Tell me about living in an old house...

[Gravenwithdiamonds]

Looking at a Georgian house with a view to making an offer - beautiful, spacious etc.

But it's 200-300 years old so I'm also imagining it's cold (high ceilings, massive windows, though it has newish boilers and good water pressure), draughty, expensive to run (no double glazing). We currently live in a cosy small 1920s semi with double glazing, insulation etc. Should we expect a massive hike in upkeep/running costs if we moved? What are the other downsides to living in an old house? (It's not listed BTW and we would get a full survey).

It's not listed at the moment - nothing in the street is though a fair amount in the town is. It already has some (relatively ugly) extensions - would that prevent a listed status? We wouldn't make any changes ourselves but you're right, we really don't want listed restrictions and costs. I don't think the street will be conservation area ever as most of it is modern.

We are in a conservation area now and it affects the external appearance (down to what type of hedge we plant) but nothing internal.

No sign of a dodgy roof, it's just one of things that I would imagine would be astronomical to fix if something went wrong (i'm nervous about the mature trees nearby if there was a storm...)

Agree with the wood burner as well, ours warms up the room next to it and the bedroom and bathroom above it.

Yes, that point about the roof/guttering etc being inaccessible is very valid - at the moment, DH can do a lot of our basic DIY but I'm not sure he could on this house as the ceilings are roof are so high.

Love the idea of a wood burner, my sister has one (in a new build) and it's almost too hot (she gets free wood and always uses it rather than puts the heating in).

We have internal gutters inside the roof space that overflowed in a huge rain storm this summer. The water went down through three floors.

The ridge beam in the roof is rotten and has completely disintegarted where it fits into the end gable. Hence the entire roof is slowly collapsing under its own weight and pulling the gable at the other end of the house over like a great big 100 ton lever.

Oh the outside of the house needs the stucco render stripping off as the damp has got behind it and then redoing and repainting. Thats 3 months of scaffolding and specialist rendering work. There are 4 cast iron drian pipes need recasting - no plastic here. Then there is the garden wall that needs rebuilding. That will be hand made bricks and lime mortar.

Am I putting you off yet?

Op you have described my house. It. I utterly wonderful and has spoiled me forevermore for ordinary houses

Seems like it really does depend on the condition of the actual house...argh, decisions, decisions...

We have a house like this - suffers from damp even though we had a lot of it damp-proofed before moving in.

It's lovely - but it can be a pita. It is draughty, expensive to heat (but better since we got a woodburner) and there always seems to be some repair or other needing doing. Ours isn't listed though.

Pay for the best survey you can - not just the one the mortgage lenders insist on - but a specialised one. And pick through it with a fine toothcomb- anything that looks dodgy, get a second opinion on.

Imo new houses are 'easier' to live in and much more convenient - but you can't beat the character of a really beautiful old house. Ours is admired all the time.

Get a specialist survey- someone who deals with old/listed buildings. SPAB website is great for advice, also the Georgian society website has useful info. Run a mile from any damp proofing company. Old buildings need to breathe- thats the main point to consider in relation to damp. I echo other advice about shutters/thick curtains etc

i do love georgian houses but they are all a bit "up front". they were fairly shoddy builders and just covered it up with "bling" plaster and panelling. by the victorian era builders had hit their stride and were trying to.build stock that lasted longer. there are a lot of inherent defects with georgian details which make them beautiful but more difficult.to look after. still lovely tho!!

tricot39 - you are right.

John Nash and Thomas Cubitt, who between them built many of London's Georgian areas, were in fact the 19th century equivalent of dodgy developers who as you say built pretty shoddy houses that need constant repair right up to this day.

I think we have to look carefully at the date etc - it's a Georgian front with Victorian behind and some later additions. It has the high ceilings and large windows but not the stucco front or any internal panelling - coving but not the classic walls divided into three parts, IYKWIM.

I'm trying not to let it become my 'dream' home as there are a thousand reasons why it might not be a good idea - plus we have only just put ours on the market so are not proceedable at the moment. Interestingly, I now realise that a lot of the streets we have been looking at are listed, which makes this house more attractive as I don't think it would ever qualify for listed status.

ah yes morebeta - the repairs keep me in work!

We rented a house like that for almost 2 years (but 2 winters!) and it was freezing - of course that may not have been down to the house / age, it might have been down to the fact that it had been rented out for a few years before we moved in. It only had single glazing sash windows, we had ice on the inside of the windows most of the 1st winter (2008 - had severe snow throughout Christmas / New Year). It was drafty and very expensive to heat - perhaps that was down to having big rooms with high ceilings so it took a while for them to heat up. The cellar was damp too but the rest of the house was OK. Apart from the cold, was a fab house. Your house sounds gorgeous - good luck.

My dad has many wise words on this issue - he says that owning an old house (and indeed, a classic car) is a hobby as much as a home. The extra money it costs you is probably equivalent to a nice holiday each year, plus it demands a lot of time at the weekends. On the other hand, if it's the hobby you want, it's great fun!

We sold the classic car long ago but have kept the old house.

It depends on the house. I've lived in very very cold Victorian houses but this one is very warm - huge, thick walls (maybe thicker as it's a 3 storey - I don't know - we're on the ground floor) and it keeps the heat in very well ime.

Make sure to insulate around doors and double glaze/thick curtains as well. (we have enormous windows and no DG - but somehow it's fine - need heavy curtains though).

We also have central heating, radiator type, and sadly we're not allowed to use our huge open fires as it's rented. and they have mattresses stuffed up them

I don't know why it is warm - I think the prevailing wind comes from the attached side iyswim, so we're a bit sheltered. Or something.

OTOH our upstairs neighbours say they never have to have their heating on so we're probably subsidising them - which I don't mind as it isn't overly expensive anyway, and I like them.

Our ceilings are very high though so if you're up there on a ladder, you feel stiflingly hot and that's a shame as it kind of gets wasted - unless you have a ceiling airer, which I would recommend.

On the plus side, being cold burns calories ( says I sitting indoors in my 200 year old listed flat wearing a wooly scarf and jumper).

So true, wigglybeezer!

I'm just worried that we're not going to have a lot of spare income to spend on the likes of specialist repairs, particularly if/when utility bills are set to rise. Even buying curtains for all these huge windows would be costly to begin with.

It's really too big for our needs but the place we're moving too is small, the property market is very slow and there's very few family properties of the Victorian/Edwardian type ie, solid red-brick 4-beds, like you get in cities and which, to be honest, wouldbe more manageable and affordable. And the Georgian-style houses are just so lovely...

Mmm - income is a problem. I'm hugely aware that our house is enjoyable because we have spare money to spend on it, we now have a selection of good reliable tradespeople, and at the moment we're spending a lot of money on heating. If something goes wrong, it's a case of 'fine, we'll pay Joe to fix it', not 'oh God, what are we going to do now?'

And yes, curtains are ludicrously expensive - I'm learning how to make them myself!

Grendelsmum, I agree with your dad

I would definitely be getting the sewing machine out and also knitting up some blankets...

We probably wouldn't consider it if there was anything more suitable on the market but we've been watching this area for over a year and so few nice houses come up. Anyway, until we sell our house, it's not like it's going to happen. I'm not sure whether this thread is putting me off or not!