To presume Victorian terraced houses are hard to live in

[Allinadaystwerk]

I know they look pretty with great character but imagine they are cold and difficult to heat with the high ceilings...and the layout with downstairs bathroom is awkward. Anyone that lives in one beg to differ?

[Ragwort]

Happiest time of my life was living in a Victorian semi ... Lovely cosy layout, wood burner stove, bathroom was upstairs though.

Now living in a large, modern five bed, three bathroom detached house and I miss my previous home (apart from the lack of parking )

[CaptainMyCaptain]

I lived in a Victorian terrace for 10 years. The bathroom was upstairs but it was quite cosy. Any older house is likely to have problems cropping up from time to time though.

[VictoriaBun]

Not all have downstairs toilets, you will often find a bedroom has been used to turn into one, or as rooms are usually big you can compromise a part of two rooms to make space.
Terraces are usually warm because you have the heat from the adjoining ones next door. I've never lived in a Victorian house, but I look upon them as being cosy homes, and most are improved by central heating and double glazing these days !

[PicsInRed]

How are they noise wise?
I'm thinking about buying a Victorian mid terrace but a bit put off by there maybe being lots of noise to bedrooms when trying to sleep? Or child noise annoying carrying to neighbours?

[Beebie2]

Lived most of my life in them. They’re warm in my experience - the ones I’ve lived in have been mid-terraces.

I’ve never had a downstairs bathroom.

Not sure what would make living difficult. What else are you worried about?

Parking can be a pain on narrow roads, but that’s not always the case.

[TicketToTheWrongFilm]

I used to live in one. It had heaps of stairs but was very cosy. We had an upstairs bathroom and a loo off a landing as well as one downstairs. Central heating too.

[CelestialSpanking]

I’ve lived in 4 over the years and only one had a bathroom downstairs. It was a pain admittedly. Another had poor insulation so was really cold all the time but again, poor insulation and the other houses (all Victorian terraces) on that road didn’t have that problem as they had much better insulation. My LL at the time wouldn’t do anything about it.

Current house (our own) is about 140 years old and the bathroom is upstairs and it hasn’t been massively difficult to heat in the winter. I love older houses.

[Charleyhorses]

No parking, noisy neighbours, no privacy, back kitchens looked directly into each other.
Apart from that, great!

[itchyfinger]

I live in one and our bathroom is upstairs (never heard of it being a given that the bathroom is downstairs?).

Not hard to heat, quite cosy and cool in the summer. Lovely features - fireplaces, ceiling roses, stained glass. Love mine! Terraced is the only thing that gets me a bit, we are a loud family and I do worry about whether next door can hear us all the time....

[Freddiefox]

Hated the downstairs bathroom attached to the kitchen, other then that it was fine

[Rebelwithallthecause]

Living in a Victorian terrace right now and for the last 5 years

No noise travels between us as we have solid walls between

Upstairs bathroom and many ok the terrace gave addition toilets downstairs

Plenty of ceiling height and wonderful big windows

On even the hottest day the house stays lovely and cool inside

Plenty of scope to convert loft or do a side return extension one day if needed

[Charleyhorses]

And downstairs bathroom! Suffice to say we flogged it to another ftb with rose tinted specs and bought something more practical

[KaitK]

I spent a good part of my childhood growing up in a Victorian terrace. I loved it, definietly my favourite house. I remember it being huge, the rooms were large, the bathroom was the biggest I've ever had (double bedroom had been converted) and the front and back gardens were massive. I don't know whether we had double glazing but definitely no central heating and I cannot remember being cold (it was the first house I lived in so wasn't used to central heating, probably be a different view now not having central heating!)

[OneRingToRuleThemAll]

I love Victorian terraces. There a loads round here and I regret buying a flat and not a Victorian terrace.

They look small and cosy to me and lovely homes.

[tensmum1964]

I have always lived in old terrace properties. I wouldn't live in an ugly semi or new build if you paid me. I love the character and charm of old properties. They can be drafty etc but that can be managed. I love mine and people often comment on how lovely it is.

[JustBumblingAlong]

@Charleyhorses

No parking, noisy neighbours, no privacy, back kitchens looked directly into each other.
Apart from that, great!

Exactly this, and ours was cold.

It was beautiful and spacious but that didn’t make up for all those annoyances. I could hear the guy next door snoring.

[CaptainMyCaptain]

@Charleyhorses

No parking, noisy neighbours, no privacy, back kitchens looked directly into each other.
Apart from that, great!

Mine had access via a back yard which I had paved for parking, you couldn't see anyone else's kitchen. All that would depend entirely on layout. When I moved in there was a really weird noise from next door but when I realised it was their stair lift it didn't bother me. Later on a man moved into the other side, he used to get drunk and come home and talk loudly to his dog which was quite amusing. I didn't have small children to get off to sleep though.

All that kind of thing would vary very much with each individual house and layout.

[SeagoingSexpot]

I was very happy in our Victorian terrace. We had a downstairs loo and full upstairs bathroom. Warm and no issues with noise, other than when next door was doing a full refit and extension.

Live in Victorian semi now and it had the bathroom-at-back-of-kitchen setup, but we soon fixed that. Its a gorgeous, well built big house which is no trouble to heat. The Victorians knew what they were at with building, which is why their handiwork is still everywhere.

[Karwomannghia]

YABU they can be very spacious and full of character!

[QualityFeet]

Have lived in loads both tiny and huge - love them all. Wouldn’t swop the small ones for a flat, the medium for a new build or the big one for the detached modern box. If I had my heating bills would be cheaper and I wouldn’t know my neighbours so well. There is a sense of community in the roads I have lived in terraces.

[charlestonchaplin]

I’ve heard mid-terrace houses have lower heating bills due to heat transfer from the houses either side.

[viques]

Can be noisy, Victorians didn't believe in sound insulation, but like anywhere else noise can be made better or worse by carpets, wooden flooring etc. They also weren't hot on foundations and damp courses.

Talking of flooring, you can get lucky and have decent boards still left, ditto fireplaces, dado rails, cornices and ceiling roses (smug face emoticon insert required).

You get used to high ceilings, I find modern houses a bit oppressive re ceilings.

Downside , often have no side return entrance, as I am about to experience today as my garden people will have to carry everything through, and back again.........

Storage great though, I have a dry cellar and a huge attic.

[PPEcompensatoryeyeliner]

I've lived in 3. I love them.

Very warm in winter but not difficult in summer.

They are quite adaptable. Our last one had an upstairs bathroom, and our home now has too, but with a tiny loo under the stairs. It's always fun viewing a few house buying thinking 'I wonder how they've used the space'

I'm not crazy about a through lounge though. I prefer a separate dining/sitting room space, but I think I might be alone in that view!

[RaininSummer]

I live my victorian house. Yes no doubt harder to head than a modern house but the high ceilings are part of its character. No downstairs bathroom. I don't think there is more noise than in any other terraced house.

[aNiceBigCupOfFuCoffee]

Victorian mid terrace here, I love it. Not hard to heat at all, especially if both other sides have their heating on too. Our bedroom has been so warm this year so far, one day my thermometer said it was 26 we hear no noise from either side which is amazing. We do have our bathroom downstairs but we have three massive bedrooms which I prefer on balance and it means guests don't have to trek upstairs to use the toilet which again, I prefer. I've got friends in other types of houses and all they do is complain about the noise coming from their neighbours so whilst no house is perfect, mine definitely does the job for us!