4 ms·

That depends on how building standards have shifted in your location in the last 100 years - and the durability of construction methods used. Here in the UK mo

That depends on how building standards have shifted in your location in the last 100 years - and the durability of construction methods used. Here in the UK most homes are built from brick, and in many regards standards of housebuilding have dropped a lot since the 1920s. A 100-year-old house will have its downsides (standards of insulation weren't high 100 years ago) but will often be more desirable than a new-build property.

mbg721 4y ago
Some older near-the-city-center suburbs of US cities have the same phenomenon. There are sometimes quirks like entire neighborhoods where all the houses have a different stained-glass window because there was a stained-glass guy nearby when they were built. That usually comes with the obligatory comment from every contractor or insurance person, "Yeah, wow, you couldn't get (x feature) made that way today for any price."
- bobthepanda 4y ago
  In the US the postwar heyday of modernism resulted in a generation where the skills of artisan craftsmanship in construction were unneeded, so the remaining workers never trained anybody.
brigandish 4y ago
Quality standards have usually gone up, but space standards are the ones that tend to go down, whether that’s de facto because of the market/demand, or actual standards. The first step to improving this would be to vote out all the MPs who legislate in the interest of landlords- because most MPs are landlords. Reducing overall immigration would probably help too. A removal of housing benefit, which actually benefits businesses and not those receiving the “benefit”, by subsidising wages and inflating housing prices for desirable areas, instead of allowing prices to fall or for businesses to pay what’s needed, should be considered too.
- bowsamic 4y ago
  Quality standards have not gone up in the UK. Have you seen the quality of new builds? They are extremely poor
  - astrange 4y ago
    The UK has no by-right development at all afaik, so you’re getting what they can afford to build after making it through planning. This is a big reason San Francisco never builds anything anymore; absolutely everyone gets to have their aesthetic opinions in design review and will band together to sue you over them if you don’t bribe them.
  - JetSetWilly 4y ago
    What makes you think quality standards have gone down? From what I have seen, there's two reasons people think this. One is that modern houses are extremely well insulated. Which means that if you drill into a wall or just tap it with your hand, it sounds hollow, because it is rammed with cavities full of insulation. People have a "perception" that somehow brick and mortar is magically of higher quality and solid sounds better - even though functionally it is worse, especially with the way heating bills are going. The other is just timber framed construction. This is an objection particularly in England - in Scotland timber framed buildings have been common since the 60s, in England it is realtively recent practice. Add to that, modern builders understand exactly what size of wood to use to bear loads calculated for a once in 200 year storm event per regulations, and don't just whack in huge beams because they have no clue anymore - it means there's a perception again that older is higher quality (no matchstick wood in them!), especially in areas with a weird prejudice towards masonry or brick. But having experience living in 18th, 19th and mid 20th century houses in the UK - I'd take a new build any day. At least it generally won't have damp, a leaky roof, tiles blowing off every time there's a storm, lead paint/pipes and a colleciton of horrific DIY mistakes inherited from previous owners. Or incredibly cold and draughty rooms - some houses I just shut the door on the cavernous living room from Seoptember till May, it was too cold and too expensive to heat.

mbg721 4y ago

Some older near-the-city-center suburbs of US cities have the same phenomenon. There are sometimes quirks like entire neighborhoods where all the houses have a different stained-glass window because there was a stained-glass guy nearby when they were built. That usually comes with the obligatory comment from every contractor or insurance person, "Yeah, wow, you couldn't get (x feature) made that way today for any price."

bobthepanda 4y ago
In the US the postwar heyday of modernism resulted in a generation where the skills of artisan craftsmanship in construction were unneeded, so the remaining workers never trained anybody.

brigandish 4y ago

Quality standards have usually gone up, but space standards are the ones that tend to go down, whether that’s de facto because of the market/demand, or actual standards. The first step to improving this would be to vote out all the MPs who legislate in the interest of landlords- because most MPs are landlords. Reducing overall immigration would probably help too. A removal of housing benefit, which actually benefits businesses and not those receiving the “benefit”, by subsidising wages and inflating housing prices for desirable areas, instead of allowing prices to fall or for businesses to pay what’s needed, should be considered too.

bowsamic 4y ago
Quality standards have not gone up in the UK. Have you seen the quality of new builds? They are extremely poor
- astrange 4y ago
  The UK has no by-right development at all afaik, so you’re getting what they can afford to build after making it through planning. This is a big reason San Francisco never builds anything anymore; absolutely everyone gets to have their aesthetic opinions in design review and will band together to sue you over them if you don’t bribe them.
- JetSetWilly 4y ago
  What makes you think quality standards have gone down? From what I have seen, there's two reasons people think this. One is that modern houses are extremely well insulated. Which means that if you drill into a wall or just tap it with your hand, it sounds hollow, because it is rammed with cavities full of insulation. People have a "perception" that somehow brick and mortar is magically of higher quality and solid sounds better - even though functionally it is worse, especially with the way heating bills are going. The other is just timber framed construction. This is an objection particularly in England - in Scotland timber framed buildings have been common since the 60s, in England it is realtively recent practice. Add to that, modern builders understand exactly what size of wood to use to bear loads calculated for a once in 200 year storm event per regulations, and don't just whack in huge beams because they have no clue anymore - it means there's a perception again that older is higher quality (no matchstick wood in them!), especially in areas with a weird prejudice towards masonry or brick. But having experience living in 18th, 19th and mid 20th century houses in the UK - I'd take a new build any day. At least it generally won't have damp, a leaky roof, tiles blowing off every time there's a storm, lead paint/pipes and a colleciton of horrific DIY mistakes inherited from previous owners. Or incredibly cold and draughty rooms - some houses I just shut the door on the cavernous living room from Seoptember till May, it was too cold and too expensive to heat.