ali Posted April 7, 2012 Share Posted April 7, 2012 Where on earth did the "17 years" come from? Houses round my neck of the woods date from all eras back to 1814 - and not one of them has fallen down.[/ This was posted on another subforum on here: On the house building fro t we find them shocking quality. They look nice, but that's all. A good example is the one that is just being finished opposite us. It now looks stunning that is is rendered and sat there all white. But when it was bare brick I couldn't believe what I was seeing as there were holes big enough to put a football through in the exterior walls. This is a $2million house being built by one of WA's top builders. I spoke to a building manager recently who said that WA houses are only expected to last 17 years. Unbelievable. That's only one opinion ... I know heaps of people who have built - been down to the site every step of the way (and would have noticed massive holes before the rendering). All the people who I know have been more than happy with their builds/builders. Like Fiona, I'm in an older house - built in the 1980's. It's certainly not showing signs of falling down. If you're planning to build here, do your research, look at the builders with good reputations, ask the questions you need to ask and take on board or disregard the opinions of others as you see fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted April 7, 2012 Share Posted April 7, 2012 Older houses here (ours included) suffer from really poor window designs. They rattle when it gets really windy in some rooms are single glazed and are about as effective as ice cubes in hot coffee.New windows and front door coming soon, as for warming a cold house here in winter, we have gas fire in living room and a couple of our old oil storage heaters from the Uk in bedrooms when it gets below 15c.:biggrin: We've replaced all our windows Paul - massive difference to retaining heat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuart lawson Posted April 7, 2012 Share Posted April 7, 2012 I have read some discussion about the shoddy quality of Australian houses, especially in WA where apparently new houses are only expected to last 17 years. Don't want to spend our hard earned money on something that's not going to last a bit longer than that. Is this the same in all states, or are some houses in other states better built? What about older houses? I'm a carpenter with 20 years experience & I'm currently studying to get my builders licence in victoria. In my professional opinion & the opinion of my tutors who are teaching building & construction at diploma level the current form of building here follows the American format & the life span is 20 years. From state to state techniques vary but this mainly relates to cyclonic & non-cyclonic regions. On the whole houses are built fast & cheap, they appear beautiful but this is to the untrained eye. In many ways relating to energy efficiency & security & other key areas Australia is a long way behind the UK, although building them cheap & quick is the way it's gone there too. Personally I think property is way over priced here if your going to build houses that sell for hundreds of thousands built them to last or what is it worth? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newjez Posted April 7, 2012 Share Posted April 7, 2012 We've replaced all our windows Paul - massive difference to retaining heat Did you use double glazing Ali? Is it cooler in Summer? There were many fibro houses built in the 60's which were temperary, and these tend to get knocked down, but the building in Perth is very solid. Nothing like the houses that get built in the US. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 I'm a carpenter with 20 years experience & I'm currently studying to get my builders licence in victoria. In my professional opinion & the opinion of my tutors who are teaching building & construction at diploma level the current form of building here follows the American format & the life span is 20 years. From state to state techniques vary but this mainly relates to cyclonic & non-cyclonic regions. On the whole houses are built fast & cheap, they appear beautiful but this is to the untrained eye. In many ways relating to energy efficiency & security & other key areas Australia is a long way behind the UK, although building them cheap & quick is the way it's gone there too. Personally I think property is way over priced here if your going to build houses that sell for hundreds of thousands built them to last or what is it worth? Wow that really is an interesting post. Glad I'm not buying one right now ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Did you use double glazing Ali? Is it cooler in Summer? There were many fibro houses built in the 60's which were temperary, and these tend to get knocked down, but the building in Perth is very solid. Nothing like the houses that get built in the US. This is were I should have been listening to my hubby when he was explaining it lol. Our windows before were really thin, as someone mentioned they rattled and I could shout to my son at the back of the garden and he'd hear me lol. The windows aren't double glazing as such, but much thicker panes (they probably have a name but I don't know what it is). We found that during winter, we didn't have to have the heating on as much as previously. Ours is an older (brick) property Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Wow that really is an interesting post. Glad I'm not buying one right now ! Me too ... don't know that i'd be advertising it too much though or builders and trades people will be losing their lively