How are New Houses in the UK Built? Introduction & Externals
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- Опубліковано 12 гру 2017
- Ever wondered how new houses are built in the UK? Thought this might be interesting for my non-UK viewers and indeed for anyone UK thinking of buying a new build in 2017 or 2018! Would also be really interesting to hear from anyone involved in designing or building homes for the big UK house builders - pop your experiences in the comments - keep it nice! In this video I'm giving you a quick high-level guided tour of the main external parts of the build, essentially floors, walls & roof. In the next part I'll show you how things are done on the inside of the property. Thanks for watching and don't forget to Subscribe!
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#Property #Realestate #HomeBuyer - Навчання та стиль
I think this is a brilliant video for anyone contemplating buying a new house.
Personally, having worked in them and on sites as a sparky for 40 years (more recently on the mains side of things) I would never buy one. I’ve yet to see one that I’ve thought to meself “I wouldn’t mind one of these”. For the money I’d rather buy an older house that needs work. My daughter and her boyfriend bought one off plan in Coventry last year built by a well known firm (initials TW) for over £260k! The rooms are small, the back garden is tiny and is overlooked on 3 sides and the garage is far too small for their car. I tried talking her out of it but as first time buyers they needed the government handout towards the deposit. That’s the only way most of these get sold I think. She could probably get a ranch in the US for that.
Two things have always struck me about houses in the UK these days. Considering the amount of conversions going on in the South East/London why do we no longer build houses with a basement? Instead of going up 3 floors from ground level why not put a cellar in like we used to? I know the main response may be because we build so much in flood plains these days and that’s why all large sites seem to have a water feature (pond) in them round where I work (Worcestershire) but I’d love a house with a decent basement.
The other thing I’ve always remembered came from an old sparky I used to work with. He used to say always remember that these places are designed by people who will never live in them and usually built by the lowest priced sub contractor! 😉
Ps. What was that strange yellow light in the sky whilst you were filming. You claimed to be in Newcastle. I don’t believe it. Every time I’ve ever been anywhere near the Tyne it’s been cloudy and chucking it down!🌧🌧
Ha ha - believe it or not Newcastle is a really dry part of the UK! 😂 The sun is a novelty mind - nearly got the BBQ out! I think new builds have a lot of benefits but it's frustrating to see so many things being done wrong. Always interesting to get an 'insider view' of things! Personally I think the subcontractor model is fundamentally flawed. General lack of pride and ownership. Too much "Not my problem". Any idea why the big firms don't employ contractors directly as actual employees? Great comments as always niwty! 👍
I think the reason they don't like employing direct labour is because allegedly its more expensive , I think its all to do with tax , but there again if they direct employed it would mean pensions , sickpay etc .CheersHowy .
Here in the US, most houses I see going up (and there are a LOT) are built from 'matchsticks and cardboard' in comparison to those in your video. You can punch through an outside wall fairly easily with a few well placed hits from a sledgehammer. I've punched a hole with my fist though an interior wall. (don't ask). Check out the next tornado disaster in the US on TV news. You'll see what I'm talking about. The houses here however are HUGE!
Really interesting, particularly as I'm going to build a side return extension by myself. Thankfully my house was built around 1900 and I'd hate a new build. Why would anyone bother to dislike this? It's helpful and informative.
i am glad to see someone on UA-cam that's from the north east of England as i am from Middlesbrough about 1 hour drive away form Newcastle
I own a 1930s house, and it feels like it will last forever it’s solid
They seem to have perfected house design then. Maybe nowadays new builds are more refined with engineering and stuff but with the place being designed for humans I think it's actually a step back.
Mate, my house is from 1864
My house is from 2015 bc
Mine is about 1890. Solid stone built.
1899
Hi thank you so much for this video. It’s really useful to see the overview of the whole project in the UK. I am studying a module in construction of simple buildings and the material provided is shite! I have no previous knowledge in housing construction at all, so this has really taught me a lot. Thank you. Alex - London.
Never mind the questionable build methods, we need some space between houses.
Absolutely, they are cramming in houses in Wales .They show the glossy magazines with decent space between houses and decent sized gardens, in reality they are far from this ideal.
Should be a law against this form of advertising.
Exactly, I moved for a short time to a new build. I suffer from anxiety but the lack of noise insulation and lack of sense of privacy worsened my anxiety during my time living there. I felt watched, like I couldn't go out or enter the apartment without no one noticing.
@@PeteS_1994 I can imagine ,they are generally built for the "masses" without the regard for individuality!.. The price is scandalous and the build quality is poor for me.
I hope you've managed to find a place of solice .
@@JamesJones-jy8vs that is true, the land is expensive and as an engineer myself, There is no technical know-how in these type of houses. Poor material quality, poor labour work (mostly putting bricks on top of each other, and we still get that wrong) and no actual space to live in. Expensive prices and add interest on top of that for many people, it just doesn't make sense but it is what it is.
@@tiptester this is *insane*. Terraced high density housing is what makes houses and very close to cities affordable.
Here in Australia we call them LEGO houses.
Hi, great video, love your accent, i work in Liverpool, i have been involved with windows, doors, conservatories, orangeries an lightweight tiled roofs for conservatories all my life, i am now 50 and have just started a job where they do all of the products i listed plus building extensions, including kitchens, bathrooms etc, although i have a very basic understanding i feel like it is time to learn everything i can about new build etc and thats where you come in :-) This is the first video i have seen of yours, i liked it and i have subscribed so hopefully i will learn a lot through your channel..
Thanks for your help
Regards
Lee
I’m a contractor in the US. This was quite interesting. Very different from our style.
Good to have the Americans commenting because I watch a lot of housebuilding videos from over the pond and I am surprised by some of the things that you do - the microwave over the cooker, sockets in wet areas, the preponderance of granite and marble in the kitchen and bathrooms. I guess there must be marble and granite mines all over the US.
Very interesting, thank you for making this video
They should use different design on the homes even on the same road. Some could be modern versions of traditional designs some could be contemporary. I hate cookie cutter. Build detached. Fed up with so much of the UK based on terraced housing. Also, have wide roads and pavements in front of these new streets. Most importantly, have really good sized rooms. It will be good for the mental well being of kids growing up. Stuffing households into prison-sized cells can't be good for mental health.
