I want to buy a new house but they are made of cardboard apparently...

[skittleboy]

I like the look of new houses and I want a nice fresh new house to live it. Like buying a brand new car that is fresh and noone else has used.

But everyone says 'they are not built to last, don't go near one with a barge pole'. It's so wrong that the builders are allowed to get away with it! They should build it properly! I grew up in a 600 year old house that is still standing strong. But I dislike old houses.

I can't build my own because I don't have the expertise.

Is there anything else I can do?

Thank you.

Of course they're built to last. I remember houses being built when I was a child that are, surprise surprise, still standing.

Go and look at them yourself and make a decision based on your own observations.

they do tend to have smaller rooms but usually have better insulation than older ones which end up with damp.

What nonsense.

Modern construction has to comply with the building regulations which are more stringent every year. The risk of structural failure, damp, leaking roofs, heat loss, overheating through solar gain etc has never been lower.

What would put some off - the 'boxy' nature, the small gardens of new estates, is exactly what appeals to others.

Do your research - find out as much as you can about the developers and have a snagging survey.

You would get far more for your money if you get a 1970s house, decent size rooms, none of the issues of older properties

I don't think the bank would lend anyone £200k for a house thats not fit for purpose.

Those people who are telling you that the houses are rubbish - are they construction experts?

Might be a decent compromise

New builds are energy efficient. The only reason I wouldn’t buy one is that the gardens are usually quite small and full of builders rubble. Other than that, they are what they are. Ticky Boxey for modern living.

I hate new builds. But if you like them, buy one.

Do your research. You need a builder with a good reputation. Personally, I wouldn't want a new house on a new estate because the houses tend to be very close together, the roads are narrow making parking difficult, rooms are small and the houses tend to have thin walls. But each to their own.

The reason people say they’re not built to last is because new build estates are sometimes thrown up in hurry, so finishings etc are sometimes missed and snagging lists can be long. I don’t think they literally mean the house will fall down in a few years, just that some builders don’t complete them to the same standard that a single house build would be.

Actually I agree with the OP, a lot of modern houses are essentially made of cardboard. I live in a 19 year old house and I hate the construction of it, but everyone that I mention it too just looks at me weirdly because it's a completely normal house. The fucking thing actually flexes slightly in high winds, I feel like one of the three little pigs.

I don't like new builds. My Bil is a builder. They are poorly constructed, paper thin walls, small boxy rooms, small gardens, characterless.

But they are very energy efficient, with better insulation and less damp.

I would never buy one.

I prefer most other houses from most other times: , 70s built, Victorian, 50's, cottages, older houses, etc.

Yes, paper thin walls are a no no for me. Look at how many MN threads there are on hearing neighbours through the walls. I have metre thick walls and I’m detached so nothing bothers me and I bother no one.
Having said that, I have other issues with a 200 year old property.

About 30 years ago DH and I rented a new build cluster home. I could hear toilet flushes, light switches being used and the hoover from next door. Drove us mad and we’ve never lived in a semi since.

@Finfintytint The thin walls wouldn't bother be particularly as long as it was built to last.

I live in a new build 🙋‍♀️ it hadn't fallen down yet and the walls don't get soggy in the rain, so I assume it is actually made of bricks rather than cardboard in disguise. Don't think I could buy a house that wasn't a new build now, mostly because I have Damp Fear.

I don't think they are that small though, unless you're buying one of the small ones of course 🤷‍♀️ ours is detached so no issue with noisy neighbours. We frequently go round to our neighbours house which is semidetached and I can't say I've ever noticed noise from their neighbours.

Room sizes in new build tend to be small, so there's a more cooped up feeling. Sound insulation between rooms isn't great and that's a problem in semi-detached houses.

There have also been problems with spriralling ground rent in properties bought via leasehold.

@Spam88 Interesting. One thing I forgot to mention is apparently new houses are timber frame rather than ...I don't know concrete or whatever they used to use. The timber eventually rots. So that's why they are not built well.

@albertatrilogy I don't mind small rooms. I quite like it actually, it feels cosy, but that's just me.

You do all realise that these 'paper-thin' walls have to pass sound tests between dwellings and achieve an hours' fire resistance? Separating walls and floors within dwellings have to demonstrate reasonable resistance to the passage of sound too. The worst sort of construction imo, is from the 70s and 80s.

I live in a 400-year-old house. Gorgeous and pretty but the sound transference between floors is atrocious, everything is on the piss, its insulation/background ventilation is pretty much non-existent and the energy performance is lamentable.

We have a barratts house and it isn't timber frame, it's like breeze block..? I do not claim to be a construction expert 😂 I didn't think many of them used timber frame anymore.

Avoid persimmon though. They really are shit.

I'm living in my first new build after many years of Victorian or older properties and I love it!
It's so easy to keep clean, everything is brand new so no worrying about the roof leaking, damp etc that we had in previous houses.
Our energy bills are £77 pcm as opposed to £200 in our old house. Both are large detached houses so no noise from neighbours. The garden is fairly big, slightly odd shape but that doesn't bother me.
Noise wise, inside there is definitely less sound proofing, you can hear people walking around upstairs, flushing the toilet etc but not excessively so!
All things considered I prefer the new house although I miss the quirkiness of my old house!

@Finfintytint Builders rubble? What do you mean? Do they bury it under the garden or something?

I think there are too many cut corners these days. Internal Walls made of plasterboard etc.

I know alot of the new estates where I am have issues with drainage and sewage.

My home is over 100 years old and I can hear the neighbour upstairs.

We are on our second new build. Rooms in this and last house are bigger than average, very light and airy. Would only buy from now. Our last house (we had a new house, bought a 30s semi then bought another new house) was filthy and took me months to clean. It didn't look dirty when we viewed it but when they moved out