Please tell me why I should buy a Victorian house!

[CuddyMum]

Well we've viewed a property today and are quite warming to the idea. It has refurbished sash windows, stripped floorboards, tiled hall, Arga kitchen, picture rails, open fires etc. but the thing is we're so used to living in a modern house on an estate in "magnolia ville" with laminate floors and gloss kitchen, double glazing etc. and I'm still getting my head around it all.

I'm looking for your views good and bad on living in and maintaining a Victorian house. :)

[NotGoodNotBad]

Because they're just lovely.

Er, that's it...

Draughty windows, aging stonework and pointing, heat all goes up to the high ceiling and stays there... but I wouldn't swap for a bland modern one. At least, not till I'm old and fed up of the maintenance!

[beancounting]

Sounds lovely to me! I love Victorian houses for their character and charm, they feel individual and can take any style of decor, whether traditional or contemporary. They tend to feel more spacious than modern houses because they usually have high ceilings and well proportioned rooms, and often have odd bits of space that would be considered 'wasted' by house builders today. On the downside there can be more maintenance depending on the condition, and they can be more expensive/inefficient to heat. And you can research their history and find out about who used to live there etc which gives you a sense of continuity and can be really interesting - we found a stash of pawn broker tickets under the floorboards which brought the family who lived here in the 1880s to life! I'm going to really miss our house (have just sold it) especially as in the areas we're looking we can only afford identikit modern properties...

[CuddyMum]

I expected the windows to be really draughty and it was a freezing, windy day today and we couldn't feel a hint of a draught nor hear any road noise (it's a high street but not a major road though). I guess I'm talking myself in to it! Another plus point was that the kitchen was toasty courtesy of the Aga.

[PigletJohn]

'mmmmm, stripped floorboards, tiled hall, open fireplaces, high ceilings.

It's lucky you don't feel the cold.

Did you hear the gas and electric meters whirring round?

[herhonesty]

Agas are expensive to run and not everyone's cup of tea to cook on. Did it have a separate cooker/hob?

[QuackQuackChicken]

Big light rooms courtesy of the high ceilings and giant windows. I love our windows but they were a pain to get curtains for! Other negatives - even my husband needs a ladder to change a lightbulb/dust the coving!

[MinimalistMommi]

Just moved into our small (but has lovely high ceilings) Victorian terrace eight weeks and five days ago! We have the original sash windows (in good condition but not refurbished though, so it's great that job has been done) Our windows are terribly draughty though, but we're having secondary glazing in very soon for noise reduction (next to street with cars passing, I moved from very quiet street!) which will sort out the draughts. The windows are huge and let in so much light. They add so much character and look so pretty!

We are planning on ripping up horrid carpet and having all floors professionally stripped etc simply because I have always dreamed of floorboard (even though I know they are colder than carpet)

We have the original fireplace left in the dining room and the one in the front room got taken out and chimney breast boarded up We will be sorting that out soon, having fireplace put back in and having a woodburner installed. The chimney breasts in the bedrooms also got ripped out do you still have all your fireplaces upstairs intact?

We're having entire house re-plastered, our staircase moved to improve upstairs layout. It's a labour of love at the moment but I really, really like it. It has lovely character, is in a great area on a lovely street right next to huge period properties which cost upward of £500,000. It's very cosy feeling (but cold with the sashes the way they are right now) can't wait to get our woodburner in!

Is the house you're looking at semi-detached? In a terrace? Have you looked at how thick walls are? Re: Noise from neighbours? If next door has friends around at the weekend, we can hear them laughing sometimes!

[FergusSingsTheBlues]

I live in a victorian tenement flat.

Pros: fantastic dimensions - much bigger rooms thn you would get in any modern house
high ceilings - feeling of space even though its just a flat
thick walls

cons:
shoogly floorboards
we put in secondary glazing which absolutely sealed the house from draughts and noise

we are selling up as we need a house now with two kids, but are looking mainly at victorian houses as they are beautiful places to live. Enjoy!

[NorthernLurker]

Link?? We lived for 9 years in a victorian terrace. The walls were thick, never heard anything. When the surveyor came round for our buyer he told me that he found victorian houses to be universally well built. Georgian houses oth were built on a wing and a prayer

[FergusSingsTheBlues]

Oh yes, getting curtains for a three meter drop is a nighmare - we spend 2k on ours for a big bay window and master bedroom - but money well worth spending IMO.

Also, you can dry your clothes with a discreet pulley which does up to the ceiling - you just dont have to worry so much about tumble driers, condensation etc.

And they are very easy houses to air thanks to the enormous windows.

[MinimalistMommi]

Fergus great to hear you've had positive experience with secondary glazing we're having acoustic Stadip silence glass put in ours and we are hoping to will make a difference to both sound and draughts!

