boxst

Hello

I'm just about to move, and have spent an inordinate amount of time looking at houses.

The two houses that I like are both new, but I'm a bit worried about the way they are built:

All new houses are built of just plasterboard. It's shocking. I've only ever lived in houses that are solid brick, and these houses seem flimsy.

So my question (finally!) is has anyone lived in a house built in this way for several years? Do the walls dent? Does anyone have pros/cons against this kind of construction?

Thanks!

Steve.

Seamus300

Morning,

I lived in one for 2 years, when I used to shut the doors hard the whole "wall" used to move! The picture on it used to knock as it settled back into place. The worse things was the noise, I had a lodger who used to enjoy fettling with his girlfriend in the room next to mine, it was like being in there with them. I guess that might be an advantage to some of you though! Basically the sound proofing is crap. The walls didn't seem any easier to dent than normal plaster though, although to be honest I never tried!

Oh and hanging shelves etc on them, well dodgy, like drilling into warm butter.

These are purely my experiences, not having a go at new houses in general!

Sean

MarkO

There are all sorts of pros and cons to brick-built vs wood-frame/plasterboard houses. I personally don't like the latter, mainly because it took me 2 years to work out how to fix anything securely to the walls.

But, having lived in a house of this construction for 3 years, I'd say really it's fine. Noise insulation isn't brilliant, but it depends how much internal noise insulation you need (i.e., if you have kids and how noisy they are!). The walls don't dent (assuming you're not throwing yourself at them).

I'm moving house myself, to rented accomodation first, but we will then be either buying a new build or building our own house. If we are brave enough to take the latter route, I'm not sure that I'll choose wooden-frame/plasterboard. Having said that, there are all sorts of practical (and economic) reasons why one is better than the other and vice versa.

For more details of the pros and cons, check out one of the self-build sites, such as the Build-It magazine website.

dnb

I lived in a '60s built "solid" flat for 2 years, then moved to a drylined place a year ago... With drylining, it seems to be more difficult to fix small sections of damage nicely (especially settlement cracks where the joining tape peels off... grrr...)

I can't say that I have damaged any walls by anything other than deliberate actions. It just feels wrong that they move when you slam a door!

Yes, they seem flimsy and you have to go to great lengths to fix shelves onto the walls (use the battons the plasterboard is attached to... ) and be careful about hanging very heavy pictures on the walls...

All my fault for buying a 10 year old wreck to fix, I suppose !!
I would prefer a more traditional real plaster-on-blocks house, but I'm not going to move house just because of this!

DJ Dunk

iTrader: (5)

Seems to me it depends who builds these new houses as to the quality of them.

I'm just buying a new house and almost every wall is brick and block. Every cavity is insulated and soundproofing is superb.

Not all new houses are flimsy, cheap shacks. Check the builders standards out first. Everyone seems to have the opinion that new houses are build worse than the houses of 100 years ago, this is not the case and totally unjustifiable if you do your homework.

dsmith

Was in a new build semi. You couldn'y even use the batons to fix things to the wall. It used Aluminium "H" beams to support the plasterboard. It did mean I could get extra aerial cables inot the walls from loft by threading it through the holes in the ali sections. very little sound proofing from next door. In fact we started to move when the neighbours announced they were pregnant.

Now in a slightly older place that is all plaster on brick. Much better for screwing things into but you have to hack plaster away to bury cables in the wall

Deano

[Edited by dsmith - 10/29/2002 10:35:45 AM]

MarkO

So get a detached house.

dsmith

We are now

[Edited by dsmith - 10/29/2002 10:35:08 AM]

Puff The Magic Wagon!

iTrader: (2)

Well, we've got a detached house & it is detached by 8ft from the neighbours. We stil hear them walking up & down the passageway & talking away. Worst thing is their poxy horse walking up and down it. The breeze blocks that that wing of our house is built from are absolute cr@p and don't hold raw-plugs without crumbling Stud-partition walls seem to be OK, but the floorboards are bouncy and make a racket - if indeed they are planks not mdf

WHEN I build my house in Ireland, it'll have decent breeze blocks between rooms, underfloor heating and insulation. Also our nearest neighbours will be 100yds away and 100ft lower down the hill and that house is a holiday house & not occupied most of the year.

I hate noisy neighbours, so I'm damned if I'm going to have any near me in the future.

MarkO

?! Do you mean the passageway between the houses, or the passageway in their house?

Puff The Magic Wagon!

iTrader: (2)

Between & them opening doors, their yappy little runt dog whining, her sounding more horsey than the poor nag in the stables and the rest

Dave_A

The main problem with the lack of sound proofing of the plaster board walls is that every one can hear you when you go for a dump

Harrymattson

You and me both Puff!!!!