Land is expensive man! Detached houses and wide streets/pavements takes up a lot of space, much of which is just not available. Plus, increasing the area comprised of man-made solid materials increases surface runoff, therefore there is a raised risk of flooding across the whole area.
I actually think a lot of traditional housing designs from the late victorian era are some of the best. Semi-detached homes for suburbs with decent long gardens and on a grid-pattern so people can walk around the area more easily. A lot of cul-de-sacs on new developments make walking much more difficult, as you are forced to take inefficient routes.
Terraced housing and townhouses can be fantastic when done correctly and also open up affordable options to many people.
Totally agree on the hatred of cookie cutter, I'd like to see a bigger mix of architectural styles.
I live in a new apartment development in central Manchester, with a front door and patio that opens up to the outside and a surprising lack of shadows considering I'm on the ground floor. All for an affordable price!
If we want people to have better availability of space, quality of life and outdoor area, we have to build more intelligently with the space we have and stop cramming in detached housing where the space really isn't there. Expanding social/affordable housing and making sure that people have access to homes of an appropriate size for their needs is also important.
Move to Australia mate. You'll never look back.
I have a Victorian terraced 3 storey house and all rooms are a good size.
Absolutely agree with you! The new build houses look so old!
First time I've seen safety bags! I'm used to seeing decking!
So far a very informative video, may edit this when I finish haha
Hi there..
Mike Rayner has sent me here. Thank you for the nice overview of blocks and brick technique or as some says Lego house..
Fantastic idea for a video. Thanks
Mate, I thoroughly enjoyed that, seriously. I used to work as a plasterer up in Scotland and left a while ago now to start a new kind of career path abroad and been thinking recently about coming back and getting started again. You sort of made me fall in love with construction again believe it or not. Wouldn't mind having a go on my own to be honest, setting up. Be good to have a chat!
That’s why I live in a 110 year old semi from back when shit was built to last
Surely these newbuild properties are not designed to last 100+ years. Everything is now engineered to fail... It keeps jobs and creates more modern builds too.
damage1_1 New builds will only last around 10-20 years
@@harwoods11 disaster given they haven’t been building to support the population for decades causing costs to explode.
All the 110 yr properties that weren't built to last have fallen down or been extensively repaired.
damage1_1 a house should not last 100 years. It ideally should not last far past 50. When a house is 50 + years old the wood is rotten and the style of the home is out of date. It would be far too dated both exterior wise and interior wise which is why homes shouldn’t last past 50 yrs
Loved this video. Bought back a lot of memories, as a kid around 2004-5, one of my old houses was in a development that was still being built. I had a lot of nice times there with my mates. Some 'walls' on the inside though were just thick plaster kinda stuff. Not sure but this time may have been the beginning of the 'cheap' house construction wave in the UK.
Dunno - I grew up playing in Barrats new build estates in the 80's and they weren't much different to what we have now. 👍😂
@@GosforthHandyman and what about the cheap semis built in the 30's where internal walls are a kind of crap cinder block.
Perfect! Thank you Sir!
👍🛠
I’m in a ‘new build’ that’s now just 10 years old and I love it. It’s dry, warm, straight and everything works.
I’ve owned my share of old houses, about 100 years old and every old house has had far too many problems. Leaking roofs, draughty, trying to fit new square windows to an old twisted building or fit a square kitchen unit into a severely warped room is a nightmare. Give me a clean, smooth, energy efficient new home any time.
Yes old houses look charming and have character but they also have rising damp, mould, leaks, lead pipes etc.
My new home has ample storage and is a nice size. I’d never recommend an old house to a young couple, it’s such a money pit. Buy new and sleep peacefully knowing your roof tiles will still be in place the morning after a storm.
Give it twenty year and come back slagging off the hundred year plus houses v your new one.
I agree, buy new, invest old.
@julie Wallis: you are fortunate, indeed. The new build industry is rife with problems. I prefer old, even my mother's draughty 1930's house. It had style and character.
Usually the new houses where the roof tiles fall off.
Very interesting - Cheers!
I am a new entry on UK. Been living in italy and germany and have to say that some old houses are just... old. I like the way u guiz build around here and the house style ^_^
Dont stay
Turn back while you can!
Ive lived in the uk for 9 years and my family is moving back shortly after quarantine because england is so shit yet it may seem great to people not living in england but its not great!!!! At all!!!! Unless you think otherwise, you made a grave mistake..
(Im german btw)
@@-cadenzaswonderland-8196 Same here. I'm moving back after the quarantine is lifted.
@@-cadenzaswonderland-8196 care to elaborate why. The gloomy weather 7 months of the year? Too many non-whites in the country now?
The higher density block coul also be for a load baring wall
Fascinating. Here in Southern Ontario in Canada, virtually all new builds are poured concrete foundation and basement with timber-framed floors and walls for everything above grade. Framed walls are sheeted in OSB or plywood and usually finished with a combination of a brick, stone veneer, vinyl or occasionally stucco. Perhaps due to our ready availability of Canadian lumber?
Hey really enjoying your videos, very interesting and knowledgeable. I have a question, how are second story floor joists added? Are they added once the first floor is complete and before the second is started, or are they added after the full shell is constructed? And how are they secured to the brickwork, with masonry screws and special brackets, or are they resting on the brickwork so that gravity helps keep them up? Thanks!
Greetings from Phoenix, Arizona - Gosforth Handyman. Well things are done a bit differently here. I live in a 45 year old terraced home (concrete stucco trolled over concrete block and painted). However, I had a new-build here (built in 2001), and I don't think the construction materials have changed much since then. New homes in the Phoenix area tend to be wood-frame filled with insulation, styrofoam and chicken wire, and finally covered in a thin veneer of concrete stucco. We used to have a problem here with burglars simply breaking into homes through exterior walls. And a friend of mine decided to spray the dirt off the stucco oh her new home a few years ago with her thumb over a garden hose. She blew the concrete off and it took a very long time to get the builder to completely redo the exterior of the house. In the Phoenix area, the basic construction materials and technique are not very solid... but the new homes are, at least, very energy efficient.
