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Original poster

'oh ffs why did they do that?' What in your house is going to make a future buyer swear? of your house go '

166 replies

BarrelOfOtters2 · 27/07/2022 13:59

Just bumped my head on the cabinet above our loo, the door opens at head height, and nearly got trapped in the utility due to poor placing of door handles where 2 doors knock into each other.

There's also a random door - that we ran out of steam with builders to work out what to do with...so it needs to come off - but we find it handy to corral the cats for the vets so it hasn't yet...

OP posts:
WinterMusings · 27/07/2022 17:40

Nc58985 · 27/07/2022 15:20

Cat flaps in EVERY door inc the garage. And not the swanky lock kind. Just big standard flaps that blow open. Useful if you have a cat I guess but annoying if you don’t (like us). I dread winter with the heat escaping. Or the day I find a random cat in the kitchen.

@Nc58985 just use a silicone sealant to seal them closed. No drafts, no cats, future owners can remove the silicone & use them should they wish

PeterPomegranate · 27/07/2022 17:41

Notjustabrunette · 27/07/2022 16:58

The door handles have been placed incorrectly. It a 4 panel door and handle should be middle bit is, but they are above it. Not major, but slightly irritating.

We have this except the handles are below it. It’s because the shop (same place we bought the doors) sold us boots that were too short and the joiners fitted them where they could. I was very unhappy when I saw it. think my husband thought I was going to insist on buying new doors. I’ve got used to it now but if I look properly at the doors it annoys me all over again.

and we don’t have a light for the downstairs hall at the top of the stairs so you can’t turn the light on before you come down. An oversight in the (extensive) lighting plan that irritates me.

PeterPomegranate · 27/07/2022 17:42

Boots = bolts

meatyryvita · 27/07/2022 17:46

Some people we know had a loo of their kitchen and then, in their infinite wisdom, replaced the regular door with....saloon doors. Saloon doors! You could hear everything and see their lower half.

Nc58985 · 27/07/2022 17:46

@WinterMusings thanks!

TheBestBitch · 27/07/2022 17:50

Our ensuite has a free standing bath with a beautiful looking shower above it but unless you are really short it's useless. And there's no sealant around the bath because it's free standing so if you let any water down the sides while you are showing you will discover it goes through the floorboards into the room below.

maddiemookins16mum · 27/07/2022 17:53

The feckin gravel paths in the back garden. The cats think they are litter trays.

WalkingOnSonshine · 27/07/2022 17:59

We are the first owners of a new build, but came to the development late. Someone had already reserved this house and had selected all the extras, fittings, kitchen, flooring etc.

For some reason they picked a different colour carpet for the stairs and landing, than for the bedrooms., so it’s all just clashing and awful.

The developer did give us 20k off the asking price and all the extras for free though.

GingerbreadPerson · 27/07/2022 18:04

The same cowboy that didn't put a light on the stairs also put electric sockets in the bedroom which would serve bedside lamps for 3 out of 4 of the walls, but not the only one where a bed can be fitted.

We also have random wall switches in the kitchen that are apparently not connected to anything when turned on.

In addition we have a hot tank with a switch for an immersion heater. It has wiring to connect it to a socket, but 4 heating/plumbing contractors so far have been unable to work out where all the cables actually go and why it doesn't seem to be attached to an electricity supply.

WinterMusings · 27/07/2022 18:04

BarrelOfOtters2 · 27/07/2022 16:46

It took a friend 5 years of swearing at the previous owners before she realised she had a hidden cutlery drawer in the top of her super wide pan drawer in the kitchen of her new house.....

WTAF. did she think it was?!?! They're not really that 'hidden' 🤣🤣

WinterMusings · 27/07/2022 18:07

Beees · 27/07/2022 16:49

5 years? How big was her kitchen that she didn't notice. Grin

I love the idea of a bring back drawers campaign. I'd be very happy to help spearhead such a thing to save other families from cluttered sides containing tubs holding cutlery or it just languishing unloved in the drying rack until needed.

Show quote history

I'm in the process of replacing my kitchen. It's small & there are all kinds of things preventing me from putting drawers in, but cupboards are ok as the things can just protrude into the cupboard. None of the 'things' can be moved/removed.

very frustrating!!

WinterMusings · 27/07/2022 18:10

Nc58985 · 27/07/2022 17:46

@WinterMusings thanks!

You're welcome ☺️

personally I'd just get a cat!! 😻

WinterMusings · 27/07/2022 18:15

Crikeyalmighty · 27/07/2022 17:05

Our rented 4 bed 80s house is lovely , posh road, double fronted, double garage, big front to back lounge, big front to back dining kitchen, - the works!! Why oh why is the boiler at the back of the loft - requiring the hatch and a total squeeze (it's not high) that a 6 year old would struggle with. The guy doing the gas safety check was absolutely baffled!!

That's where mine is!!!

they're seriously ugly fucking things, it's not a big deal to service them in the loft or when taking a rad off the wall etc.

would you really want it in your lovely rooms??

WinterMusings · 27/07/2022 18:19

TrashPandas · 27/07/2022 17:06

I'm renting at the moment and there's carpet in the bathroom. WHY?

