Taylor Wimpey?
- Thread starter tres
- Start date
We saw one of their estates prior to buying our house. From the minute we walked into the show home we knew it wasn't going to be any good. Everything was tiny (hallways, stairs), no design work went into anything (i.e. couldn't open oven door as was backing onto a cabinet handle), and the standard of work in the 'show' home was shocking.
Soldato
The best thing you could do with a TW is only buy one with a massive discount for a bare shell and then get your own builders to do all the electrical final fit, plaster boarding & plastering, fit the kitchen and bathrooms, tiling / decorating etc.
I don’t own one but I’ve done plenty of inspections and my employer recently got appointed by a group of residents on a TW site where roof straps hadn’t been used which has meant a significant amount of remedial work being agreed by TW and months of disruption for the owners.
That aside they aren’t brilliant but they’re not persimmon. I’d take the advice above and buy a shell if they’ll let you and do the rest your self.
It’s completely random how good houses are and depends a lot on the site staff and manager.
That aside they aren’t brilliant but they’re not persimmon. I’d take the advice above and buy a shell if they’ll let you and do the rest your self.
It’s completely random how good houses are and depends a lot on the site staff and manager.
Caporegime
I don't know if they will do the shell thing, as they have to build up to spec of what was agreed with the NHBC.
For this very reason we couldn't ask for changes to plumbing or anything like that, at best we could ask for additional sockets to be installed. (This was David Wilson, but I assume it is the same for all new build developers.)
For this very reason we couldn't ask for changes to plumbing or anything like that, at best we could ask for additional sockets to be installed. (This was David Wilson, but I assume it is the same for all new build developers.)
Soldato
My dad's is really nice but it was built for one of the top dogs at TW who then sold it after about 18 months. His culdesac had the only tarmacced road on the whole development for years 
it was clearly snagged to perfection inside and the lawn has actual deep soil underneath rather than a thin layer of soil over rubble.
Otherwise I wouldn't bother..
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it was clearly snagged to perfection inside and the lawn has actual deep soil underneath rather than a thin layer of soil over rubble. Otherwise I wouldn't bother..
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Soldato
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- 13 Jun 2011
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No experience with TW but have plenty of experience with new builds and would never recommend one to anyone.
Not only do you get an over priced poorly designed house. You also get to own your nice property on an estate where you can guarantee there will be “affordable housing” on the same development.
Not only do you get an over priced poorly designed house. You also get to own your nice property on an estate where you can guarantee there will be “affordable housing” on the same development.
What size house were you looking at?
We were interested in a new build and there's quite a few going up around the Sandbach area. We only looked at 4 bed detached and these were surprisingly roomy. With everything pretty much designed for open plan there was lots of room. The showhome style was excellent as well where you could tell a lot of care had gone into the details. Almost to the point you'd happily move into a showhome. So certainly the complete opposite of what you'd described. I guess a lot depends on who's managing the areas.
Persimmon homes was a disaster though. The one thing I'd say I like about the TW homes is that the external houses still had character. The brickwork had different shades, they were styled with top half rendered, or exposed beams like a tudor style. And even the houses weren't just a square and had a front to the house.
Persimmon homes were ugly though, a basic square with solid red brickwork and chucked in with what looked like cheap white upvc windows and door. Even the showhomes interiors were not impressive in the slightest. You would have come to accept this if they were priced significantly cheaper than other house builders, but no, they're pretty much similar price. So I do feel sorry for anyone who's bought a persimmon home.
Soldato
Purchased a TW home in 2013, was fine tbh.
I think in some respects it's what you can make of it, but if you do buy one definitely negotiate as much of a discount as you can.
If buying off-plan they should give you cash for options, but don't be afraid to low-ball them a bit, because they can only say no, and you don't really run the risk of offending them to the point where they won't accept a higher offer from you.
I think in some respects it's what you can make of it, but if you do buy one definitely negotiate as much of a discount as you can.
