Should I buy a concrete built house?
Concrete built houses and flats are often cheaper to heat than brick-built houses, being cool in summer and warm in winter. They also don’t suffer from particular parasites such as woodworm! They can be cheaper to buy and are often applicable for government insulation grants.
Are concrete houses OK?
The concrete can be prone to defects, leading to structural issues later on. Modern buildings made from concrete or prefabricated construction appear to be flawless on the outside but when you take a closer look they are much more difficult to mortgage and insure.
What is the problem with concrete houses?
A further area of concern in both precast concrete and cast-in-situ systems is the quality of thermal performance, which tends to be poor. A large number of concrete houses have been found to suffer from excessive heat loss, surface condensation leading to mould growth, and rainwater penetration.
Are non standard construction houses worth buying?
It’s also worth considering the fact that because of these added risks and costs, you may find it more difficult to buy and sell a property with non-standard construction. Demand is typically lower for these kinds of properties, as potential buyers can be put off by the challenges of owning and maintaining such a home.
What is the problem with non standard construction?
It’s more difficult for an insurance underwriter to assess the risk. Consequently, it can be difficult for you to get insurance on non-standard properties. It therefore also becomes harder to secure a mortgage to buy such a property and, in turn, this can make it difficult to sell on.
Do Halifax lend on steel framed houses?
Since then however, the Halifax has approved huge numbers of Steel Framed property mortgages, many of these being BISF Houses. The majority of sales going through Halifax do so with little or no problems, providing the surveyor is familiar with the property type and raises no objections.
What is classed as non standard construction?
Your house will be considered a non standard construction if it is built of anything other than a traditional construction of bricks and mortar (or stone) with a slate or tiled roof. i.e. if your house incorporates frames, modular parts, cob etc then it will be considered non-standard construction.
What counts as non standard construction?
A non-standard construction house is built from materials that do not conform to the ‘standard’ definition. Standard houses have brick or stone walls with a roof made of slate or tile. A non-standard construction is therefore anything that falls outside of this.
How do you tell if a house is a prefab?
You can tell if a house is a prefab by the small metal tags on each section. These tags indicate the house’s manufacturing date, which you can also see on the electrical panel box.
Can you change a non standard construction house?
You can switch the property from non standard construction to standard construction. One option to get around the non standard construction problem is to just replace the non standard part of the home. This is easier for some parts of the house than others.
Are timber frame houses worth less?
They’re quick and relatively inexpensive to build. And as well as being cost-effective, timber frame buildings are also highly versatile, as they can be clad in almost any building material. Building a timber frame house will result in far lower CO2 emissions than a traditional brick build.
What is the lifespan of a timber frame house?
The timber frame itself is normally “guaranteed” by the manufacturer for various periods ranging from 10 to 40 years. It is a commonly perceived opinion within the industry that 25 –30 years is a reasonably expected life span for a softwood timber framed building.
Why can’t you get a mortgage on a timber framed house?
Despite their popularity, some mortgage lenders deem timber frame properties to be ‘non-standard’ and may be concerned about the quality and longevity of the property’s structure as well as the higher risk of fire damage. These issues can make getting a timber frame mortgage difficult – but not impossible.
What’s wrong with a timber framed house?
Disadvantages of Timber frame: They’ll rot – The timber used in modern timber frame home designs are all pressure treated with preservative. So unless they end up resting in water you should be fine. Of course the risk of rot is greater with timber frame than cavity construction.
Are timber framed houses a fire risk?
The risk of fire in timber frame buildings is far greater during construction than post construction. The main cause is simply because there are far more sources of ignition and the fire loading is far greater. Sources of ignition will include; Hot works – cutting, grinding, soldering, hot pitching.
What are three disadvantages of timber frame construction?
More than 90 percent of American homes are built with wood frames….Disadvantages
- Wood rot.
- Structural limitations.
- Fire risks.
- Building code limitations.
How do you know if a property is timber framed?
The gable wall of a timber frame building will have a timber spandrel panel forming the gable panel (at roof level). On a party wall the panel will be clad with plasterboard. Note that, if a party wall is brick or blockwork, other parts of the building’s structure could still be timber framed.
Are Taylor Wimpey Homes timber framed?
We use two different methods for building our external walls: masonry and timber frame. Timber frame walls feature an internal load-bearing frame and an outer leaf of bricks.
Are Barratt Homes timber framed?
Over the last three years, Barratt has built c. 5,500 homes using timber frame construction. It currently uses timber frame in the majority of residential properties it builds in Scotland and is increasing its use across England and Wales.