For those of you that live in a Victorian terrace...

[Wondermule]

Do you regret buying it? I know houses are all different but just trying to get a feel for how high maintenance they are.

And if you do regret it, what sort of house would you go for next time?

TIA

I loved the room sizes in my old Victorian Terrace but I had to move due to paper thin walls.

You could hear everything and it's so wearing after a while. Grinds you down.

Previously had a mid Victorian house and boy was it solid and sound.
Now in a much older house and again it is sound and hearty.
Get a good structural survey, look around the area at any extensions, alterations and chimneys.
Never had been high maintenance. Do your research

Love love love them. I own one now and have lived in a fair few terraced houses (Edwardian and Victorian) as a student. In my mind there’s two kinds - ones who have been refurbished (with good damp proofing and insulation) that are cosy, modern, warm and dry and those that need a lot of work and are chilly, rotten around the edges and damp. Theres a huge difference between the two. My house feels like a new house inside but another house I viewed when I was looking to buy was like having a wet flannel rubbed around your face as soon as you walked through the door!

I love my Victorian terrace. I have done a lot to it, but that is because a lot of previous owners never did anything! Seeing my parents in their modern bungalow, I dont think I have needed to do much more than they do. I love the high ceilings, the original features, and the size of the rooms - I find modern houses featureless and bland.

I havent had a lot of issues with noise although I have a small dog so I may be the neighbour the others dont like. Even when the neighbours have had family with small children staying (back when you could) I didnt hear much. The parking is crap though.

Lived in an Edwardian one and LOVED it. Fireplaces in every room, high ceilings, molding, lovely huge front door. Edwardian houses seem to have rectangular bays too which I think are much more useful. Loved the original floors etc. cost a bomb to heat but we could afford to do just did. I have a friend with a big drafty Georgian flat and it costs her a bomb and a half to heat and she can’t/won’t pay to heat it so it’s always cold which I found totally miserable when I lived with her. She doesn’t seem to mind though. I would never buy one if I wasn’t prepared to spend the money on heating.

Now live in a new build in the US. Still lovely high windows, underfloor heating etc and high quality build but I do miss my fire places and drafty windows.

Oh we also figured we spent about £5k/year on the Edwardian house on something, roof one year, joists rotting, bathroom floor going mouldy, boiler etc.

Victorian semi here and I love it.

However it's a money pit!

Nope. Ours have lovely high ceilings and spacious rooms. It’s nice and warm with brick walls inside too. I haven’t had a problem with neighbour noise but maybe I have nice ones! Only issue really is parking outside but we knew that when we bought the house.

Rented one for a while, pretty but cold and no parking, bought a 1930s semi with a massive drive and garden, I'm a total convert to 1930s houses!

There is not a bay window in the land that doesn't have a damp or cracking issue and they create a weird wasted space in a room.

Don’t get this at all. Been in ours about 10 years and no signs of damp in the bays. Also I find the space useful. We have a chair in the downstairs bay and an ottoman upstairs.

I think it depends where you live OP as to what options you have. Where we are (SW London) it’s pretty much all Victorian terraces unless you have upwards of £2m to spend. And no one has a garage or off street parking (unless you go for the £2m plus house).

I live in a detached Victorian. It does require a lot of maintenance, but I have huge rooms and ceilings are more than 3m high. I paid for wood sash double glazed windows (£900 each!) But there are still drafts.
I'm moving to London and the price of this house would barely get me a flat. So raiding some savings and getting an end of terrace Edwardian. The new builds are awful unless they have a good footprint, not likely in London, so I'm sticking with pre 1900 for now.

Edwardian terrace here and love it.

@Chicchicchicchiclana sums it up.

Jesus Christ, it’s narrow. And we have maximised every spare inch of space. Also wafer thin walls; i can literally hear the neighbours every word.

We want somewhere bigger.

Yes. My house is a pain in the arse. Endless
money pit - altho’ was totally neglected when we bought it, and we’ve had to do literally everything to it. End of terrace but the wall is thin on neighbouring side - the noise is an issue. No hallway. Kitchen & bathroom in shitty ground floor extension. Damp. Cold downstairs. I could go on. It’s got a nice vibe though, good energy. But I dream of an architect-designed modern glass box, or at least a straight-lined solid 1960s place with a refurb.

Mine's been no trouble since I moved in 7 years ago. In fact I own another property built in the 80s and that has cost more in maintenance/repairs in 2 years. There was a bit of damp on an outside wall on moving in, but was easily rectified. On the surveyor's advice I pulled the carpets up and had a window put into the basement so that air can circulate, preventing damp (which older houses can be prone to)

I do have 2 jobs that need doing this summer - lead flashing on back extension sagging and the rear elevation needs repointing with lime cement. So nothing major at all.

I'd definitely live in one again.

Mine is a late 1800s terrace. We put in double glazing (it had single!) which made a world of difference but other than that I don’t think I have had any particular maintenance expenditure. I thought about moving to a new hilt a few years ago, I would quite like regular shaped rooms, ours have all kinds of nooks and crannies, partially sloping ceilings etc, which means have to be careful with furniture choices.

We are an end terrace and the one we are connected to is half the size of ours (which is not particularly big anyway) so it will never be a family home and we are not too worried about noise. It is currently occupied by a single man in his 60s who will undoubtedly live there for the rest of his life and is a perfect neighbour.

It depends on the size of the house. I have a very large 6 bed Victorian terraced house and the walls are 18 inches thick. My neighbour apologised for screaming at her husband for about a week but I didn’t hear a thing! I worry about my children screaming but both sides say they don’t hear them.

