Victorian house owners - talk me out of it!

[sarahb083]

We're looking for a house and I find myself exclusively drawn to Victorian houses. They're smaller, more expensive to heat and you pay a premium for the charm. But they're so lovely that I can't help it.

If you own a Victorian house property, please talk me out of it! I know logically a 30s semi-detached is a better buy for all of the reasons listed above, but I can't seem to convince myself.

am in a Victorian house. Its freezing and its damp and none of the windows close properly.... eats money to keep it in good shape
But its absolutely gorgeous and I love it! Would chose one every time

Mine is lovely and warm... since I put in new Windows, boiler, radiators and carpets.

Yes sorry I'll be avoiding in the future!! The roof, high ceilings =expensive heating and the slugs, oh god the slugs! Never again!

I loved my Victorian terrace. I love my current Edwardian townhouse too. I wouldn’t swap for a new build.

Depends entirely on what sort of Victorian house it is and what type of condition it's in . It can be expensive to do work that's in keeping with their character. However, generally they're pretty well built. If they're still standing after 150 years they've stood the test of time! Houses of any age can have issues, brand new ones included.

We have a big Victorian semi. It was in bad condition when we bought it and needed pretty everything redoing including a reroof, damp proofing, rewire, windows etc, etc. It's now fine and it's a really beautiful house. It's be very hard to move.

What I love about it is the feeling of space, the high ceilings and room dimensions plus a big entrance and hallway make it very easy to live in. The kids have enormous bedrooms which is a godsend as they absorb all their shit!

We looked at new houses a few years ago when considering whether to extend. The new 5 bed detached we were looking at were pokey in comparison. Everything was paired back to the minimum. The bedrooms were tiny.

Overall, the many positives of Victorian houses make up for the few negatives in my experience. If you do go for one , get a good survey ! Know what you're buying !

Go for it! Echo what pp said 're getting a full survey. Ours was huge and beautiful and I sobbed as we left. Now in a 30s semi and I still miss it. But check out your neighbours carefully as you'll be hearing them! We were lucky and didn't have slugs or damp. We did have v inconsiderate neighbours though and lack of garden not much cop with children.

Does it still have the original single pane sash windows?

Run away. Run very far.

Why Jassy? Genuine question - do the sash windows need a lot of maintenance?

We have 118 year old windows. Had them draft proofed and painted. They are amazing - not a draught in sight. House is super cosy with 3 fires and the original servants bells and box. What is not to love?

Why Jassy? Genuine question - do the sash windows need a lot of maintenance?

If they’re the originals, they’ll have single pane glass and be utterly freezing. They’ll be a bit loose in the frame, and the wind will whistle around them. There’s a chance the wood will have gone iffy and split if they haven’t been cared for.

And they’ll cost a fortune to have them replaced/refurbished, even single glazed.

I loved my old Victorian place, except for the cold and the heating bills.

Go for it - ive kiged in victorian terrace, edwardian detached and now victorian detached cottage. Love them. Could never live in a modern box. A home needs soul!

Well I love mine but we had the sashes relaxed with like for like double glazing is it's lovely and warm, and pretty cheap to heat.

Love my Victorian end of terrace.
It's only a 2 bed but we have a driveway, massive garden and potential for extending.

It's warm since we have replaced some of the crafty windows and had a new boiler.

I stopped the slugs by putting salt down around the air bricks. Haven't had any problems since.

The only damp issues these houses have is when they have had alterations that create damp problems.

I love my Victorian house even though I have some damp, visiting slugs, high ceilings which makes heating expensive and now woodworm.

Why do the slugs come in and why is it such a problem with these particular houses? Sounds grim!

Gorgeous, but be wary of lack of foundations. My parents kept getting great big cracks and warped doorframes. Dad went underground and discovered it was just built on a pile of loose bricks.

Just moved into our 1930s semi last winter, btw, and that was a baptism with ice! Bloody cold gable end.

Its a dormer bungalow and the bedrooms are actually the warmest rooms in the house (and the south facing one is unbearably hirmt in summer) but it is looking like cm racked upstairs ceilings are going to be a thing. New roof that was desperately needed created loads of cracks. Fixed them in ds2's not dormer room but they opened up again in June's gales.

I bloody love my Victorian house. High ceilings, lovely fireplaces, beautiful staircase. Wouldnt change it. ‘Tis a fortune to heat but worth it.

We haven’t got any slugs.

I have a flat in a victorian building and i love it but in the middle of winter I can have my heating on for 7 hours and reach the tropical temperature of 15 degrees.

It needs new windows, one window is going to cost £600 I have 16 windows! I'm going to have to work my way round 2 windows at a time because I'm already broke trying to pay the heating bill and all the building repair bills.

Most annoying of all I have to get the stepladder out every time I need to change a light bulb and I still can hardly reach.

When I first came to view it, I thought of none of these practical sensible things. As soon as i walked in I just felt at home as if I was always ment to be here. If I ever have to sell there will be many tears.

Our house is 160 years old and I love it. Mid terrace so warm in winter cool in summer. Double glazed windows. No slugs!! We went to see a friends new house this eve, a new build. I couldn't believe how small the rooms were. Our rooms aren't big but it just feels like a proper home. Probably dustier though!

We're in a late Victorian stone end terrace, walls about 20 inches thick, slate roof. It's looooooovely. It's also a mild pain in the arse, we had to redo all the wiring, half the plumbing, reinforce the cellar ceiling. £8k into the roof and £4k into repointing, rebuild the kitchen, lots of plastering...

Fortunately our predecessors did the seriously hard work of moving the stairs and getting the major ties put in, else we'd have to do that too.

In short, they're great as long as they're already fixed up!

I loved our Victorian terrace, it was a great house. No cold problems, no slugs or damp either!

Lovely high ceilings, period features, good sized rooms.

We’re now in a 30s semi and I love that too though. Still has the high ceilings and even better sized rooms.

We had slugs in our kitchen. I put salt along the floor at the skirting boards and back door. Seems to have done the trick! 😊

I’m in a Victorian terrace. Yes to slugs! No idea how the buggers get in, but often come down to slug marks on my lovely rug

I have triple glazing, so no lovely sash windows (although they are styled like that, just push open instead) but it has stopped all damp issues. WiFi extenders are a must! The walls mean it just doesn’t travel much further than the living room. But, the high ceilings make a small home feel airy and lovely, the original features like cornices, ceiling roses and the floorboards (we had to rip up awful laminate to find them) are beautiful. I absolutely love it and would never be able to go modern again,