When were the 'best' houses built?

[Alfie25]

After having viewed quite a few properties before settling on the one I eventually bought a couple of years back, I'm left wondering in which era, or housebuilders built the best houses. "Best" as in terms of quality - strength of structure, materials, durability, ability to stand the test of time etc. Likewise, when did quality start dropping off?

I bought a 1980's box, built by Yuill Homes - a big housebuilder in the North East. All interior walls upstairs are drywall. The floor downstairs is a nasty chipboard floating floor. Nothing feels particularly solid or durable - just hollow, flimsy and creaky. Compare that to a 1950's home I used to live in, built for the local authority. A complete contrast to where I am now. Everything in that house felt solid and that it could stand up to many lifetimes of use. I was told by an elderly neighbour that local authority houses of that time (50's/60's) were built to a higher specification than executive homes of that era although maybe that's just a tall tale.

So I'm just wondering in your experiences, which houses were built the best? Was it the 1970's with the huge rise in mass building of housing estates when quality began to tail off? - Like that new build house that Bob bought in the Likely Lads in the 70s - an identikit to the rest of the street! Are 1930's - 50's houses noticably better built? Or are more modern houses, although flimsy, better in terms of having damp proof, and cavity walls etc? Are most modern new build houses (I'm talking about big estates, not bespoke one offs) just knocked up and thrown together as quick as possible using the poorest materials? Does anyone build 'solid' houses anymore?

 

[Dave54]

I reckon housing for the masses was always "knocked together" by the standards of that time it was built. They were mostly all built to a price.
I like the 30s bay fronted sort of houses. They're solid and generally well made. They need considerable updating from original to get modern standards of insulation and so on though. Most will have been already done, at least to some extent of course.

 

[pred]

1930's, no competition! Victorian are good built by tradesmen but you never know what you're going to find when you start renovating them whereas 1930's are solid, there is a lot you can do to modernize and improve their square footage. I've just finished another one which you can find on Rightmove BS7 £280K

 

[AronSearle]

You mean the ones still standing, the bad ones got knocked down.

 

[bernardgreen]

Mine is still standing. 498 years old. Others built at the same time have crumbled away....

What ever year you select there will have been good and bad houses being built. That said in recent years the ratio of good to bad seems to have swung towards poor quality work and so called environmentally friendly air tight boxes made as small as possible.

 

[AronSearle]

That said in recent years the ratio of good to bad seems to have swung towards poor quality work

As you grow older, everything appears to be worse.

 

[jeds]

When something was built only really applies to pre 1920...ish. Before then houses were traditional construction and because traditions were slow to change building methods and materials were gradually improved - thus pred's 1930s house being pretty solid and reliable. After about 1920 the types, construction and materials used in houses changed year by year. By the 1930s there were dozens of different new fangled house types and by the 60s that was thousands. Some of them were ok and still stand today - most have been bulldozed. The next big change probably comes in the late 60s or early 70s when small house builders became more prevalent. Some of those were good (pred might know strides in Bristol) and some were carp.

 

[JBR]

Our present house is 1920s and has cavity walls. It appearss to be solidly built, as were our previous houses which were all pre-war.

One thing I have noticed, however, is that in those days they often seem to have used rather shallow foundations although, it has to be said, we haven't had any subsidence problems at all. When I built an attached garage to our last house, I was obliged by the inspector to dig down about six feet to remove a layer of peat, and install concrete foundations at that depth. That was hard work. The house itself had foundations that must have been no more than 18 to 24 inches!

 

[pred]

Back in the 30's there was a lot more tradesmen that took pride in their work, internal walls are now plasterboard and timber frames, fixings like towel rails, loo paper holders and curtain rails work loose on a regular basis, however plasterboard is far cheaper to buy and install so builders make more profit..

 

[AronSearle]

Back in the 30's there was a lot more tradesmen that took pride in their work

Wow, impressive that someone your age is still working!

 

[Ricardus]

Our present house is 1920s and has cavity walls. It appearss to be solidly built, as were our previous houses which were all pre-war.

One thing I have noticed, however, is that in those days they often seem to have used rather shallow foundations although, it has to be said, we haven't had any subsidence problems at all. When I built an attached garage to our last house, I was obliged by the inspector to dig down about six feet to remove a layer of peat, and install concrete foundations at that depth. That was hard work. The house itself had foundations that must have been no more than 18 to 24 inches!

My friends had exactly the same problem with a 1900's era end terrace house. As his kids got older he decided to extend the shallow basement under the house and after a bit of spade work ran out of foundations. I believe he was digging out under the foundations a few feet at a time and refilling with concrete. Rather him than me..

 

[tony1851]

One thing I have noticed, however, is that in those days they often seem to have used rather shallow foundations

The house itself had foundations that must have been no more than 18 to 24 inches!

There are two main reasons for this

1. In 'the old days', developers were able to build more-or-less anywhere they wanted in the absence of planning controls, and good building land was readily available. As time has gone on, developers are having to work on less reliable ground - areas such as quarry waste, tips and brownfield sites, which all usually require more substantial foundations.

2. Up until the War, most mortar for brickwork was lime-based. Lime mortar has a long-term plasticity which enables the brickwork to accommodate slight movement, without undue cracking. Modern cement mortar on the other hand is hard and cannot take uneven settlement without cracking so - again - the foundations have to be substantial to prevent uneven settlement.

 

[OwainDIYer]

I was told by an elderly neighbour that local authority houses of that time (50's/60's) were built to a higher specification than executive homes of that era although maybe that's just a tall tale.

Parker Morris "Homes for Today & Tomorrow" was introduced from 1961 and by the end of the 60s all new build council housing had to meet it.

Before Parker Morris, in 1919 the Tudor Walters Committee reported on regulations dictating the space needed in council properties and in 1944 the Dudley Committee recommendations retained minimum room sizes.

"Homes for Today and Tomorrow" states “The living room must provide space sufficient for two or three easy chairs, a settee, a television set, small tables, and places suitable for a reasonable quantity of other possessions such as a sewing box, toy box, radiogram and bookcase.”

Houses have got smaller since 1980 when the Government abolished the requirement for new build council housing to meet Parker Morris standard.

 

[pred]

Back in the 30's there was a lot more tradesmen that took pride in their work

Wow, impressive that someone your age is still working!

That remark was hearsay and what I've seen while renovating, my bricklaying career didn't start till 77/78 a year or so after leaving the RAF.

 

[Norcon]

The further you go back the more skilled they become because it was all handwork.
And when you make something by hand with a few hand tools you have much more pride in the finished product.