what to buy..stone built or modern ?

[woof]

We have had an offer on our house, so we are looking around, & its coming down to 2 properties that we are interested in. One is a couple of old stone cottages knocked in to one, with a decent sized north facing rear garden, but no garage.
The other is a more modern bungalow that has just been renovated, again has a good sized garden which is west facing, & has a double garage, we just can't decide, both tick about 3/4rs of our boxes. decision decisions...

Rob

 

[Mesquite]

How modern is the bungalow?

 

[woof]

70's.

Rob

 

[Mesquite]

70's.

That's not too bad as they were building them then with decent materials and decent sized rooms then.

Based on that personally I'd go for the bungalow as it's got the ready to use man cave

 

[British Red]

Easy answer for me. Some quirky interest wins every time. 70s house are old enough not to be built to modern standards -and new enough that issues are still appearing. North facing garden is a pain though

 

[woof]

Lol, you are all thinking like me/us !. Good news on the north facing garden is that its not overlooked from the west, so gets afternoon sun, & its not to bad from the east either.

The bungalow has been modernised inside, ie rooms changed so it has great living space with the adition of a sun room with a latern roof, large kitchen diner, but at the expense of reducing the bedroom sizes, which reduces storage.
I need a garage/outbuildings for my tools & machinery, so one needs a garage building & the other a possible extension to increase bedroom storage space.

Rob

 

[Toddy]

On a 75% then they're both 'okaaaay', but I think I'd have a good look around and see if there's something a bit nearer the absolutely sure.

Best of luck with it, whatever you decide

cheers,
M

 

[Mesquite]

Lol, you are all thinking like me/us !. Good news on the north facing garden is that its not overlooked from the west, so gets afternoon sun, & its not to bad from the east either.

The bungalow has been modernised inside, ie rooms changed so it has great living space with the adition of a sun room with a latern roof, large kitchen diner, but at the expense of reducing the bedroom sizes, which reduces storage.
I need a garage/outbuildings for my tools & machinery, so one needs a garage building & the other a possible extension to increase bedroom storage space.

Rob

Hmmm... tricky now you've described the interior of the bungalow because good storage means everything

Building a garage would work out cheaper and cause less disruption as well than an extension but is there room for a decent sized one for what you want?

 

[British Red]

For the cost of a house extension you could build a garage and workshop and greenhouse and still have change

 

[Macaroon]

With a 70's bungalow, I'd find out who built it - it's likely to have been a small local builder - then find good local tradesmen of a certain age and ask about the reputation of the builders...........I've turned up some surprising results doing this, and have found a couple of extremely well - built bungalows, as well as avoiding several dogs!

I must say though, it'd have to be a very good one to take precedence over a stone - built place for me, but it's all personal taste, eh? Good luck whichever way you choose to go

 

[woof]

Thanks folks, problem with the garage is, I would like it to fit in with the stone built place. I realise I could put up a prefab garage, but with a stone cottage it wouldn't look right. There are a few other bits to do on the cottage, so at the end of the day prices probably wouldn't be that much different, I mean, its only money....

Rob

 

[Angry Pirate]

One issue with stone is that they are poorly insulated compared to cavity wall. Our heating bill leapt up when we moved. Stone is colder all year round too. Wierdly I am at that time of year when I have to put on a layer when I go indoors.

 

[Angry Pirate]

That said, i wouldn't live in a modern house again!

 

[mousey]

I live in a fishermans cottage with walls 3ft thick, I have a rayburn, once the house is warm the walls seem to retain the heat for quite a while after. It has also been standing for over 200 years and isn't going anywhere...

 

[British Red]

The walls really do retain heat mousey - in the same way a storage heater is full of bricks. The Rayburn is the perfect heating system for an older property - its about just keeping it warm, not letting the temperature rise and fall like the newer take on central heating does.

 

[mousey]

.... The Rayburn is the perfect heating system for an older property...

Were selling at the moment and try to tell that to folks looking round - really seems to put people off! - the added bonus is there's a shipyard next door so all the free wood you could want, takes a bit of processing like, but worth it if you've the time.

Even I was a bit dubious about having a FIRE!!! in the house but after 8 years well happy to shut the door [on the aga] and walk out. And yet another bouns, when power goes off we can still cook and heat the house

When we move till be something I'll miss.

 

[Clouston98]

Easy answer for me. Some quirky interest wins every time. 70s house are old enough not to be built to modern standards -and new enough that issues are still appearing. North facing garden is a pain though

Me too- stone built all the way!

Good luck with the move too Rob .

 

[santaman2000]

Gotta ask the obvious: What's the chance of just having your own built to suit?

 

[demographic]

I've lived in enough old stone houses that I realise just how expensive they are to heat.

I'm not against stone on the outside (my brother builds a lot of places with cavity walls and a stone skin on the outside) but I have absolutely no time whatsoever for houses that have little or no wall insulation.

Yeah they look cute blah blah blah but I wouldn't want to live in a stone farmhouse anymore. Done it, Zero interest in doing it again.
Those old houses suck the life out of people with either large heating bills or they are scared to get it warm anyway. And even if you have free wood to cut, its going to get irritating fast when you start getting on a bit.

I'm fine at the moment and cut wood up at work but I wouldn't want to be old and infirm and doing the same.

For me the best is timber frames, brick/stone or timber on the outside but with five inches of Kingspan in the wall and a foot of ichy wool in the loft.

Oh and I will argue with anyone that thinks old houses are built to a better standard than modern ones, might have bigger rooms and more solid walls but the insulation is a complete joke in pretty much most homes right upto about ten years ago.

Till you have spent a good bit of time in a well insulated modern home I think most people just don't know what they are talking about. I would like them to have bigger rooms though.

 

[Toddy]

I agree with demographic; kind of says it for me too.

I would add that unless you're prepared to pay the tumble drier costs, then a built as part of the property sunroom come airing room, that's a working scullery, is an enormously good thing
Not much worse than a family home full of winterdykes of damp washing all blooming Winter long
Get the damp out of the house before you start, and it's half the battle in the UK house.

M