needs is a bunch more Swiss style 3-5 storey blocks of flats (with underground parking if really necessary). You can get one of them on the plots of two old suburban houses.
This thread is depressing.
The snobs are gloating over their perfect character filled cottages, meanwhile people buy what they can get if they are lucky enough to be able to.
Aye. Timber is such a short life span material in buildings.
I rather suspect that there is timber, and there is timber. Just like I have "wooden" desks from Ikea.
I would never buy a New Build for two reasons:
Everyone that I know who has bought one has had big issues, ranging from walls peeling apart to the whole roof needing to be replaced, and all have vowed to never buy another one.
2 years ago I spent a few weeks delivering facias, guttering and soffits to building site all over South Wales and the West. This usually involved lengthy waits for the fork driver to come and unload me which gave me plenty of time to snoop around and chat to the various trades. The amount of dodgy workmanship, cutting corners and poor management I saw was more than enough to put me off ever owning one. Some of the sites were charging £5-600k for the crap they were slapping up.
There is a new build estate that is being built on the edge of Skipton at the moment. It is on a really steep plot that runs right down towards the river which has just had flood defences erected. They’ve had to put in loads of stone and metal to create a wall to stop the estate sliding into the river I presume. Either way it looks precarious. I just wonder what they’ll be like in 50 years time.
I know nothing about building houses but it always amazes me how quickly the new builds go up. Surely that is not a good thing.
Surveyors definition of parking is interesting, my bungalow has a garage which you obviously have to drive in and out of, and a parking space in front, but not in the way of garage access.
Surveyors report quotes, ample off street parking for 4-5 cars. It must be true, but they would all be bumper to bumper, side by side, and small.
id have a new houseid not have one on a new estate layout.
Pretty much this. My (1920's build) house is objectively a bit crap. I'd trade it in a heartbeat for a nice dry well-insulated new house.
I'd not trade my shed and my space/privacy/location though, and I'm not going to get a new build with any of those things - well, not on my budget anyway.
I think with new builds unless it's a posh commission or a very small development you get a plasterboard and timber box built in the shortest possible time by the cheapest possible labour. Doesn't matter how 'Executive' or 'Prestige' the sign outside the showhome says it is. I'm watching loads go up on a fairly posh development near me and the contractors don't give a [edited]. That said we lived in one for six years and apart from being small and flimsy it was OK. Built just before help to buy came out. Oddly enough once they started selling them like hot cakes the quality nosedived. I guess they're like Land Rovers. They look nice but who knows what's about to go wrong 🤣
My thoughts:
1. Why is the house purchase competition process not changed. Eg. You get Murphy to carry out his survey and then you'complete' depending on your satisfaction?!
2. I've never seen any of his videos venture into the building performance. With the new building regs increased to (whatever) near passive house means, I'd think his business should be expanding to pressure testing and thermal imaging to check the structural integrity.
Clearly building control aren't checking the new airtight limits are being adhered to, so just more insulation materials added to the spreadsheet and overall cost with only minimal benefit.
These would be my stipulations if I were to consider a new build. I don't think I would be entertained.....
Give me new build anyday, but not one built by some Alan Sugar wannabe.
I like the fact that there are different tastes, and plenty of folk are happy to spend big money to live in old houses with character. Character looks best from the outside, so I get to enjoy it without living with the damp and dark rooms that go with it.
I re3cently worked in an old mill, complete with non turning water wheel on the side of it. I've driven past it a million times and love the way it looks. Inside though, it's a thoroughly depressing space, just horrible. Dark, fusty and terrible layout. Listed though, so no easy way to improve it.
Similarly, I love spending the weekend in a fifth floor flat on the Royal mile in Edinburgh. Lovely high ceilings and airy feel, in summer at least. But those two big window frames with the mushy wood? I don't want to be the guy getting quotes to sort that out...
New build developer houses are invariably thrown up in the shoddiest way they can get away with. Bang in a Neff hob and a Grohe shower and you've got yourself a 'luxury' house. I've spent the last two days working in a brand new one in Aviemore. It's nice, but even at a glance there's plenty evidence of a real lack of decent workmanship. Beyond first glance, take a wander around with a 1200 level and a square, and it's all over the place. Still, that's what filler and silicone is for 🙂
I have had random customers in to work reporting the following.
Front door just stuck in with crazy foam
Windows which you could see daylight between the wall and frame
Waste trap missing from bathroom sink
Shower head holder missing
Wiring run in a void above a window
Outside tap connection to the hot supply
No insulation in walls
Watching workman carrying loft insulation from a sold new build being moved to the next one.
I've/We've rented & owned a number of new (or within a year or two) builds and for me it's like buying a new/nearly-new car, you know what you're getting, what'll it deliver and the 'protections' you'll have. Yes, it'll be overlooked and unless you're paying big money (for the area). will have a smaller garden etc - but so do Victorian terraces.
With older houses, there's a fair bit of guess-work and until you start removing stuff you've no idea what you'll find - our place is about 200 years old. Recently we had the bathroom ripped out and renewed, local firm (so use to older properties) quoted 1-1.5 weeks, took 2.5 weeks. Lots of head-scratching, especially trying to connect the sewage-side as of course everything was a non-standard size. Also ended up going back to the stone walls as the insulation was knackered and vermin eaten (polystyrene), so replaced with modern sheets.
When the kids were young and money & time were tight, a new house meant cheap bills and next-to-no maintenance.
