What’s so bad about UK New build houses?

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mydogmuppet@reddit

I had my new build house surveyed immediately after i purchased it (don't ask) in 2014. The devoper 'forgot' to do many of the items he agreed to in wtiting. He was reminded of this in four appearances at the local County Court. The Surveyor came back with a list of small minor items. He stated that my new build was average and nothing to worry about. Yes, he agreed building standards had steadily declined post WW2 but legislation and improved standards acted in the buyers favour. Expensive developments (not mine) apparently have their own independent snagging teams. People who buy expensive houses can afford expensive lawyers and take faults in new houses very very personally. The developer addressed the issues in my report to suit the house warranty providers more than myself. It's 110sq m and costs under £350 pa to space heat. If it wasn't for the rip-off from the Estate Management scam of the developer all would be ok.

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Few-Homework6283@reddit

https://preview.redd.it/3znt0gdi43ff1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8e1494118a85839a39a77b7cdbcd1c873e3a4e61 Amen.

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AudiGeezee@reddit

Not so much the house itself but the overall set out of the estate. On top of one another, hot & cold neighbours, general overall sense of hierarchy, home accounts, estate charges. Only good side is it’s fresh out the box & nothing needs done

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Melonpan78@reddit

Generic, poor quality, a status symbol.

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Similar_Quiet@reddit

How is it a status symbol when all everyone does is shit on them.

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AcceptedRx@reddit

Status symbol in terms of being a 'home owner' or being on the 'property ladder' - a rarity in generations millennial and beyond

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Melonpan78@reddit

Because 'New Money' types *think* it's a status symbol and are too stupid to realise that everyone is shitting on them.

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R41n80wR04d@reddit

5 bed detached new build with garage too small to fit their financed Audi and Range Rover. Anthracite grey front door with one of those looooong handles on it. Grey/white interior, fake grass in the back garden. He works in marketing, she works in recruitment. They go out for walks and pub lunch with their 5 pug called Luna. The status symbol of our time

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Melonpan78@reddit

I know these people! Even their pet is called Luna. 😂 But they don't have an Audi, they have a (wait for it)...Tesla.

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spectrumero@reddit

Mainly because people who are dissatisfied will be making all the noise. Almost no one who are satisfied with their new build house will be jumping onto Reddit or forums and saying how satisfied they are.

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AcceptedRx@reddit

Pretty much. Negativity is a larger broadcasting emotion than positivity. Just check any career subreddit and you'll see most posts stating that their career is dead and telling people to stay away (although this might also be a survival tactic to reduce the amount of saturation in their profession)

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AcceptedRx@reddit

Pretty much. Negativity is a larger broadcasting emotion than positivity. Just check any career subreddit and you'll see most posts stating that their career is dead and telling people to stay away (although this might also be a survival tactic to reduce the amount of saturation in their profession)

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Disastrous_Log9345@reddit

Developers invite feedback. Don't they?

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DXBflyer@reddit

Last house I lived in was 1930's built. We had to do everything to it. Completely modernised it and ended up selling and moving about 6 years later. Now lived in this new build house for around 4 years. Haven't done a single thing to it, everything still original and working etc. I have no allegiance to either, I liked my old house we did up, we only moved for area reasons not the house. I like not having to do anything to my new one. To answer your question, or not, I have no idea. People just like to peddle constant drivel don't they. Old houses have just as much grief, but we're all crabs aren't we, there's an element of people just inherently not liking people being able to afford a nice big new home.

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AcceptedRx@reddit

As someone who has had the benefit of living in both new and old builds we can see the grass is not so much greener on the other side but what shade of green you're happy living with. Older builds can be at least considered somewhat 'investments' if you're planning on downsizing at some point or planning to outgrow it and rather an extension (planning permission pending LOL) but I can see new builds filling up very quickly with furniture and family and becoming a bit too tight for my liking

