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

107 replies

WhereBeThatBlackbirdTo · 24/02/2014 15:27

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 Grin

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?

OP posts:
GarlicLeGrenouille · 24/02/2014 19:55

I've renovated four early Edwardian flats (purpose-built, so agents might call them maisonettes) and a Victorian 2-bed. Similar issues with them all. The Edwardian ones had better proportions, bigger spaces and much more daylight - Victorian rooms tend to need knocking through to make them lighter, unless you're looking at a mansion or something.

Energy-efficient sash window replacements are incredibly expensive, so I put in new double-glazed windows or standard secondary glazing. Floorboards were all nice, but full of gaps - sanding them also means extensive filling, which is a horrible job. I restored a few, but mostly laid new wooden floors on top of the old ones. Sound baffling was quite good, and putting down an extra floor improves it (if you're very noisy you can put insulation down while you're at it.) Keep the skirting boards if you can, they're fatter and nicer than new ones. None of your doors, windows or angles will be straight; I used professionals to fit kitchen units, as they always need detailed adjustment.

I started off being precious about the original cornices & ceiling roses, but by the last two I was buying new plaster ones. They're just as good, and it's easier to pull off & replace than to restore (doesn't apply if yours is an architectural masterpiece, of course, you'd better hone your skills!) I also took out the tiny fireplaces and turned the holes into cupboards; decent-sized fireplaces are nice to keep. You can cap off the chimneys and put bafflers inside, to minimise draughts and things falling down them.

Stripping the walls was invariably hilarious and unhealthy! Some properties had up to THIRTY different layers of wallpaper & paint; it's like time travel! The wall cavities are filled with a vile horsehair & plaster mix, which has collected large amounts of rubble along with debris from small animals and assorted live creatures. I wish I'd put up with wearing a mask, as it's given me long-term sinus problems (and worms.) The stuff falls out even if you just strip the walls. Knocking them down is beyond filthy. You will probably need to strip out much of the plumbing & re-do it, and I had to replace all the wiring in three of them - more time travel!

Lovely details, like hallway tiles and fireplace surrounds, are well worth keeping and most properties still have the stained glass in the front doors. Unless you're going to extreme lengths, you can just patch any broken tiles with filler and paint.

A friend of mine bought a large, neglected Victorian house and discovered amazing panelling behind the plasterboard walls - both carved wood and intricate plasterwork. She also found the ceiling plasterwork was all hand-made, with the detail clogged up by paint. It was a mixed blessing. Took six years to restore, but was gorgeous by the time she finished!

Oh, and watch out for lovely mature trees. Make your surveyor check that the roots haven't undermined the foundations or broken through the waste outlet.

TunipTheUnconquerable · 24/02/2014 20:10

I love the tiny fireplaces! It's a plus for me when I find they're still there.
Probably because my ancestors would have been more likely to have been shivering in the attics as servants than swanking around in the fancy rooms. Grin

InsertUsernameHere · 24/02/2014 20:12

I think there probably isn't a simple answer - because they are old a lot can happen between being built and now!

We are in a late edwardian semi - in the process of renovating. It is now insulated to within an inch of it's life (with lots of breathable stuff so architect promises me it will be fine). Old houses benefit from people living in the for the long term. Basically none of the work we have done would be worth it from an investment point of view, but having a warm and cosy house that is cheaper to run is priceless for us because I'm only leaving in a box

I think the challenge is the unknown nature of them. When you buy you don't know that the house is littered with holes from the sky man's exuberant drilling which you can see the outside through, or that a floor has been raised and no insulation underneath but hey at least the DC understand how a fridge works because the room is a scaled up version of a heat exchange

If you are willing to put the effort in, or have the funds for someone else to they will repay you. I love my house maybe to much, decorator laughed as I refer to the house as she but it is definitely a long term relationship!!

TunipTheUnconquerable · 24/02/2014 20:17

Cupcake78, your df's approach is not what SPAB would recommend. These houses weren't built to be tanked, they were built to breathe. Applying modern techniques and materials to old buildings isn't always the best way to go.

WhereBeThatBlackbirdTo · 24/02/2014 20:52

I knew MN would tell the truth about Victorian properties!

