Box rooms

[Beansonapost]

Why is it that houses in the U.K. are still being built with box rooms?

... and still being built with no laundry/utility room?

I grew up having all massive bedrooms... kitchen diner... lounge/living room... utility... garden... garage etc. This is in the Caribbean. My childhood bedroom could fit two uk sized box rooms.

I've lived in other countries almost all of them had utility rooms... except China where the washing was housed in the bathroom; which to me makes sense. Why would you want to do laundry in the kitchen?

Husband is British so is used to this way of life... but I am confused as it's 2018 and I am certain the way people use their homes has changed. Why are people still being forced to have a box room and do the washing in the kitchen? That slot could be used for extra storage.

We went to look at some new builds... while the house was nice for almost £500,000 it just didn't provide what I would want in a family home (based purely on my experience). I think when people buy a home they don't really intend to move anytime soon unless they have to... so why put a room that is useless beyond the age of 10? Then force people to either sell of "create additional space" why not just build a house people can live in for as long as they need or want?

Also where utility rooms are concerned... in a country where it rains so much, wouldn't a dedicated space for laundry be standard? Wash, dry, iron... leave clothes to dry with windows open. Clothes out of sight.

Why is this the norm in the U.K.?

Also... why are homes still built with such poor storage options? You might get an under stair cupboard, an airing cupboard but that's it?! Why aren't built in wardrobes standard in all bedrooms? Gives you back your floor space and means less furniture to buy.

It seems developers are more concerned about how many people they can cram into these developments than how people will enjoy their homes/space.

My son and DIL live in a new build, all the bedrooms are double size, they have a utility room, plenty of built in storage and wardrobes, etc. It is what is called an 'executive home' though which means they paid a lot of money for it.
Smaller more basic homes don't usually have these options, though people often build extensions when they can afford it.
As for box rooms, thats just the desigh basically. The box room fits over the hallway. Never seen a problem with that personally.

no problem with the box room per se.
just don't call it bedroom.

A box room is not fit for habitation (unless you are a battery hen of course)
Funny, most people use their box rooms as a single bedroom.

just don't call it bedroom.
Why not, if it's got a bed in it and someone sleeps in it. That automatically makes it a bedroom.

My box room is full of boxes - it's very useful for dumping stuff.

noeffingidea, oh the great British stiff upper lip. No matter what shit comes your way, don't make a fuss! Just put up with it!

Of course most people use their box room as a single bedroom. What choice do they have? But does it mean that this is how things should be? I, personally, desire a better standard of living for myself, my children and everyone else in the country.

Why not use the box room as a utility room?

I that no these are decent observations OP.

You are right other people - lots of greedy developers, and, btw, plenty of space in this country. Just full of nimbys so unable to get planning to create homes.

There's also the obsession with the number of bedrooms in this country. Never square footage like in other countries.

However there are exceptions. I moved to a new build - 3 double bedrooms with wardrobes and a utility room. Tiny garden though. But a lot less than a 4 bed detached.

rabbitsitter because I have to put the second child somewhere and usually it would not be possible to plumb the boxroom for water as it's normally right above the front door.

shortsaint, agreed. Some newbuilds arranged over three floors do have three decent sized bedrooms.

I’ve rented box rooms before and they weren’t suitable as bedrooms. While they fit a single bed in, they all had trouble with mould as the ventilation couldn’t cope with a human breathing in them all night.

I've found this thread very interesting, I think there should be a big rethink into how we live rather than just building more and more neo georgian housing estates everywhere. They feed into the idea that we all want to live in tiny versions of stately homes, and boast about how many bathrooms we have. 1930's mansion blocks are very pleasant to live in actually, spacious and well designed with balconies and parking and communal lawns, I'd happily live in one when I retire. If we could work out a way to tempt our older generation out of their large family homes and into really well designed attractive retirement complexes that might be a start?

When they are being built they are houses not “homes”.

If you want an authentic experience and your house is 17th Century - as many in the UK are - you don’t do something crass like adding a wretched utility room.

🙄

RoseWhiteTips, or a bathroom, or running water, sewage plumbing, central heating and electricity as those definitely would diverge from an authentic experience of a 17th century British house. Could add some plague-ridden rodents, however. :)

I have a new build with no box rooms (3 doubles) and a utility room, bought for far less than your budget. So basically, you're wrong.
Stop generalising and judging, you're being incredibly rude.

