AIBU to hate 1930s semi's?

[boymum9]

I was just hoping for someone to talk me around to 1930's semis...! I don't know what it is but I just find them, for the main part, so ugly! I generally dislike the look, the windows, pebble dash.

We live in an area for mainly 4 story Georgian houses, most turned into flats, we love the area but can't afford to stay here (1-3 million for a house) we have sold our 2 bedroom flat for 600,000 and are struggling to find a house a little further out from here because I hate the 1930s houses and there's a lot of them! (If you want parking, garden and good schools) DH is starting to get annoyed with me! It's not a snobbery thing, I just don't like the look of them and have fallen in love with Georgian and Victorian houses. I also hate new builds!

Can someone gives me all the great things about living in a post war house? I love that they have bigger gardens and love a lot of the original features, I'm just getting sad about looking out my windows and seeing houses I don't like the look of! First world problems I know!

Also look out for a halls-adjoining design, much less noise transfer.

Our area was all built late 20s/30s. The houses are good, solid family houses in a nice area with good schools. Some are done up fabulously.

Butchy 🤣

We moved from a Victorian semi to a 1930s semi last year. It has bay windows and we have the original front door. I still get a wee thrill when I walk up to it. I’ve always liked them. Especially if they have a storm porch.

Are you in Edinburgh, op?

I grew up in a 1930's detached - 6 bedrooms, 3 receptions, veranda and balcony across the whole back, 1/4 acre garden backing onto a park. Idyllic. Not smart, flashy but light and airy.

I live now in an edwardian terrace, no parking. Large rooms, high ceilings, cornices and and fireplaces. Dark interiors, horrendous upkeep, tiny garden. They look nice but are not fantastic to live in.

I'd be happy to consider a 30s semi after this. Its the space you live in not what it looks like from outside.

@Kerch861

I love my 1930s semi but my husband HATES it! He would kill for a new build.

The space, the bay windows, the character... he hates it all. He would love a tiny concrete block on a pleasant purpose estate. I want high ceilings and features, closer to work (silly me!).

All he talks about is positioning and damp proofing and rendering. So yes, it needs absolutely shite loads of work done to it but argh so pretty! On a pretty road! In a pretty part of town.

OMG, There is no way on EARTH I would buy one of those ghastly generic ticky tacky 'new-build' boxes!

I know 4 or 5 people who have bought new-build (built by a huge housebuilder,) in the past 3 years or so, and they have all regretted it as they have had NOTHING but trouble with the house.

Various repairs and snagging issues, and also parking wars, and noisy neighbours! The walls are paper thin too. They can hear people next door when they sneeze, snore, fart, sigh, hiccup, talk, yawn, draw the curtains, and even when they have a piss in the toilet. Awful.

I get it, OP. They aren't attractive. And round here they all face onto main roads.

But neither is my beautiful new build townhouse, built by a small local housebuilder, with 3 double bedrooms, front and back gardens, and a study as a fourth bedroom a "ghastly generic ticky tacky 'new-build' box". I think it's perfectly fair to want to pay the mortgage on something you like and fucking rude when someone pops up to slag it off.

And I'm not slagging off the aforementioned semis - as a few others have said they are built to offer a large family living space, rather than kerb appeal, but each to their own!

Buy what you want/can afford.

I grew up in a lovely 1930s semi. Loads of room (once my parents had extended to create a kitchen/diner), 2 large reception rooms, cosy bedrooms noisy central heating

I hated them too but in a similar position to you in our area. I hate new builds more (not just for aesthetic reasons - currently live in one and I can hear neighbours phone ringing the walls are that thin). We nearly bought a far too expensive Victorian terrace that would have crippled us financially because I was so against a 30s semi. We've viewed lot of 30s semis now. They have a lot of pluses - parking, lovely big gardens, only being attached on one side, more extension potential. But yeah, I can't say they make me excited to live there!
I live in hope that Georgian / Victorian houses will go hideously out of fashion and we will be able to get one for cheap (never going to happen obviously)

www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/welsh-homes/time-warp-welsh-home-sale-11451430

One of the google image search pictures linked to up thread is my estate!

DH grew up in a 1930s semi and really didn’t want one. When we were house hunting we looked at Victorian and Georgian houses. We looked at our current house on a whim.
It’s much bigger that DHs childhood home. The ceilings are super high. The third bedroom is 7x10 ft. The back garden is 100ft long. I love it.

I grew up in a 1500 house. As my mother says the best thing about my house is that unlike hers it’s square. You can get at everything and it’s easy to heat.

Completely different again.

metro.co.uk/2017/08/16/an-incredible-art-deco-house-thats-been-left-untouched-since-the-1930s-is-now-on-sale-6856855/amp/

What I love about mine is :-
It has a big front garden so it's away from the road
It has a reasonably sized back garden
It has curves! The chimney breasts have rounded edges instead of squared off ones and there's a lovely little curved wall in the hallway
The doors have bakelite handles
High ceilings
Picture rails
Our drive can fit 4 cars on

I still loved my boxy new build though

I like them! Bay windows are great, they generally have nice deep window sills (the dog loves to sit on our front window sill, watching out for intruders), picture rails, cornicing, chimney breasts, panelled doors etc. Some of the stained glass in them is stunning (sadly, ours isn't that grand). We've got original, Art Deco bakelite door handles!

