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I think people get into the "houses aren't built like they used to be" thing way too much. You're right- houses aren't built like they used to be- they now build them with insulation, with weather barriers to keep rain out of walls, and with energy-efficient windows and HVAC systems. I always hear about all of the "craftsmanship" in old homes- sure, if we're talking about the painted ladies in San Francisco there's some craftsmanship, but the average house built from the 1920's to the 1980's was nothing special, and the materials were nothing to write home about. I've worked on hundreds of homes of all vintages during my career, and I had no qualms about buying a brand new home- I prefer not having to spend my weekends replacing plumbing, repairing roofs, and having to listen to my wife complain about her closet being too small, thanks
Totally agree! I like NEW homes. And hate remodelling. The sameness factor
is worse in some developments than others. The subdivision we are buying
in has the same houses,but they vary the colors,elevations,and locations of each.
We have four flour plans that are the same,except some are flip flopped. I
have no problems with it. Our streets are wide,and we have a large back
yard and smaller front.Ok by us too.
But, hey if new is not your thing, go for old. Just be prepared for who
knows what,and we have been there and done that. Never again.
Old house are leaky, cold, have the most peculiar "renovations" over the years. I swear Geofroy Bodine (the beverly hill billies) own this house before us. We replaced an electrical outlet.. there was aluminum foil used a filler to bring the outlet flush with the wall. (huhn?).
Yeah, we had one of those too. There were around 15 porcelain pull-chain light fixtures in the basement of our last house in NJ when we moved in, including the original one at the electrical panel. I had several of them on, and when I pulled the chain on the one at the panel, the other ones went off for a second. I pulled a few more times, and they flickered again. I soon realized that they'd all been wired together with old cloth-covered wiring and the end of the line was plugged into the little socket on the side of the original fixture at the panel. In addition to the lights, there were 1/2 a dozen outlets on that line as well. When the electrical inspector came to check the panel replacement that we did, he saw the lights, turned his head and acted like he had blinders on and said "I didn't just see that disaster, but you might want to get rid of it before it burns the house down". I laughed and told him that it was "on the list" along with a number of other half-azzed "remodels" that the previous owner had done.....lol.
We have four flour plans that are the same,except some are flip flopped. I
have no problems with it. Our streets are wide,and we have a large back
yard and smaller front.Ok by us too.
Sounds like our development- if you're not really looking for it, you'd never realize the houses are all the same 4 plans, since there's not two alike anywhere. Over time, as people change landscaping and personalize their homes, they'll become even more varied. The area we lived in back in NJ was a subdivision built in the 1950's- a mini Levittown, and it only had one plan that didn't get flipped left to right and had three minor changes to the roof lines. When they were new, they truly looked like Monopoly houses running down the street. Now, 50 years later, you'd be hard pressed to find two alike, between dormers, add-a-levels, different siding materials, etc.
Newer houses have more technology built into them. However the quality is terrible in comparison. New houses are mass produced. they are build in an assembly line fashion. (some custom houses are still well built, but it is rare that people will sacrifice square footage in order to pay or better quality construction). The goal is the greatest square footage and the most features at the lowest cost. they also need to build them as fast as they possibly can. Speed and quality rarely go hand in hand. Quality, durability, style are not really issues. A lot of modern technology is designed to make things cheaper, not better. Forced air heat is a perfect example. It is less comfortable, less efficient and less healthy than radiated heat, but it is cheaper to install, so it is standard. The same is true of fiberglass insulation. Foam or cellulose are better, but fiberglass is cheaper, so it is standard. Flake board instead of plywood is a cost savings, but compare the strength of the two. A flying object that would be stopped by plywood will go right through flake board. trusses in place of stick contrcution for roofs is another cheapo savings method that produces weaker, less durable and less safe homes. Drywal is so thin and weak now that you can walk right through a wall if you know where the studs are. Forget about any sound dampening.
