Is there anything you can do to improve pebbledash?

[PaintingOwls]

DP and I are looking to buy our first house but for whatever reason a lot of houses in our budget are pebbledashed and I am 'vetoing' those houses because I find it so, so ugly and am at a loss of what we can do about it.

Take this house for example - www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-67129880.html - it is not the fact that it needs gutting that puts me off, but that hideous exterior.

A similar house down the road which has exposed bricks is about £40-70k more expensive...

Please give me some hope about pebbledash. Ways to make it look better, cover it, reinvent it, anything - inspire me!

I know that, I think it's pretty bad that a house in that condition can be considered to be worth that amount, it's ludicrous, and unfair.

I wouldn't call that London. MN thinks everything south of Oxford and north of Southampton is London

SORRY posted too soon. Maybe greater London

Yes, it's Greater London and hence the London area. Which is what I said.

It's in a London borough ffs. How much more London do you want it to be Bubble?

hmm yes. Like the London borough of Hillingdon for example 😭

Well that borough has two tube lines, London buses and votes in mayoral elections for London Mayor... am I missing something?

There are so many other threads addressing what is and isn’t London.... and yes the house prices in the part of the country the OP wants / needs to live in are extortionate. How about going back to the issue of how to style a pebble dash house or find one that is affordable without pebbledash.

I've already helped with that wildcherry

I'm not arguing with you movingon I've noticed there is no point with the suburbanites who want to think they live in London 😂

(That was tongue in cheek)

🙄

Damn thread police

This is what you can get for less than that house in Northumberland. Admittedly Blyth would not be everyone's choice, although this bit looks nice, but you can see why we get shocked by house prices in the south east.
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-58796548.html

These are all within half a mile from us and about 4 miles from Blyth. I doubt this much money would buy much in Morden but this is as expensive as it gets up here unless you are buying mansions with estates. What price range would these be in in Morden?
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-51093741.html
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-68965616.html
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-48431058.html

Lulujakey the fridge / freezer in that house is bigger than the flat you could buy in central London for £299k 😂

Definitely try Wallington or Carshalton, no offence meant to anyone but the area around St Helier hospital is not great.

wildcherry so you can see why we are always astonished up here by threads about house prices in the south-east.
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-49948770.html
This might be an equivalent up here and look at the price difference.

Or this
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-69162497.html
It is another world down there. Mind you people earn less up here on the whole.

That house in Elswick! The holes in the wall and the window...

WOW, no one ever knew that property prices are cheaper outside of London. Thanks for that illuminating revelation.

Jesus Christ, I am not moving to the fucking North, thank you.

Cheers OverinaFlash Wallington and Carshalton is a good shout.

Can I ask what's wrong with St Helier? I have never been, it would be good to hear some insider knowledge.

Would a door like this work with a white pebble-dashed house?

I am just trying to build up ideas of what we could do to make 'ugly' houses work so that I can be a bit more open-minded. Interiors can be painted and decorated quite easily imo, but I am at a loss when it comes to exteriors. If anyone has any resources for transformations of house facades please send them over.

The Victorian pebble dash house was off Google as an example, unfortunately we've not come across anything like that.

The wreck in my OP appeals because of the larger rooms, our tight budget and the potential to extend into the attic, even if it's to add an office or play area rather than a bedroom. I am tempted to book a viewing, even if it's just to see if it's as bad as some of you fear it may be!

The house we buy will be for the next 10 years or so, unless my salary suddenly quadruples or we win the lottery, as DP's salary isn't really going to change drastically with the NHS (although he is considering agency work /dons hard hat).

Don't wear nice shoes if you do go to view.

Maybe a hazmat suit and wellies?

I do understand why you don't like pebble dash, especially when on a boxy looking house like that.

But imagine that photo of the front with the pebble dash painted a crisp white, the untidy wires trailing across the front gone, the door replaced and the garden beautifully tidied. Will it look like your dream house? No. But, could you live with it? (remember you normally spend less than 2 mins a day looking at the front of your house) You know the answer to that better than us, but if I was in your position I would not rule out houses based on ugly looking pebble dashed exteriors. That house may not be the one for you (it would take quite a bit of wok to do up the interior) but you might miss out on a different lovely house if you prioritise the exterior too much.

Google says that pebble dash CAN be removed, but as it was often used to cover cheap/poor quality brickwork, the wall underneath can crumble away. Rendering over the top can apparently cause stress to the structure of the house, and would only be done by cowboy builders! I think you may be looking at painting it and making do.

As PP said, painting it white and repainting it when it gets grubby (often in London? ) would look the best I think.