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)

Small scale new builds seem to be made to a higher spec in my opinion. I've seen a few nice ones come up which are well thought out.

Another moan I had was lack of parking spaces. Two space one in front of the other is what the big estates here have for 3-4 bed properties. When you drive round the part completed ones there are cars everywhere. Presumably guests or other teenagers/young adults living with parents.

I saw a thread last year where someone mentioned they worked for a big developer and they don't have a choice. Apparently they always put in more spaces when planning and are told to take them out to encourage fewer cars.

Redrow house. Four double bedrooms. Everyone who sees it loves it. Two parking spaces, but ample visitors' spaces. Great layout and I hardly need the heating on. Can't hear the neighbours who have five children under ten.

No snags. Site manager was super helpful with any queries.

DD's ex council house 1950 build has had every problem going; boiler, plumbing, all walls had to be replastered, electrics, dangerous out building, needed new windows. Not easy to heat. Neighbour's conversation can be heard through the walls.

I'm buying a new build next time I move.

Redrow.

Medium sized 4-bed detached so definitely a family home. 3-doubles and a good sized single.

My neighbour is also a 4-bed but a different house type with a smaller footprint / rooms. Other side is a 4-bed semi townhouse so again a smaller footprint (and narrower garden) but spread out over 3-floors so decent sized.
All have a driveway which will take 3 cars plus a decent sized garage (larger than the garage on our previous 60's house). Visitors parking is available on the development and the three of us share a private access where visitors can also park.

I have seen several developments with allotments.
In the village we used to live in, Bloor were building and they had allotments as well. In all cases it is not just the space for them, they actually build the allotments, provide water supplies, parking & fence it off. When handed over they are managed by the council.

It really does depend on the developer. I wouldn’t go for any of the really high volume ones like Barratt or Persimmon. I’d like to have a small local builder, but they’re usually, and understandably more expensive.

We had to wait quite a while for our house, because the developer released the sectors in phases. They had a snagging team on site if there were issues and after a year they came and sorted out things like cracks due to shrinkage, ceiling tape stuff and anything else that needed doing.

We’ve had three new builds. I’d have another, but only from a few developers.

Our development has football pitches, trim trail, play parks, a primary school, community centre. We liked the layout and the space. About 1650 sq ft.

My neighbours moved in (house was 5 years old) so not brand new and all the toilets leaked. Ours, the pipes under the spare bedroom started leaking. Less than 7 years old. Pros and cons.

Not owned many houses but I’ve had new build and older. 1st house was a 2 bed starter home built early 90’s. It was warm and had no issues at all. Moved when I split from my ex. Then bought another 2 bed newer build (late 90’s) was about 3 years old at the time. No issues loved the house. Then we moved to a 1970’s house. Always found it very soulless, hated the front facade and the massive windows (cold)
About to move to a newer build and can’t wait for bigger rooms and bathrooms!!
Both new builds I’ve owned were built by smaller local developers.

as with everything there is good houses and houses that will have issues and cost you £££

So from what i gathered from the responses here, is it right to conclude that the

1. developers do not necessarily use cheaper/inferior materials, but the build quality may not be consistent due to use of third party contractors .
2. Smaller, local developer have a better reputation
3. plumber, drainage a common problem

An electrician working here told me that new houses have a design life of 75 years- basically the life of the timber frames used to build them.This house is 100 years old and still as solid as a brick whatsit, and should last another 100 years and probably a lot more without breaking sweat.

'Average' new houses are cheaper to heat in winter by a mile and less prone to damp (unless they are wringing with damp because the insulation has been installed wrongly). And that's about the only good thing I have to say about them. Even as regards temperature. This place had rooms that were as cool a cucumber in the the hot spell this year. The rooms here have bigger windows, more light, and the rooms are less than in most new builds that cost as much or more. And we're on a much bigger plot than the deluxe executive homes marketed down the road too.

'rooms are less poky'.....Sorry, missed that out.

@bluemongoose Remember that not all newbuilds are timber framed.
Some are and we wouldn't buy one, not because they may not last but purely because we don't like the hollow feeling and the way sound can travel.
Ours is traditional build and has a nice solid feel to it with no transfer of noise. In fact it is better than our previous 70's house and is certainly better to heat despite being larger.

Possibly a stupid question and i apologize for that, but how can i tell if a house is traditionally built or if it is timber-framed?

