Your thoughts on build standard of 1950s council houses

[Mike Mitchell]

As I am currently in such a property, and it is another of those "built like a brick outhouse" properties, would people recommend them? (They are selling like hot cakes around here, as soon as they come on the market.) Mine has solid walls throughout. It's got a driveway and a decent-sized garden front and rear, in a quiet road. Just not where I want to live any more. So perhaps a similar house in my preferred area...? They don't look much from the outside, but there is not a trace of MDF in them (other than the bits I've added, like the worktop). They seem to be very solidly constructed and are excellent value for money. I even like the slimline Crittall windows!

MM

[Andy Hall]

Why not keep the current one and use it as an investment property, and then purchase your choice of house in another area......

.andy

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[Christian McArdle]

They are very variable. Sometimes they are excellent, sometimes they are terrible, built with crumbly concrete, or those blocks made from straw. Sounds like you have the former. Local knowledge, a good surveyor, or a good eye for constructional detail are required with viewing.

Christian.

[Andy Hall]

BTW, did you manage to remove your roof tank, Mark?

.andy

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[Mark]

Still there at the minute... I'm not going in the loft at the moment - it's hotter than hell up there. ;-)

Mark S.

[Mark]

I dug the top skim off, sealed it and self leveled it. I know it's a "bodge" but it one I'm living with as I seriously cannot afford the time/effort/hassle/money to dig out the downstairs floors to relay them when and if I re-sell no one would question the under floor arrangements. Anyone had a buyers survey done where the carpets/flooring were even touched nevermind lifted?

Mark S.

[Andy Dingley]

When my parents sold their '30s semi, the survey suggested that there was rot in the downstairs floorboards. Except that it was a solid concrete floor...

[Mich]

Tell me about it! I bought a house and the surveyor said that a) it had mains drainage and gas.

The top of the septic tank was clearly visible in the garden and there is no gas within ten miles of here!

b) he said it was built in the 1930's. It was built in 1960 ( and we had all the planning apps and plans to prove it)

c) he said an extension at the far end was wood framed and 1980's. It was early 1970's and was brick and block construction.

It fact there was so little he got right I wondered if he had actually surveyed the right house!.

The same company surveyed my 1950's ex council property too. Similar catalogue of mistakes .

I had a b*gger of a job selling the house btw. It was poured concrete and built like the proverbial ( rock hard) but because it was "non traditional build" buyers had difficulty getting mortgages. That coupled with the surveyors report which said wrongly that it had a corroded frame. There was nothing wrong with the "frame" and to boot there wasnt any evidence of there being anything wrong with its structure either!

Be aware.

[Mich]

traditional

Having said all of that. In my experience most of the council houses built in the 1950s are very well built and my house was lovely. large rooms and garden and in a good location ( one of the best in town).

It was a good all round genuine house with no construction or finish problems. Certainly a far better buy than those new houses you get now.

[Mike Mitchell]

I don't think we have poured concrete council houses down here (home counties). These houses on this estate are standard block/brick construction and, like I said, they are very sought after because they are considered to be so solidly built, roomy, and often have quite large gardens. Plus, the stigma makes them an affordable buy for first-timers when even a terraced house can command a higher price (go figure!). I reckon when the Londoners were moved here after the war they must have felt like they were entering some kind of Shangri-la. So I have absolutely no worries about selling mine when the time comes.

MM

[Mike Mitchell]

Hey, you took all those words right out of my own mouth!

MM

[Philip Stokes]

Might be worth a localised investigation before you go to the expense of ripping up the whole floor. I had a concrete floor replaced in my similarly aged house after knocking two rooms into one, and finding the floor levels were different in each room. The original floors had a "DPM" of bitumen between the base and top screed.

OTOH, even if it has none, if it's not damp, why bother to touch it?

[Andy Dingley]

Damp proof membranes have been used since the Victorians (slate, blue brick, bitumen). They weren't stupid, even if they didn't have convenient rolls of plastic stuff to use.

If it looks dry, then leave it alone. If it's dry, then chances are there's a layer of bitumen poured underneath there somewhere.

[dg]

Council houses sell well not because of the quality of construction, but rather that you can get them relatively cheap and be able to make a tidy profit at sale time.

Condensation and [lack of central] heating tend to be the main concerns. However the BRE has noted a number of construction problems with the majority of system built properties.

In the few thousand that we manage, lifestyle and location (ie north facing main elevations or direction of prevelent winds) can have a dramatic impact on internal comfort and problems.

Bracing to roof trusses, movement in raft foundations, movement in concrete wall panels, and internal box gutters are other commen problem areas.

dg

[Mark]

Front is northish facing but hey who wants the sun shining into the tv room all day. ;-) Much better onto the patio in the back...

Roof trusses are probably twice the thickness of new stuff, no panels to move as it's a foot thick of solidish concrete, gutters are abestos but hindsight is a handy thing. :-)

The last new house I was in I watched with some amusement as the owner accidental fell into a wall while carrying a pc and punched a nice hole through it (plasterboard)...

Mark S.

[Lilly ozzy1942]

Ca I I fill in the the air vents in my 1950s council built house to help with cold walls

[Andrew]

You get so much hot air from Home Owners Hub, your walls should be roasting

[Martin Brown]

You can if you want but it won't help the cold walls and will probably give you additional condensation problems to contend with.

Cavity wall insulation might help if it isn't already installed.

Some cowboys doing cavity wall insulation in the late 70's early 80's managed to use dodgy material that is now absorbing water and bridging the air gap and penetrating damp to the inner wall. Might be worth seeing if that is the problem.

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

Many houses did not have cavity walls,certainly the council ones built in the next road to me are exactly like mine with no cavity. Brian

[Annabelle]

This is the second ex council house we've lived in from the 50s and 60s and both have been bad. Thin walls everywhere. You might as well be cohabiting with your neighbours as you can hear practically everything plus gardens with no privacy from your neighbours and in one house, no privacy from the front either when your neighbours across the road can see right into your house. I read there was a shortage of material post war and it shows. As regards to construction problems I'm pretty sure there's loads. After all,they were put up pretty quickly i read so not much care or attention taken in making them as after all, they were made just to shove people in as quick as possible. Worst money ever spent.