I’ll always prioritise a private garden. Like @SaucyJack said, communal space isn’t great for children. If my toddler wants to play outside then I have to take her, and the baby and enough stuff so that we don’t have to come back in if I need to change a nappy or get a drink of water. It’s easier to take the buggy so I have somewhere to put the baby down if the toddler wants help, and it also involves crossing a couple of roads and isn’t enclosed. By the time I’ve done all that I might as well take them to the park, which is about 5 min further and much more child friendly. I won’t be letting her go out alone for a good few years. You need a key fob to get into our building and have to cross roads.

The London mansion blocks when friends have lived have lovely communal gardens, but they’re always a source of contention when children are involved. You can’t leave toys out so have to store everything inside anyway, and neighbours always complain about children playing in the garden, and you can’t be sure that nothing dangerous has been left outside. They also tend to be looked after by a gardener, which is an additional expense as well as meabing yiu you can’t just grow what you want.

I moved to my new build 14 years ago. I was determined to buy one with decent sized bedrooms as all my family live a long way away. Mine has :4 double bedrooms, all with fitted wardrobes, an airing cupboard, a kitchen diner, a utility room big enough to house washing machine, tumble dryer, sink, vacuum cleaner, ironing board, spares cupboard, a garage & a garden bigger enough to not worry it would be too small when we built an extension. I can’t believe so few other people are saying they have this too as I love looking around the new estates & most of them have utility rooms.

I get what you are saying OP. I’ve lived abroad and all the houses were much, much bigger than the house we now in. 😭😭.

One thing that I don’t understand is why so few new builds have basements. If land is expensive then it makes sense to maximise the living space anyway you can. One house we lived in overseas had a big double garage, a boiler room, a big utility room, a full bathroom and a good size double bedroom in the basement.... that a lot of house even before you get to ground level. In another house there was a really big carpeted room in the basement which was a dedicated play room. The kids could leave their toys out and make a mess and I didn’t care. I’ve also lived in a house where the walk in closet was bigger than my current normal UK sized double bedroom. ( BTW these were all company rentals)

I love big spacious houses, they are much easier to keep tidy and I’m sure everyone gets on better in them as everyone has space.

I'd say private gardens make life with small children easier. I've lived in a place with a communal garden which was ok but you couldn't put any semi permanent toys in it. It wasn't secure in any way so you couldn't let LO out without being with them.
Everybody has their own ideal garden. For some it's a kids play area, for others its a place for the family lab, some want a place to nurture plants, (don't behead the roses with a size 5) others want to encourage wildlife, some want to BBQ, others look at great weather and think get the washing out (don't stink my washing with your BBQ

Admittedly I don't understand the obsession of having 3 toilets in a 2 bedroom house esp when you consider that for years families were lucky to have one toilet. I guess it's partly that issue of houses being sold by contents rather than square footage as they are in other places.

Beyond that land in the UK is expensive, simple economic, supply and demand, limited supply puts the price up.

There's loads of land in the UK hmm just not in the city centres where everyone seems to want to live. You can buy a large plot of land for £60k where i live and build and big house with large gardens to your specification which a lot of people have done

Yes,there is land in the UK, lots in the countryside and outside of the city centres.
Before anyone gets excited on reading the above highlighted bit though,it's not always easy to just build on it! The countryside is protected, and there's lots of green belt land out there (ie land that's protected and you can't build on.)
A large plot of land for 60k is extremely good, I don't think you'd get that here and I'm definitely not down South!

I have just had a quick look at houses in your area OP, I did not realise how expensive houses were in Fleet, unfortunately you just live in an expensive area where half a million just gets you an average standard house and be it old or new does not get you the amount of space you want or expect for your budget, the houses with the space you require seem to be in the £650,000 to £700,000 price bracket, but even then the few I did click on did not have utilities! Which I must admit struck me as strange, as where I live even the smaller houses are built with utility rooms. I think you will have to buy a smaller house in a decent plot if you can find one, and build on in the future if you wish or need to stay in Fleet.

yippee I think they don’t build houses with basements is because the cost of excavation is really expensive, so making them unaffordable I think.

I do know what you mean OP. I spent my early years in the Caribbean and spacious is the thing when housebuilding there. Now I'm in UK I do have a spacious flat - but spacious in the wrong way.

2 large bedrooms + a box room. Huge hallway (what for?!) and 1 airing cupboard which is the only cupboard storage in flat. So I cant use the box room even as a spare bedroom, as I have to store stuff in there. Id like less hallway, more cupboard space. It's an odd design.

I wonder if it's more so a London thing tho where you have to search a bit more for what you want as opposed to countryside where it looks me that houses are built more sensibly

peacheach: Have a look on Rightmove, lots of Australian properties without utility rooms

Are you sure?

If you were looking for utility rooms, you won't find it - rather it is referred to as a Laundry (not laundry room, either).