I like your work. I live in both texas and france. French build homes are similar to UK. In the USA homes are built from timber. Often the timber is glued pieces and looks pretty fragile in the long term. The lots in Texas are still large and the houses are mostly detached. To make them bigger slab foundations are used and they often crack after forty years and cause moderate to huge problems. Perhaps, today, in better neighborhoods, deep footings are used so the slabs will not crack. Not sure of that. In the inner parts of the city it might not matter so much as homes are often destroyed after sixty or so years to make room for bigger ones. The frame houses usually have a brick, rendered, or wooden façade. I think much of the wood is really 'Hardy board' which is cement and fibers shaped to look like board and painted. Roofs in the USA are often composite materials that last about twenty years. Nicer homes have metal roofs and the nicest have tiles or slate, but that is unusual for a home under two million. Texas and most American homes look cheerful and spacious and so they are, but they do not feel permanent and cozy. More like a consumer item.
Still think they are more substantial than houses built mainly of boards like you see in some countries.
Oh, we have them type of houses too, useless, cheap IKEA built junk made from MDF with a little added asbestos for good measure.
Fascinating, here in Australia and New Zealand it's mainly timber or steel frame construction on concrete floating pads as you showed. Brick fascade is the common outer skin with steel or tile roofs. Houses are getting packed closer together but not common to share a boundary wall. A typical section size is now around 400 sq meters. $200-250,000 is usually the price for these sections though in Sydney prices are crazy stupid with average property price over a million now. Here in Brisbane house and section are anywhere from $380 - $600,000 for a typical house depending on the area and with river or sea view or access making them go even higher. I bought in an older area to get a 950 sq m section with 6*8m workshop out the back and forest / bushland behind us. See plenty of kangaroos and other wildlife including snakes. But have lots of privacy also to balance it out.
Interesting! You do get *some* timber or steel framed houses in the UK but they're mostly bespoke. An interesting point you mentioned is the size of the property. Most people in the UK have no clue how big their property is (in terms of plot size) - they tell you individual room sizes but that's about it - here's an example: www.persimmonhomes.com/elmwood-park-gardens/4-bed-detached-house-255118 - that's a good size workshop you've got there btw! 👍🛠
Gosforth Handyman well a lot say we have a 4 bedroom or 5 bedroom etc, entertainment room and so on. Steel framing is due to termites, double brick houses are rarely built due to cost of tradesmen and materials. My house for example is a hardwood frame with brick cladding. Hardwood is fairly termite proof. The pine they use these days are like desert for termites lol. So many spec houses built with untreated pine frames... just a tear down waiting to happen
Gosforth Handyman as for the shed yes it's a good size though I am extending to one side by 2 metres to house my dust extractor and air compressor, trailer and a few other things and then extending it forward by another 4 metres( would have been 6 but that means removing a tree). I do welding, mig and tig as well as electronic repairs ( computers, phones etc) so space disappears fast
400 sq meters in UK will be about 3-4 houses together! lol We like it cosy lol
I’m in Perth WA and most of our houses are double brick. Still has a concrete slab like the brick veneer builds over East. There are some builders moving towards brick veneer construction with timber or steel stud walls but generally they aren’t as common over here as double brick is.
Interesting to see they use double brick construction over in the UK as well.
Might be worth showing the pros/cons of the two different partition wall methods used in part two. We have the Gypframe metal ones and have had very little shrinkage. Ps think I’m probably your closest subscriber about ten doors down neighbour lol
Ha - Hi Gareth! Most of the shrinkage we've had has been the staircase - very little other than that. We've had sinking floors though which isn't great with tiles. Yup - will mention the metal vs wood studs thing! 👍🛠
Them holes in the brickwork are referred as coring holes to clean the cavity out...that hole will be over the 450 damp tray and all the muck / mortar will sit on that tray then it’ll be cleaned out later ... @ 4:56
Brilliant video
Can I just point out that this description and footage is of English house building.
In Scotland we build exclusively with timber frame with a concrete block outer skin and have done so since around 1970/1980.
The only homes in Scotland built the way in the footage are built by English developers of which Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon both are.
It's a minor anal point but just one to point out that even within the island of great Britain we have different construction methods.
THIS is how houses are built in Scotland! 🏴
Completely different way of building.
ua-cam.com/video/2hsBU1NL5Zo/v-deo.html
I’m a bricke for Taylor wimpey & they definitely use block/beam for concrete base.
I'm sure they do, but this is slab on grade. 👍
im in a 2009 build of 3 story flats and it uses a steel internal structure with exterior brickwork ,blocks all cellular signals !! have to go outside to phone lol
Ha - yeah steel structure is quite common for flats - not sure why these ones on the vid are entirely brick / block. 👍
Building site skips are great places to pick up the odd bit of timber gratis.
Yup - great tip - it's amazing what gets thrown out! 👍
Thanks for posting this one! I moved into a Daid Wison Home (=Barratt) recently and indeed I noticed the (initial) missing bricks in the outer walls during the build and I-joists in between ground and first floor. They are still building across the road and the process/materials seem very similar as the ones in your video.
Cheers Ron - glad you enjoyed it! 👍
Fascinating video, Andy. Thank you. Setting construction techniques aside for the moment, what struck me was how totally soulless these new developments are. Sadly, we see the same here in the US. No trees. No vegetation. Cram as many properties onto the smallest space as quickly and cheaply as possible. For me, it's a quality of life issue.
Regarding the units themselves, I downloaded the Brunton Green PDF. Rooms in the attached units are often *very* small with some bedrooms measuring less than 7-feet wide. That's more like a prison cell than a residential bedroom. Also, again from the US perspective, surprising to find these homes do not appear to include central heating and air conditioning. In-built ductwork for heat and air is standard here.
Peter Millard sent me here. Excellent channel, Andy.
Cheers David! You get central heating as standard here but no real need for air-con - very rarely see it in houses... fairly common in hotels though for whatever reason. 7ft wide room - that's pretty big for the UK! 👍😉 Welcome to the channel!