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AcceptedRx@reddit

A lot of people have covered the main topics of new builds in terms of negatives but just like most things it depends on what you want and at what costs. New Builds are exactly what you get in terms of looks and aesthetics - which I think is what a lot of young people want (we look but don't judge). If it's affordable and looks new then that's probably what millennials and beyond will have to settle with rather than an older build and trading up or opt for an extension. Older builds often haven't been renovated or updated since their previous owner had left or passed so you're left with ugly carpets, mould. absolutely horrendous interior design, and wildly unkempt gardens that from the word go you gotta start sorting out. Day one of handover its unlikely you'll be comfortable living there - probably not until month 3-6 will you get an older build into a somewhat liveable state and even then that's living in a house that has half the rooms that still need working on. So you gotta pay for the house and then pay more for the renovations. It's unlikely you'll be throwing any housewarmings or inviting the in-laws to stay until all the above is sorted unlike a new build. Again not saying the above is a bad thing - but its up to what you want with the house. I've got an older build and only just got the kitchen re-done (no more ready meals in the microwave!) but still have most of the bedrooms to sort out (most don't have a bed and the second largest still has peeling wallpaper). Long term project to sort but I'm happy that I have the room to grow and start a family in so it'll be nice to see it transform and become more populated

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cragglerock93@reddit

They're not all bad. My parents and sister both have new builds from different regional housebuilders and the snags have been pretty minimal.

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55erg@reddit

UK housebuilding firms choose to maximise profits over quality. Often the blame is placed on bricklayers, plumbers, electricians etc. doing shoddy work but they’re being squeezed to meet unrealistic demands

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cragglerock93@reddit

I dunno about that. I'm not a tradesman, but anyone who has ever worked with other people, ever, will tell you that there are a certain portion of people who will always do a shit job and never take pride in their work, irrespective of the resources they're given. Like I saw recently there were people who found loads of rubbish (not construction waste, like general food and drink packaging) inside their partition walls because presumably being a builder it's really hard to throw your Greggs packaging in a bin bag or something.

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merrychristmasyo@reddit

If a firm comes to you and asks you to do X number of houses or flats within X number of months, it’s on you to resource accordingly or you refuse to price the job. You don’t accept the job knowing you can’t hit the targets. And if your contract changes, you renegotiate. A lot of new builds are boxes with windows now, nothing too complicated, timber frame, thrown up and made water tight in no time. In other words, housing is far easier to build compared to 30+ years ago, especially for trades. Trades are paid a fair amount, whether it’s housing developer jobs or your neighbours renovation, they should be leaving plumb brickwork, extract fans should be properly connected to ductwork, waste trap should be properly connected to pipes etc as the absolute bare minimum. There should be no piss bottles, or any rubbish for that matter hidden behind your bath panel, or in your external wall cavity, as the bare minimum.

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Similar_Quiet@reddit

When someone moves into a new house they'll find mistakes and it's a big deal. When someone moves into an old house and they find bodges it's just life.

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Disastrous_Log9345@reddit

Officially called SNAGS in a new build.

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jagsie69@reddit

What’s really annoying? Moving in to a 5 year old new build and realising the previous owners didn’t snag anything. I have 3 doors that need shaving to close properly, and my bedroom floors creak. It’s like they didn’t know snagging was a thing. Wankers.

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Disastrous_Log9345@reddit

And every house I've ever lived in was previously occupied by a bodger.

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Big_Industry_2067@reddit

There's that sure but a mixture of mad planning rules and fairly shoddy work is also evident. For example houses with mortar that is turning into sand within a few years, gardens built ontop of rubble piles so nothing can grow there and just the general pokeyness of them. Small windows due to planning is a big thing too as well as having to put with inevitable social housing nearby.

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Similar_Quiet@reddit

Small windows are often a building regs issue - smaller windows are the cheapest way to deal with solar gain requirements. Sometimes they're a planning issue due to privacy too though

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Big_Industry_2067@reddit

Regs, planning, same thing really since it's all just silly government rules that make the houses shit.

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ElectricalPick9813@reddit

Things like National Determined Space Standards, to ensure decent room sizes? Fire safety standards? Electrical safety standards? Accessibility for people with disabilities? Tell me, which of these silly government rules should we do without?

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Klossomfawn@reddit

"It's all part of the character"

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Civil_opinion24@reddit

This. Old houses have had decades worth of owners mending things and keeping them in good condition. Our family home was built in the early 80s. A day after we moved in the water pipes burst. Newbuilds needing snags looked at isn't a new thing

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jaymatthewbee@reddit

Also, old builds that were built well still exist and are still well built. Old builds that were badly built have either been repaired or demolished.