If buying off-plan they should give you cash for options, but don't be afraid to low-ball them a bit, because they can only say no, and you don't really run the risk of offending them to the point where they won't accept a higher offer from you.
We were looking at 3-4 bedroom houses. They were all under 100 square meters, which is pretty shocking. Add the inefficiency of their designs, and they felt tiny.
Out of all the developers we looked at (and we must have seen 10-15 estates), Redrow and Lovell were the only ones that seemed to put some thought and care into their houses.
Ended up buying from Lovell, and had no major issues, just a couple of minor ones. Overall size is 123 square meters, good layout and overall fantastic.
Caporegime
We are very happy with the design we got from DWH.
https://www.dwh.co.uk/new-homes/greater-london/h620501-cane-hill-park/plot-40/
Kitchen and Dining area is nice and spacious, study can have 2 of us working in there comfortably, and dual-access to the garden is sweet.
Square meterage is bang on 100 not including the hallways, nice sized garden, detached garage and driveway space for 2 cars.
I bought a Redrow new build 3 years ago. They are considered the Waitrose of new builds and they have gone downhill in regards to quality over the last few years.
All new builds seem to be going that way. They chuck them up as quickly as possible to make maximum profit. They employ builders who are new to the trade or people that are not that good at it which results in poor finishes. This is because they pay peanuts to also maximise profit.
I know this as my mother has sold for most new build companies and I am also a self-employed trades man who would never consider working for one of the major developers for these reasons.
Sorry it paints a bleak picture but it's true 90% of the time.
All new builds seem to be going that way. They chuck them up as quickly as possible to make maximum profit. They employ builders who are new to the trade or people that are not that good at it which results in poor finishes. This is because they pay peanuts to also maximise profit.
I know this as my mother has sold for most new build companies and I am also a self-employed trades man who would never consider working for one of the major developers for these reasons.
Sorry it paints a bleak picture but it's true 90% of the time.
Soldato
Dont forget a lot of the space issues come down to government restrictions, they zone areas with targetted population density.
Most house builders would be happy to knock up loads of big 4/5 beds only, they arent allowed to.
The small guys get away with it as under certain numbers of houses per development they dont apply the same rules.
Most house builders would be happy to knock up loads of big 4/5 beds only, they arent allowed to.
The small guys get away with it as under certain numbers of houses per development they dont apply the same rules.
Soldato
We saw a TW new build up here alongside several other new build estates before buying our current house. I was pretty shocked at the build quality of the house that I saw from TW - basic stuff like floor/ceiling wasn't flat, no sockets in the bedrooms etc. of the house that they were trying to sell as "ready to move in". The other ones I saw (mostly Barratt and Dandara) felt a lot better built.
It is good to see they are doing some of them right! A lot of horror stories on the web, which paints them in a very bad light.
It does help if the site manager listens and cares, otherwise it's just a bunch of self employed people trying to finish jobs as quick as possible, which results in shoddy work.
My only gripe with my development, was the state of the soil in both front and rear gardens. I already ripped everything up in the back and re-landscaped due to nothing surviving in the 'soil'.
Caporegime
Yeah I think we just lucked out with good site managers.
The 'soil' under our turf is pretty poor, just gravel and clay (we know this as we dug a 60cm hole to plant a tree), but the turf squares they layed down have flourished like mad, constantly need to mow the bloody stuff, haha.
Don
I've bought two TW homes over the last 10 years and I'd buy from them again. No real issues, obvious snags which you get with a new build, but nothing major.
As with all new builds, it's hit and miss
As with all new builds, it's hit and miss
I guess they're almost like a franchise. I bet TW et al are not going to employ thousands of builders to work for them, instead they probably sub-contract out the work, which for a lot of contractors just means doing as minimal as you can possibly get away with. Any issues later down the line are then TW's problem etc.
Don
Exactly.
Not every McDonalds is great; it's not the brand, it's the people building the homes. So there's going to be variance in everything they do.