This wasn’t quite a GQ, so I thought this would be the best place for my question.
I’m seeking experienced opinions on if you were buying an already-built house, what you consider the best construction era / build-date range in terms of quality.
I have the general impression that modern day houses are essentially built of matchsticks and drywall pulled from Home Depot’s “Factory Thirds Irregular and Chipped” bins, with speed and superficial finish being the parameters most optimized to the detriment of everything else. Gotta put up 40 of these things fast so we can have the “The Meadows at Wittering Falls” grand opening! This may well be wrong, but some personal experiences and offhand comments from people in the know have led me to that viewpoint.
On the other hand, if you get one of those nice older houses built before the 30’s, I hear there’s lots of issues with manky wiring (knob and tube, fuses instead of breakers, wire gauges built for earlier and less electricity-demanding days, generations of DIY’ers messing things up with poorly executed “upgrades”, etc), and a few other things like poor insulation and kitchens not designed around appliances.
Granted, these are (hopefully) both exaggerations of the degree and type of problems you can expect from both those ends, and I’m sure there are gems in both populations.
But on average, to the experienced home builders / renovators out there (aka people who know what to look for) - what era would YOU consider the best in terms of quality when considering build-date ranges while house shopping? Or is it not really a big enough factor to matter?
My wife and I were just looking at a 1920s brick home that had been updated to modern standards. That, in my opinion, is the best of both world the house was completely quite inside since the walls were like a foot thick and the windows had been upgraded to triple pane. But we’re looking to do the work ourselves this time out so more than likely we’ll be getting a 1950s track home which isn’t the worst construction but has it’s own problems.
I liked the craftsmanship of the older brick homes but you just have to realize that just because the bones are good doesn’t mean you won’t have to replace everything else.
What’s the point of having a house that is over-built? When was the last time you heard of a house collapsing? Older houses may seem more “solid,” but they still have foundation and roof issues, and are most likely severely under-insulated.
And, even through having real plaster walls may seem like a plus, they crack (my cite is my folk’s house, built in 1940), and they make interior modifications more expensive.
Also, if you buy a house made before 1959, it’s going to have non-grounded outlets, which are a giant pain in the ass. And, likely have a very under-sized breaker panel, or heaven forfend, a fuse box.
It may be true of some “vinyl farm” cookie cutter subdivisions that are built as cheaply as possible by unscrupulous developers trying to cut corners, but in general I think home construction today is not less structurally sound than in previous eras. I do think it tends to be less aesthetically alluring, in my opinion (and a lot of other peoples’ too), with the exception of custom homes. I generally like the look of 50s through early-90s subdivision houses.
Houses built in the 1890s thru 1930s or 40s or so, seem more likely to have problems with the foundation and/or the wiring. Houses built in the 40s and later are less likely to have those faults, in my experience, but often have galvanized plumbing which oxidizes and clogs.
In general the mid-century-modern era is my favorite housing period. My own house is a front-gabled bungalow built in the 30s, but I think my next one will be a 60s or 70s midcentury ranch (and I’m also partial to split-levels.)
I, personally, haven’t spearheaded a house reno, but I’ve helped some people, and even renovated a house for Habitat for Humanity.
I like a good, sturdy craftsman house. The post WWII housing boom produced some quickly and poorly made houses, but some of them are sturdy and beautiful. My favorite was one that had a ton of gorgeous built-ins. We replaced some warped shelves, old hardware, etc. but kept the architectural beauty of a lot of them. There was also a ton of gorgeous hardwood that we found under carpet or that had been painted over and was saved with some hard work.
I don’t know that you can narrow your protective housing pool down to a specific build era. Older houses have, in addition to ‘period’ issues like knob and tube, not enough outlet, etc, years of previous DIY done poorly (or just plain wrong). Newer houses may not have true 2x4 studs or 4 side brick, but they don’t have as much prior DIY. It’s probably best to treat each home as an individual and have it looked over thoroughly by an independent home inspector to help identify specific areas od deficiency.