I did live in a much smaller Victorian Terrace and the walls were thin enough to hear if someone was being noisy. I have also lived in a new build semi and I chose Victorian every time. The ceilings are so high you need a ladder to change the bulbs. The stunning ceiling roses, cornicing and the real fire place. I even have one in my main bathroom and nothing nicer than a fire going whilst in the bath. Room sizes are massive as well. My snug at the back of the house (gaming room for ds) is bigger than my new build lounge even though it’s the smallest room here. I do very occasionally dream of a nice new build bungalow (in a wheelchair) that has had all its renovations done (mine is still only have completed with Covid happening) but the reality is I wouldn’t want to swap all the features in this house for less dust.

If you are interested I would check wall size first. Oh and parking! I am allowed a drive put in and waiting for that to begin and also have a disabled bay but before that was put in I sometimes had to park on the next road up and the hills killed my arms when having to wheel myself back up them!

Mines teeny tiny but the walls are thick

Luck of the draw it must be

@Kimye4eva

There is not a bay window in the land that doesn't have a damp or cracking issue and they create a weird wasted space in a room.

Don’t get this at all. Been in ours about 10 years and no signs of damp in the bays. Also I find the space useful. We have a chair in the downstairs bay and an ottoman upstairs.

I think it depends where you live OP as to what options you have. Where we are (SW London) it’s pretty much all Victorian terraces unless you have upwards of £2m to spend. And no one has a garage or off street parking (unless you go for the £2m plus house).

The bay is also the main place to have your Christmas tree!

We’ve never had a problem with damp in our bay but there’s definitely been some prior slippage that’s been underpinned

There are well-built houses, and shoddy houses, from all eras.
My last house was 1850s, wonky floors, odd pipes and beams everywhere, tiny literal 2 up 2 down, but warm, cosy, characterful and quiet. Now in a 1900s house, bigger, can hear next door a bit through the walls, draughty, but I also love it.
All my previous homes were 1960s - 2000s, didn't love any of them, all noisy, all cold. Internal plasterboard walls, low ceilings, felt more cramped than the tiny 1850s one.

I rent a Victorian house from a HA, so no repair bills! But they haven’t had to do much in the 15 years I’ve been here. I love my house. As others have said, lovely high ceilings and beautiful features. In mine the floors are a bit uneven though, a lot of my furniture needs something underneath or it leans at an odd angle! I have no problems with neighbour noise. I’ve lived in lots of different houses and often had trouble with noise in the past, I barely hear anyone here.

My windows are single glazed sash but I don’t find it any colder than any other house I’ve lived in. There is less light, this suits me personally as I like a darker house (floor to ceiling windows are my nightmare) but it wouldn’t be for everyone. It definitely feels more homely than anywhere else I’ve lived.

We live in one and moved from one (and I lived in a converted Victorian semi flat before that, I could go on).
They vary a lot - this one has thicker walls but you can still hear a bit. Generally if insulated properly they are ok for warmth. We've had the windows redone, which has been a great help.
Only issue really is some of the walls are hard to put fittings into: either too flaky (basically wattle and daub) or too hard (this one and the last one are stone).

We’re on our second one and done major renovations on both of them.

Upsides
-they do look beautiful!
-high ceilings make them feel very spacious
-they’re everywhere so if you are looking to buy there is a lot of choice

Downsides
-absolute money pits
-need to keep on top of maintenance
-noisy

The downsides can be mitigated a bit. If you buy one that’s recently been refurbished then you should get a good few years without having to do much on it. On the noise front, we soundproofed the walls in our bedrooms.

Would I buy another one? I have to say I would love a semi or a detached next time but I live in London so absolutely no chance!

@Chicchicchicchiclana

I've lived in two Victorian terraces since 1996.

I don't exactly regret it as there's not much choice for houses where I live (London) but I feel in my gut that my next house won't be a Victorian terrace.

Reasons:

1. The deep narrow layout of the house. The very tiny hallway. The kitchen out in the back extension can feel a distance from the rest of the house (where children might be playing for eg).

1. Terraces are awful if you want major works done in the garden.

1. Neighbour noise.

1. You don't get a nice wide aspect out into the garden unless you do the side return extension (very costly) and the bi-fold doors thing.

1. And yes they can be costly to upkeep unless the person before you has done a huge refurb in which case they will be on the market at very high premium prices.

1. There is not a bay window in the land that doesn't have a damp or cracking issue and they create a weird wasted space in a room.

I want my next house to be a more square 60s build, still usually have large rooms, usually a better aspect onto the back garden. With side access.

What is a side-return extension?

It depends on the size of the house.

This. Victorian could be anything from about 1840 to 1900. They were fairly basic for workers, but there were also larger houses which can include cellars, and will have more (and larger) rooms because they would have expected to have at least one live-in servant. Some are little more than 2 up, 2 down, front door straight onto the street, whereas others will be more set-back, with bay windows, possibly even steps up to the front door.
Presumably the shoddiest builds will have been demolished by now, but you also have over a century of improvements from inhabitants, which may or may not have been well done. So you need to look at each individual house.

There’s terraces and terraces if you see what I mean. Friend lived in a small one, with a dodgy roof that was always needing attention, , very dark, no way of getting to back garden except through the house, no room to expand or change it really, lots of bodge jobs over the years. But she sold it for a stupid amount as was in totterdown in Bristol.

We moved last year from a large Victorian terrace with loads of light, lovely back garden with a lane for access, room for a side return extension, loft room, really solid beautiful house with period features.