The Editor's Cut Was Better (House Builders in general)

Member Name: jillmurphy

Product:	House Builders in general
Date:	24/08/01 (813 review reads)
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Advantages: Um...

Disadvantages: Er...

Be warned: directly down below (southwards, six o'clock) there lurks a very boring opinion. You may run now, if you like, I'll understand.

What should you look for when you're thinking of buying a new house? You know: not a new house but a 'new' new house, a brand spanking just-built new house? You've all seen the horror documentaries on TV – all that terrible workmanship, dangerous, careless bodging – is it really THAT bad? Well, it really does depend on exactly what it is that you're looking for. What should you know about housebuilders? Or rather, what should you know about the houses they build?

Let's take first things first. Housebuilders are in a process of consolidating, they're all buying each other out at the moment. There are fewer and fewer of them about, and their basic house designs don't vary all that much between each other or up and down the country. So what you need to do first of all is establish that the new development you're interested in is being run well at site level – this will make a big, big difference. A good site agent will be aware of everything that's going on all across his development, and the chances of your house being bodged in those awful ways you've seen on TV will be reduced if the site agent is experienced and capable. So, ask the nice sales lady if you can have a site tour to see works in progress. She won't like that idea much, but if you're lucky she'll produce a hard hat and a hi-vi jacket (one of those fluorescent orange things) and sort out something for you. If she won't then make a visit to the development a bit later on, and "accidentally" take a drive up via the site traffic route. You're looking for a neat, tidy delivery compound with nothing lying around, unused plant parked neatly in just one area and a general air of organisation. And if you try to get out of your car hard hatless someone sho
uld rush up to you shouting, "Fluck off my flucking site if you haven't got your flucking gear you flucking idiot! Who the fluck are you, anyway?" (Thanks for the Ls Peakly). That's good, despite the profanity, honest! Any site worth its salt will be tidy, well-ordered and won't let you anywhere near it without the correct safety equipment.

So, you've checked the site and everything seems to be fine. Now, you need to check the design of the house you're thinking of buying. Housebuilders have all spent big bucks on market research. They know what you want. They know that a downstairs lavatory is a must have these days, and that en-suite shower room, no matter how poky, must be squeezed into the upstairs square footage. They know you demand a 'utility room' so that the nasty washing machine doesn't make a noise in your lovely country-rustic or stainless steel-minimalist kitchen. And in most cases they've given it to you. You should be aware though, that the average floor space of the average house being built now isn't so very different from that of the house being built twenty, thirty or forty years ago. It's just that the space is being used in a different way. Check out the storage space in your new house – are there any hall cupboards? Is there even a hall? Or is there just a tiny three foot square space in front of the stairs without even enough room for somewhere to hang a coat? Storage space and roomy, cupboarded halls and landings are wasted space to the modern housebuilder. You might agree with them – that ensuite shower, that downstairs loo might be exactly what you want. Then again it might not, so think carefully. What's in the cupboard under the stairs in your current home? Will there be anywhere to put all those things in your new one? Where are you going to put the Dyson? Don't laugh – I'm serious!

Also consider your garden. Gardens in new build houses
are generally smaller than in those that have been built for some time. Look at the design of the development you're interested in. Is it one of those nice intimate-little-cul-de-sacs arrangements? They're nice and friendly, aren't they? You might be moving into a large estate but those little cul de sacs make it feel less impersonal, don't they? You'll have your own little corner of it, and it'll be especially nice if you get along well with the neighbours. Of course all that is true, and the developers thought of it before you did, but it's also a double whammy on their part. Those little cul de sacs conceal the paucity (mention one) of garden space. You fit in more units per hectare building like that you know, in a way that doesn't look like it. Good for margins. So consider your garden. You might not have green fingers so you might like the idea of a "compact" back yard, but then again you might plan a conservatory one day, and your shed may need to accommodate not only the lawnmower, but three bikes, those football goalposts belonging to the kids, your fishing gear and a host of other things. If you add a conservatory and a big shed and a patio how much room will be left for even a minimum of greenery? Measure. Measure lots.

If you need a big shed, do you also need lots of loft space? Hmm… that may be a problem. Modern houses are often built with the roof structure bought in, almost pre-packed if you like, designed and made by timber engineers. With the aid of some clever but cheap bracing, and other twiddly bits, they, innovative souls that they are, have discovered that by using more trusses with a smaller section (not 4" x 2" but maybe 3" x 1.5" if you're interested), less timber is needed overall, thus saving money on build costs. Goodo. But you may find that all those trusses mean a paucity (boring this may be but I got paucity in twice so just you remember that) of loft spac
e. Three suitcases and a bin bag of clutter maybe all you've room for. Is that ok for you?

