We have recently decided to move, the main catalyst being the need for more space as I have a young family. Quite near to us there are developments for new houses, the ones we are looking at are 4 bed detached with prices around £200k. Now the house we are currently in is 100 years old and is our first house, we have lived here for 8 years and I have carried out a lot of DIY (New kitchen, bathroom, cloak room, various redecorating/plastering, plumbing/heating, flooring, garage conversion ect), the thought of a new house has a lot of benefits, the main being no major diy for at least the first 10 years, relatively cheap prices compared to similar "older" houses, possibility of a part ex however I am dubious of their T&C's. The thing I do not like is plasterboarded studded walls and obviously a smaller plot but thankfully these houses are not timber framed but breeze block and brick. Now, we are based in the N.W. and there are developments for Taylor Wimpey and Bellway, both look very attractive nice show homes and glossy brochures. Looking at online surveys I get a mixed bag of opinions so it would be good to hear from you guys, maybe some of you have worked on sites for the above builders and could share your experiences of the company and quality of workmanship? Any other things to bear in mind if we decided to buy new and of plan?
No personal experience, but looking at published plans for new build locally, the thing that strikes me is how small the rooms actually are. I have heard it said that show house furniture is chosen with care to make the rooms appear larger.
You have pretty much exactly described our position a few months back
- we too moved from a Victorian house which we'd done everything but rebuilt into a relatively new (2007) Persimmon home in Wiltshire.
I was very sceptical when the other half suggested looking around this newish house however I reluctantly went along if only to rule it out and satisfy my suspicions that the cardboard rabbit hutch stigma was deserved. However, I was wrong. I was very impressed, to the point that we stopped our search and bought it.
Of course every house is different and so it is pointless me mentioning any design aspects to this one that appealed, however suffice to say that ours must be pretty much run of the mill 3-bed semi - each room being a large double.
The quality of construction generally appears very good - I've taken a peek inside the majority of it now to fit extra sockets, catflaps, etc so it's not just cosmetic. One thing I have noticed is the use of branded products throughout e.g. Volex wiring accesories, ERA door furniture, Vernon Tutbury bathroom suites etc. Sure, they're not the Rolls Royce of manufacturers but there is some reassurance there compared with the no-name stuff around and is no doubt a reflection of the buying power these house building giants have. The literature left behind shows long warranties on the most of the fittings - upto 10 years - so there's some reassurance there.
It's got a decent central heating system too (admittedly it does have an Ideal boiler however the rest of it - including a Range pressurised cylinder - functions extremely well).
All in all I am struggling to fault it and, believe me, I'm a picky bugger at the best of times. The contrast of not having to do much (any really) work to it has made a pleasant change from the endless DIY in the old house, however there's still plenty of opportunities to get the tools out to improve things.
Ours was an ex-show home so we originally thought perhaps ours was built to a higher standard than the rest, however having seen inside some of the neighbours I really haven't noticed any difference (of course I haven't poked around quite so much in theirs).
As much as we have been impressed with ours, we don't think we'd necessarilly be entirely comfortable buying off-plan. For all we know ours, and every other, may have had a multi-page snagging list to bring it up to the standard it is now. Also, the temptation to try and influence the design during initial build would be overwhelming e.g. I'd want sockets where *I* want them and would likely have to pay over the odds to get them fitted. However, when buying nearly new we can accept that things won't be exactly as we'd like and not think twice about ripping things out and/or retrofitting to suit without the thought of 'if only we'd got them to do it during initial build'.
One recommendation I would make is be very wary of online reviews - people are more likely to air their thoughts when they've got a gripe. If I bought a new house and had problems with it my first thoughts would be shout about it to anyone that'll listen - including the whole of the Internet if I could - however I wouldn't be particularly inclined to do that if I was happy.
I have done some electrical work on a couple of new builds recently, both 4 bed detached where owners had recently moved in and wanted extra sockets and lights. In both cases it was dot & dab plasterboarding to the external walls, but everything was glued together. The chipboard floor was glued to the laminated ply joists and the skirting was glued to both the floor and the plasterboard. It was just impossible to run new cable without making a hell of a mess of both floor and walls. I was never keen on newer houses, but now I hate them.
You have pretty much exactly described our position a few months back
- we too moved from a Victorian house which we'd done everything but rebuilt into a relatively new (2007) Persimmon home in Wiltshire.
I was very sceptical when the other half suggested looking around this newish house however I reluctantly went along if only to rule it out and satisfy my suspicions that the cardboard rabbit hutch stigma was deserved. However, I was wrong. I was very impressed, to the point that we stopped our search and bought it.
Of course every house is different and so it is pointless me mentioning any design aspects to this one that appealed, however suffice to say that ours must be pretty much run of the mill 3-bed semi - each room being a large double.
The quality of construction generally appears very good - I've taken a peek inside the majority of it now to fit extra sockets, catflaps, etc so it's not just cosmetic. One thing I have noticed is the use of branded products throughout e.g. Volex wiring accesories, ERA door furniture, Vernon Tutbury bathroom suites etc. Sure, they're not the Rolls Royce of manufacturers but there is some reassurance there compared with the no-name stuff around and is no doubt a reflection of the buying power these house building giants have. The literature left behind shows long warranties on the most of the fittings - upto 10 years - so there's some reassurance there.
It's got a decent central heating system too (admittedly it does have an Ideal boiler however the rest of it - including a Range pressurised cylinder - functions extremely well).
All in all I am struggling to fault it and, believe me, I'm a picky bugger at the best of times. The contrast of not having to do much (any really) work to it has made a pleasant change from the endless DIY in the old house, however there's still plenty of opportunities to get the tools out to improve things.
Ours was an ex-show home so we originally thought perhaps ours was built to a higher standard than the rest, however having seen inside some of the neighbours I really haven't noticed any difference (of course I haven't poked around quite so much in theirs).
As much as we have been impressed with ours, we don't think we'd necessarilly be entirely comfortable buying off-plan. For all we know ours, and every other, may have had a multi-page snagging list to bring it up to the standard it is now. Also, the temptation to try and influence the design during initial build would be overwhelming e.g. I'd want sockets where *I* want them and would likely have to pay over the odds to get them fitted. However, when buying nearly new we can accept that things won't be exactly as we'd like and not think twice about ripping things out and/or retrofitting to suit without the thought of 'if only we'd got them to do it during initial build'.
One recommendation I would make is be very wary of online reviews - people are more likely to air their thoughts when they've got a gripe. If I bought a new house and had problems with it my first thoughts would be shout about it to anyone that'll listen - including the whole of the Internet if I could - however I wouldn't be particularly inclined to do that if I was happy.
Mathew
Thanks very much for your input, it is much appreciated and provides some food for thought!
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