New build homes in the UK are a bit depressing

[Glasgoow]

I want to move somewhere with better insulation than my 1930s house. Looked around a few new build places and they are just depressing.

They pretend to be all unique by craming different designed houses all on top of each other but its just a ploy to allow them to pack loads in.

The gardens are tiny and either back onto a road or are overlooked.

Looked at one this morning and for a 4 bedroom house they had crammed in 5 toilets, bathroom and two ensuites. I guess if it was a mansion that would be handy, but it wasn't and the bedrooms were tiny with little wardrobe space. It had its own gauarge but this was as part of a "coach house" where they build 4 garages and then a flat on top for someone else to live in. If I was coming back late at night I wouldn't want to use my garage as someone is living on top of it. Drive space for just one car and parking would probably be a nightmare when people come round. Its just cramming all they can in and presenting it with small beds and tables to make it loom bigger. The pictures were very deceiving, they must of sunk the camera into the wall to make it look as big as they did. The windows were all on the small side too.

Just a shame, I want a new home, but a quality one designed to be good to live in not to just maximise their profits.

Amazing new development near us. Four ginormous bedrooms (the master is third floor, with enough space for sofa/living area, ensuite), big main bathroom.

One living space on ground floor. Tiny. Open to small kitchen area. No space for dining table.

I think if you can afford a higher end new build then yes, they're lovely, but the bog standard 3 beds just seem shit, in terms of bedroom sizes. They're tiny! Yes they look all glam and lovely in the show house photos, but where are you supposed to put all your stuff?

Because we're a small island and building space needs to be maximised so we don't decimate the natural landscape?

Which is exactly why building 4 (tiny) bedroom houses with 5 bathrooms is so deplorable. Glad to see you agree with the OP!

Lurking

Yeah, the Shelby is hilariously bad.

My mum bought a 3 bed new build. (A shared ownership scheme). You can hear next doors kids chattering as if they're in the same building. The 3rd bedroom fits a toddler bed (not a standard single bed frame ,well you can fit the mattress on the floor which my brother has to do) there is no cupboard or storage space but there is a downstairs toilet in the kitchen. She uses this not as a wc but a storage cupboard. Which reminds me. It's classed as a kitchen diner but you can only dine if you put the table in front of the patio door. The front door is temperamental and doesn't lock properly so she has to use the patio door to leave the house. Her plumbing system has no water pressure so her shower is a Luke warm dribble. However she was helped to get this house as she was divorcing my abusive step dad and she struck lucky that she qualified for the scheme. All the residents have similar problems. It seems that extremely tight budgets in the quest to build affordable houses make for tiny bedrooms, zero storage and cheap fixtures and fittings. I wouldn't give up my elderly 1920's semi for anything.

TheIncomparableDejahThoris Haaaaa, SO funny. Give yourself a high five. That was in reference to her complaint that they were built so close together.

They're trying to accommodate people who decide to have 4 or 5 or 6 kids. Unfortunately we don't have the space to build mansions to house someone's growing brood. Unless we start eating into farmland, which is obviously totally fine because we can just import our food! Forever! And pfft, who needs an export economy, right?

Once thatcher got rid of the Parker Morris rules it was the green light for building companies to build shoe boxes and market them as family homes.
My brothers friend bought a 2 bed starter home.
£180k
He said that when you sat on the sofa you could reach out and touch the TV

I agree OP.

Why a 4 bedroom house needs more than 2 bathrooms is a mystery to me. And the extra bedroom over the carport/garage really irritates me. We looked at 3 bed new builds like this and the downstairs space was much smaller than the current 3 bed 60s terrace we live in.

I don't agree with carrying animosity over from another thread usually but if what pps say is true op then that's not on.

Around here the planning applications (for 4000+ houses on productive farmland in the last 2 years alone) talk about "sustainable development" and have to have plans for how to persuade everyone to use travel means other than cars, but then they build them where there are no or infrequent buses, no local shops and schools and then there are terrible parking wars because of all the tiny drives and garages and all the cars/vans people need for work and commuting, and gridlock because no-one upgrades the road network. It is a joke - we might as well scrap the "planning" system.

My mums house looks nice on first glance but I'm not certain if it'll be in a liveable condition 100 years from now. Yet my house is nearly 100 years old and I'm confident it'll still be standing in another 100 years.

New builds can be badly designed. I'm looking at shared ownership places, and not one of them has had enough space for a dining table. Yet they've crammed in a downstairs loo, ensuite, and family bathroom. How many bogs do I need?

However, a roof over my head and no more letting agents to deal with is great motivation.

Forgot to say that most of these homes are on new estates next to main roads. Most of them don't even have a shop nearby within walking distance.

We're in an ex-council house and we looked around some equivalent new-builds.
Our current house has 3 bedrooms, a large lounge diner, and large hall and landing. Loads of storage under stairs, in bedrooms and the loft. Large garage and driveway. Large garden to front, side and rear. It's sturdy, warm and well sound proofed.

For an extra £70k, we could downsize to a tiny new build with stamp-sized garden. No ta.

Oh, I gave myself a high-five and a shiny gold sticker already when I realised I wouldn't claim the sky was green just to piss someone off.

I don't think we can blame badly-designed "executive" homes on people having larger families, but nice. You're lovely yourself, aren't you.

I expect Taylor Wimpey, Barratt and all the rest are targeting blended families, and people who want spare bedrooms for guests along with a room as an office.

And again, they are building unlivable houses. Too many small bedrooms or too many en-suites. I have seen third-bedrooms you could only get a cot in.

Totally agree - the number of bathrooms at the expense of actual bedroom or living space in some new builds is ridiculous. And yy to the pp who mentioned those five bedroom three storey homes - so unbalanced.

I know of a small development in a rural village that is somewhere in the process of the planning system. At the direction of the local authority each house is being allocated one and a half parking spaces in order to encourage residents to use public transport. The problem is there are only two buses a day through the village, at something like 10am and 4pm so no good for commuting to work or senior school. It's madness.

I would take larger rooms and fewer bathrooms every day of the week. And I would want decent storage. Where are people supposed to put stuff?

Yes the lack of storage space is the one that really baffles me. Where do people put their hoovers, suitcases and other household stuff that needs a home?

I'm with OxfordCommoner, my new build is lovely .....massive garden and massive rooms, lower bills and the build quality is great.

It was also 65k than anything else the same size in the area.

We have a new build and it's lovely. Large rooms, massive garden and a park on front of us.

But we looked at quite a few that had lots of tiny bedrooms, small living spaces and not much in the way of gardens.

Suspect there's a mix, just like all building types.

Smuggoes, the both of you. Which builder was it, if you don't mind saying?

I love mine , it has huge bedrooms and a great living space ... mot overlooked and fronts onto open space and a pond ! Look harder !

It's very odd.

I'd rather have 1 fewer bedrooms and the rest be a decent size, and I'd rather slum it with 2 toilets and have decent storage.

Clearly a lot of people disagree though as multiple ensuites seem to be a huge selling point. It's US style living without US style square footage.

Ours is Taylor Wimpey.

US style living without US style square footage.

Yep.

And trying to cram an American mcmansion into a few pokey square feet doesn't work. Who knew!

I loved and really miss my 'old' new build. I rented but i was first ever person to live in it and LL gave me some freedom on the choice of tiles and painting etc. it was so sleek an clean. I do agree they are badly planned wrt parking, storage and garden size. Although Mine was pretty good for storage tbf. I wish i had stayed in it. There are new houses being built on my street and i am hoping some will be bought as BTLs so i can get a chance of having a new build again.