I spend my entire working day dealing with faults in new build houses and the key take aways are the following

If you buy a new build (which I don't recommend) if you get out of the first two years with no issues, sell before year 6 - most expensive defects start to appear in years 6-11 after construction.
Plumbing, drainage and poor waterproofing detailing are the core early issues. Codensation in roof spaces is another common problem (usually appearing visible after year 3-4)
They're no difference in quality between cheap and expensive - they're just better at hiding it on expensive buildings - You'd not believe the poor quality I've seen on £5M plus builds.
Never ever buy a property with basement areas - they will always leak.

Most modern builds are timber kit as it's cheap and quick, and if not, they're block and brick - most people can't tell the difference if the insulation has been properly installed. No one is building old school "traditional" brick buildings these days.

For those advocating "period" houses as better built, try reading The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist, published 1914.

Well my 2 bed new build has a massive 14ft x 12ft bedroom with two windows and a drive for 2, possibly even 3 cars. Also the acoustics are not an issue at all as despite being a semi, my neighbour & I never hear each other. Not once have I heard her or her kids and she assures me the same.

Shockingly my house is also a social housing new build so of all the homes, you'd expect ours to have the issues but nope. Not a single snag as I said earlier

They need extensive independent snagging assessments to create a list for your developer to remedy

OP I've just sold an amazing 1939 built house but the maintenance is high. I couldn't afford to re-do the windows for example. The garden was massive and the rooms bright and spacious. After 32 years there I ran out of youth and cash.
I've just bought a really sturdy 1980s built house with a fantastic kitchen extension in a great location.
Built by Berkley I believe.
I wouldn't have bought a new build. Ever. They throw them up with minimum space in SE London.

My friend is an engineer who has to inspect houses. He says modern roof trusses won't last 50yrs they're such poor quality and that it's a 'sleeping' issue most buyers know nothing about. My parents bought new build, never again.

@ChristmasisRuined That is because social housing as the sizes stipulated, they have a minimum size that has to be achieved. On top of that they also have stipulated kitchen volume so have larger kitchens.

So that would be why yours is better - social housing has to be built to stipulated sizes whereas private doesn't and so ends up a lot smaller. The social housing on my project had massive balconies that overlooked the tiny ones on the privates!

I also work for one of the developers that has been mentioned on here as recommended. I really would take everything that is "recommended" with a pinch of salt as I've built £1m+ properties for sheikhs with that great "developer" and the quality is absolute shite and problems are usually hidden well.

I'm anti new build because the value for money isn't worth it for me. I live in a cottage from early 1800s, and for the equivalent new build that would buy me I'm not interested. I also don't think I would like to live on an estate, and all the new builds I see are on estates. They are often very close to the pavement and have cars parked right outside the front door, I also wouldn't buy an old cottage that was in the pavement.

Timber frames built and/or block & brick are fairly recent practices, right? The older 'new' build mostly have exposed bricks so i assume that means traditionally built? Is there anyone in the know who can tell if current building practices will be the grenfell scandal in time to come? If timber framed is as good, why do banks and house insurance companies want to know how many percent of the house is non-standard build?

There lots of different wall make ups. Having brick exposed is likely brick skin, cavity, block in a new build. It’s actually quite efficient for the heat. And is standard building practice. Although you can get a rat nest in your wall if it’s not done right.

Our first 30s semi was single brick. Cold! Our second 30s detached was a custom build by a wealthy family. It’s is a combination of double of triple brick. My god it’s warm, A rated with no improvements. Built like a bomb shelter.

Timber frame is standard build. The frame is usually only on the inside, and it’s all brickwork outside. Plenty are only brickwork outside on the ground floor, then timber frame above either rendered or tile hung. So just by looking from the outside, you cannot tell if it’s TF.
No, it won’t be the new Grenfell as the timber work is covered in plasterboard which is highly fire resistant.
I’d be more worried if the frame is pressed wood, but maybe that is not an issue.

Lots of new builds in our area in the past few years and lots of variety of quality, in accordance with price.

One development, at least one house had to have serious work done because the owner found that behind the tiled splashback in the bathroom, you could get into the eaves above the garage. No false wall, no insulation, just tiles on a board and then a big insecure draughty gap.

Building inspectors don't inspect every house in a development, so canny builders make one good one and have that inspected. As to the others, who knows what they will be like.

All that said, older houses aren't free of imperfections. Definitely get a survey done on any property you're serious about buying.