property peeves

6 years ago

Yesterday I noticed that someone had replaced their bay window with a window that is completely different from every other one in the house and street. Why? We can only speculate but I honestly think they won’t have noticed it doesn’t match.
What “improvements” do you notice that you would have to undo if you owned the house?

drives or patio choices that don’t work with the house brick

absence of any features

other- please let us know

extensions built from brick that doesn’t match

windows that don’t suit the house or street

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User

6 years ago

Our next door neighbours ( and we live in a street of really old period homes ), have replaced their windows for bog standard white UPVC and a modern design BROWN UPVC door. I don't know why they bought a period property to do that to it. Honestly, they must have knocked a couple of thousand off the price. They also ripped out the beautiful cottage garden and slabbed over it. Crimes against old buildings. It's very sad.

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Comments (28)

PRO
ARC Bespoke Interiors
6 years ago
i actually i wanted too pick all of the choices

except (windows that don t match street , ) i would worry about trying to match the streets if all the houses are listed building with restrictions
Jonathan thanked ARC Bespoke Interiors
Emily
6 years ago
Upvc front doors. And windows but to a lesser extent than doors. And front gardens where there are overgrown conifers almost blocking bedroom windows let alone the front room. But having said that I look at fab houses and wonder what I’d have done differently if it was mine! And I can look at a house with upvc door and still admire something else. So it’s just an interest of mine.
Jonathan thanked Emily
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This is a beautiful house, I would definitely spend time considering your choices. Do you know when the house was built, can you check the title deeds? It looks Edwardian to me. Personally I think with period houses it is best to keep the facade as was originally intended and if you prefer the contemporary look apply that to the back of the house. Please keep the brickwork at the bottom, it’s a lovely feature and I’d be concerned rendering over could create damp issues. If the house is Edwardian the window frames would have been originally white. I live on a street with houses just like this, most of them have thankfully kept the original facades. One was modernised in the 90’s with mahogany windows and fully rendered and one was modernised a couple of years ago with black windows and grey render. They both look awful and stand out like a sore thumb! Best of luck with your project, I’m sure it’s all very exciting!
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I'm on a private road (which we don't own) which sits sideways onto the main road. It drives us absolutely nuts if people park an inch from our living or dining room window plus they frequently block our "porch" so we can't even get out of the house. The house is absolutely perfect for us other than this. Funnily enough we're less annoyed when people park in our own drive! The main road has houses dating back to the 1300's so parking is a major issue other than the few with the original cartways as obviously the houses didn't need to accommodate for parking! We'd probably feel differently living in London or having a front garden but we find it such bad manners to park against someone's windows tbh. We're actually in a position ATM where we will probably move as a result of it as the parking situation will be exacerbated 😭
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A B
6 years ago
Yes to large trees or hedges almost blocking the house!
Jonathan thanked A B
Angie
6 years ago
Changes need to fit with the age of the property. Sadly our Edwardian house had upvc windows and front door fitted by a previous owner. We plan to revert to sash windows and a wooden (or maybe composite) front door but other priorities on funds at present. The driveway is rubbish too, but not worth redoing until after potential building work is done.
I'd also have ticked non-matching brickwork on extensions. Looks cheap and lazy. But I guess if funds don't stretch having the extra space wins over style. If it was mine I'd have to disguise it with a climbing plant!
Jonathan thanked Angie
rachelmidlands
6 years ago
Neglect is my pet peeve. Especially at the front of property. No one wants too see overgrown trees, grass/weeds as tall as your armpits, rickety fences, sad and dirty looking plastic kids play equipment, any rubbish in general, and definitely rusty old bangers that have been sitting on the drive for 20+ years. Grrrr!
Jonathan thanked rachelmidlands
embzop
6 years ago
Loft extensions with a dormer that looks like someone's dropped a shipping container through the roof. So ugly and completely spoils the house.
Jonathan thanked embzop
E D
6 years ago
The landlord of the Victorian house (converted to flats) next door to ours has recently replaced all the original wooden sash Windows with UPVC, including two bay windows and we're actually in a conservation area.

The people living in the flats are lovely people and they are happy with the windows because they're not draughty anymore so I don't want to make matters worse for them but but it's really an eyesore and surely illegal.

What would you do in my place?
Jonathan thanked E D
A S
6 years ago
1) Gardens which are poorly cared for; no matter how nice the house looks inside, a dirty, neglected garden with over grown weeds/ bushes (unless it's work in progress) is a real turn off, not to mention gardens which are turned into a rubbish dump with year old sofas and what not.

2) Properties which have been modernised but don't fit in. I recently passed by a local semi-detached property which had been renovated and I'd come across online for sale... Alone, the property looked perfect, a modern part render, part clad with a grand entrance! You then go a little ahead and look at the neighbouring property and it's a standard 3-bed semi-detatched, same as the rest of the street...whilst it looked fantastic, it stuck out like a sore thumb.

MATH - mentally screaming at why someone would change to brown UPVC!!!
Jonathan thanked A S
Jonathan
Original Author
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
The UPVC debate rages on.

In my opinion had UPVC been available in Victorian times they would have used it but with style.
There are UPVC sash windows available now that have the right proportions to sit next to period sash windows on a street. But sadly there are also cheap looking, downright ugly windows with the wrong apertures- I think this is what people object to most rather than the material they are made of.

