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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think SOME people that live in period houses are pretentious twats

133 replies

carriedababi · 09/02/2011 15:44

i find it weird how people in small victorian terraces are snobby about new builds, someone i know who lives in a really small 2 bedroom victorian terrace,

complains [frequently] that new builds are built too close together, and have small gardens..

when their victorian terrace has no garden only a yard, and its in a row of about 20!
they couldn't have packed in more houses!

the stairs are really narrow and steep
theres no where to park,so its parking wars with the neighbours, everyone has wheelie bins in the front, well, yard bit that about 2-3ft deep.
so the whole street looks scruffy all you can see is bins everywhere

so, i can't really see how someone can complain new builds have small gardens and are built too close together when they have no garden and the house are built 20 plus in a row!

i can understand people that live in fabulous detachted georgian house etc being a bit snobby, but it seems to me the ones in the small terraces that are most pretentious

OP posts:
MrSpoc · 09/02/2011 15:47

I have a new build but hate them.

They are built with thin walls, no character and only room for one car to park per house. small gardens etc.

There is a new build private estate just been built near me called stamford brooke, it looks like a ghost town.

Now if I could afford to build my own then it would be amazing.

LaurieFairyCake · 09/02/2011 15:48

Yep, I live in one of the crappy Victorian ones and when I went to visit a lovely new build I opened the door and it banged back against the plasterboard and went through it!

I'd love the warmth of a new house and all the other lovely advantages but I want the Walls made of brick.

wishingchair · 09/02/2011 15:48

You're so right! And I count myself in that pretentious twat list. We're currently living in a small victorian cottage. Constantly complaining about how it's dark, has no storage, rooms are small etc. Always said "next house ... don't care what it looks like, just want space, light, good sized garden and storage".

We're now looking at relocating and again I find myself going "oooh fireplaces, oooh aga" etc etc, and being very unsure about a new build. Keep having to slap self hard across face.

Ohjustshootmenow · 09/02/2011 15:48

I have a new build and hate it too. Shoddy build and the whole building wobbles when you slam doors.

SoupDragon · 09/02/2011 15:49

Youre title should have read "some people are pretentious twits". What house they live in is irrelevant, you get pretentious twits in all walks of life - some even live in new builds Shock

Changeisagoodthing · 09/02/2011 15:50

And in old houses bedrooms are a decent size. A double used to be a minimum of 10ft by 10ft or you couldn't describe it as double.

SoupDragon · 09/02/2011 15:51

Damn autocorrect. TWATS, not twits.

As a generalisation, I never want to live in a new build. I pefer something solid. The only exception would be if I built my own house.

KnittedBreast · 09/02/2011 15:53

i live in a victorian terrace and i could never live in a new build. i have before and i hated it. it felt like living in a cardboard box, i love the room sizes in victorian homes they are good solid houses

bubblewrapped · 09/02/2011 15:53

New builds have no character, and are in no way as well made as victorian houses.

Gardens in newbuilds usually conform to a specific size, not much bigger than a postage stamp, and the walls are paperthin.

Give me a nice old house any day.

LeroyJethroGibbs · 09/02/2011 15:54

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Original poster
carriedababi · 09/02/2011 15:54

how on earth can someone complain new build have small gardens, when they themselves have no garden, or that new build are built too closely together when there house is is in row of 20plus all built alongside each other

OP posts:
sunchild77 · 09/02/2011 15:56

My parents have a new build and you can hear downstairs when a man pisses in the upstairs bathroom.

Would love an old house with rambling rooms and built in bookshelves etc.

We live in a 60's concrete monstrosity...

figcake · 09/02/2011 15:57

I would never live in a new build. They are generally badly constructed compared to even workers Victorian terraced houses. There are tiny 2 beds as you describe in SW London pushing 750k so YABU to write them off as crap. They are much sought after by empty-nesters and by couples as starter homes. The fab Georgian ones would cost several million for your information. You do not need an in-depth knowledge of architecture to know that Georgian houses have their shortcomings in design terms. Wink

bupcakesandcunting · 09/02/2011 16:02

This might surprise some people but...

I am a pretentious, terrace-dwelling twat.

It's true, I live in a Victorian terrace with barely enough from to swing a dead cockroach BUT I'd choose it any day over a new build of ANY size. At least my terrace has a bit of character. We did look at a new build when we were on the market but it was weird, couldn't out my finger on why then it hit me,no fireplaces. It's like a face without eyebrows...

I used to live in a Georgian detached :( Loved that house but only two bedroomed. I still go past it most days and WEEP.

Original poster
carriedababi · 09/02/2011 16:02

arf at "The fab Georgian ones would cost several million for your information."

oh really i thought they were freeHmm
lol

OP posts:
Original poster
carriedababi · 09/02/2011 16:03

oh and this person, is ALWAYS complaing that the can hear the kids next door!

they do not like kids much.

OP posts:
PlentyOfParsnips · 09/02/2011 16:06

I love my pokey little victorian terrace. It's stood up for 160 years and won't fall down any time soon. Not so sure about the new builds Hmm

mousesma · 09/02/2011 16:11

I live in a very unglamourous 1930s semi but must say I prefer it to a new build.

I agree with figcake that they tend to be very badly built and poorly finished. My sister has a new build and everytime someone walks about upstairs the plaster falls off the studs on the downstairs celing.

However there are some positives and they are new builds are usually very energy efficient due to the great insulation. It's certainly better than my draughty old house and the only thing that tempts me a bit.

LeQueen · 09/02/2011 16:11

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

JintyMcGinty · 09/02/2011 16:12

I love my house - it's in a Georgian terrace. It has short comings, of course, like a small, paved back garden and narrow twisty stair but I've lived in a "luxury" new build flat too and never again. It had paper thin walls, so i could hear the guy next door snoring through the wall, a supposedly double second bedroom where you could only just squeeze in a double bed (a standard double, not kingsize) and absolutely nothing else. I like my character house with fireplaces and cornicing

bupcakesandcunting · 09/02/2011 16:14

Don't want to take this thread off into being a house porn thread but I've dreamed of living in this house since I was little. Now it's on the market

Some of the interior design needs, erm, re-thinking though... Grin

lessnarkypuffin · 09/02/2011 16:15

There's nothing wrong with new builds per se. There's a hell of a lot wrong with the way they're being built by a lot of companies. It seems to have become the norm that, when deciding how many homes can fit on a parcel of land, they've started to use the tube at rush hour as a model.

A row of houses- Georgian or 1980's- means you have clear sightlines. Now there seems to be a trend to throw houses in at whatever angle gets the most properties on site.

It's not restricted to 1 bed starter homes either. There are estates of 5 bed detatched homes that are on smaller plots than the starter homes built in the 1990's.

Original poster
carriedababi · 09/02/2011 16:17

forgetting the parking/bins/small/cold/dark issues etc

but what i'm asking is

how on earth can someone complain new build have small gardens, when they themselves have no garden, or that new build are built too closely together when there house is is in row of 20plus all built alongside each other

OP posts:
Hullygully · 09/02/2011 16:17

home is where the heart is

lessnarkypuffin · 09/02/2011 16:17

The average room sizes have shrunk too.

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