hood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Me too ... don't know that i'd be advertising it too much though or builders and trades people will be losing their lively hood My answer to that would be maybe they should be giving people what they are paying for ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freckleface Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 I'm a carpenter with 20 years experience & I'm currently studying to get my builders licence in victoria. In my professional opinion & the opinion of my tutors who are teaching building & construction at diploma level the current form of building here follows the American format & the life span is 20 years. From state to state techniques vary but this mainly relates to cyclonic & non-cyclonic regions. On the whole houses are built fast & cheap, they appear beautiful but this is to the untrained eye. In many ways relating to energy efficiency & security & other key areas Australia is a long way behind the UK, although building them cheap & quick is the way it's gone there too. Personally I think property is way over priced here if your going to build houses that sell for hundreds of thousands built them to last or what is it worth? I don't think this can be true of all builders. My friends have just built a house in Victoria and were given a 30 year structural guarentee on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pintpot Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 I'm a carpenter with 20 years experience & I'm currently studying to get my builders licence in victoria. In my professional opinion & the opinion of my tutors who are teaching building & construction at diploma level the current form of building here follows the American format & the life span is 20 years. From state to state techniques vary but this mainly relates to cyclonic & non-cyclonic regions. On the whole houses are built fast & cheap, they appear beautiful but this is to the untrained eye. In many ways relating to energy efficiency & security & other key areas Australia is a long way behind the UK, although building them cheap & quick is the way it's gone there too. Personally I think property is way over priced here if your going to build houses that sell for hundreds of thousands built them to last or what is it worth? I heavily qualified my initial response to the OP but I'm glad someone else in the construction industry has a similar viewpoint My original professional qual (haven't worked as one for a long time though) is in structural engineering, and as said I'm not vastly impressed from a structural viewpoint of what I've seen. I'll stop short of criticising the houses too heavily because we (Engineers) have a tendency to be over-conservative, especially I've done very little work in resi, and am much more used to commercial builds and civils/infrastructure, which is a completely different ball game. I'm much more comfortable with loads of concrete than a few studs ;-) Time for an industry "joke" methinks :biggrin: http://www.aplaceofsense.com/JackvArchitect.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Ropey HOFF Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Barratt homes are still standing here in the Uk and they were real quality.:no::laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petals Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/dodgy-building-checks-exposed-20120410-1wn15.html This relates to Victoria, interesting article in The Age newspaper. They privatised inspection services some considerable time ago, and at the time I remember my oh and I walking around an estate near us and looking at a slab preparation and saying gosh thrown down. Prior to this the councils did all the inspections and they were strict. Another reason why private is not always best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobj Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 I have read some discussion about the shoddy quality of Australian houses, especially in WA where apparently new houses are only expected to last 17 years. Don't want to spend our hard earned money on something that's not going to last a bit longer than that. Is this the same in all states, or are some houses in other states better built? What about older houses? I know of a few very old homes in WA that are still in good nick, so much so that the 'wallpaper' is still good.:wink: http://www.convictcreations.com/aborigines/bradshaws.htm Cheers, Bobj. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Ropey HOFF Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 (edited) Bob, what happens to all the houses that fall down after 20 years, they must move the rubble quick, because i saw thousands of houses when i was there and not only didn't i see any collapsed, they must have built them back up in next to no time. lol Edited April 10, 2012 by ali Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobj Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 (edited) Bob, what happens to all the houses that fall down after 20 years, they must move the rubble quick, because i saw thousands of houses when i was there and not only didn't i see any collapsed, they must have built them back up in next to no time. lol I was told that they ship the rubble to the UK to build the squillions of high-rise flats over there...:wink: Cheers, Bobj. Edited April 10, 2012 by ali Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petals Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 A few years ago a new estate up the road, house under construction just about to lock up, we had a big storm and it just collapsed in a heap:laugh: Its rebuilt and has not fallen down again though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Ropey HOFF Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 A few years ago a new estate up the road, house under construction just about to lock up, we had a big storm and it just collapsed in a heap:laugh: Its rebuilt and has not fallen down again though. It must have hit the 20 year mark and thought, thats it i'm going down. