Buying a new build...

[edGfaCTor]

I wouldn’t buy a 60s build again either internal and external brick walls but no thought towards insulation at all so totally incompatible with modern living - we have spent thousands sorting it out and I’d happily buy a new build with a few criteria!

Basically there are good and bad buys in every sector of the market from old to new build and self building with full control is the only way you can guarantee a good build!

What material is your home built from?

All these big name house builders are poor because it's all about £ they want to make no less then 50% profit on each house built.

I bet your home built in 60's is far better then these new builds pay no attention to all this meeting eco regs and so on that is a big scam.

If you speak to real people that have worked in the industry for many years you get an understanding the system is a mess and since 70's house building started going down hill.

People pay all this money for new homes yet wont pay bit more to get someone to check the place out a full snagging survey is a must

 

[Shimmyhill]

What material is your home built from?

All these big name house builders are poor because it's all about £ they want to make no less then 50% profit on each house built.

I bet your home built in 60's is far better then these new builds pay no attention to all this meeting eco regs and so on that is a big scam.

If you speak to real people that have worked in the industry for many years you get an understanding the system is a mess and since 70's house building started going down hill.

People pay all this money for new homes yet wont pay bit more to get someone to check the place out a full snagging survey is a must

Brick external and internal walls, cavity and concrete floors - it has four fireplaces and bay windows at the front - it holds heat very poorly and since we did what everyone does these days and sealed it up with double glazing and insulation it sweats.

A well built house of modern construction is vastly better than anything built before it, if we had the money I would knock this place down and build my own house - 60s and 70s houses are solid but are generally of bland design and very poorly insulated so terrible for modern living.

 

[nutcase]

The only insulation issue we have with our 1969 built house is we still need to replace some windows. The originals are long gone, but the replacements are life expired. The house is warm, dry and the heating bill (modern warm air) is very cheap to run (when we were with GB Energy they queried every gas reading as it was below the minimum expected for a 3 bed house). We've also added to the loft insulation. Looked at cavity wall insulation but opted not to as there are queries on its effectiveness.

Windows and heating systems are expected to be replaced over the life of a house, it's not like anything out of the prdinary has had to be done.

 

[edGfaCTor]

Brick external and internal walls, cavity and concrete floors - it has four fireplaces and bay windows at the front - it holds heat very poorly and since we did what everyone does these days and sealed it up with double glazing and insulation it sweats.

A well built house of modern construction is vastly better than anything built before it, if we had the money I would knock this place down and build my own house - 60s and 70s houses are solid but are generally of bland design and very poorly insulated so terrible for modern living.

Before you did this work did you get the place checked out first? a lot of people think you can just put modern methods into old builds and it may of had problems before but the work has caused big in balance

Do you have radiators?

Sorry you are wrong old builds are much better these new builds are poor they are built to be quick/cheap to make big profit and on paper look very good selling wise but as I said before it's all a big scam these eco ratings otherwise we would be using old building methods with much better materials rather then modern alternatives.

 

[Shimmyhill]

Nah I’m not wrong, reasearch it and you will see thermal efficiency of older building is poor and sound transfer far worse than modern building - for a start concrete slabs in 60s and 70s builds were not insulated at all and account for huge energy waste in heating up and losing heat, bricks are not as thermally efficient as almost all modern building materials.

Old builds also had natural airflow through open fires, poor sealing on windows and doors and air bricks and require huge amounts of energy to heat - they are problematic when we seal them up with double glazing and insulation so sweat and have no airflow less so are unhealthy attracting condensation and mould etc etc.

Don’t confuse a cheap knocked up mass produced house with a properly constructed modern house - the latter is light years ahead of anything built before it.

Our place has radiators and a wood burner, insulation in loft and cavity with new PVCu windows, composite door and trickle vents in windows - PIV fitted this month appears to be the magic bullet that has restored order to the overly sealed and insulated house!

I would knock it down in a heartbeat and build again to my own spec, I probably wouldn’t have much brick work at all and zero on inner skin and internal walls. I also wouldn’t buy a new build on an estate from the major builders so I’m not totally new build biased

 

[alexakasloth]

Has anybody purchased a new build made by a company called Wellington Homes?

Myself and my partner are looking to buy a place at the moment and seen a few places in our budget that include new builds. One place is 10 years old and looked in good condition on the interior, this thread has given more to look into however.

 

[Goksly]

Not big enough to be on the survey:
http://www.hbf.co.uk/policy-activities/customer-satisfaction-survey/2017-results/

 

[TripleT]

It's got nothing to do with being "big enough", that's just a voluntary body and nothing official. Some huge house builders aren't on there, they even say it themselves. Whether they're avoiding it for a reason or not you'll never know. I wouldn't discount a builder just because of it though.

 

[alexakasloth]

If there isn't this sort of information to go off would a full survey be worthwhile or just over the top for a new build? We're ftb and interested in a flat that is 10 years old, but also have seen a flat by the developers that I mentioned which is brand new.