Soldato
- Joined
- 30 Sep 2005
- Posts
- 16,684
It wasn't that long ago that Britain was well known for it's high quality, well built homes. The running joke was that the world was made up of something along the lines of....
Cars - German
Food/Wine - French
Electronics - Japan
Movies - America
Houses - Britain
Flat Pack Furniture - Sweden
..and so on
We were well known for it, so what's happened?
My family home growing up was a 1970s barker. Huge front and back garden, decent driveway, walls made of brick, water pressure which could literally blast you out of the bath, real floorboards. There was of course the odd drawbacks. Small third/fourth bedroom, lack of electrical sockets etc etc but the build was without question.
The first house we moved into was built in the early 00s and was pretty decent. It still had front and rear gardens (albeit a bit smaller), the walls were plasterboard, chipboard flooring, plastic plumbing etc etc but the build was still fairly good and we enjoyed our time there.
Our second house was built in 2008 and still fairly decent, with perhaps a slight quality downgrade on our last. There is no front garden, a tiny rear garden...and everything seems to have been done on the cheap, but at least the actual house itself wis ok (and by that I mean a gust of wind probably wouldn't blow it down). The locations perfect for us, and all things considered we've been happy for the last 13 years.
I'm not complaining about any of the houses we've been in. We feel we made the right decision. They've all be great homes.
We're now about ready to move. By that, I mean we're starting to look around whilst keeping our eyes on what's going on with covid, brexit etc etc. Could be a couple of years still yet, but we're starting to pay attention.
Prior to lockdown we went to see a number of new build properties as on paper they looked perfect. Great location, good plot size (at least on the plan), ideal layout and all the rest of it.
Here's one we had our eye on:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/83216137#/media?id=media2
In total we viewed three, from three different developers.
WOW! What the hell has happened since 2008?
They are complete, and total JUNK!
1. The sales lady had to do a little run up, elbowing the front door open. She said they are all like that and needed a little force. She made light of it.
2. The house has been fitted with light grey carpets, which were a mud bath. The workmen had walked all over the carpets with their muddy boots. She said this is what happends in new builds and they have a cleaning lady which gives them a deep clean before the sale.
3. Woodwork is the absolute cheapest you can buy. The door frames, doors and skirting boards are terrible. I asked when the house was going to be painted, and she said it already had
A super thin layer of paint brushed on leaving streaks and drips. The light fittings, door hinges and spotlights were also covered in paint.
4. The internal walls shake. Literally, you can push them with your hands and the entire wall will shake and move.
5. Kitchen is symphony. The cheapest on the market. Wonky doors, two cupboards for actual food/pots and a chipped worktop.
6. Bathroom is made by Roca. Cheap crap.
7. The garage roof was about 6ft. I'm 5ft 10 and felt like I was going to hit my head on the wooden beams. She said the garages are quite low down. Then there's the issue with actually getting to the garage. You seem to have to drive over your neighbours drive to get to it.
8. New build developments are all subject to a yearly mainteance fee? £16 a month. Something to do with councils no longer looking after the roads.
9. Internet has to be from a supplier on the OFNL network? Twice as expensive as Virgin/Sky
10. Outside didn't feel me with much confidence either. Looking around I honestly wouldn't be surprised if some of the houses started to fall down. They look like they have literally been slung up in an afternoon.
The other thing I noticed, was how reluctant the sales staff were to actually sell you a house. Pretty much every sentence started with Sorry we can't do that or No, that's not possible. It was take it or leave it, as there's plenty of other customers wanting to buy. They kinda have a point.
Is there anyone building nice homes these days?
I'm not asking people to tell me to just go and buy an older house. That's obvious. This post is trying to make sense of what's happened to the quality of our houses. We've gone from building some really great ones, to building some....which I reckon, could probably be equalled with a good £5,000 worth of lego and a couple of pots of superglue.