So, apart from the slugs, they seem to be much as I expected. I'm not put off but the husband is. To be fair, it would be him doing most of the work.

One of the houses I was having a nose at on Rightmove proudly lists original wooden floors on the ground floor as a main feature.

Because of you lot, my first thought was SLUGS - eeeww!

OP posts:
RunDougalRunQuiteFast · 24/02/2014 21:22

No straight walls, massive rooms (you don't realise how big they are till you start painting!) I love ours - detached villa; bay windows, lots of insulation in the loft, huge garden, odd bathroom and kitchen 40s add-on, lots of personality and character. Built in 1882 by the builder who did our local roads.

JillJ72 · 24/02/2014 21:25

I'd recommend you at least view some to rule them out. To put it into context, we got so much more space with this house, and the others we looked at in the same price bracket were newer (1960s to 1990s) but needed the same amount of work doing and were smaller with diddy gardens.

PepeLePew · 24/02/2014 21:29

Fabulously proportioned rooms, glorious period features, lovely high ceilings and big windows.

Leaky and draughty, can't keep out the mice or the slugs. Have spent a fortune on insulation and double glazing - to some effect but it can be really cold. But as others have said it is blissfully cool on the two hot days we have a year

More1nfoPlease · 24/02/2014 21:33

Slugs, mice, ceilings you treat with more care than a Faberge egg.

Gorgeous, high rooms and lots and lots of light. Lovely bay windows you can sit in.

Tigresswoods · 24/02/2014 21:37

Everyone's mentioning how cold they are & yes sure enough ours is a bit cold. However... Remember last summer when everyone complained how hot it was & how they couldn't sleep? Well! We were laughing in our lovely cool home. Upstairs got quite warm but we left the loft hatch open & it was very pleasant.

We enjoy the large rooms & general space that you don't get elsewhere.

dementedma · 24/02/2014 21:44

We have the upstairs flat in a Victorian house. High ceilings,huge windows,draughty fireplaces. Lovely porch tiles discovered when we lifted the hall carpet. Crap water pressure so no shower, bit vast kitchen and spacious rooms. Cold in winter. Sloping eaves so all used to ducking at relevant points. It has character. Love it so much more than modern shoe box sized flats.

WhereBeThatBlackbirdTo · 25/02/2014 08:57

JillJ72 yes, of course, we will have a good look at various properties and will not make a decision based purely on this thread. The possible move will not be for a few years yet and I don't want to view homes with no intention of buying - it seems unfair on the sellers.

However - everyone's opinions on here have been enough to put me off buying china dogs and stuffed birds in glass cases just yet!

OP posts:
tb · 25/02/2014 16:04

I grew up in one, and 1 disadvantage was that it took 10 rolls of wallpaper to paper a room.

Also, going up the stairs the longest piece of paper was 18 ft.

JillJ72 · 25/02/2014 19:10

There are some houses on the market (or not) I would dearly love to look around but for nosying / ideas reasons.... Rightmove isn't quite the same as a viewing in person. Not fair though on the vendors unless they're happy for an upfront "getting a feel but not buying" viewing....

Good luck when you do start looking. And remember not all older houses have slugs Grin

minipie · 25/02/2014 19:49

Totally depends on condition I think.

Properly maintained and modernised Victorian house = best of both worlds IMO: big windows, high ceilings, pretty and interesting period features, great attics and cellars for storage and conversion.

Badly maintained and modernised Victorian house = drafty, slugs, constant cracking plaster, rotting sash windows, oddly divided up rooms due to need to add in bathrooms.

Your best bet is either one that's been done up well and really needs nothing doing, or one that's not been modernised much at all but has been well looked after - then you can do the modernisation yourself. Worst bet is one that's been done up but when you move in you find out how badly everything's been done.

If buying a Victorian property I would always always get a full detailed survey, preferably from my own private surveyor not the bank's surveyor so that I can ask more questions.

insomniarules · 25/02/2014 19:51

Ours is 1820 so just Georgian. It was draughty and damp and taken a lot of work and sweet talking thd Conservation Officer, to make it cosy now.

BMW6 · 25/02/2014 20:16

Ours in an 1888 mid terrace. Not cold or damp and have never had slugs!