Just moved out of our Semi just before new people moved in next door - apparently they are a nightmare for the poor people that bought our house. 1930's built brick houses but with only one brick thick interior walls. We could hear everything that went on next door (as I'm sure they could us!) but the 'new' people are very young yobos who play very loud music at 0300, have fights between them selves and their 12 to 15 year old girl fiends. All their little Nova driving mates turn up at all hours churning all the grass verges up, waking everbody with loud subs etc etc etc.

All this is on a quite country road on the outskirts of a small market town and not a rough estate too [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]

One thing though - they woke the wrong guy who had had a bit too much booze at a school reunion and was staying over with his parents for the night two doors down - He went to remonstrate with the young hooligans and ended up breaking the gobby ones jaw (no pun intended!)

They are an absolute nightmare - and soon to be fcuked off to where they belong by the Police and Council!!

Sorry to hi-jack the thread somewhat but it got me going a bit too much just thinking about the poor buggers that bought our house!!

Anyway just moved into a rented detached cottage (bliss!!) before finally moving into our other place (also detached with the nearest house 30 yds away) with 18 inch thick stone walls in a small village in the Derbyshire Peak District - Deep Joy!! Just thinking how good the home cinema is going to sound in there

Anyway - I don't have much experiance with plaster board walls but if you only have one or two bricks seperating rooms with no air jap filled with insulation then you will hear everything that goes on. Mind you, you will be able to put shelves up

Matt

mattstant

As a builder of these new tin boxes i have to say that we are partly hamstrung by new regulations on thermal insulations and you will find every new home will have plaster board studding to external walls because it is the cheapest and most effecient way of bringing down the U values of the external skin of the building but unfortunatley makes it awkward (but not impossible)to hang fittings.

As far as internal partitions go new regs do require certain standards of sound insulation (which i cant remember off hand) but most large nationals will put in the bear minimum of plasterboard partitioning which is often hollow and is effectively an efficient "loud speaker".

personally speaking we fill with wads of glass fibre or use a more solid propiatory system and we over specify joists and floor baord thickness which helps alot to reduce sound transition

"Party" walls are sometimes well named as you can usually share all the fun of next doors "party" but over the last 5 years at least there has to be a solid wall with a cavity between buildings for this reason.

Is this any help

Matt

MarkO

Matt - off topic, I know, but do you build in Scotland?

mattstant

Nope sorry East midlands only Between Derby and Notts

MarkO

Ah well. Know any good builders in the scottish borders?

Also, if we wanted to find out where all new residential developments are going to be in the next year or so (i.e., to find out about them early on) is there a central register of development or something?

mattstant

apply to your local authority they have details of all new or pending planning applications

Doesnt Saxoboy work for the planning office in edinburgh perhaps he can help

MarkO

You know, sometimes the Impreza community feels a bit like the masons - there's always a contact in a useful position, regardless of what you're doing!

father_jack

I've got half an 1890's mansion where the walls are 3 foot thick

You can't even hear the sub pounding from the next room.

edited to say - buy a proper house not a shoe box

[Edited by father_jack - 10/29/2002 3:52:11 PM]

zoog

You can't beat old houses. High Ceilings, proper proportions to the rooms, solid construction, architecturally beautiful.

Modern houses always seem to have low oppressive ceilings, mean proprtions and Dr. Who-set build quality.

RON

Well,
after reading all this I'm glad I'm building my house the way I am, all bar a few of our internal walls are block, with render and plaster on them, and the few that are studwork are all very well insulated for sound reasons, I've even put a silly amount of insulation between the floors so you can't even hear footsteps above!, the plasterer is well p*ssed, he thought he'd get us to have dry-lining, little did he know!
I wanted a traditional house, and thats what I've built, building regs are tightening up, but if you're in a position to build you're own house, you can pretty much get want you want!
Ron.

boxst

Hello

Thank you for all the replies.

Unfortunately you all seem to confirm my suspicions.

Nearly £500K for some plasterboard on a small plot. Oh well....

Steve.

mattstant

careful RON you still have to comply with building regs wether you want to or not

RON

Yes I realise that, it's just that if you're controlling the project yourself, as I am, and doing 90% of the work myself, you are able to do things in a way that you're happier with than some builders would do, such as overdoing the insulation in order to cut noise down.
Ron. Knackered after a day mixing for the plasterer!!!!

mattstant

ouch now thats a ******* job RON

Did you have the luxury of a powered mixer ????

RON

Thankfully an electric mixer, I reckon I mixed nearly 2 tonnes, plus water, then I had to wheelbarow it into the house, and shovel it onto his board, I ache, thankfully so does he!!!!

+Doc+

LMFAO!!! How true is that!! lol
I like the newer houses they seem to have a "cleaner" / modern look, build quality isnt bad, noise insulation in our semi is OK dont really hear the neighbours Ducati 960 / Trails bike / Boxer / Kid Cant say the same for them and my Blitz Nur Spec exhaust
Doc