It was a shock to be honest. I'd heard the jokes online and thought people were going a bit overboard with how bad they are. Jeez....they really are. I mean, they are really bad.
Cars - German
Food/Wine - French
Electronics - Japan
Movies - America
Houses - Britain
Flat Pack Furniture - Sweden
..and so on
We were well known for it, so what's happened?
My family home growing up was a 1970s barker. Huge front and back garden, decent driveway, walls made of brick, water pressure which could literally blast you out of the bath, real floorboards. There was of course the odd drawbacks. Small third/fourth bedroom, lack of electrical sockets etc etc but the build was without question.
The first house we moved into was built in the early 00s and was pretty decent. It still had front and rear gardens (albeit a bit smaller), the walls were plasterboard, chipboard flooring, plastic plumbing etc etc but the build was still fairly good and we enjoyed our time there.
Our second house was built in 2008 and still fairly decent, with perhaps a slight quality downgrade on our last. There is no front garden, a tiny rear garden...and everything seems to have been done on the cheap, but at least the actual house itself wis ok (and by that I mean a gust of wind probably wouldn't blow it down). The locations perfect for us, and all things considered we've been happy for the last 13 years.
I'm not complaining about any of the houses we've been in. We feel we made the right decision. They've all be great homes.
We're now about ready to move. By that, I mean we're starting to look around whilst keeping our eyes on what's going on with covid, brexit etc etc. Could be a couple of years still yet, but we're starting to pay attention.
Prior to lockdown we went to see a number of new build properties as on paper they looked perfect. Great location, good plot size (at least on the plan), ideal layout and all the rest of it.
Here's one we had our eye on:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/83216137#/media?id=media2
In total we viewed three, from three different developers.
WOW! What the hell has happened since 2008?
They are complete, and total JUNK!
1. The sales lady had to do a little run up, elbowing the front door open. She said they are all like that and needed a little force. She made light of it.
2. The house has been fitted with light grey carpets, which were a mud bath. The workmen had walked all over the carpets with their muddy boots. She said this is what happends in new builds and they have a cleaning lady which gives them a deep clean before the sale.
3. Woodwork is the absolute cheapest you can buy. The door frames, doors and skirting boards are terrible. I asked when the house was going to be painted, and she said it already had
A super thin layer of paint brushed on leaving streaks and drips. The light fittings, door hinges and spotlights were also covered in paint.4. The internal walls shake. Literally, you can push them with your hands and the entire wall will shake and move.
5. Kitchen is symphony. The cheapest on the market. Wonky doors, two cupboards for actual food/pots and a chipped worktop.
6. Bathroom is made by Roca. Cheap crap.
7. The garage roof was about 6ft. I'm 5ft 10 and felt like I was going to hit my head on the wooden beams. She said the garages are quite low down. Then there's the issue with actually getting to the garage. You seem to have to drive over your neighbours drive to get to it.
8. New build developments are all subject to a yearly mainteance fee? £16 a month. Something to do with councils no longer looking after the roads.
9. Internet has to be from a supplier on the OFNL network? Twice as expensive as Virgin/Sky
10. Outside didn't feel me with much confidence either. Looking around I honestly wouldn't be surprised if some of the houses started to fall down. They look like they have literally been slung up in an afternoon.
The other thing I noticed, was how reluctant the sales staff were to actually sell you a house. Pretty much every sentence started with Sorry we can't do that or No, that's not possible. It was take it or leave it, as there's plenty of other customers wanting to buy. They kinda have a point.
Is there anyone building nice homes these days?
I'm not asking people to tell me to just go and buy an older house. That's obvious. This post is trying to make sense of what's happened to the quality of our houses. We've gone from building some really great ones, to building some....which I reckon, could probably be equalled with a good £5,000 worth of lego and a couple of pots of superglue.
It was a shock to be honest. I'd heard the jokes online and thought people were going a bit overboard with how bad they are. Jeez....they really are. I mean, they are really bad.
That's a small developer. It looks stunning.