High-density housing is preferable and that was the standard way of building in Britain up until after the second world war. These are not high-density builds, mass amounts of space wasted on these large sites in Britain. The most natural and human-scaled form of housing is high density (not to mention the most environmentally friendly.) Old Victorian terraced houses are still very popular and the areas in the UK that are widely regarded as the most beautiful at home and abroad are the high-density areas.
In my hometown (Bradford), the most well-loved areas among residents here are the Victorian/earlier high-density terraced homes built out of natural Yorkshire stone. These homes are not just the most aesthetically pleasing but the areas which most people can be crammed in. These new modern council estates give massive front and back gardens and waste god knows how much space on roads/pathways and small grass patches. I would say you could fit 3 times (if not more) homes into the same amount of land using terraced homes.
@@inTHEwrongGENERATION: '... High-density housing is preferable ...' for the developer. I must say, I found your comment somewhat strange. 'The most natural and human-scaled form of housing is high density ...'. No, it's not. Especially when cheaply built with 'paper' thin walls small boxy rooms, narrow roads and pavements.
@@eattherich9215 you’ll find that majority of people prefer bigger homes and not sardine like packing. I certainly don’t like high density living.
Very interesting to see how they are built in the UK. Here in Sweden houses are usually built with a concrete slab with usually atleast 30cm of styrofoam insulation under and then steel or wood studs and covered with wood panel or bricks for looks. Nowadays it is more common with prefab walls that are just erected onto the concrete slab, with wires and insulation already installed. We have quite strict laws about energy performance so nowadays houses usually have to have a minimum of 20cm of insulation.
Most houses are either large complexes with multiple(20+) apartments or solitary one family houses.
Brick houses here are "wood" houses with bricks for looks only. The bricks are not even load bearing but just for looks.
You could almost guess that wood is cheap here. And concrete and plaster. Houses are usually around £4-600k and upwards around the largest cities.
Sounds like a totally different class of house building over there! You're lucky to get 5cm of insulation under concrete floors here. Interesting stuff - cheers bud! 👍👍
Well we have a colder climate also which necessitates more insulation so it's for better and worse( and higher prices) :)
@@GosforthHandyman In Scotland all poured concrete slabs have 150mm Kingspan underneath , block and beam method is rarely used now due to them requiring to be vented so higher from ground level and now that disabled access is a requirement from road and drive then ground floor level has to be lower to achieve minimum gradients.
This is interesting to see. Brick houses have been out of style in Ireland since the early 00's. It's all block and rendered, or entirely woodframe. I'm afraid of the wood frame in our damp climate but it may be a better option than the concrete because there's a shortage of bricklayers so everything is being done by labourers and concrete is massively expensive due to there being a market duopoly.
There are block and beams underneath to concrete floors, with polystyrene and a damp tray in between
Pumping insulation between the double masonry walls is a bad idea because there is no guarantee that the insulation will be distributed uniformly in the cavity. You can't know if it is uniform when done and you will have gaps everywhere creating cold spots on the exterior walls. Better to install 4" rigid form insulation panels on the outside of the inside wall and then build the outside wall over the foam panels. Also, should have put 2" rigid insulation forms with a plastic vapour barrier over it on the ground before pouring the concrete slab to keep the ground floor warm and dry.
Another problem I see masonry inside walls is how do you run electrical wiring through and put electrical outlets on them?
Hi there, what do you know about the new builds with half render?
I've tried to drill through it to fit some gates but the render is quite deep and really soft.
Could you please advise me...thanks
@immybrav The half render houses will have a finishing block (not rendered) and concrete block (rendered) most likely the render will be about 15mm to 20mm thick then you will hit the block. Make sure u have a masonry drill bit or you wont get far. The block in my house i have to use a sds gun to drill. Hope this helped ?
Is there any structural tie between the inner and outer leaf?
It's interesting the difference between England and Scotland. The inside skin is all timber here in Scotland, with all the insulation being incorporated into the stud walls so that the cavity is left clear to do it's job. Also it's hard to see in the vid but I believe, in the past at least, in England you don't have any sarkin on the roofs? Funny how close we are yet things are done differently
Interesting on the timber frame thing! Don't often see sarking boards here - I think it's down to weather / rainfall etc. I'm not 100% convinced by the blown insulation thing here. Would much rather see Celotex or the like!
Gosforth Handyman also re the concrete slab floors, not sure about new build houses but I did an extension about 2 years ago where the floor was a poured concrete slab then 50mm kingspan floated on top with the finished flooring (hardwood flooring) layed directly on top. Wasn't at all sure about it when I looked at the drawings but I have to say it felt very solid
People knock new builds, I've lived in both an old victorian semi and a new build apartment, I couldn't keep the old house warm in winter for love nor money. Permanently cold and drafty, not to mention the damp. In contrast my apartment is the exact opposite, last winter I didn't even use the central heating! Brilliantly insulated, warm, loads of nice big windows and balcony doors so plenty of ventilation on tap, I love it. The only way I'd own an old house again is with a lottery win so I could afford to run it.
I just checked out your website... Such great tips.
My daughter has just purchased a new house which is build almost exactly as you have described and asked me to fit mirrors, tv's, pictures etc.
I now feel confident to do these jobs.
Many thanks indeed.
One thing I don't understand is why they're not making it mandatory to install solar panels on every new build?
nor heat pumps. Little 4kW PV system and a nice little ASHP on each!
It is mandatory in Scotland. Unfortunately the new build we are buying is a 2015 spec which doesn’t have solar as it is before the reg came in
Houses are expensive enough as it is without adding solar panels, that's the challenge
Why would they do that? It’s not like you’d get free solar panels just means your gonna pay an extra 5k for your home and who the fuck wants to do that in England where your lucky to pay them off in savings throughout their lifetime.
I think solid concrete floor are probably one of the better floor system we have as they are solid no drafts can get through and with no solemn gap there’s not a large area for mice and other vermin to hide. There is no bounce in them whatsoever, when I done mine I had to put 100 mm of kingspan insulation which when you consider that heat rises is a bit excessive.
on the other hand having a solemn you can run pipes and cables under the floor at a later date if need be
Jack Redmond Jack, what is “solemn” and what is “kingspan insulation” ? And what country are you in?