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BigBunneh@reddit

Hollow internal walls makes hanging anything substantial a bit scary. Plastic heating system pipes impossible to find when drilling into said walls (from experience). Aircrete bricks used for the inner wall of a cavity are like crumbly biscuits. Plastic used in place of lead degrades quicker over time. Arches are constructed from thin-sheet metal substrate with brick faces glued to them - metal is happy to corrode over time, not great when these are supporting structures. Wood is often fast-grown types and not acclimatised, warping can be an issue. New build regs are a 60-year lifetime on the house. Personally I'd do what we did, buy an older house and rennovate. Horses for courses though - a new build \*should\* be more heat efficient.

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Similar_Quiet@reddit

Plastic pipes **should** have a foil in the wall so you can find them

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BigBunneh@reddit

They must've missed it from our new build, the detector said all clear, the water ended up filling the stud wall cavity and pouring out the end. Mind you it helped us find the slow leak caused by a screw through a pipe the other side, even the plumber who mounted the radiator bracket managed to screw into one. Seriously bad build - we also ended up claiming for upstairs flooring due to a leak under the en suite flooring.

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captainclectic@reddit

Generalising here but the quality of builds varies immensely. Builders level of skills reduced, materials not as good, not enough time to build each property carefully. The gardens are absolutely tiny in new builds too.

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PerceptionGreat2439@reddit

It's ridikulus!

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PlasticSplinters@reddit

What a winklespanner

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ScottM94@reddit

A lot of the walls in new builds are 3 digestives biscuits out of plum

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anon1992lol@reddit

Absolutely shocking!

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a3diff@reddit

Tiny plots, no.space between houses, tiny gardens. Small rooms, low ceilings. All you can see when you stand at the back door is 8 other houses glaring down at you from what feels like 12 feet away. Leasehold houses (wtf!). Local councils don't adopt the new estates so you are beholden to shitty management companies overcharging you for shitty service. Lots of houses still don't have provision for solar or energy storage designed in (should be illegal imo). The list goes on. Yes I know not all new builds are like this, but fuck me the majority round my way absolutely are, and it sucks!

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Disastrous_Log9345@reddit

Bearing in mind these are of a similar size, the heating bill in my current house (built 2004) is half what it was in my previous house (built 1969).

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Disastrous_Log9345@reddit

Size. To maximise profits, developers cram as many houses onto the site as the planners will allow. And as many rooms into the house as the building regs will allow.

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TheColonelKiwi@reddit

Although older houses generally use harder materials, you’ll find that when these houses were initially built they would have had issues, many similar to what new builds have. I think combining this with the fact that new builds need time to settle so there will always be some initial issues people tend to think that new builds are all rubbish which may not always be the case.. that being said a much higher volume of houses are now being built compared to the past so with that they are likely to be rushed.

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WoodenEggplant4624@reddit

Lots of small dwellings crammed onto the site, not anywhere near enough parking for the number of dwellings. Badly built with shoddy materials and lack of attention to workmanship and finish. Less than six months after the buildings are finished the scaffolding goes up to make repairs to roofs and windows. Small dwellings, really tiny, bedrooms literally only just big enough to hold a double bed but nothing more and kitchens with only enough room for one person to work in. The sales people who do the staging buy miniature furniture for the pictures in sales brochures.

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Similar_Quiet@reddit

> not anywhere near enough parking for the number of dwellings. This is not a new build thing. Look at all of the urban terraces for example.

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CleanMyAxe@reddit

Urban terraces will be urban terraces. It'll always be more cramped living in a city centre. But for small to medium towns / small cities, with new estates round the outskirts when to compare to an equivalent estate from say the 80s, the difference in space is stark. Things like having the home right up on the pavement instead of a front garden, homes all angled such that they are overseen by several different homes and angles to cram a couple extra in, limited parking and roads unfit for council adoption so you're forever beholden to a maintenance company charging unregulated fees. These were not the norm in comparable estates. I think when people talk about new homes, this is the comparison being made. Not victorian terraces compared to suburban estates.