I will concede that copper plumbing is far far better than galvanized and PEX is better than copper. Here, cheapo technology wins hands down.
electrical wiring is massively improved by modern technology. Knob and tube is actually a pretty safe system if it was done correctly, except that the old insulation tends to get really brittle. The lack of sealed fire resistant boxes however is downright dangerous. In the rush to complete new houses in a rush and as cheaply as possible, wiring often gets done incorrectly in new houses. Do not think that the City or county inspectors are going to protect you from such problems. they do not have the time nor in most cases the motivation to do really thorough inspections.
They used to say that old lumber was ten times stronger than new lumber. Then it went to 100 times stronger. Now they do not even rate new lumber. It is garbage. It is worse east of the Mississippi than West, but the lumber from the west is not much better. A new 2x6 or even 2x8 is nowhere near as strong as an old growth 2x4. However it does allow for a lot more insulation.
A new steel stud house is even stronger than an old house if it is built right, but it is pretty costly right now. You would want to use 5/8" commercial drywall and foam insulation, but it could make a really nice and durable home.
I strongly prefer older homes. they have character, history and when you come home, there is no doubt about which one is yours. Not only does not one in your neighborhood have a house like yours, no one in the world has a house like yours. Plus there is something neat about climbing a staircase worn unevenly by thousands of preceedings footsteps and thinking about what those people were like and what they were thinking or doing as they climbed the stairs.
If you get too old of a house, then you may run into poor construction because the landowner built it himself with no knowledge or experience. But homes from the early 1800s though about 1930s are awesome.
Your best bet with an older home is to let someone else take the loss of restoration and then buy it restored as long as you can be sure that they did ti right. Old houses require more maintenance, but when a new house starts to go to pot, it will outpace the old house in decay very very quickly. further, many new houses have big big problems built into them because of the rush and pressure to cut costs. With older homes, a lot of the major problems have already been worked out of them. Make sure with any house that you get or do a good and through inspection.
the best option is to buy an older house and restore it with new technology, but be prepared to pay considerably more than it will be worth when you are done.
Last edited by Coldjensens; 03-17-2008 at 05:15 PM..
Still havent convinced me. Theres not enough closet space in oldies, and
I finally want a house no one but ME has lived in. I like modern,open
floor plans. Yup
Location: Jonquil City (aka Smyrna) Georgia- by Atlanta
16,259 posts, read 24,766,887 times
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Things I like here include the fact that the HOA is mandatory for all owners and it prevents absentee landlords, flippers and others who don't care about the community from buying homes here. Also they deal with the riff raff types that don't like to cut their lawns, leave their trash containers out front and park on the grass.
Things I dislike here include the fact that the quality of the homes here sucks. Many homes here- including mine- have suffered from things like rotting siding, bad plastic plumbing, water mains that burst underground and cost like hell to replace (Polybutelene) and cracked foundations. If you want to buy in a sub division, only buy if the builder is giving a long term warranty or if the houses are more than 15 years old (meanning all the problems in them have been fixed hopefully).
I would suggest living as close to work as possible. I hate commutes, to say nothing of the price of gas. I prefer older homes for their character, idiosyncracies, landscaping and (usually) proximity to the center city amenities...it's totally personal though. New homes' amenities are great. But to me....living close to work is #1.
Still havent convinced me. Theres not enough closet space in oldies, and
I finally want a house no one but ME has lived in. I like modern,open
floor plans. Yup
Greenchili
Me too!
When I want a new storm door for the back door, I don't want to hear about how the whole frame need to be replaced because of the hack job done years earlier and rotted wood. I just want to hear "what color ma'am".
This may be the best balanced thread of new vs old / sub vs city that I've ever seen on City-Data!! Kudos to all!!
We like the "charm" of older homes, but for us personally, decided to go with new for location, cost, size, and lot. We can add charm. Yes - that's right - we can put up crown, and chair-rail, and wainscotting, and picture rail. In 25 years our trees will be nearly mature, and our neighborhood will look as established as today's 30+ year old neighborhoods. Good enough for us.
As far as construction methods, I've heard many professionals say its a wash. Admittedly today's insulation is generally better, as is layout, and utilities (electric and plumbing) - but yesterday's materials (some of them) may have been sturdier.
In the end, its what's right for you and your family.
Regardless of how large or how expensive they are, homes in a development or tract, have always been and will always be:
"Little boxes made of tickytacky...little boxes all the same..."
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