Ron
@@ronh9384 lmfao right whats this guy talking about
@@ronh9384 Kingspan is an Irish company which makes building products. I don't know what "solemn" is, unless he means "column".
When do wiring and plumbing go in and how are they installed into the wall cavities?
Very interesting video. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us.
-What is better new or old house to buy? I have seen very bad reviews about new properties. Very confused.
-If new build, what is best building company?
I'll be doing a vid on this very shortly so watch this space! In my experience the smaller companies tend to be better but it varies from region to region. There's a lot of benefits for new builds these days especially with insulation, better heating systems etc.
If you can look at the builders techniques and see which suit you.. Im not sure how you guys build houses in the uk, but older houses here in Canada can be very problematic with asbestos (plaster and lathe stucco drywall compound) And frankly some are built very hodge podge
tkschannel in the UK, older homes like my 1930s semi in London are very well built and are built like castles compared to the new builds here. I have noticed however that new build quality varies, because these new townhouse and apartment development near me looks reasonably cheaply built in a ‘modern’ style, but on the same road there is again another townhouse and apartment development, built more classically and in a more classic style, these look like they’ve been built to a much higher standard and have taken more time to complete.
Hello thanks for your video bro I have a question for you how do we buy plot in UK with planning permission could you explain to me I have checked Right move .co and some advertising plot on the Internet Could you tell me pls or anyone can answer my question pls
Enjoyed the good quality video and insight. Personally I'd take quality over size any day, for me it's not so much about the size of rooms but how much daylight can be fed into them , and why build 2 storeys high then a roof when 1.5 will suffice.
My Wife and I have been to most of the new builds in our area (South Wales) from the so called leading firms i.e. Persimmons, Redrow, Barratts . We are now looking for land to build our own home.
Story and a half equates to room in roof trusses or dormers which in turn has a negative effect on room size due to roof pitch. Also a lower soffit level decreases direct daylight in ground floor windows. For example a similar sized ground window of a 2 storey will let in more direct light than in a bungalow .
@@jimmyc974 Hi, you may be entirely correct but, the two storey houses that we have seen have very poor quality natural light ? we have been to several 1.5 bespoke builds which have been much better designed to allow natural light to flood in.So I guess it's the design in question and not the number of storeys?
How thick are the party walls between terraced houses? Are they engineering bricks?
What are some of the better alternatives for a concrete slab technique?
Building houses in Saudi are more complicated with more concrete and iron and different designs and sizes. I was surprised when I moved to the UK by the small and very expensive houses. I couldn’t understand the terraced houses as this idea doesn’t exist in Saudi. However, I loved how there must be a garden in almost every house.
Our house was built in 2010 by Redrow. We are happy with it. It is built on a concrete slab and in 7 years we have no problems with movement. Heat wise they actually have an advantage as it actually works as a heat sink with it retaining heat in the winter and cold in the summer. Like most construction techniques, if it's done well there aren't any problems.
Are you sure it's not a suspended concrete floor? (beam & block) Concrete is better if it's insulated but in many new builds (probably the majority) it's just bare earth -> sub base -> DPC -> floor. Coupled with poor site preparation this can lead to problems.
Gosforth Handyman pile driven, and topped with a poured concrete slab. All on the estate were done like this.
I live in the corner of a cul-de-sac 3 bed detached built in the 80’s…set back from pavement..no passing traffic…or kids as they have all left home👍…most new houses & estates are new families & kids & dogs barking…quiet as anything where i am 😁
My house us 12 years old it block and beam floor i got cracking and settling.
Block and beam was used because it was reclaimed industrual land as the environmental department want a breathable gap between the floor and foundations to prevent toxic intrusion.
But the ground floor vibrate when heavier people walk on it. If peoples jump down my dishes rattle.
My house has brick rockwool fibre cavity blocks with a polystyrene attached to tge plaster board. Is this normal.
OK window and door construction... Is there a wood frame installed to mount them to or do you just slap a prehung door or window into the opening?
You guys think this is bad you should see house construction in the U.S. I would be thrilled if I could get a house like this.
Interesting you say this! I’m from the uk and every house in America seem grand and huge for how much you pay!
@@jumullyett1258 If you are in the top 10% economically you can have a grand and huge house but they are built like crap. Good enough I guess, though.
I bought a new build bungalow by a developer after moving from a 1980's detached house. What bemuses me is having watched them build the rest of the estate, despite the construction being modular the bricklayers work the traditional way but they drop mortar all over the face of the bricks. You can see crusty dried mortar blobs on all the houses and stained bricks caused presumably by the bricklayer wiping excess mortar off the face of the bricks with a rag. I have tried to clean mine up using a proprietary muriatic cleaner but the stains seems to be almost permanent. You point out in this video that they drop mortar through scaffolding but pressure wash it off. I have never seen this done on my estate. Surely a good bricklayer would tidy as he goes but not here. If you compare the brickwork on my 1980's previous house to here this just looks like a bodge. Why are standards so lax?. When I asked NHBC about the holes the bricklayer left when the soffit was put on they said this came under the term "Remedial work" The builder agreed to the work and just glued on an extra piece of PVC beading to cover them. Also the houses are so hot in the summer due to the insulation standards (Overheating) I am having to buy air conditioning to make it liveable inside. You would think with the Government encouraging builders to install air source heat pumps they would also enable the cooling side as houses are pressure tested to be air tight but obviously this defeats the purpose of reducing energy consumption in relation to C02. My impression is modern houses are not really fit for the increasing temperature's we are experiencing in the UK due to alleged climate change and there is no quality control on the cosmetic finishing of them.
Very Interesting watching how the houses are built, should be just as interesting in the next one from the inside.
Those builds look really nice when they are finished, do you happen to know what the cost of those are? Don't worry i'm not uprooting the family to Newcastle ha ha ha.
Barry (Wirral)
Barry Roberts I *think* the one on the thumbnail is £285k
I believe cavity insulation is a bad idea and I think it will cause a lot of problems such as damp later on with peoples homes. I am a firm believe that a cavity is there for a reason hence I will not have it done.
