The joys and pitfalls on having an older house
Discussion
I just thoughht I would see what pleasures and pains people get from owning older houses?
I had always lived in a relatively modern house until about 8 years ago, when I divorced and had to buy somewhere to live and work on a limited budget. I bought an old manky cottage coveed in wood chip and the experience of rennovating and living in that house led me to buy an older, larger one. Now I can't see me living in anythig else.
So here is my list of Pro's and Cons for older houses;
Superficial but useful stuff;
+ The rooms and gardens are often bigger
+ Generally any catastrophic faults have been found
+ The post office know where it is
+ If you get a problem the neighbours who have been there longer probably recall it previously and what the fix was
Great stuff;
+ You get a connection to history and a sense that you are really only looking after it for future generations
+ You keep finding things you hadn't noticed. This week an old square nail in a beam 20 feet up in the roof and two odd iron hooks high on a side wall. Four lofts, a spare bedroom which used to be the boys cloakroom (old school), odd windows in odd places, signs of old doorways and lintels whenever you take plaster off, and surprises when you lift an old carpet. I found the old cellar entrance but it is full of sand so next years project may be to open it up and dig out the sand to see what is down there
+ You get away with odd bits of poor decorating because people expect saggy ceilings and flaky paint. Nobody cares if a step is crooked or a bannister is chipped, that is 'character'
+ In the summer, stone walls are fab for keeping cool (if we get a summer)
+ Researching the history can be fun, alebit you can become the dinner party bore too
+ You can buy old stuff that looks Ok in the house, nobody expects the latest designer furniture in an old house
+ Living in old old house feels instantly comfortable but I don't know why
+ They look great in the snow and Chrimo is something else
+ They feel bomb proof and as if they will be there forever
+ You do get emotionally attached
+ You can make shed loads of money if you do the job right as old houses are becoming less and less of the housing stock
+ You get to play tour guide if you know the history well
Not so great stuff;
- You spend a life with a trowel, a spade and a paintbrush in your hand or else a life ringing up tradesmen
- Your heating bills are enormous without double glazing and cavity wall insulation
_ You can't just buy stuff from B&Q because it is too shiney and new = ebay and salvage yards
- If you are listed you get to do the 'conservation dance'
- Modern tradesmen are not always up to speed on how to repair old buldings so you end up doing the leg work
- Every job requires you to drill through 2 feet of stone rather than 4 inches of plaster board.
- They don't always have a garage, enough plug sockets, ensuites, water and drains in the right place or accessible windows for cleaning
-The drains and water supply are a law unto themselves and you have to learn which toilets you can flush at the same time, and even at the same time that radio 2 is on to avoid the bowl overflowing or making that funny noise
- When drunk or going to the toilet in the night the fact some doors are only 5 feet 8 high needs to be remebered, even if stupified if you don't want a headache you didn't drink for
- You live with the damp patch and recognise that no fancy wallpaper will last more than a season.
- You can't presume the drains go into the drains, they may go into next doors garden pond
I had always lived in a relatively modern house until about 8 years ago, when I divorced and had to buy somewhere to live and work on a limited budget. I bought an old manky cottage coveed in wood chip and the experience of rennovating and living in that house led me to buy an older, larger one. Now I can't see me living in anythig else.
So here is my list of Pro's and Cons for older houses;
Superficial but useful stuff;
+ The rooms and gardens are often bigger
+ Generally any catastrophic faults have been found
+ The post office know where it is
+ If you get a problem the neighbours who have been there longer probably recall it previously and what the fix was
Great stuff;
+ You get a connection to history and a sense that you are really only looking after it for future generations
+ You keep finding things you hadn't noticed. This week an old square nail in a beam 20 feet up in the roof and two odd iron hooks high on a side wall. Four lofts, a spare bedroom which used to be the boys cloakroom (old school), odd windows in odd places, signs of old doorways and lintels whenever you take plaster off, and surprises when you lift an old carpet. I found the old cellar entrance but it is full of sand so next years project may be to open it up and dig out the sand to see what is down there
+ You get away with odd bits of poor decorating because people expect saggy ceilings and flaky paint. Nobody cares if a step is crooked or a bannister is chipped, that is 'character'
+ In the summer, stone walls are fab for keeping cool (if we get a summer)
+ Researching the history can be fun, alebit you can become the dinner party bore too
+ You can buy old stuff that looks Ok in the house, nobody expects the latest designer furniture in an old house
+ Living in old old house feels instantly comfortable but I don't know why
+ They look great in the snow and Chrimo is something else
+ They feel bomb proof and as if they will be there forever
+ You do get emotionally attached
+ You can make shed loads of money if you do the job right as old houses are becoming less and less of the housing stock
+ You get to play tour guide if you know the history well
Not so great stuff;
- You spend a life with a trowel, a spade and a paintbrush in your hand or else a life ringing up tradesmen
- Your heating bills are enormous without double glazing and cavity wall insulation
_ You can't just buy stuff from B&Q because it is too shiney and new = ebay and salvage yards
- If you are listed you get to do the 'conservation dance'
- Modern tradesmen are not always up to speed on how to repair old buldings so you end up doing the leg work
- Every job requires you to drill through 2 feet of stone rather than 4 inches of plaster board.