My Aunty had carpet in the bathroom. I love staying there!! Showering involves putting down a towel and a bath mat.
she raised three boys in that house and to this day there's not a single issue with it.

the carpet had to be lifted last year to get to some wiring for the room underneath and the backing of the carpet was as clean as the day it was laid.

but I suspect most people aren't careful/clean enough to maintain it like that.

in a rental it's definitely grim as you don't know how it has been looked after before you lived there

ScampiFlies · 27/07/2022 18:25

The cooker hood is low enough for me to bump my head on, I'm 5ft 7. It will be replaced in time but for at least a couple more years it will be there.

Tbh a lot of things in our house have been what dh calls "Friday nighted" but the cooker is the most annoying.

Georgyporky · 27/07/2022 18:27

PuttingDownRoots · 27/07/2022 15:05

According to many on here are house will be unsellable as we got rid of the bath for a lovely walk in shower.

Its so much more convenient for our family than clambering into a bathtub for a shower (two preteens, two adults, one bathroom).

I checked with my local EA before getting rid of the bath & installing a shower.
He said it wasn't a problem, & if people really wanted a bath it would be easy & not very costly to install one.

PissedOffNeighbour22 · 27/07/2022 18:29

@Beees We also had no cutlery drawer when we moved in. There were only two very small grubby drawers so god knows where they kept their cutlery as there were no pots on the side when we viewed.

The kitchen was so disgusting when we moved in that we had to replace it immediately. Made sure we had a nice wide cutlery drawer put in - then discovered when we fitted it that it doesn't go all the way to the back. So my lovely expensive cutlery tray doesn't fit properly and has to go sideways 😑.

WinterMusings · 27/07/2022 18:29

Snailsaresweet · 27/07/2022 17:34

When I had my shower room installed, I decided to put down a lovely rubberised floor, with a sort of knobbly/post industrial look to it. Future buyers will wonder why I deliberately chose a surface that picks up every bit of dirt, dust or hair in its vicinity. Or maybe they won't, because I'll rip it up in irritation before much longer.

That stuff is often advertised for kids rooms or playrooms.

'I think fucking NOT' is muttered everytime I see it!! It looks great...when it's new, when you have nothing better to do than hoover/mop/hoover/mop, give up and hand wash!

Georgyporky · 27/07/2022 18:39

My previous home had the light switch for the main bathroom on the wall outside, instead of the usual pull-switch in the room.
The then DH thought it was hilarious to switch off the light when someone was in there.

He did that to a 4 year-old visitor, who screamed the place down & his Dad very nearly thumped DH.

minipie · 27/07/2022 18:45

We did a massive building project. House ought to be perfect.

Future buyers will wonder why the microwave door opens the wrong way and clashes with the larder door (thank you kitchen designer), why the tiling in the utility is so bad (thanks shit tiler) and why the hallway, staircase and internal doors are painted a light sapping mid grey (that one’s on me Blush).

They may also hate the fake grass like most of MN, but I don’t care, it works well for us <ducks for cover>

BogRollBOGOF · 27/07/2022 18:47

Our house is a catalogue of botches from construction and DIY.

Never assume that walls are perpendicular or floors flat...
When we did some rearranging to create an ensuite, the top of the wall was 2" out from the floor. We had to build and plaster a frame so the ensuite could be tiled.
When we put the sliding wardrobe doors in, they rolled into the valley in the middle of the room 🤦‍♀️ We had to build a new frame again filling in the dip in the middle. When I'm tired, my brain notices the walk up and down across the room.

Not having a hall switch upstairs is annoying. The number of times I have to go back down when I just want to get into bed.

When the kitchen/ diner was redone and patio doors put in, the radiator was taken out. That first winter was bloody cold before we removed units to make space.

When the main bathroom was tiled, they started at a random height which left a gap at the skirting, so there's a 2cm band of grout.

There's been so many minor things.

PeterPomegranate · 27/07/2022 19:00

Georgyporky · 27/07/2022 18:39

My previous home had the light switch for the main bathroom on the wall outside, instead of the usual pull-switch in the room.
The then DH thought it was hilarious to switch off the light when someone was in there.

He did that to a 4 year-old visitor, who screamed the place down & his Dad very nearly thumped DH.

That’s the standard place for bathroom lights these days. I don’t know if it’s electricity regulations or because those pull cords get so disgustingly grey and manky.

Crikeyalmighty · 27/07/2022 19:05

@WinterMusings - thing is we've got so many other suitable places as have a utility- huge integral garage, plus a very big kitchen with masses of spare room and a lot of spare cupboards! - just seemed odd to me - maybe it's because I've never had one in the loft and it's actually quite common!

thismeansnothing · 27/07/2022 19:05

When we bought our first home 12 year ago, it had a lovely big bathroom and the owner had recently had a new one fitted. They decided against putting a bath in but did put in a huge walk in shower which was amazing. However. In their wisdom they also......laid a really fluffy carpet 😳😳

In the 2nd bedroom there was a climbing wall 🤣

And in the living room the door, for some reason was hung upside down.

Knittingnanny2 · 27/07/2022 19:06

The next owner of my house will rightly assume we were dinosaurs.
I made a huge mistake 6 years ago and now want to put it right!
So we are over 60 so no children living here in our “ downsized home” who “ needed “ internet etc on tap!
We never used the landline, have mobile phones and iPads on contracts. Had the garden redesigned 6 years ago and said we didn’t need that wire so yes put the step over it.
So now we would like to get a smart Tv but have no broadband coming into the house so no WiFi etc.
I think the step will have to be dug up!