Firms will use different insulation materials but having polystyrene beads pumped into a cavity which chemically react with electrical cables is just one example, another is you can get settlement causing cold spots
However I do like to take some new build ideas and use them in my victorian house.
It depends where you are in the country. It's quite dry over the East side - I've never seen any damp problems due to cavity insulation over this side but it makes a huge difference to how insulated the house is in winter. Interesting article on it here: www.which.co.uk/reviews/insulation/article/cavity-wall-insulation/cavity-wall-insulation-damp-problems
Problems are sometimes caused when building with cavities because sloppy brickies allow muck to land on cavity ties therefor rendering the drip on the tie to fail and allow moisture to travel across the cavity from the outer skin. Using a removable batten to catch mortar as you go is what I used because I was a soppy brickie :)
We are considering buying a new build, there is a local development building timber frame houses, when we've mentioned this to other new build companies they are very negative about them, due to wood rot etc
Please would you share your views on the pros and cons of timber frame houses
Thank you
Basically all houses in the US are “stick built” or wood framed interior. Most use 2”x6”x they do vinyl siding or brick exterior usually. Businesses will often have a metal interior framing instead of wood.
What development was/is this ? Thanks
If there are two words that should send a prospective buyer running for the hills it's "Taylor Wimpey".
And the other two names are Persimmon and Barrett, absolutely horrid property quality. I worked for builders Mearchant’s in the northeast for over 20 years, and therefore I do have a good understanding of what is good, acceptable and horrid, regarding housing quality.
All included
Where the in-laws live about 15 years ago they built a new development behind them. They looked like they were timber framed with brick work put around them. Anyway they were just really starting and most of the framework was in place and then the heavens opened and it probably rained virtually non stop for a month. Every time we went around the in laws we would look out of the bedroom window and at first all the timbers were the light brown that you except to see, but when they actually got back to work they were dark brown/black on colour. The contractors just built the housing like there was nothing wrong. I would love to know the condition of these timbers now.
Very interesting! // Swedish noob ^_^
Welcome to the channel! 👍
im just watching this because im curious and interested in how new houses are built lol
Can I hang up hammock in the external walls of the build from 1995? I mean can I drill the holes for anchoring , it should be carry 125kg person in hammock.? Thank you.
This is exactly how I ended up here too!
Yeah it will be fine
Very interesting. I am currently house-hunting and it's further confirmed that I do NOT want a new build house. They seem built as cheap as possible and not built to last. I am currently looking at an early 90s house and even that looks shoddy compared to the 1965 house that I have just sold. My 1965 house was all brick and blockwork. The 1990s house has mostly stud walls internally, so will be useless for fixing things to, and useless for sound isolation. Also, I find the gardens ridiculously small on modern build houses.
I'll be doing a pros and cons vid soon (ish) - it's swings and roundabouts really. Agree on garden sizes though! (although depends on development). 👍
Yeah. Agreed. There are pros too. I like the fact you can just move into them without needing to do extra work, they have a guarantee period where anything wrong will be fixed, they often have better built-in storage and modern fixtures and fittings. They probably have cheaper heating bills too due to modern equipment and better insulation. That said, they do not seem built to last IMHO. I am sure they will last 50 years, maybe even 100. Which I guess is long enough for most people not to care.
Out of a matter of interest, what parts do you think won't last? I hear this a lot and I'm compiling a list! 😀
Just to allay some of your pre-conceived ideas ,studwork internal walls are easy to fix to, there should be plenty of timber to screw into and there are loads of plasterboard fixings if you can't find timber also the walls may well have insulation/soundproofing in them. As regards 60s houses being better built than 90s this obviously depends on who built them but a lot of the materials used in the 60s were inferior to the 90s.
Gosforth Handyman brick will outlast wood. a brick built building is bound to last longer than one who's fabric is made up of wood, osb and metal.
If you were designing / building your own house in the UK what building techniques would you use? With these properties I imagine cost is the main factor however if it was your own you would probably weigh up cost / efficiency / durability differently.
You mentioned in your video block and beam rather than cement slab. What about walls etc.?
I'd probably do block & beam with masonry walls 👍
I have a 1970 house and really notice how small windows have become. I'm assuming that is to meet regs on insulation and that it would be expensive to make large windows highly insulated?
Yeah, I'm not sure - possibly. Window technologies don't seem to have moved on much in the last 20 years - at least not in the new builds I've seen! If anyone in the architecture side knows the answer to this I'd love to know too!
brick and block is cheaper than glass ...and if you have a bigger window you need a bigger lintel (more metal £ ) ...it’s all about building the house as cheap as you can and sell for as much as you can...bottom line
It's very old method. Though this is not followed in many parts of world. As it's very cold overthere u use insulation cavity walls. We here use at outer 8" block and in internal we use 4" block.
In detached single family new homes are cellars or basements common or not? Seems these shown houses are all attached?
In the UK, extremely uncommon.
You said that usually concrete slab isn't usually what's used, so what is the usual method?
Don't think I said that! Would rather see block & beam though. 👍😀
5.13 bearing wall
Low density blocks also get used for load bearing walls.
That’s interesting. In the US our framework is built from lumber
Thanks great video, enjoyed it. I am from England but spent last 30 years in the US. I have a question. In the US the public drains, services and roads are the first items to be constructed followed by the houses themselves. This means no WW1 landscapes of mud and muck for first occupiers and makes it easy to get trucks and equipment in and out of the building sites. My question is why don't they do that in the UK which gets a lot of inclement weather
In uk ground work contractor has initial P.C and foul drainage and water drainage are installed first then the main spine roads along with kerb log . Roads are left at base course level until first occupations , this method is for cost saving as why top tar a road only for continous heavy transportation to damage. service area is now under the pavement (sidewalk) to minimise future works carried out on roads. In my experience this site is not indictive of majority of sites in regards of road cleanliness, and I could be incorrect in saying it seems this was filmed at weekend and if so site management shoulld have booked in a road sweeper for late friday afternoon as is the norm under health and safety duties.
@@jimmyc974 Thanks Jimmy. I guess things have changed a little in UK
Here in the southern USA the roads in subdivisions are the first things that are built.