- They don't always have a garage, enough plug sockets, ensuites, water and drains in the right place or accessible windows for cleaning
-The drains and water supply are a law unto themselves and you have to learn which toilets you can flush at the same time, and even at the same time that radio 2 is on to avoid the bowl overflowing or making that funny noise
- When drunk or going to the toilet in the night the fact some doors are only 5 feet 8 high needs to be remebered, even if stupified if you don't want a headache you didn't drink for
- You live with the damp patch and recognise that no fancy wallpaper will last more than a season.
- You can't presume the drains go into the drains, they may go into next doors garden pond
Pft, my parents' house had cracks you could put your finger through in the external doors and no glass in some of the windows (couldn't get any thin enough for the lead). No insulation, no central heating, a badly glazed 100 square foot stained glass skylight that might as well have been designed to let the heat out... got used to breaking the ice on the glass of water by my bed in the mornings in the winter. 
It had sunk more than a foot at one end so my (ground floor) bedroom floor was below ground level, meaning it got rather damp on occasion too.
Still it was a lovely house. Had walls thick enough that one of them fully contained the spiral staircase which lead to the attic.
ETA: We found the remains of a 3-400 year old set of bakers ovens in the garage when we knocked down a fake wall too.
Thing is, despite it (well bits of it) being something like 400 years old, I'm pretty certain it'll be there long after the 15 year old house I live in now has fallen down.
Oh and the listed buildings commission (or whatever they're called these days) are the most annoying bunch of idiots in the world - they make the Labour party look competent.
It had sunk more than a foot at one end so my (ground floor) bedroom floor was below ground level, meaning it got rather damp on occasion too.
Still it was a lovely house. Had walls thick enough that one of them fully contained the spiral staircase which lead to the attic.
ETA: We found the remains of a 3-400 year old set of bakers ovens in the garage when we knocked down a fake wall too.
Thing is, despite it (well bits of it) being something like 400 years old, I'm pretty certain it'll be there long after the 15 year old house I live in now has fallen down.
Oh and the listed buildings commission (or whatever they're called these days) are the most annoying bunch of idiots in the world - they make the Labour party look competent.
Edited by kambites on Tuesday 9th September 09:28
I'm putting a new roof on my (old) house at the moment... hand made clay tiles are dirt cheap. Obviously.
We don't know what all the pipes do. Or where they go. I try not to worry about this.
There are electrical switches that appear to do nothing. But we're not sure. We think they make the rabbits appear, that's the current theory.
The joys of living in a victorian lakeland cottage:
- The walls are 2 feet of solid stone - It is a rare occurence if I hear anything from my neighbours. Even better, with double glazing and loft insulation, the house is still warm 6 or 7 hours after the fire has gone out.
- Fires are awesome, unless they occur outside the fireplace.
- I'm not sure if the roof has been replaced ever. It will probably outlive me.
- It feels like a home, not just a house.
- Coal and wood is cheap. We don't have a gas supply.
- Any subsidence or major problems have long been taken care of.
- The house is already twice as old as any of my living relatives and will be there long after any of my previous modern homes have crumbled into a pile of cheap bricks and plaster.
The woes of living in a victorian lakeland cottage:
- Lighting a fire can be a nause, especially if it is raining and I have to go outside to fetch more coal.
- My only local amenity is a pub. Er... maybe this should be in the pro's bit.
- The walls are 2 feet of solid stone - It is a rare occurence if I hear anything from my neighbours. Even better, with double glazing and loft insulation, the house is still warm 6 or 7 hours after the fire has gone out.
- Fires are awesome, unless they occur outside the fireplace.
- I'm not sure if the roof has been replaced ever. It will probably outlive me.
- It feels like a home, not just a house.
- Coal and wood is cheap. We don't have a gas supply.
- Any subsidence or major problems have long been taken care of.
- The house is already twice as old as any of my living relatives and will be there long after any of my previous modern homes have crumbled into a pile of cheap bricks and plaster.
The woes of living in a victorian lakeland cottage:
- Lighting a fire can be a nause, especially if it is raining and I have to go outside to fetch more coal.
- My only local amenity is a pub. Er... maybe this should be in the pro's bit.
BIG Downside ... I fully expect local councils to introduce council tax bands which relate to the energy efficiency of your house very soon.
Owners of old houses, which are less energy efficient, will (predictably) be raped, raped and raped again by massive council tax increases.
I am braced for the worst. (House is around 110 years old, in London, and is one of the newest houses I have lived in.)
Oli.
Owners of old houses, which are less energy efficient, will (predictably) be raped, raped and raped again by massive council tax increases.
I am braced for the worst. (House is around 110 years old, in London, and is one of the newest houses I have lived in.)
Oli.
Plus -
Bags of character. Decent sized rooms. It will be standing for years after I'm not - assuming London isn't nuked.
Negative -
Nobody knows how anything works/where pipes run etc. Every job ends up taking longer because of this. No matter how much is spent there is always a slight element of water ingress. Single glazed windows are a heat loss nightmare (although we have secondary glazing now).