OP, we love living in our Victorian terraced cottage and although they do need upkeep (and we have a lot to do on ours!) they have so much charm which obviously you don't have in a newer house.

Totally agree about trying to find out about some history, this little row of cottages were built around the 1870's.

[Flossiechops]

We have been living in period properties for the past 11 years. Our current house which is Edwardian 3 storey 4 bed we bought 5 years ago. we are selling up next year (we have a tie in on the mortgage) I have completly fallen out of love with period houses to be honest. We are never warm, the heating bills are extortionate, it's an endless money pit. We are in a catch 22 where we need to invest probably 10-20k but can't afford it. The rooms are traditional layout ie long hall with 2 reception rooms off and kitchen at the end and it just doesn't work for us anymore, I want an open plan living, kitchen diner which overlooks the garden.

They are gorgeous to look at and the period features are beautiful, the spacious rooms are fantastic too. If I were to buy another I would make sure it was insulated within a inch of its life and that I could afford the upkeep. Our gas/electricity bills have been around £250-£375 a month over the winter period and having pushed ourselves to the financial max to buy the place the shine has gone. I long for warmth and comfort! The final push has been a week in Cornwall in a newly converted mews which was so warm we didn't even put the heating on in the morning. I guess I am saying think long and hard about whether you love it enough to give up the good points of a newer house.

[Trills]

Are you sure that you want an Aga? They can be temperamental beasts if you're not used to them.

If the kitchen is not fitted, will all of the cupboards and things disappear when the current occupants move out?

Is there central heating? What did the boiler look like? Is getting hot water at the time that you want it going to be a pain? Did you turn on a tap and check the water pressure?

I once lived in a Victorian terrace that did not have its own water supply. Instead of taking a pipe off the mains for every house, one pipe had come off the mains for about 5 houses. You know how when you're in the shower and someone turns the tap on downstairs the shower goes funny? This happened if someone turned the tap on in number 59.

[AliceWChild]

Just leaving mine. Never again. Cold, dusty thing. Could hear conversations next door. Ours was built by Victorian cowboys, front wall isn't tied into the rest of the house. Liked it for a while though, it's now I'm moving that I've really disconnected with it. Love big rooms and windows which is why I'm moving to a 60s house.

[Flossiechops]

Just had my gas/electricity bill = £330 for March!

[woozlebear]

I've never lived in anything other than Victorian and Edwardian houses (bar one 13 month spell in a new flat) and it would take a miracle to get me to buy anything newer. I just love the proportions and the character. Newer houses (mostly) don't seem to have any soul.

I think they're easier to furnish, too. You can go modern and have a lovely contrast between the period features and modern furniture, or you can put antiques around, or a mix of both.

You don't have to keep the floorboards bare if they're too cold, and (for a price) you can get timber double-glazed sashes put in. Shutters would also help / and or interlined curtains. Also radiator covers that push heat out rather than up.

[HousewifeFromHeaven]

I am leaving my Edwardian 1905 house.

It's beautiful and full of character, but oh so needy. And costly to maintain.

A bit like me

[littlecrystal]

CuddyMum I think you already know my opinion from another thread, but you either love Victorian or you don?t. Mine looked cute and everyone loved it, with the good layout too. But it is so much money to upkeep it, especially if you want to keep the period features. I kept the original fireplace and old floorboards as I understood it adds the value but it wasn?t me and I?d rather didn?t have it. The best thing about Victorian is that it is impressive.

I have just sold and hoping to move to a 60s house (waves to AliceWChild).

[CuddyMum]

Thanks everyone. We are going for a review this afternoon with a big list of questions. The house is a 3 storey semi detatched, 5 beds, 2 baths, 3 receptions, large (fitted bespoke) kitchen, utility, garage and workshop. Not huge garden but lawned, walled and completely private. There are not fireplaces on the middle floor but there are on the top floor (and bottom of course). I would literally have to buy all their curtains and blinds and quite probably their huge kitchen table and dining room furniture! The Aga we'd have to live with for a while but there is a central heating system and nice rads.

[MinimalistMommi]

Let us know how you get on!

[NorthernLurker]

Ask how much they spend on oil for the aga.

[CuddyMum]

It's a gas Aga :)

[UptheChimney]

Well I'd never get my head around living in a modern house on an estate.

Victorian houses have high ceilings, usually clear & light spaces if they haven't been messed around with. And they've been standing for over 100 years, so you know they're basically sound.

Though if you're not used to an Aga, or living in an old house, or have mostly modern bought furniture, it may not be for you ...

[PigletJohn]

if you are going for stripped floorboards, I really, definitely, absolutely recommend insulating between the joists. Doing it before you move in is ideal. You can unblock 100 years of cobwebs and dust from the airbricks at the same time, and will have the opportunity for any underfloor plumbing or electrics, as well as clearing out the dead rats and finding bags of sovereigns.