What type of house would you never buy?

[PinterandPirandello]

Just looking at a thread where properties are being recommended for £750k. One of the houses was completely open plan downstairs which we would hate as a family. Dh likes to sit at the kitchen table and have the radio on (loudly), dc like to game and I like to watch telly in peace. Plus the dishwasher and washing machine on. So we prefer at least a couple of separate rooms. However, I can see open plan could work with small kids but I’d still want private space.

Isn't that like 60 m2 per floor? That's a big one!

Do you think so? I was thinking it would be a tight squeeze to fit in kitchen, dining room, reception room, utility, pantry, bathroom and hall space

Yeah... Pretty sure so. 60 m2 single floor can fit these things absolutely fine and still have nice sized rooms. Average 3 beds now are 90 m2 whole for comparison. 60 m2 is average 2 bed flat.

We have 1800sqft over three floors and that’s
ground floor- sitting room, hall space with stairs, downstairs qc, large enough kitchen/diner, a sunroom and a utility.
first floor- two double bedrooms, one with en-suite, main bathroom and a single bedroom (used as an office),
Second floor- two double bedrooms, one en-suite and a walk in wardrobe.

A new build, too many horror stories - I’d buy one that is at least 20 years old so problems should have been fixed. Listed houses where you can’t change single glazed windows (absolute madness IMO), thatched houses, open plan houses and anything with a leasehold. But then my dream is a wooden cabin in the woods with a scandi design. Perfection.

I second that. I previously lived in a 500+ year old grade II listed house. It was freezing, always dusty. Repairs cost a fortune. Nothing was straightforward and when it rained the interior of the exterior walls were wet (which apparently is supposed to happen). I hated it.

I think sometimes you have to be flexible and trade one thing for another.

Our last house was detached, with a huge garden (not overlooked) and private driveway.

We moved to a terraced town house, with a tiny paved garden (overlooked) and a shared driveway.

Why? It has 5 bedrooms (instead of our previous 4), the bathroom is as big as a bedroom, the front garden is a good size, and we sit there instead of the back, because it faces a huge village green and a harbour and the sea! We can sit there with a drink in summer, and look at the iconic Forth Rail Bridge, and watch all the ships going by, ranging from warships, to cruise liners, little yachts etc. All of my previous non negotiable's (such as not wanting a shared drive, or having neighbours attached) went out of the window when we saw the view! Also, it's only 20 minutes on the train into Edinburgh, which we can also see from our window, the castle included.

We went back to our old street recently, just to have a nosy, and the lovely open fields at the top have all gone and there are loads of ugly new houses there, that look nothing like the original houses. It's no longer the cosy little drive that it once was. So glad we left when we did.

Definitely not with 3 floors, though when I'm staying with dd2 I do get fitter. Also not open plan as it's more expensive to heat and I don't want to look at the kitchen all the time. I also need to have a window in the cloakroom/bathroom however small! No stairs in the lounge.

A new build estate. Always flimsy and poorly built and generally smaller proportions with small overlooked gardens. Always feels like they’ve been crammed in and it changes the light both in and outside.

I think ‘Bungalow legs’ IS a thing. It’s not a medical condition of course. It’s just a term for describing what can happen to someone’s lower body muscle when the requirement to go up and down the stairs on a daily basis is removed.

If you are someone who doesn’t do any exercise (which is unfortunately an awful lot of people), then the only ‘exercise’ you get is the movements that you do as part of your daily routine. For many people, this will include going upstairs to bed and then coming back down the stairs the next morning. When this requirement is removed by moving into a bungalow, the person is now missing that (very tiny) bit of exercise they were doing every day.

Obviously everyone should get some exercise outside of their day to day activity, but a lot of people don’t.

Any open plan houses. Far too much noise thank you. I don’t mind the kitchen with dining area. Makes sense really. But not with a “living space” or living room attached.

Sounds lovely. I'd think that's an unusual spec house in Ireland (3 storey and 5 bed on an estate).

Soooo is there apartment legs as well?

I lived on single storey house for years and none of us had lame legs. Nor did the millions others🙈
I always found it odd that in UK single storey is considered "old people" living. I looked at bungalow when looking to move and everyone was surprised that under 40 would consider a bungalow. It had AMAZING garden.

@godmum56 , Thank goodness you're retired then.
Because its not any kind of clinically recognised anything! is pretty much what I said.
How to be more active - Better Health - NHS

@Notthepope , Soooo is there apartment legs as well? If you go up and down in the lift, you won't be exercising the bits of your legs that get used in using stairs.

