Designing a house that you cant get furniture into!

[dxg]

speedyguy said:

fido said:

Im my locale, i just don't get why these new 'townhouses' cost so much more than existing pre-war homes which have much bigger rooms and you can actually get normal-sized furniture through the front door! Please explain to me why .. obviously i went for a cheaper 30s home because i'm the practical sort but why do people pay a premium for less?

Land prices & greedy national/international developers rather than local builders ?

Some companies have/used to have massive land banks for development, there's also loads of planning regs now probably starting how many cages/homes can be squeezed on a plot.

Some people just seem unable to look further than being in the 'new estate in town x.' Round my way, there are townhouses aplenty all built en masse in the last ten years. Trouble is, private buyers are already noticing the horrendous plot densities and their future slum status. They are falling in price much faster than any other housing form. Many owners seem to have become accidental landlords (I should know, I rented one for six months) and, in this University town, the students are starting to move in - in droves...

The planning regs don't mandate such plot densities but they allow them, and property developers are making full use.

People just don't seem see that developers, like any commercial organisation, are just squeezing as as much sellable floor space as they out of a plot of land. If that means building upwards, then so be it.

It does say something about the UK, though, as city business districts used to be the only place where building upwards made any sense... If it wasn't for the fact that owners would demand a lift (not sure that the regs say) if they went to four floors (and timber frame starts to get tricky), then I think we'd already be there.

[northwest monkey]

dxg said:

Well I spent yesterday removing the bannisters from the stairs in my recently-bought mid-seventies place.

All to get rid of a huge sofa that the previous owners had "mysteriously left behind" in an upstairs bedroom.

So it's not just new houses...

At the risk of sounding stupid here - how did the previous owners get it up there in the first place or do you think they did the same as you?

[dxg]

northwest monkey said:

dxg said:

Well I spent yesterday removing the bannisters from the stairs in my recently-bought mid-seventies place.

All to get rid of a huge sofa that the previous owners had "mysteriously left behind" in an upstairs bedroom.

So it's not just new houses...

At the risk of sounding stupid here - how did the previous owners get it up there in the first place or do you think they did the same as you?

They must have done the same. Or perhaps the original windows had bigger openings. Or maybe they used movers who knew how to do it. Who knows...

[Miguel Alvarez]

We noticed this when looking at new build houses. The missus was certain she wanted a new build. I'm 5'9 so hardly huge but my feet were hanging off the end of the show bed at one place.

[TonyHetherington]

dxg said:

northwest monkey said:

dxg said:

Well I spent yesterday removing the bannisters from the stairs in my recently-bought mid-seventies place.

All to get rid of a huge sofa that the previous owners had "mysteriously left behind" in an upstairs bedroom.

So it's not just new houses...

At the risk of sounding stupid here - how did the previous owners get it up there in the first place or do you think they did the same as you?

They must have done the same. Or perhaps the original windows had bigger openings. Or maybe they used movers who knew how to do it. Who knows...

Have a read of the recent "what do you leave/take with you when you sell a house" thread. Essentially, anything not listed as being left you can reclaim costs for removing of. Lots of information in that thread.

[Harry H]

Oystercatcher said:

When I was looking to buy this place, I also looked at a new development. It was obvious they were compact and bijou, but there was something else nagging at the back of my mind. It wasn't until I got upstairs that I twigged. All the furniture was about 3/4 scale!

It's not just the furniture but the doors as well. I tried to walk into the ensuite and my shoulders wouldn't fit through the door. Had to turn sideways to get in.

[MoleVision]

Glad to know its not just me then....

Still amazes me that something fairly simple like this has clearly been omitted from any design consideration.

Might just leave the sofa in the garage, carpet the floor with leftovers and have a car viewing area... only downside to that is I'd have to clean the car occasionally!

@ someone... tbh I was looking for an older property for a long time because the rooms are generally bigger, walls a little less hollow and so forth, however this one came up nearby as a repossession and was in fairly good nick. As my plan is to rent out rooms and maybe in a year or so move out and rent the whole place out it fitted the bill for that very well.. new build so little maintenance required.. just a lick of paint, fix some plumbing, new carpets, move furniture, repair hole in wall, repaint..etc etc..

eta... nabru looks good, don't think it'd be quite as nice as the sofa I do have but will certainly have a look.

[mattdaniels]

speedyguy said:

Shame many people don't actually look @ the specially built small furniture in the showhome before buying.

Or they do, and do what my friends did and buy the new build from the "accessible" quota which has all the wheelchair-friendly-width doors throughout.

[The Moose]

A good friend of mine just bought (well 1 and a half years ago) a brand new Taylor Wimpy home and, to be honest, from this point of view, it's bloody good. No issues helping her move all the furniture in. Wide doors. Floor plans are well thought out.

Guess it varies from builder to builder.