Why are houses in the UK built like this?

[crazygirl0237]

I live in a semi detached and my soundproofing is terrible I can hear my neighbours cough

All the houses in my street are built where living rooms etc are next to each other and the front doors are on the outside.

Why are they not built the other way around it makes no sense!

Rant over

I don't think quality of constructiom is a UK only issue but we are very densly populated which means it isn't like the US suburbs and mostly detached. We do have historic buildings everywhere but they were more solidly constructed.

Paris has a population density of 20,000 people per square kilometre

London has a population density of 14,500 people per square kilometre

London is nearly five times bigger so there are more people in total

The UK seems to have been built on the cheap throughout the centuries, with money running out mid project across the UK, regardless of the period

Is the housing in Paris better though?

Not from what I saw while living there briefly. Those beautiful apartments with the wood floors and huge windows are cold, and the sound-proofing is terrible. Plus only the wealthy could afford them. Many lived in poor /cramped conditions from what I saw (I was one of them). I'd like to think it has improved over the years, but I suspect not.

I think there's a reason Parisians spend so much time in cafes. The same may apply in many expensive cities. In New York most seem to live in tiny apartments and entertaining at home isn't common as there is no space. Perhaps London is no worse, and possibly better in some aspects?

My son's terraced just outside the M25 built in the 1800s has the chimneys near each other thing mentioned above (although hardly anyone uses the open fires these days) and front door opens into front room. In other words everywhere adjoins really. It would have had 3 bedrooms upstairs I think but now has a bathroom upstairs so just 2 bed rooms (in the days it was built no one had bathrooms in that kind of house). Some on the road have 3 beds and a bathroom on ground floor at the back instead or a 3rd bed room squeezed into the loft space.

Lots of inner London leases require that long leasehold owners must keep carpets down to keep noise down. in a recent case of lots of noise the court ordered the new owners to put the carpets back (to keep noise down).

I’m in a 1900 semi-detached. My living room borders my neighbours kitchen and vice versa. So our houses are laid out in opposite directions. It works really well as we only hear general noise if they’re having a party in their kitchen and vice versa. I couldn’t imagine sharing a living room wall now

Like others have said, it's the build quality. I've lived in several townhouses and flats and never had an issue with noise.

The layout that I really don't understand are new builds (usually detached) that are no better than an old terrace, just configured differently. I've seen so many houses where there is a tiny porch that leads directly into the living room, and the room isn't wide enough to create a hallway, so the only option is to walk between the TV and sofa. Then there is kitchen that is essentially the same dimensions as a galley kitchen but across the back of the house rather than sticking out as in a Victorian terrace. I guess it's cheaper for the developers because without a side return you can get away with a smaller plot of land. But people pay a premium for these since they are "detached" but the layout isn't any more functional than a Victorian terrace and there isn't any space to extend. Maybe it's me, but if I was buying a 3/4 bed detached I'd expect a hallway and space for a dining table.

That is correct, also funders require a high ratio of house to land. As one of my students wrote very succiently last summer "the houses people want to live in are not being built"

We live in a 1940s ex-council semi. We can hear very little of our next door neighbours unless they are doing work on the house or occasionally their TV if ours isn't on- never hear them speaking inside the house .

We have the downstairs toilet opposite the kitchen though! And it's the only one in the house (bathroom also downstairs, next room along). We have a very strong rule that the window is opened before the toilet door - and door is immediately kept closed .

I live in a new build end terrace.

The arrangement is such that the stairs and bathroom is against the adjoining houses living space. I hardly ever hear them, although I have heard some thumping when they get their grandchildren round.

As other people have pointed out, the downside is that your hall can get very dark with this arrangement because there is no option to put a side window in.

Personally I prefer the quieter house and the darker hall. I do think the builders were a bit silly with the way the windows were placed as with a bit of effort they could have made the hall a lot lighter. I guess I would have to have a light tunnel put in if I wanted to light that area better.

An older house is likely to have thicker walls .

i was wondering this, I’m looking to move and the floorplans in most houses are just bizarre. The space is used so counterintuitively and so much of it is wasted. The main problem seems to be 3 beds with enormous bathrooms yet a tiny box for the third bedroom. Or open plan living rooms where the windows and patio doors split the room up and the sofas are just wedged in at awkward angles unable to see TV. Plus ugly exteriors, massive front gardens and tiny back ones, the housing stock in the U.K. just seems rubbish.

I wonder if we need a new thread: What would an ideal house look like to you? There would have to be bands for cost levels.

When I was starter house hunting I hated anything that didn't have a front door. Lots of the cheaper Victorian up to 1920s housing has the main door on the side of the house straight onto the stairs with doors left and right for front room and kitchen.
Also no bathroom upstairs was a deal breaker too, along with any toilet off the kitchen or living room unless there was a decent hallway separation / orientation.
I have a dislike of windows being right in the corner of a room and too much corridor when I'd rather have the space in the rooms (our house has these).

but if I was buying a 3/4 bed detached I'd expect a hallway and space for a dining table.

I watched a few architecture/interior design programs and they often saw hallways as dead unused space - where as it's something we really value.

If you don't have one you lose space in living rooms as you need though passing ways. It also means our house has more internal doors helping with heat retention, noise reduction and to parcel space up to give more privacy for us all. First thing estate agents said were you can knock those rooms though and possibly get rid of hall way.

Same with dining table - family meals homework and hobby space - yet so often not thought important by people selling houses.

That's so true. I wouldn't buy a property without a decent sized hallway. My neighbours have gone completely open plan, with a boxed in staircase opposite the front door and it seems to look smaller than mine somehow. (I have glass doors between the dining area at the rear of my house, which opens up the space and adds light to the hall.) With a new-build you have very limited options.

Depends on the house.

Our newbuild (4-bed det) has a separate hallway of good size.
Doors into living room, cloakroom, kitchen/diner/family room and an excellent full height coat/shoe cupboard. Stairs of course and the void under the stairs is a separate cupboard accessed from the kitchen.

The ideal house thread idea is an interesting one. Me personally I want 3 double bedrooms (rather than 2 plus 2 singles/box rooms). Happy to sacrifice en suite, I find them a bit grim to be honest, steam escaping from the shower into the bedroom and toilet smells. A hallway big enough to park a pram and hang coats without having to hug the wall to get past them all. Open plan kitchen/diner but a separate living room, I don’t want food smells in the living room. Downstairs toilet and - the golden goose - a utility room. Garage and low maintenance, flat garden with space for some kid toys and for the dog to potter. Some kind of cupboard for the hoover, mop.

I’ve seen a lot of houses that tick most of those things but very few tick all of them. Weirdly the biggest ask seems to be 3 double bedrooms rather than 2 (one being en suite) plus box, or 2 double 2 single.

Mine is good - 5 beds (3 en suite), 4 separate receptions off the hallway with doors that close - even when we bought it in the 90s we did a lot of home working and had 5 children, detached so neighbours not too close, 2 garages one integral, off street parking, utility room.

It took a good few years from buing our first terraced to buying this but hopefully this will be the one for me for ever now.

My son's new build Bellway is lovely - detached, downstairs cloakroom, garage, good lay out, separate living room and then the kitchen diner and upstairs one of the 3 bed rooms is en suite.

Oooh I've got your perfect house! Although the bedrooms aren't all on the same floor.