I’m laughing at bungalow legs😆 We had a loft conversion done in our bungalow a couple of years ago and it took me ages - months - to get used to climbing up and down the stairs. I felt so unfit and my legs were sore for a while. I also realised that our stairs were much steeper than normal, so I would find myself kind of stomping really hard on other people’s stairs as muscle memory was telling me their rises weren’t deep enough. It was great living in a bungalow when the children were small though. No worrying about them falling down the stairs. Mind you, they both seemed very determined to find other places to fall off and injure themselves.

New build

Having read multiple threads about CF neighbours and shared drives, I’d never buy a house with a shared drive.

I think ‘bungalow legs’ (or indeed apartment legs) is more of an issue for older people, since younger people are likely to still be working and/or raising families and therefore getting a fair bit of daily activity through moving about their workplaces or walking to places with their children. Older people might be getting very little physical activity and therefore climbing the stairs might be the only physical activity they get. So once that’s gone, they lose strength from their legs.

I see it in my 81 year-old FIL whose leg muscles have become diminished since he moved into a bungalow- there is literally hardly any muscle there because he just never uses his legs. When we encourage him out for a (short) walk he complains about leg pain (it’s been investigated- there is nothing wrong with his legs, he just has very little muscle).

I’m not in my eighties😅 When we had our loft converted, I was running several miles a week and lifting weights. But I STILL had some noticeable strain when repeatedly running up and down the new stairs. In fairness, my youngest has a chronic illness and is off school. He eats in his room. So I probably run up and down the stairs more than most. I have thighs of steel now🤣

I am glad i retired too. Got fed up with dealing with idiots.
Oh and by the way this nonsense has been around since well before 2005 which is when i retired.
To be clear what i was replying to were the people who said they wouldn't buy a bungalow because they didn't want/were worried about/getting "bungalow legs" so.....let me explain why its not a risk...and also why there is zero research let alone valid research.

Point one. Life and everyday life exercise and activity is multifactorial. its not like going to the gym and using a stair stepper. Simply owning a house with stairs and using them in the course of everyday life is not going to significantly contribute to mobility and general body strength, joint health, muscle mass and so on. This is also why there is little or no research and even less valid research. I did find one piece by japanese researchers and their results were inconclusive.

Point two (and carrying on from point one) lets say Matt Weston buys a bungalow. Its the only life change he makes. Is he going to lose ROM, strength or muscle mass? Of course not. Why not? because he continues his existing level of activity. Same with the general averagely active population.

Point three At this point, I will stipulate that stepping up and down doing multiple reps, can be a valuable part of rehabilitation in conditions where the person's physical condition is reversible. So yeah some people might choose to keep a staircase around in case they ever need to use it for exercise (insert eyeroll here) BUT they'll need other options for eg sleeping and hygiene because such exercise will probably need to be timed to get the benefit, eg after pain relief, during the day rather than first or last thing and so on. probably better to fork out for a step exerciser if you ever need one.

Point four Obvious one really. people who are struggling with stairs for non reversible reasons will be better advised to to choose a more sustainable method of exercise, one that can be done at optimum times, is less risky and will encourage better motivation and compliance.

TLDR: If you want a bungalow get one, categorically your legs will not drop off for lack of stairs....not even in old age......and don't believe all you read or are told....

100% this. ^ Bungalow legs is 100% DEFINITELY a thing. I find it really odd that anyone is trying to deny it, and not only that, but also doubling down and not admitting it's a thing, despite much evidence that it is!😆

can I see the evidence please?

@Funnywonder , I always found it odd that in UK single storey is considered "old people" living. I looked at bungalow when looking to move and everyone was surprised that under 40 would consider a bungalow. It had AMAZING garden.
There aren't many bungalows in the UK and many of them were built to house the elderly.
The ones with large gardens tend to be demolished and replaced with one or more family homes.

@godmum56 , If you want a bungalow get one, categorically your legs will not drop off for lack of stairs....not even in old age......and don't believe all you read or are told....
Nobody has said your legs will drop off for lack of stairs but walking up and down stairs will mean you exercise muscles that you tend not use otherwise.
Some people do no deliberate exercise other than the movement they use in daily life.

It isn't easy to find a bungalow to buy anyway.

any style old house, any age town house, any property with poky small rooms.

Can I see the evidence that it isn't?

Why are you so insistent on it 'not being a thing' when the NHS suggests it as a
ways to increase activity in daily life?

Full disclosure I am a retired NHS therapist who used to work in community rehabilitation. means diddly squat. I could claim to be the Health Secretary or CMO but it doesn't mean I am one.