(Have a break. Put the kettle on. Watch TV for a bit, I don't mind. Put your hand over your mouth if you're yawning though, I'm doing my best, honestly).

Now for the inside livingy and decorationy bits. Um… yes – drylined internal walls. Most new houses have 'drylined' internal walls, often built against a timber frame. Wassat then? Well, instead of the traditional cavity wall, made up of an outer 'skin' of red or brown bricks and and inner 'skin' (only two, alkaliguru, sorry, can't get four skins in but I'll try harder next time) made of those big, grey breeze block looking things, you have the outer brick skin only. The inner one is actually just a timber frame. To that is attached a thin layer of plasterboard covered with an equally thin layer or 'skim' of plaster. That's your internal wall. It insulates well, keeps heat in, but Granny's lovely but very heavy antique mirror you're so fond of ain't gonna fix to it. It'll tear a hole in the wall. Likewise the skirting boards and architraves (the bits around the door) are likely to be not only nailed or pinned to the wall but also glued with panel adhesive (like No More Nails but with solvent). You like that fashionable eight inch deep skirting? Good, because you're going to have to keep it. No changing the floor covering if you need to change the skirting board to do it – if you do then you'll probably pull half that drylined wall away with it during removal. Panel adhesive is known by carpenters as 'that shi*t to blanket stuff', and for very good reason!

Oh, and the windows. I need to mention the windows. Each pane of glass costs extra money you know. Each pane that actually opens costs more again. Make sure your builder isn't skimping on costs by not providing you with enough small ope
ning trap windows. It's not the sort of thing you notice straightaway, but once you've moved in, and it's summer, and it's hot, and you need air but your toddler's wandering about then you'll need opening trap windows, especially at the front of your house, and even more especially if there's a busy road nearby. Escaping toddlers and pets are not good. So check that there enough opening windows, especially little ones.

One last little bit and the long, dire warnings are done, ok? It's about show homes. Housebuilders love these. They employ nice sales people to show you around them. They're so pretty and tastefully furnished and decorated. They show you just how lovely your own little nest is going to be. Housebuilders love show homes so much that they spend big money designing their interiors, even though no one is going to live in them. And so you need to think about that when the nice sales person is showing you around. This is a living room being shown off to its absolute best advantage. It is rumoured that some naughty companies have even commissioned three quarter sized custom made furniture to make rooms appear bigger. Well, I don't know about that and far be it from me to make such accusations, but I do know that most people have three seater sofas but many show homes only have two seater ones, that most people have TVs and videos and DVD players, but most show homes don't. I know that most people's double beds are 4'6" or 5" wide, but the ones in show homes are sometimes 4' wide. Measure again. Measure again lots. Measure the room in the new house and the furniture you'll need to put in it. Keep measuring.

That's it. They are all the things I think that you should consider when you're thinking of buying a 'new' new house. I've made it sound rather awful, haven't I? Sorry. I'm not trying to put you off, honestly, but these are things you need to
think about. In defence of the poor old housebuilder though, I'll add to this opinion the things they'll have already told you themselves. It's only fair.

New houses come with a lovely ten year NHBC warranty (or nearly all of them do, don't buy one without it). This means that you're covered for the structural integrity of the house for ages and ages. If the roof falls in it won't cost you a bean. If some of the workmanship is shoddy or poor then you (although you might have to argue a bit) can call the developer in to make good because they'll have at least a twelve month guarantee too. New houses are far, far cheaper to maintain than older ones and comprehensive maintenance on houses costs you lots of time and money. They are all well insulated and this also will save you pots of dosh on your heating bills; you could even find them halved and that's quite a lot of money. New houses also have all those design features you've wanted for ages – there will be no queuing for the bathroom or the loo any more thanks to the downstairs cloakroom and ensuite shower, and your kitchen probably won't look like a laundry half the time thanks to that nice utility room/area. Housebuilders will often buy your old home in part exchange and save you time, money, and major headaches, with selling and conveyancing. Moving home is one of the most stressful things you can do, so that's a huge advantage. I feel rather mean squashing all the advantages into one miserly paragraph, but then I figure that I've gone on long enough and that the housebuilders are more than capable of selling their strengths to you all by themselves. Pick up a few glossy brochures and you'll see what I mean.

Of the national companies Redrow, Persimmon and David Wilson all have good reputations from within the trade itself, but if you think you'd like to buy a 'new' new home then I'd recommend making the smaller, independ
ent regional developers your first port of call when you start looking. Their reputations are built (eek punned) on quality rather than famous name, and their designs are far more likely to suit the local situation. Mind you, that's while there are still any left.

Services schmervices. Did you put that kettle on?

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