What is it REALLY like to live in a Victorian house?

[WhereBeThatBlackbirdTo]

One day, in the far off distant future, we will be moving (once the children have left home and settled).

I was wandering around Rightmove yesterday, as usual, and realised that I seem to like the style of Victorian property more than any other era. This was a surprise to me, I always thought I'm a 1930's-semi kind of person

We have a 1950's house at the moment, double glazed, centrally heated, wood burner etc - all cosy and easy to run.

So - my question is - what is it really like to live in a Victorian property?

Ours had slugs and the most enormous spiders. But the tiled floor in the hall was beautiful :)

Right can someone t ell me if my house is Victorian or Edwardian, not that it matters but I'd like to know.

According to deeds it was built in 1901, no idea of month.

Its brick with a slate roof.

Semi detached, the door is on the "inside" of the semi. So the two front doors and hallways are next to each other. We have an un enclosed porch on the outside. So handy roof and side walls but no door to the garden in it.

Ceilings are higher than modern house but not as high as in some props I've seen.

Chimney breasts in sitting room, dining room and kitchen. Some sort of larder/pantry room off the rear dining room.

Sitting room has a bay window. Upstairs bedrooms don't. Third bedroom is a single, other two are doubles. We have a bathroom the size of the small third bedroom, maybe this would have been another bedroom once?

Outside loo. Big garden with brick outbuildings.

What do you reckon?

Probably likely to be Edwardian then (technically) as I think Queen Victoria dies in January 1901...... just to confuse, would very much have benn in the style of Victorian though

Edwardian or very very late Victorian!

So glad to hear about other people's slugs!

Ours is late Victorian, mid-terrace freezing has lots of original features and character, single glazed huge windows one is 10 foot by 9 foot, huge reception rooms, fireplaces in all the bedrooms, bay windows, a central staircase, original floorboards, random cupboards etc.

You get used to the cold and draughts are always over-dressed when you go to other people's house and think nothing of wearing a hat and scarf indoors. It's so dusty sometimes I feel like this dirt has been lurking since Victoria was on the throne. It's a project

We only turn the heating on when totally necessary so it isn't on at the moment - it's been so mild today.

Have had an issue in the rain and need to do some pointing. It is quite a dive - people always admire it but it because it is grand but it is actually a bit crap.

It's also good for hide and seek and there are some phenomenal things that can be unearthed in the cellar....

Does this help, Viva?
www.heritageopendays.org.uk/blog/Ten-clues-to-help-you-identify-a-victorian-house

We moved into a large mid Victorian Semi that hadn't been touched for 25yrs, 6mths ago and we're part way through renovating it. I've just had a load of friends to stay for a reunion and they all commented that they were surprised how cosy this place is, despite the huge rooms & high ceilings.
Before this we lived for 10yrs in an Edwardian terrace house (1910) - this one was cosy as well.
Insulation, draft proofing, correct ventilation & a well controlled modern heating system make a huge difference.

I am sitting in one now in the US. Our home has lovely high, ceilings, huge light flooding windows, polished wood floors and some odd creaky night noises. It has been chilly this winter, but we have had 14 nights when the temperature has reached -23 degrees.

Our cats also love the woodwork and have used many door posts for scratching purposes...

Victorian terrace here
No slugs, no damp
not cold, but we had sash windows renovated

it's lovely, no idea what you are all moaning about!!

I agree with ppaka. They are lovely. Most houses round here are Victorian and I would really miss my wonky house if I had to move. Lovely high ceilings beautiful fireplace and cornicing.

Cold. If you go away in the Winter, our stone walls radiate the cold for days. The main bother is dealing with the bodged plumbing and electrics done since it was built. Always something to repair

Thanks.

I've got 5 out of 10 out of those signs of a Victorian house so not sure if it helps or not!

We rented a Victorian semi for a year while househunting. Beautiful house but cold and yes, the slugs did my head in! Ended leaving salt water trails on the floor to keep them off the cat food so then the little buggers would come round the skirting boards instead.

We bought a 1961 terrace eventually which is warm and solid though obviously no where near as attractive to look at.

High ceilings, drafty, expensive to heat.
Plumbing can be dodgy.
Check that it doesn't need rewiring and that the drains are ok.
Beware of old trees in proximity to the house as the roots damage the drains. (see above)
Loads of character and history.
We had ghosts - that is a whole other thread though.

There you are though Viva, it says some people including the Victorian Society take Victorian to include Edwardian, so your house is Victorian even if it is Edwardian!