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WoodenEggplant4624@reddit

True but terraces built in the 20s to 50s, and before, were sold or rented mostly to families that didn't have cars so parking didn't become an issue until the 70s really. Now most households, outside city centres, have at least one car if they can afford it and many have a two or more cars. The house I live in is a 30s terrace but has an access lane beyond the back garden so many residents put in garages. We also have sizeable front gardens and many have been paved for parking. The new flats and tiny houses which will go up across the road soon won't have any parking for the flats and only a single tiny space for the houses. There is on street parking around here but a lot of it is controlled parking and the permit price goes up every year.

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OkPea5819@reddit

Literally not a line of that true for my house.

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devcmacd@reddit

Never lived in one but have viewed a few and in my experience they don’t retain their value well at all. Their chief selling point is often that they’re new so, like cars, they lose that lustre once they’re not. Generally because they’re not as solidly built as old houses and not as energy efficient/polished as the newer ones to have come onto the market. I’ve heard anecdotally that they are designed to last as long as the average mortgage, take that as you like.

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Eve_LuTse@reddit

They're all made out of tikky-tacky

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Retrogamer2245@reddit

From personal experience: Paper thin walls, so thin you can hear your neighbours in the bathroom and their neighbours playing music, random bits falling off, poor brickwork and our garden was mostly leftover builders rubbish. This was back in 2000, but I have heard things haven't improved since then.

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unhappy_babbling@reddit

Insulation (noise and warmth) has for significantly better since then. In our house we never hear our neighbours despite them playing loud music regularly (only know when they told us). We also very rarely use the heating

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Jeremys_Iron_@reddit

Certainly not true in my case. New builds have great insulation and for my house I can't hear either neighbours (mid terrace). You'll hear far more in an old 1960s terrace.

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rustynoodle3891@reddit

Can confirm the second part. My house is 1956 and I could hear the neighbours arguing to such an extent I felt the need to phone the police at about 4am! But these are the kind of people you would probably hear if they lived on the next farm over to be fair.

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FierceStrider@reddit

Agreed. The insulation is much better. I hear nothing whereas in our old semi we heard every single thing. Also saved loads on electricity and gas when we moved to a new build!

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Kind-County9767@reddit

This was my experience from renting too. Mid 2000s flat was silent. The 60s flat that I bought was like a sound sieve.

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Rinlow05@reddit

It is very difficult to add value to New Builds in this day and age, beyond waiting for 'average ' prices for that kind of property to rise due to high demand/low supply. There will not be any space to add on a conservatory or extend the kitchen at a later date, it's unlikely you will be able to expand the driveway to take more than one car, and I doubt there will be space in the attic to add another bedroom. All these options are a possibility with older houses that probably have a bigger patch of land around it.

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Sudden_Accountant762@reddit

Many or probably most sstates are planned to maximise the number of houses in the smallest possible space. No parking? Squeeze in a few more houses. No footpaths? squeeze in a few more houses. Narrow roads barely able to get two way traffic through? Squeeze in a few more houses. Tiny gardens? Squeeze in a few more houses. Every garden is overlooked by several other houses at close range, so no naked sunbathing.

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Spottyjamie@reddit

Its a lottery I cant fault the one im in but the next estate along complain all the time

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KingKhram@reddit

My mums last place was a new build and the only thing that was bad was the garden, I don't know what happened, but the lawn was very springy and 6 months later in spring, the ground had hardened and was lumpy. It made mowing the lawn an absolute nightmare. It happened to everyone else on the estate and the building company took so much time over it and nothing got fixed for anyone else. Everything else was really good, just a massive shame about the garden

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Upstairs_Barnacle_46@reddit

The walls are paper thin. If you live in a terraced house you can hear everything going on next door.

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Harrry-Otter@reddit

There’s some horror stories, but on the most part not much beyond some uninspired architecture choices.

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MurderBeans@reddit

Some of them are unfinished or very badly built.

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ParticularCod6@reddit

no one complains about well built ones. i can tell for certain any home in UK for sale will have snagging issues, even older ones

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QuickTemperature7014@reddit

Snagging exclusively refers to new build properties.

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bishopsfinger@reddit

Or refurbs

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Altruistic_Diet_9831@reddit

Made from cardboard. Will all need significant repairs within a decade. Poor insulation drives heating bills through the roof Not built to last any more, only built to fill quotas, tick boxes, and make rich people richer while the working class suffer.