They're also often on pretty tree-lined roads, and generally have a reasonable amount of front garden, which I like.

Yanbu.

Hate them. I don't even know why. I just hate them.

I really like 1920/30s blocks though, and public buildings. Just those houses. Yeuk.

I grew up in a 4 bedroom semi detatched pebble dashed house built in the early 1930s (bought as a new house by my grandfather). We had a wonderful front and back garden. 6 apple trees. My grandparents grew potatoes/cabbage etc in the back garden too but we didn't - just did lettuce/onions/garlic but still with loads of room to play as a child. Rooms were good sizes. Lovely tile in the hall and kitchen. Built for the way families live.

DH grew up in an early georgian town house. He and 2 of his brothers slept 3 floors away from their parents. Kitchen was disastrous. They watched tv in a basement room and used the lovely drawing room on the first floor for special occasions. He swore to me he would never buy an old house as he spent his teenage years doing DIY and battling asthma because of the poor insulation and dust.

OMG, There is no way on EARTH I would buy one of those ghastly generic ticky tacky 'new-build' boxes! I know 4 or 5 people who have bought new-build (built by a huge housebuilder,) in the past 3 years or so, and they have all regretted it as they have had NOTHING but trouble with the house

There are many builders of new homes. Some built vast developments of small boxy properties. Some build small developments of very high spec properties. Of course it all comes down to money and above all location.

My 1930’s house was a money pit eventually, beautiful as we made it. It was never warm in winter unless central heating made it warm - never retained heat. My modern house is not soaking up money or time and scores incredibly high on energy saving technology. Some builders have learned to build new houses with old ‘tried and tested’ features. I never expected to find a new build with a wood burner and large garden. No parking wars at all - 2 garages and drive for 4 cars.

But each to their own - think I’ve tried every type of house from just about every period in history and learned the hard way that modern is best in allowing you to dodge huge repair, energy and upkeep bills. (I still enjoy staying in period holiday cottages.....but that’s it).

OMG, There is no way on EARTH I would buy one of those ghastly generic ticky tacky 'new-build' boxes! I know 4 or 5 people who have bought new-build (built by a huge housebuilder,) in the past 3 years or so, and they have all regretted it as they have had NOTHING but trouble with the house

There is quite a funny passage in one of Trollope's novels where he is raging against the houses of the day (the fab victorians everyone loves now) pretty much in terms of "ticky tacky new build boxes"

Hate them and I especially hate council estates with 30s/50s semis houses and no trees in sight. They are just so depressing.

You're not unreasonable to have an opinion but I think you're wrong.

I'd take one over a new build any day.

I'm a lucky and live in one of those 4-storey houses you can't afford.

I live in a small 1930s semi. We downsized for financial reasons and it was a good move. The earliest house we've had was Victorian, but not one of the nice ones! We've had new builds and one built after WW1. They've all been OK to live in.

In this one, I love the bay windows, the picture rails, the original interior doors. I kept some of my parents original 1930s furniture and it fits beautifully.

I've downsized to a new build and I much prefer it.
My advice would be don't go for a house with a big garden unless you have a passion for gardening, know what you are doing, and have lots of time ( much more than you think) to maintain a big garden.
I loathe seeing big gardens turned into concrete eyesores. I include in this gardens ripped out and filled with pebbles or slate. It looks bloody awful and ruins the look of the street.

Compared to boxy newbuilds on identikit estates with tiny gardens and bedrooms that are 8' by 6' and high ground rents?

People are so fucking rude about new builds! Mine certainly isn’t like that! Our estate was built with pretty strict planning permission due to being in a very traditional village

Ive always lives in Victorian flats and then two Victorian terraces of my own. I’m moving to a big wide 1920’s house and am so excited. Granted is quite plain and rendered not pebbledash. I’ve loved living in terraces but I just want the space to be wider than longer now. I’ve had enough of thin long gardens and steep staircases. In the new house I almost felt I could fling my arms out and spin around and just feel the space. Granted it’s a 4 bed detached but we looked at a few four bed Victorian houses too and they were again narrow and the 4th bedroom was in loft or they were townhouses and all stairs and I just didn’t want that anymore. The garden is smaller but seems so much bigger as it’s got more width.

Also those 1930’s houses are a doddle to extend, you can stick a nice wide box extension on the back or go over the garage. Where I grew up everyone with a 30’s house had massive extensions. We looked into extending our Victorian terrace but with a typical thin side return back we’d be looking at spending tens of thousands to get a few extra ft of floor space. 30’s houses it’s basically knock a big hole in the back and build a box on the back (kind of!).