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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think that unless you spend £££, houses in the UK are not very functional??

302 replies

PussinJimmyChoos · 30/08/2010 20:49

Seriously...what is it with houses in this bloody country (and yes, I am English!)...they are so NOT designed for family life....poxy pokey 3rd bedrooms, kitchens you can't swing a cat in, only one bathroom in most houses and no space for entertaining....

It pisses me off!! Struggling with space in our house atm and just thinking that if a bit more thought went into the design of it, it wouldn't be as much of an issue

And why are so many new builds so small?!!!!

OP posts:
Alouiseg · 31/08/2010 15:34

I love American houses, the space, the layout, the need for parking and cars isn't negotiable, I love master suites where you can have a sleeping area, his and hers bathrooms a seating area and a decent sized dressing room.

They do seem to build timber framed houses which are constructed pretty quickly. It must be cheaper to do it that way than our bricks and blocks method?

They also seem to be better than us at maintaining their properties!

Gay40 · 31/08/2010 15:34

I live in a tiny terrace, far too small for us and all our stuff, but we refuse to move because the neighbours are lovely, it's 5 minutes to town, motorways and countryside, and the mortgage is paid off in a few years and costs less to run than I spend on coffees in a month.

It's not worth trading safety and convenience for a extra few rooms that we would inevitably fill up with more shite.

expatinscotland · 31/08/2010 15:34

Because having one loo or bathroom sucks. That and lack of showers have to be the most backwards thing about this country.

6 people, one loo. Big ol' house, one bathroom with loo and no shower. WTF? What is this, 1900?

We're going to have to start thinking about emigrating, seriously, because the state of housing in this country is deplorable. It really is.

Gay40 · 31/08/2010 15:34

Hate newbuilds and refuse to live in one.

Alouiseg · 31/08/2010 15:37

Totally agree Expat, I also think that the lack of personal facilities in hospitals has led to lots of cases of infection.

Personally I don't want to share a loo with anyone, in my next house i intend to have my own bathroom and each bedroom will have a shower room, basin and loo.

nattiecake · 31/08/2010 15:39

I'm in a spacious 3 bed ex council house, seems that a lot of people in ex council houses are happy with them. Maybe the people who designed them when they were built need to speak to todays developers :)

expatinscotland · 31/08/2010 15:41

Oh, yes, sharing a loo and showers that aren't cleaned often enough with 4+ other bleeding women whose nethers are raw or have been torn and stitched.

Sharing one loo and bathroom with 3 teenagers.

Yay!

That's so, erm, character-building.

I mean, I can't believe they didn't just stick to those outdoor crappers they had here when the rest of Europe already had indoor plumbing for about, oh, 25 years.

Hmm

Rank, friggin', out-dated nasty, old hovels and the mugs who buy them.

Francagoestohollywood · 31/08/2010 15:49

When we were hunting for our first flat in the UK, I remember visiting a 2 bedroom one, in a new building, where the kitchen didn't have a window. Wtf?

expatinscotland · 31/08/2010 16:04

Oh, I've seen a lot of those, franca!

I think they should rip down about 70% of the housing stock here. It's not fit for purpose and a rip off :o.

Oblomov · 31/08/2010 16:04

We live in an ex council house. what littelfrog describes. loads more room than new builds that you can't swing a cat in, which i have viewed a few and 3 of my sil's live in. I don't like new builds at all.

Francagoestohollywood · 31/08/2010 16:06

But Expat los of houses in the UK are so pretty (nostalgic)... though with appallingly old electric circuits...

Francagoestohollywood · 31/08/2010 16:06

lots

HoopyFroodDude · 31/08/2010 16:08

I have seen quite a few houses with bathrooms with no windows. They are usually made out of a part of the third bedroom. Horrible !

tethersend · 31/08/2010 16:08

French DP cannot get through a the day without cursing the "Fucking Eenglish taps". He is baffled as to why you would want to have a separate hot and cold tap- you either burn or freeze your hands. I haven't got an answer for him, and I'd like one if anybody knows?

OrmRenewed · 31/08/2010 16:11

Well given the choice between space and an extra loo - I'd go for the space personally. I bathroom with WC and another WC is enough.

Why are they so small generally? Lack of affordable building land I guess. We have to cut the clothes to suit the cloth I guess.

Oblomov · 31/08/2010 16:12

a reasonable % of houses wehre we live are either beautiful, huge (400K)or council built. but the council built ones are nice. and often , like in a cul-de-sac of 7 or 8, 6 or 7 of them are privately owned. and they are all brick and well built and roomy.
our neighbours are nice. don't know what more people could expect.

mousymouse · 31/08/2010 16:14

comimg from germany I find that weird too. especially in new builds.
one explanation I was given the is the hot water tank in the loft. its a perfect breeding ground for all sorts of nasties and therefore not save for consumtion. woulnt be a problem with proper plumbing...

expatinscotland · 31/08/2010 16:15

tethers, i empathise with your DP completely! it's yet another backwards throwback.

franca, i think i must be part German, because i'm about function over aesthetics.

ugggh, who'd want some drafty, manky old house with one bathroom and no storage and some freezing kitchen for a million pounds? is that supposed to be some type of privelege?

yak! :o

PortBlacksand · 31/08/2010 16:16

DSil house is a new build - it is beautiful but two of the bathrooms have no window at all and the third has one but it doesn't open. I feel quite hot and claustrophobic in it.

My house is a very scruffy 1930s ex council house (end terrace) - the sort with a brick lower half and rendering on the top bit. But the rooms are big and the windows so it feels light and airy.

Strange that an old terrace can give more light and air than a modern detached. Whoever said modern builders should consult those who designed council houses is right!

expatinscotland · 31/08/2010 16:17

x-posted with mousymouse. too right! i couldn't beleive that tank thing. i thought, 'what is this?' and i first came here on a tour with some spanish folks. nope, no nasty tanks up there. they couldn't figure it out, either.

PortBlacksand · 31/08/2010 16:17

That sounded a bit smug - but believe me - no one here would choose my house over DSils iyswim.

mousymouse · 31/08/2010 16:20

oops the water is not save for consumption not the tank :)

Alouiseg · 31/08/2010 16:23

A competition to design a Mumsnet house. We should decide on an amount of M squared and see what we can come up with.

I bet we can do a better job than the developers.

expatinscotland · 31/08/2010 16:24

in alsace i lived in a farmhouse built in 1727 that had been completely guttered and modernised, not left to become a hovel fit for horses.

it was wonderful!

mixer taps, no nasty water tank in the loft, more than one loo, a kitchen with plenty of sockets and functional, bedrooms of a decent size, modern, efficient heating and windows.

i don't understand the appeal of freezing cold, half-derelict piles of rubble. i think you have to be born British to see any appeal in such.

so i'd rather have a new build, tbh.

ex-council does have nice sized rooms, but again, unless it's not an estate and everyone has bought, we've been landed with dire neighbours every time. Sad

noddyholder · 31/08/2010 16:31

I renovate old houses for a living and they were just so well built but the design is not always in line with how we live now but if you can bear the hassle you can end up with an amazing house.I am doing one at the moment and it is light spacious and with new plumbing and a bit of a re jig perfect for families.Stop moaning some people have nothing !