Garage was for a horse, so most modern cars don't fit - that last two I've had to buy on width (1.89m with mirrors folded in)!
Bags of character. Decent sized rooms. It will be standing for years after I'm not - assuming London isn't nuked.
Negative -
Nobody knows how anything works/where pipes run etc. Every job ends up taking longer because of this. No matter how much is spent there is always a slight element of water ingress. Single glazed windows are a heat loss nightmare (although we have secondary glazing now).
Garage was for a horse, so most modern cars don't fit - that last two I've had to buy on width (1.89m with mirrors folded in)!
The thatched cottage we lived in was certainly full of character. Things running above your head at night -pitter patter over the ceilings kept the cat amused.
No heating and ill fitting window = hair frozen onto pillow in morning.
Parent house - oh - this wall appears to be wattle and daub - perhaps I should have been a bit more careful. No standard size anything - all bespoke.
Current edwardian house on the market - hasn't that arched sash window got double glazing? Do you think we could replace these (orginial) windows with plastic?
New victorian house (still under renovation and I wonder why it's taking so long)... what's this .... and this? whoops!
No heating and ill fitting window = hair frozen onto pillow in morning.
Parent house - oh - this wall appears to be wattle and daub - perhaps I should have been a bit more careful. No standard size anything - all bespoke.
Current edwardian house on the market - hasn't that arched sash window got double glazing? Do you think we could replace these (orginial) windows with plastic?
New victorian house (still under renovation and I wonder why it's taking so long)... what's this .... and this? whoops!
Coco H said:
Current edwardian house on the market - hasn't that arched sash window got double glazing? Do you think we could replace these (orginial) windows with plastic?
We have the original sashes that have been adapted to take double glazing, draughtproofed and renovated so they work properly. The doorstepping fool from a well known Dg firm couldn't understand why I didn't want to rip them out and replace them with nice UPVC frames. Our house is two cottages combined with various staircases and doorways blocked and added since the first cottage was built around 1840. I have reduced the ground level around two sides by half a metre to solve damp problems (ground had previously been raised to above floor level!) - this required drainage and sewage pipes to be re-routed.
My wife is convinced that the house is trying to drown us. The slightest bit of damp or sign of a leak has her panicking. We currently have a damp patch on the kitchen ceiling but I can't find the source - plumber due to arrive this afternoon.
My wife wants to move to a newer house - by which she means less than 20 years old. All our friends love our house and think she is mad to want to move.
My wife is convinced that the house is trying to drown us. The slightest bit of damp or sign of a leak has her panicking. We currently have a damp patch on the kitchen ceiling but I can't find the source - plumber due to arrive this afternoon.
My wife wants to move to a newer house - by which she means less than 20 years old. All our friends love our house and think she is mad to want to move.
ah yes the lack of foundations a lot of places have, the weird additions and alterations that have been made in the past - some of them 100s of years old. Parents' house is best in this respect bits are 500 years old, bits 300 years old, some a 100 years old. There used to be a whole village there once - wiped out by the plague I think
this thread has renewed my interest in my new house - I was feeling so fed up with the fact the builders have been in for what seems like forever. Despite rewiring, replumbing, (and the complete replaster and damp proof course) - we keep finding things - pipes and cables that seem to lead nowhere. It was last worked on 40 years ago. If only I could post a picture here - it's kind of cool. (sorry getting carried away)
this thread has renewed my interest in my new house - I was feeling so fed up with the fact the builders have been in for what seems like forever. Despite rewiring, replumbing, (and the complete replaster and damp proof course) - we keep finding things - pipes and cables that seem to lead nowhere. It was last worked on 40 years ago. If only I could post a picture here - it's kind of cool. (sorry getting carried away)
Our house is an old boozer dating back about 300 years or so with plenty of random switches and pipes which don't appear to do anything much.
I've lost count of the number of times I've smashed my head on the door ways or forgotten about the steps going down into the kitchen in the dark. We're a bit concerned about the roof at the moment as a few clay tiles have slipped and if you send someone up there, they're likely to disturb more.
With current gas prices we'll be making the most of the wood burning stove and are considering uncapping another fireplace. Whatever we spend fixing the slipped tiles, we'll hopefully save by heating the place on wood over the winter.
I've lost count of the number of times I've smashed my head on the door ways or forgotten about the steps going down into the kitchen in the dark. We're a bit concerned about the roof at the moment as a few clay tiles have slipped and if you send someone up there, they're likely to disturb more.
With current gas prices we'll be making the most of the wood burning stove and are considering uncapping another fireplace. Whatever we spend fixing the slipped tiles, we'll hopefully save by heating the place on wood over the winter.
Friend of mine lived in a cute thatched cottage.
One day I tried to call him but kept getting the engaged tone.
I joked to someone that his house must have burned down and fused the phone wires together.
That evening his house was on the local news - or at least the smoking remains of it. It had, and they were!
One day I tried to call him but kept getting the engaged tone.
I joked to someone that his house must have burned down and fused the phone wires together.
That evening his house was on the local news - or at least the smoking remains of it. It had, and they were!
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