YY to draughts and slugs.

Ours was built in the 1880s.

We insulated ours (battened ceilings, masses in loft etc), now it is warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
Wasn't expensive to do.

Ours is fine. Slight drafts from sash windows and down chimneys, but you could easily solve by double glazing or putting a chimney blocker up them - we just choose not to because it's not really an issue. It is terraced, though, so that might make it warmer.

I feel the need to add we don't have slugs or damp either. Walls/floors/ceilings are all a bit wonky though, solid but no longer straight.

We looked at a few 5 bed town houses circa 1870's with my df who's a building surveyor and has owned a few rental houses (very handy chap!). They where and still are gorgeous! However!!!

We loved them but his advise to us was (worse case scenario).

They need to be damp proofed, walls tanked (damp proofed) and re plastered. Rewired if not done in last 30 years. Roofs need to be well maintained, preferably renewed and preferably lined. Guttering as with any house must be in good condition. Nine inch brickwork can be very expensive as once damp gets into the brickwork your fighting a loosing battle. Unless you put a cavity gap in (strip all walls and basically rebuild the inside of the house) you will always have damp. If bricks are crumbling don't even consider the house.

Watch out for woodworm and remember if its a terrace the floor joists from one property to the next tend to join so problems can spread from one end of the street to the other. This can lead to needing new floors/ceilings having problems regardless of how well you maintain your house. If anyone on the terrace doesn't you could have problems.

They need insulating well, sash windows replacing otherwise they are cold and draughty.

Cost a lot to heat and maintain. He advised if it was between a Victorian build or 1930's build he would pick 1930's every time!

We were gutted but some friends of ours bought a 1870's terrace house a few months afterwards. Its gorgeous to look at but they are considering moving simply because its so expensive to maintain it properly.

love it. but then we have renovated it incl replastering, re wiring, woodburner installed. Plus it already had upvc Windows which removed the umming and ahing over what to do about draughty sash. our basement is also tanked. Not draughty, no slugs, solid, don't hear neighbours, lots of height and light and storage plus we only have heating on 2hrs a day due to woodburner.

Not all Victorian houses are the same, or have the same issues. wouldn't swap it for a new build which we used to own.

Edwardian house moved in four months ago. Pros are the room sizes are great! When my kids are at top of house I can't hear them! . Lovely high ceilings.

Cons are the cost of heating....I thought my monthly payment was way too low and when I rang and gave them a reading they said I had used more gas in three months than some use in a year and we only have heating on in morn for two hours and at night for about three....

Also as someone said when you start pulling it apart be prepared, in our house they had never gone back to original plaster in 100 years all owners had papered on paper etc so under six layers do paper walls can need some tlc!

Bumpy damp walls. But overall fab!,

High ceilings, huge sash windows, spacious rooms, beautiful features.

I love love love my Victorian house. Aesthetically I think they are very hard to beat.

We have a tiny bit of damp at the back but are about to have that fixed (for £500) The rest of the house isn't damp at all. No slugs either!

I do concede though that it is a bit draughty and chilly in the winter. You do get used to it though and the house is certainly well-ventilated - modern houses feel a bit stuffy and overheated in comparison to me.

We say Victorian but built in 1911. Went from 2-bed modern box (1995) to this because we wanted space, decent garden and was in budget.

We've replaced the 40 year old boiler and peeled back some very interesting layers of wallpaper (fake wood panel, fake marble tile, fake brick, a lovely peacock coloured design, then skimming, then more wallpaper designs!!) - our heating bills have reduced, and also reducing further due to replacing 3m rads with modern ones that heat the rooms and not the walls!

We have woodlice galore. We occasionally get big spiders but they're quick to go under the skirting. Replacing the skirting was an education in itself! No carpets as is quite a dusty house so better to have clear floors (DH and I disagree on this point). Uneven walls, our bedroom doorframe's been for a night on the tiles, a simple job leads to other jobs.

Love our house. Love the high ceilings, the room sizes, the space, the quarry tiles in the kitchen. Decent garden (although would love it to be 3 wide rather than our 1 wide), neighbours adjoining the bottom of our garden have an even longer garden (150ft) so we aren't crowded out back, or even out front (bungalows at the front, so we get big skies). Big windows, light, bright, airy. Can tell if it's windy (!) but house feels solid, especially when workmen tramp through it.

It's enough to say I am browsing houses with the thought of us moving I a few years' time, and the modern boxes that would give us the space I want are unaffordable, so am drawn to period properties. Want the next one to be done though, not a doer upper!