To think old houses are a never ending maintenance nightmare

[mummymacphee]

I always wanted an older 'character' property and, after living in 3 newish houses, we finally bought a 200 year old house last year. It needed a bit of work done initially that we had planned for - everything cost twice as much as we had anticipated and every job uncovered another problem but we finally finished everything we had intended to do.

Since then, we have had a constant stream of issues- just finished rebuilding the garden wall last week and tonight the fuse box keeps tripping when we turn on the downstairs lights. I feel like crying/running away! It feels like it will never end. Having nostalgic thoughts about our nice easy newish houses and wondering why I was in such a rush to buy an old money pit!

I blame all the property programmes where they swoon over character features!

Yup money pits! My house is 160 years old and there's always something. But I haven't seen any new builds with the big rooms and 12 ft high ceilings that I have.

YANBU. But new builds in the UK are often so shoddily built older ones are seen as desirable.

Our house is just over 100 yrs old I think and it has its problems. But it's also sturdy with high ceilings and lovely thick walls that keep our noise in and the neighbours noise out. Pros and cons for old houses and new builds I think

YANBU, I have a stone roof which looks lovely but always leaks in different places after having the last part fixed. The stone floors are bloody freezing, the cellar lets heat out, all the electrics need sorting and it always feels dark. I love the character but keeping looking at new houses thinking how warm they look and they always have lots of bathrooms.

I have to say that every tradesman we have used - and believe me, we've used LOTS of them, says how well built old houses are and how they really rate them. Maybe they're just keeping me sweet as we seem to be keeping at least five different firms in business at the moment!

Mine isn't that old but I moved into a 1970s house from one that was built in early 00s, and I must say even then we are still having to do work that I (very likely) wouldn't have been doing in my previous house. It's one thing after another! Wouldn't say it's a nightmare or anything like that but just natural sort of stuff that just needs doing due to age of the house.

It does, of course, depend on how much previous owners would have done before you and, in our case, the previous owner had already done quite a bit of work before we bought the house but we still keep discovering stuff that needs doing.

I don't regret it though and still love the house!

Same here.....and a DP who ignores every one. My brother has a new house which has constant problems too.

I would not be without my fireplaces and high ceilings.

Our house is older than America and we don't seem to have any more issues than friends and relatives who have modern houses.

I love it.

Lived in one for 20 years two centuries old, surrounded by drystone walls in a couple of acres. Had a wonderful time with hens and other fowl. But by the end the heating bills were extraordinarily high, the whole house needed doing all over again, kitchens, bathrooms, decorating. We decided to let someone else do that. It was never ending, spending money on dry lining, lifting floors to insulate, central heating, and the list goes on and on. Outside hundreds of tons of top soil. Walls rebuilt by craftsmen.

We chose our new house that some other idiot had gutted and updated, they never saw their money back either. It is warm, cosy, cheap to run. I sometimes miss the fantastic views from every window, but not the 28 windows to clean.

Newer houses are a pain as well. Mine is 20 this year and there is always something wrong or leaking somewhere. It has cost a bloody fortune.

I hear you OP but I love an old moneypit! Our current house is 140 years old and there is s constant stream of bits and bobs since we finished main jobs a couple of years ago. But we've got huge rooms high ceilings and a fireplace in every room - I wouldn't swap it for anything but definitely a commitment in terms of upkeep.

We did view some new builds a few years ago, but they felt boxy and small and the obsession with ensuites meant chunks of space lost in bedrooms. Also the gardens felt very sparse and overlooked.

I come from a family of builders and we all live in old houses.

Grew up in a draughty Victorian house and current house is about 270 years old and much cosier - less damp, cool in summer, stays warm for ages after the heating/fire has been on. It is very small which I think helps maintainance wise as there is literally less to go wrong, and when the roof needed mending it was a small job completed quickly with a smaller amount of materials needed.

I feel really spooky and uncomfy in new builds and can’t settle to sleep. They seem malevolently soulless, like a kind of energy-suck.

Yanbu. Our house is over 120 years old. There is always something that needs fixing, but I absolutely love the period features and wouldn’t ever want a new build.

YANBU.

I just sold my 125 year old house, waiting for exchange of contracts and I am so petrified something will go wrong in this weather!

I hear you op! Our house is over 130 years old and it needs so much doing to it, we knew this when we bought it though but it can still be a bit overwhelming sometimes!
Whenever I go in to a friends new build, I do get envious of the smooth walls, warmth and neatness of it, however, I do like the character and uniqueness of our house (plus all the rooms are pretty big) and I'll keep chipping away at the painting and decorating hoping that one day it'll feel finished.

Agreed, they can be. I own two old Victorian properties which are a never ending drama...especially in bad weather. It's the old teapot scenerio...you glue one bit back on after it shatters, only for another bit to fall off. However, they don't need to be a money pit. I never used to be into DIY but I discovered youtube 'how to' videos...and saved myself a fortune doing the jobs myself. I sold a new build house because it felt soulless and the bedrooms were tiny. I will live with leaks, draughts, dodgy plumbing and fusing consumer units over a modern house any day of the week.

I've lived in a house that's nearly 200 years old for over twenty years now and I can't say it's been bad to maintain at all. We had a new roof a few years ago and we've decorated it all throughout - skimmed walls, put a new kitchen and bathroom in etc but it's not been any great drain on our money. We bought it for a song and gradually changed it to our taste and made improvements as our income grew although it had central heating and had been double glazed when we moved in so we didn't have that to do either of those.

It's really beautiful and people always comment on the high ceilings, cornices and other period features. I have family members with nice, comfortable new houses but I just don't warm to new houses, they are a bit too boxy and uniform to me.

I bought a house that is 106 years old. Built by the sellers dad. She was born and died in it.

Not updated since the 70's with an extension apart from double glazing. Stripping wallpaper revealed lime plaster and wiring just plastered in. So walls were replastered and a junction box put in with rewiring. Flooring was dodgy asbestos tiles so we covered that up without disturbing after consultation. There's a bit of damp from 100 year old rendering cracks but apart from that it is fine. And each and every room is twice the size and height of newbuilds. The kitchen is massive and there are 4 double bedrooms, a study, a utility room, a sunroom, a dining room and enough room on the landing alone to build another bathroom to add to the existing one and loo. The garden is huge. It was half the price of a 3 bed new build which was tiny and overlooked in comparison.

Yes the kitchen still needs updating and the garden needs rotavating and starting again but it is a much nicer home than most newbuilds can be. I'm expecting to pay out for several years for jobs as they come up but that is fine. I could not afford this space in a new build. That would probably be an executive home on an estate anyway.

Horses for courses though. It is a pain to have to organise and sort out and I hate stripping wallpaper - especially 1970's vinyls.