They build roads so cheap and low quality in the UK that they have to build them last because they will be damaged by the time the house is ready.
Jamey Wilson What's usual on a new housing estate is an aggregate road being put in for construction, then when the estate is nearing g completion the roads are properly surfaced. Heavy machinery has a tendency to damage curbs and decorative surfaces otherwise.
here in NZ timber rules Proabaly 90 percent of houses are bult with timber frames,most is prenailed frames and timber roof trusses for the roof.Some is steel frames.A lot of new houses will have a brick veneer but it is purely cladding ,not structural,Most houses are single storey but id two storeyed the midfllors would proabaly stil be 50 percent solid timber a lot will be the I joist type midfllors ,with the last lot done by special floor trusses made by the prenail plants.Roofing is almost all metal roofing with some concrete tile too.Cladding if not brick will still be timber weatherboards or some other material made to look like timner .Lots of panel type cladding and some houses will be clad in plywood.
Interesting - a lot of the 'timber' decorative cladding here is a concrete composite stuff. 👍
yes thats the stuff james hardie mostly.
Houses in Canada are built very similar, we just frame off the basement foundation walls and shingle our roofs.
Mostly brick veener or stucco
Better than my parents 30s house by a country mile, better than my 50s house too. Nothing wrong with innovative new engineered building products either in my opinion.
I find stuff like this depressing. It seems we're going backwards instead of forwards. Everything built on the cheap and not built to last! .. which is a false economy and will probably cost more in the long run. We should be making things that are superior at a lower or similar cost as in the past, not cheaper and inferior. Just doesn't seem like progress. It seems like as a whole, whether it be construction, electrical items, whatever ... we just have lost the sense of striving for quality.
Out of a matter of interest, what specifically in a new build do you think won't last? I hear the 'not built to last' phrase a lot so I'm gathering thoughts on this for a future vid. 👍🛠
Gosforth Handyman, what about three inch timber studs that when a door is slammed all the plaster cracks? Door/windows falling out, radiators ripping off the wall because of incorrectly selected fittings, substandard materials and unrealistic time frames and profit margins not to mention watered down skilled - labour market.
wforl Yh i know what you mean , I work on the domestic side of the building and everything you do has to be clean and tidy as it’s what gets you the next job , seeing this is shocking and how little care they have for the quality
Thumbclicker It may crack buy that doesn’t mean it won’t least for a very long time. They are just hairline cracks anyway.
I think it’s all depends on where you live..I’m from the Jamaica and we used blocks to build our homes not wood..well the poorer class use wood but people are hi can afford it uses blocks because it’s longer lasting than wood..which would have termite problem ect
The government should set much higher standards for any new building. Better insulation, solar power, ground source heat pumps etc.
Successive governments, the Tories in particular, have consistently watered down house building standards. It allows 'big developer' in whose pockets the government lives, to throw up poor quality housing, sometimes actually dangerous - note the cladding scandal - and charge a premium. It's all about maximum profit for the least possible cost. The shareholders are happy and so are the CEOs.
I can hear my neighbour plugging sockets in my 1970s house.
Most new houses have 1 layer of bricks on the outside and timber frames filled witb foam on the outside, im concerned that if i get robbed the robber will break through the wall, thats how bad they are also the floors cause a ton of leakages
No they are not. You do get some like this but they aren’t very common unless your in Scotland
@@belltond1527 in my area it is
Hi all I have to agree with the floor joist comment, having worked on this type of house as an electrician it is difficult to maintain the integrity or the joists when you have to drill so many holes in them. The plumbers tend to keep their holes away from ours so the joists are literally peppered in some areas.
I think you general construction process standard has fallen but I am told its for the best when it comes to conservation. It is a tight balance though conservation vs longevity. If a house is only good for fifty years what happens after the fifty years?
I have also noticed house sizes are getting smaller, its difficult to fit a king size bed in some master bedrooms let alone any other furniture.
I tend to think of new builds like cardboard boxes compared with conventional brick and block homes, fittings fall off ceilings, sockets pull out of walls, there needs to be a bit more thought on how they are constructed
Well this is totally incorrect and if what you are saying is true then both yourself and plumbers have affected the integrity of the I joists . N.H.B.C Standards (and all service trades should know this) " Preformed holes should be provided in the web and holes or notches should not be cut without the approval of the manufacturer"
It's not very often new builds use blown insulation in cavity walls, from what I understand bricks are often left out for scaffolding and to clear cavities of any mortar snots knocked off from the inside once the wall is finished. Also the low density blocks for the external walls are most likely being used to improve thermal performance to meet building regs, cost wise they are typically more expensive than dense aggregate blocks.
I've seen it being blown in from big trucks! (a few years ago now though) 👍
Gosforth Handyman it does happen your not wrong. Full fill insulation can cause big issues if done incorrectly and in the wrong areas of the uk.
I am of the same opinion regarding the insulation being blown , it would not be a surprise to learn no cavity insulation and dot n dab thermal board being used (the white blocks will most probably be thermal blocks and the party walls will either be dot n dabbed with thermal board or btten and insulation)
They dont pump insulation i to houses that shit has caused problem with damp avoid at allcosts. If anything go into the cavity it is foam boards which is added as they go. So if its a 50mm cavity they use 25mm insulation boards or if 100mm cavity is used its a 50mm board. And because this is a traditional build they will use insulation plaster board along all exterior facing walls of the house. If it was a kit they would have put wool into the kit opening then plasterboarded. I work on many many different new house builders every single day so witness first hand the goings on of many a company like Barratt homes , David wilson homes , taylor wimpey , miller homes , avant, cala, persimmons, lovell, keepmoat, campbell, as homes, and a few other less known companys
Hi Gosforth,
Thank you for sharing this! Currently I'm doing a study about the carbon emissions of building a house in the UK.
Do you have any idea of where can I get this type of information? As I've been doing some research but nothing concrete appears to be about it.
Thank you so much,
Natalia
"From all the remedial work I've done in them".😂 Near where I work an old airfield and a swathe of greenbelt is being turned into 29k new homes (all very affordable, starting at £390k). Some of them have been up a year and are already subsiding. HUGE cracks in the walls. I think they stopped mass-building houses well in the UK round about 1930.
