New build quality

[Redpathos]

I often hear people saying how they wouldnt touch new build with a barge pole , and that older house (before 1960s) are built to last.

Are there anyone here who is working in the building industry (better still if you work with/for one of those major housing developer) here who can enlighten me if indeed the new build houses are of a worse quality. Do they indeed have a shorter life span compared to older houses (assuming of course both are given regular maintenance)

It was explained to me by a decorator
that house building companies don’t retain their own staff any more and use contractors. Contractors get paid per house so there is no incentive to do a nice job ie of a decorator then just slap the paint on and move on to the next one. I always imagined it’s the same for brickies, carpenters, roofers etc xx some house builders are better than others- there’s a really good one in my area! I’d love to be able to afford one of their houses

Thanks for sharing, @blobby10 what i rsally want to know too, is, if the new build is structurally worse, using worse material such as composite wood rather than hard real wood, etc

All new builds are not created equal, there is one going up near me, it’s 2 million. It will last. If you’re talking barrat or similar yes the quality is poor, others less so, you need to judge them by the builder and buold quality, not as one mass.

I think there was a period around the 90s when houses were being thrown up to fuel the house-buying boom, when this were true, but I don’t think it is anymore (though, of course, there are always exceptions).

I think the big difference between newer & older properties now is size of plot & room sizes i.e new builds are smaller and closer together. They do seem to be better appointed, however, in terms of number of bathrooms, quality of kitchens etc.

As @Porcinimushroom said, there are new builds, and there are new builds.
I’d probably only buy a new build if I’d seen it being built.
Will the last? Not the timber frame ones with 75mm inner woodwork, cardboard doors, butterfly hinges, upstairs walls made in thin studding, cheap taps etc. They are warm though.

Thanks for reply so far. I am refering more to mass builder that builds hundreds at one go, such as barratts, taylor wimpey, etc. The ones i have my eyes on is around 700k, 5 bed, same price with a nearby 1920s house (with much bigger garden) .. the developer calls it the executive/premium range, but it is built in the same estate and at the same time as terraces costing 200k 🤔

People who vow not to touch new builds, what are your reasons? Apart from smaller garden, lack of characters and possibly crammed road?

The amount of covenants And restrictions and the maintenance ground fees.

yes, they’ve been stopped from screwing over buyers with leasehold but they’re still racking money in from charges like giving consent for building a conservatory or other building alterations for indefinite period, or charging £500 per year to cut grass on minisule verge - which they should be wilding anyway nowadays for biodiversity ( in which case it’s only need cutting once per year)

I bought a new build in 1995. Lovely house. Good quality. When I moved in 2021, I looked at new builds- couldn’t believe these top off charges and the lack of transparency around them. For nstance a lot of companies had no cap on annual increases for maintenance fees- a complete open liscense for printing money

I live in a Bellway home and it's fantastic build quality! Not a single snag. We love it. Everyone in this area says they're very happy with theirs also?

Not a new build now, but one from 90's. The walls were so thin between houses you could hear a sneeze next door on a quiet day. And the floors were interlocking huge chipboard panels that went between the 4 houses. So next doors jumping jacks were your chair bouncing up and down.

I LOVE our 1930's solid house with solid walls and floors that sound proof. Admittedly we're no longer terrace but you can tell the difference in so many ways about the quality of the build.

Sadly I don't think things have improved in build quality, I've heard all the above complaints from people in newer new builds. While on a 5 bed detatched you'll only get noise from your own family, it's still worth considering how shit it may be.

New build semi

Can't hear the neighbours - apparently their son has a drum kit - I am guessing you can mute them ?

Will it last ? It will see me out - 200 years time who knows? I don't really care about that

Not crammed in - although our back garden is smallest I have ever had the estate feels roomier than most other areas I have lived in. Not overlooked

Well designed and low cost to run

Nearby new estate - I took one look , there was no where for kids to play, one tap on the walls told me the build quality, the rooms was dressed with small scale furniture

You just have to treat each as a case by case basis just the same as older houses - sone will be great others will be money pits ,

Also, I don't hear a sound from next door (I'm in a semi) except when they slam their front door. Unsure if they hear us but we're quite quiet but I genuinely expected to hear their stairs or the odd raised voice but nothing.