ED - If you live next to a defaced house in a conservation area you should demand replacement of the offending addition to protect the value of your house. I don’t accept that everything in rental properties has to be done on the cheap and if that landlord gets forced to replace the ugly windows it will help illustrate that when you buy cheap you buy twice.
Juliet Docherty
6 years ago
I don't like UPVC windows but also know that many people who have them love them because they don't have to maintain them. Equally, there are some roads you go down and all the rendered houses are painted clashing shades of battleship grey next to sickly yellow, often even when they are detached. I suppose it's getting into the territory of 'taste' and that makes things awkward.
Patrina
6 years ago
Well we all have our pet peeves when it comes to properties that is why we home owners pick the ones we do even when they are bottom of a boot ugly. In my head I am always seeing the potential of turning a uglified house into a beauty. On the subject of maintenance I guess it depends on who lives behind those ugly doors and yards and whether they are able to do it. I used to cut and weed my neighbours front garden because she couldn't do it so we have to take ability and affordability into consideration as well.
PRO
User
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
I've thoroughly enjoyed this little debate, so much so that i've been spurred on to start one of my own..................[What's the craziest thing one of your neighbours has done to their home?[(https://www.houzz.co.uk/discussions/whats-the-craziest-thing-a-neighbour-of-yours-has-done-to-their-home-dsvw-vd~5253458)
rachelmidlands
6 years ago
Totally agree with you Patrina. House up the road from me has had a unfinished extension for many years. Wether it wasn’t finished because of structural issues or lack of funds who knows but she’s elderly now and every now and then someone comes to tidy up the front garden a bit. For those who aren’t able I think and hope that they would be willing to let neighbours/friends/relatives help them. But when you see people who are perfectly able to carry out improvements and with no intention of selling and quite happy to live in a place looking like a dump....grrr!
Sonia
6 years ago
I hate to say it, but my windows are upvc and I rather like them. They keep you really warm and toasty and they are easy to clean (well the window cleaner does it!). I’m not in great health with osteoarthritis so repainting wooden windows are not an option for me and I can’t afford a decorator. My house was built in 1934. Before you all boo and hiss at me, I do have a rather lovely wooden front door!
Juliet Docherty
6 years ago
forzaitalia, you are absolutely right. I have lived in houses with both, and didn't change them as it wasn't necessary and they worked. Only recently have we been in a position to replace windows again and this time we opted for timber with Teknos paint. I have spent half my life up scaffolding, painting my own windows and render and it's no fun!
whizzywig
6 years ago
Planners that don’t take natural light into consideration, so you get new estates or new build houses with all the major windows on the north side. It’s ludicrous.
PRO
User
6 years ago
That would be great whizzywig, but lets face it they just want the money, they don't care where the light is!
Jonathan
Original Author
6 years ago
Whizzywig- I agree that it would be better it planners at the major U.K. house builders planned developments so more houses had south or westerly back gardens but my observation is that buyers prioritise the look of the front more, buying houses that stand well.
What surprises me about a lot of developments is that they overlook the impact of everyone’s car parked on the roadside when everyone has moved in. Poundbury near Dorchester is the only example I can think of that seems to have considered this.
Jonathan
Original Author
6 years ago
Colourhappy- I think that you are right that often this discussion is down to taste but in my opinion common sense could prevail in more choices made.
PRO
OnePlan
6 years ago
In Poundbury you are bound by lots of rules too - to keep things nice !
And on days that Royals visit you are not allowed to put your washing out - as it spoils the view from the helicopter !!
Sonia
6 years ago
In Letchworth, the first garden city, they’ve set up a heritage committee to keep it “special” but all it has done is create another layer of red tape. My friend wanted to change her upvc windows to newer upvc windows in her 13 year old house and she had to get approval! I can understand if it was one of the original garden city properties but it was practically a new build. The builders had also planted a cherry tree in the front garden which had grown enormous and the roots were creeping towards the house. She wasn’t allowed to change the front garden without, again, their permission. She did get the tree removed and nobody said a word.
Danielle H
6 years ago
All of them!

But at the moment my pet peeve is all the people changing their windows to Anthracite. It does NOT work for every property and some of them look like they've had a house fire! Very expensive change for something I think will quickly fall out of fashion.
Jonathan
Original Author
6 years ago
Danielle- especially on a dark brick house, dark windows don’t look great. If window are like eyes of a house then those windows are the eyes after a heavy session!
Danielle H
6 years ago
Jonathan - I drove past one the other day, it was a semi on a very busy main road so already discoloured by fumes etc and they'd put in anthracite windows. It looked like the windows had just been changed by dirt. Wish I'd taken a photo now!
PRO
Ace Your Space
5 years ago
One thing I also think is funny is when you have terrace or semis and someone decides to paint only their half, and then has to carefully paint half of the central pillar/ feature area. My local shops are like this, I wish they would all make the dividing columns match, then each paint their colours inside of that "boundary".
Kath R
5 years ago
How about this? An interesting combination with Edinburgh stone...
Anthony (Beano)
5 years ago
Smaller tv!!! Some people have TVs that big in that small a room that they look like wallpaper!

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