29k houses - that's HUGE!! 😮👍
390k = affordable? I've got 1,600 sq.ft. with attached two car garage and a 120' x 100' corner lot that appraises at $103K in Illinois, USA Those are Condos, couldn't live like that.
I detect a hint of sarcasm in Phil's reply 😀 - in the UK they keep banging on about there not being enough affordable housing so the government allow the building of huge estates full of £390k houses, bless 'em 😂.
Is that Woodford Phil?
Gosforth Handyman Well, it's a good thing something's being built. In places like California, the NIMBYs are out of hand and nothing is allowed to be built. This coupled with an ever-growing population.
Thank you! You do have a good point about those floors! However, by Canadian standards, those houses are so much better! Here, sure mostly stick houses and stone/brick is always just cladding .. the real joke here, it is so bad that few locals are the wiser, are tge shit roofs! they use ashfelt and tar shingles that have some kind of crushed stone on them. makers bost '25 year shingles' as if that is good and people think it is! it is sick. with said roof, your lucky if u get 15 years. i spec'ed tile roof for my build but had to settle for a tin roof ... couldn't find the skilled trades to do the work! Tin roof is good, Thyssen-Krupp steel installed by some Poles, they took their time doing it, no complaints.
Really interesting! A lot of folk say new-build UK houses aren't built to last... even though they're made of brick with tiled roofs and concrete floors. Great comment! 👍👍
25 year shingles are great. I say we shouldn’t design houses to last past 30-50 years
Lucas Fernandez you're an idiot. I guarantee you'll change your mind when you grow up, and get a mortgage to buy a home. You'll want that place to last, you'll want to be able to sell it later and get your money back to buy another, or maybe even leave it to your kids. If you buy a house designed to last for fifty years when it's already ten years old, then want to sell after another twenty who's going to buy it when they will have to pull It down and rebuild before they are able to do the same? It would only be worth the land it stands on, minus demolition costs!
Why are roofs still made of concrete or slate?
Why not plastic or even conductive solar panels?
Hi, I just reserved a new build~canalside DWH..and I dont know how they buid it？ Is it good or not？ Thank you ..
Impossible to say without more info, I'm afraid.
@@nathan87 ，
Thanks..
There's a few things I don't like about new built houses.
1. There's no space. The houses are built so close together and with such small gardens, it's sh!tting ridiculous. I live on a street of 1930's semi detached properties, there's around 5 meters between each house and the gardens are roughly 20 meters in length, and it's possible to get a car into the rear garden if required.
2. The 'developments' or should I say estates are laid out terrible where I live. no straight roads or anything like it used to be, and the roads are so narrow.
Mike Smith Try living in London, its even worse 🤣
20 metres? I live in a 1930s ex council house and the garden Is 52 metres long!
Lots of the 'mono block' estates around me have winding 1.5 car width roads with no paths, green spaces, visitor parking or any amenities what so ever, long ques in the morning just to get out the development.
Mike Smith you’re not comparing like for like. If you are in an old semi you need to look at a new semi at a similar price. The tiny ones close together are more on a par with your Coronation street style terrace. They’re cheap because they’re aimed at first time buyers. I’d have a small new house over a small old house because old houses, especially cheap old houses are full of issues.
@mikesmith6111. I know what you mean.I have lived on a new estate and hated it. The houses were too close to each other. You always get selfish neighbours as well.I bought the house in 1999 just before house prices started to rise so it was affordable. Give me a house on its own surrounded by fields any day.
I live in a house from 2009
They would have block and beamed, then insulated and then concreted over the top, that wouldn't be a 6ft thick slab under the house.
Defo not block & beam - covering it on the next vid in this series. 👍
Whats block and beam?
Normally concrete beams with concrete blocks between the beams and a void underneath. 👍
Hi I am just down the road at Teesside. We have a lot of new builds at a place called "Ingelby Barwick" but these are stick build IE wood inertia and then brick outside. I hate these because as you will know the inside is built and gets wet with all the rain and snow, and then they build a brick exterior and lock in all that wet. A few years down the road and mould and dry rot start to come through. The way your houses are being built are much better than that.
So timber framed?? I've seen a few timber framed self builds up here but never seen them in the big new estates - interesting! I must admit even with the brick & block I get nervous when they seal them up after a long wet spell. 🤔
Here in Canada we do Concrete foundation for basement, than platform frame (stick build) the rest of the house than we do brick veener. Yes the wood framing members are exposed to the elements, sometimes months on commercial builds. On Residential I've never come across any serious mold problems on 2x materials or the plywood/osb sheeting. I have come across bubbling but that is the general contractors issue. If small holes are drilled in the plywood sub floor and the water is spread around and allowed to dry its not an issue... But I definitely agree its dirty and muddy and more then likely the general contractor is not gonna deep clean the the plywood sheeting before the hardwood flooring goes in.
I have seen standing water in commercial jobs which the plywood sheeting turned black with mold, lack of house keeping.
Not much differences in Holland, lightweight block internals, brick outside and cavity high density dividing walls between the properties, all well insulated.
Major difference however is in the floor and roof construction.
No wooden floors inside, concrete slab floors on all stories including the loft is the norm, for fire safety and noise reduction between down and upstairs, also no need for separate made ceilings with concrete slabs, all conduits are in and these are simply spray painted with a sort of stucco from the underside (pre 1960 houses do have wooden floors).
Roofs don't use the thin lightweight prefab framing, joists, depending on the size of the roof with or without a steel frame are mostly used, all to have no internal framing in the loft space, the loft is built out as usable space for storage, possible extra bed or hobby rooms and mostly CV boiler and ventilation unit are in the loft as well.
Therefore there isn't loft insulation but roof insulation consisting of large slabs of insulation foam covered in plywood or OSB which go on the joists, on top of these a damp open membrane and the strips for holding the tiles go, DPM is on the inside.
Ground level floors are also mostly done as concrete slab, but on insulation to prevent cold coming up, with increased risk of cracking tiles however as the insulation sets, also for this block and beam would be better.