Huge windows but are all DG so no draughts. No right angles anywhere though!

peggyundercrackers · 25/02/2014 20:35

Ours is an 1874 villa. No damp here, we have double glazed sash windows and they still leak a little, loft is insulated and floored and it did make a difference when we did it. All our floors are covered because the floorboards were so bad, you couldn't leave them due to all the gaps in them and the drafts coming through them - even after all that it's still a cold house in the winter, we normally wear a fleece or a long sleeved top most of the time as do all our neighbours.

On the plus side all the rooms are big with nice high ceilings, our lounge is 31ft x 17ft, bedroom is 16ft x 16ft, hallway has a 16ft ceiling etc. etc. we have a big enclosed garden which is a lot of work.

When we bought the house it needed load of work, new bathrooms, new kitchen, completely redecorated, rewired, new heating system, windows needed doing, roof needed work etc. etc. etc. it really did go on and on however we done everything the right way and didn't cut any corners - we thought if we were going to do it we only wanted to do it once. The good thing is since we had everything done we haven't had to go back to anything yet so no real maintenance costs and because we done everything there really will be no surprises for us down the line. We spent £100k renovating it though.

WytebordMarker · 27/02/2014 11:12

very cold, high heating bill, noisy floorboard Envy

Experience from livig in a Victorian house as a student. Extremely high energy bill. Would not recommend buying one. Because it is Victorian, the potential of pushing it to a grade B is low.

justanuthermanicmumsday · 27/02/2014 11:17

Cold in winter, lots of nuts and crannies had mice enter, I never freaked out so much in my life. Wake up in morning I'm stole on toy box screaming like and idiot, husband trying to catch tiny mouse.

But rodents can be worse problem in modern properties since if they get in walls you're buggered not solid like victorian and Georgian ones.

Huge rooms , lots to storage. We have mad heating bill, so tend to use electric heaters more costs less some how.

gorgeous wooden floors, sash windows. But means more maintenance, lots paintwork needed id imagine to keep in good nick. But heck I'm renting landlord will do it. staircase beautiful, attic room, servant quarters mad house. I'd stay here with mice given a choice.

Beastofburden · 27/02/2014 11:25

Lived in Victorian houses for the past 20 odd years. Never seen a slug but I guess there's always a first time.

We had mice till we got a cat.

I love the space and high ceilings and the light. Modern houses feel as if the ceiling is pressing down on my head and they are also too hot and airless for me. I like draughts coming under the door and down the chimney. I also like having a real fire.

justanuthermanicmumsday · 27/02/2014 11:44

We have open fires too but not in use with little uns. I also could never live in box again, I've become spoilt I guess. Even small victorian flat better than low enclosed ceilings. When I visits my dads victorian terrace I really feel claustro even though it's bigger than many of the homes in that area

MinimalistMommi · 27/02/2014 16:17

We have a cosy (read teeny tiny) victorian workers cottage built in 1870. Got heaps of character, lovely huge sash windows which are freezing in winter but we're getting a wood burner so that's OK Grin

It's costing us a bomb to renovate though as we are replastering entire house in lime plaster, replacing ceilings, new stairs, stripping floors, replacing kitchen etc etc.

It's very pretty though.

CuddyMum · 27/02/2014 16:27

Great. High ceilings, big rooms, open fireplaces, walled garden, extremely thick walls. Top floor just had replacement wooden sashes with slimline double glazing - brilliant and can't wait to do the rest of the house. We've always had modern houses before and I doubt we'll ever go back to modern now. No slugs either! Haven't seen any more spiders than in an other house we've lived in. Luckily, we haven't got any damp problems either. Another plus is that it doesn't seem to show the dirt :)

DavetheCat2001 · 07/04/2014 15:23

We have a Victorian purpose built top floor maisonette and I absolutely love it. We have done a ton of work to it though including reconditioning/draft proofing all the sash windows.

You get the wind whistling down the fireplace but generally it is snug and cosy. I love it's high ceilings, cornicing, picture rails etc. It even has it's own 65ft garden which is lovely in the summer time.

Just wish we could afford a whole Victorian house!

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