We were the second to be built, so I saw the others being constructed. They definitely did NOT rush! We were all so sick of half the roads off the development being closed so we had a vested interest in them finishing and I'd say some of the 4/5 bed bigger homes took 8/9 months+ to build.

I live in one.
Pros: warm in autumn/winter. Roof has been ok and windows except two rooms. Less chance of burglaries as you're exposed (shared drives, open feel). Boiler was a good one.

Cons: plumbing was dodgy in at least 3 rooms resulting in big bills, 5 years in. So unbelievably narrow, shit everything, the taps, the kitchen cupboards, no built ins (so annoying), steps up to house not built properly causing water ingress, shit install of patio doors causing damaged subflooring. Doors were shit. Changed mind about adding things we were promised too when it was too late to pull out. Living in a commune feeling, everyone can see your door and your front garden isn't yours iyswim.

I wanted to move the day I moved in.

We bought a new build. Nothing but issues. The estate plan wasn't what they showed us and we couldn't do anything about it as you buy your house on a plot (not the estate vision)

• the visitors parking never materialised and ended up being an overgrown patch
• they didn't finish the road for three years which meant the council didn't adopt it which meant it wasn't maintained for three years.
• they didn't do the front gardens for another year

Inside: House alarm faulty (buzzed constantly). 6 months of constant chasing to sort Patch painted on ceiling different colour for a year Washing machine plumbed incorrectly - flooding Shower tray leaked Doors hung 'on the wonk' Carpet didn't fit the room All took months and months of chasing to sort because, as a previous poster has mentioned, they use contractors to sort and you don't get put in touch directly.

Many other issues for other people on the estate. Cracks in plaster work (huge cracks) etc.

The issue is they take your money and you expect the snags, but it's getting them sorted that's the problem. It was a massive stress from start to finish. It was fine in the end and we had a lovely warm house for six years but we moved to a 1950s semi after actually losing money on the sale on the new build because they were so over priced. Worth it though. We wanted the house we were in so took the hit.

But no. I would not buy a new build.

I think it's just sour grapes most of the time - by people who would love a nice shiney brand new house but can't afford one.

The main problem with the mass produced new builds is that they are overpriced. Therefore, if you want to sell in the future you may find that you actually sell the house at a loss or the price only increases slightly
There are some great new builds ( I used to live in one) but they are rare.

Why would it be sour grapes.?Period houses in my area are in great demand

We helped our DD and SIL to buy a new Taylor/Wimpey house and have been pleasantly surprised at the quality. No snags, great finish on decoration, high level of insulation so they scarcely need to turn the heating on. They have solar panels also. Building is still continuing on their estate and prices have increased by about 20%.

Yes of course houses have always been built to different qualities. Our present house was built in 1902 and is very solid, it even has the pitch pine original windowframes and Minton tiles. We are moving nearer to family and have bought a cottage built in 1923. It is awful! It is actually so tumbledown we are going to rebuild/replace with a modern structure.

I am quite worried about the quality of a modern built house. They just don't look substantial to me, but we are doing a lot of research before we begin. We have been advised to build with a timber frame, and are still undecided. I would rather spend my money on the structure than the fittings, so no posh kitchen for me, alas!

I saw these comments on the Telegraph, what do people think?

And one more

These are in the comments section of this article www.telegraph.co.uk/property/buy/what-wished-known-buying-new-build-house/

Just read the threads about the horrors discovered when people move into their older homes - they are no better

I am at a loss to wonder why plastic drainage under the sink is so bad - I've always had plastic pipes - seems to be snobbery to me

I also live in a Bellway. Been in almost two and a half years and we haven't had any issues at all!

This is anecdotal evidence and I’m not involved in the trade, but on my road alone (fairly wealthy area, high property prices), there was a new building put up as part of the same development as a conversion of an existing Victorian building. Flats and a few small houses. The places were sold prior to completion of the build, (is that off-plan?) The new build property buyers had problems with their mortgages as the build quality was so poor on their projects. Lots were empty for a long time while the legal stuff was worked out. To be honest you could see the quality was poor without having any expertise whatsoever. Bits of plastic stuck in between bricks, how is that going to last?

People assume you don’t need structural survey on a new build, but that’s not always true.

We have the technology and know-how to build better than the Victorians, but they had the money to spend on the fabric of the building that we don’t, or our economics/business structure is not favourable. Let’s be honest, building is mainly about profit rather than making things of the highest quality.