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throwpayrollaway@reddit

How are they poorly insulated when the regs demand they are highly insulated?

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mupps-l@reddit

Just shows people will say any nonsense to shit on new builds.

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AlbionTeng@reddit

Everyone here has answered aptly, but I’d like to add that they’re aesthetically displeasing. Too new, too formulaic, too lacking in variation… maybe I’m just old.

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gordonbennettsuncle@reddit

I think it can depend on the builder. My son bought one, it was really big. Ceilings were higher than usual, all the rooms including all 5 bedrooms were a good size. It was well designed with a big back garden. The estate was well set out. When he moved in there were some snagging issues but nothing that wasn’t sorted out quickly.

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Camoxide2@reddit

100,000 new homes are built every year. The vast majority of them are perfectly fine.

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Civil_opinion24@reddit

Its survivor bias plain and simple. Houses built 40 or 50 years ago had the same issues that newbuilds have now. The only difference is they've had 40 years of owners fixing stuff.

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Previous_Process4836@reddit

Best answer on here… spot on… survivor bias…

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Weaving-green@reddit

Seems to be that new builds have a lot of errors in their construction. Corners cut to build quickly and cheaply. Obviously if you’re buying a new house you’d expect it to be perfect. An old house you don’t expect to be perfect because it’s old and used.

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coleslawontoast@reddit

Put up too quick, corners cut They're all the same

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Redmistnf@reddit

Because media won't get clicks for good / positive news stories. I have a new build and it's best house I have lived in so far.

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Obvious-Water569@reddit

They're built as quickly and cheaply as possible. I'm sure you're familiar with the "good - fast - cheap" triangle.

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Optimal_Collection77@reddit

People have been saying this for decades. There's a point when we must accept that these are just modern building techniques

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eeyorethechaotic@reddit

They rooms are all tiny little boxes. Such low ceilings. The build quality isn't always there. Your neighbours are all around you with no space. And there's little to no parking.

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Reesno33@reddit

If an independent builder build 3 or 4 houses and sells them off, normally nothing but if it's a massive Baratts, Linden, David Wilson site, then they get thrown up only the show home gets done carefully all the others they just smash everything in, build as many as possible on the land so you get a tiny garden, no one really gives that much of a fuck as trades can make more money working on customer houses than sites so it's a case of I'll take the building site work but only if it's easy and I can get away with it not being perfect, even the utilities and BT if they have some shitty reconditioned equipment in their stock which has to be fitted somewhere then why not fit it in the empty new build where theirs no customer to complain?

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Joy_3DMakes@reddit

They aren't all bad. Generally, people mention when something is out of the ordinary. You expect a new build to be perfect so you voice when it isn't. With an old build, you expect issues so you voice when it's surprising in tip-top condition. That being said, some new builds are atrocious. As with a lot of industries right now, profit is placed above quality.

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No_Technology3293@reddit

I did a course(SMSTS), full of house builders; I was only one from major construction and I honestly couldn't believe what was considered normal in house building. If they treat their own safety with as little care as they do, you can imagine how little care they put into the quality of their product.

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No_Potato_4341@reddit

I think it's mainly the fact they're not built as strongly as they used to be. Older houses could last another 100 years. The new builds may only last about 50.

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Jeremys_Iron_@reddit

I've had one for c. 4 years. Only thing to have gone wrong is a minor leak that cost me £250. There are definitely cracks here and there from the house setting but it all seems superficial. Would I buy another one? Possibly, but then again the new build warranty only lasts 8 - 12 years and after that you've just gotta hope your house insurance covers any major defects that may arise. My mother owns an Edwardian house built in 1904. You buy one of those and you can feel confident it won't fall down, something you'll never feel with a new build.

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Anguskerfluffle@reddit

Timber frame rather than brick construction usually.

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PublicPossibility946@reddit

Generally they are built as cheaply as possible by greedy amoral bastards.

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Dme1663@reddit

Some aren’t too bad- from what I’ve seen of a couple of countryside estates they look decent.

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ahairyhoneymonsta@reddit

Design by spreadsheet. If there's a corner, there's a way to cut it.

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