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockDr Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 The 17 years is probably an insurance/accounting thing. Something about the length of time the building will last with no upkeep done to it. The treasurer explained it to me when I was at college, that to self insure there had to be a fund with enough money to cover the cost of a rebuild over the 50yrs (in this case). IIRC the interest from that fund could be used for upkeep, it was all very complicated and obviously doesn't work the same for private houses, but I would assume that's where the 17yr figure comes from, it's not that the house is expected to fall down in that time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pintpot Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 Bob, what happens to all the houses that fall down after 20 years, they must move the rubble quick, because i saw thousands of houses when i was there and not only didn't i see any collapsed, they must have built them back up in next to no time. lol If they'd fallen down, you wouldn't see them, would you? Logic not your strong point, is it? :wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pintpot Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 The 17 years is probably an insurance/accounting thing. Something about the length of time the building will last with no upkeep done to it. The treasurer explained it to me when I was at college, that to self insure there had to be a fund with enough money to cover the cost of a rebuild over the 50yrs (in this case). IIRC the interest from that fund could be used for upkeep, it was all very complicated and obviously doesn't work the same for private houses, but I would assume that's where the 17yr figure comes from, it's not that the house is expected to fall down in that time. I suspect the "17 years" is either made up, or a measure of the average age of a house in Perth (not that such a measure would tell you anything), or a measure of the average age of buildings thata re knocked down and the site redeveloped (not that that tells you anything about quality, either) Pretty sure it's not a measure of either design life or expected life in service. You'd be hard pushed to actively design something for a 17 year life, it wouldn't be much more than a shack. I have some issues with the way a lot of houses seem to be built here, but they're not *that* bad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thombatt Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 If 17 years were true you wouldn't be able to get a mortgage longer than 17 years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Ropey HOFF Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 If 17 years were true you wouldn't be able to get a mortgage longer than 17 years Great reply, I am sure there's a good explanation for this, I will wait with baited breadth to hear why. I think we might be waiting a very long time. Lol:wink::laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blobby1000 Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 Typically the Australians I have encountered have no sentiment towards the house they live in, they will happily knock it down and build another, as a result many do not look after and maintain their houses and they tend to fall down. If you look after your houseit is likely to last longer than 17 years. In any case, most people would sell within 17 years anyway so even if it did collapse it would not be your problem. What I find extraordinary is the town we live in has been a seaside destination for over 100 years and yet almost all the houses are new. If the Australians stopped knocking their towns down they would develop more arcitectural history and, to my mind, the towns would have a lot more character. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 (edited) Typically the Australians I have encountered have no sentiment towards the house they live in, they will happily knock it down and build another I have lived in Australia for 60 years and I do not know one person who has knocked down their house to build another. In fact, in our area, old houses which require much maintenance are very popular - in fact sell for much more than I think reasonable given their maintenance costs - and people spend enormous amounts of money maintaining heritage listed houses - and, for the pleasure, are willing to put up with all sorts of restrictions and red tape if they want to change anything. Rather than being knocked down, the main floor of our house was moved from its original site when the airport was extended and fitted on to a ground floor built into its new sloping site about 20 miles away. And at least 3 of our friends have moved houses to other locations rather than have them knocked down. I don't know the history of Torquay at all but I imagine there were very few buildings there 100 years ago and the ones that were would have been simple weekend/fishing shacks. Edited April 12, 2012 by Skani Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pintpot Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Rather than being knocked down, the main floor of our house was moved from its original site when the airport was extended and fitted on to a ground floor built into its new sloping site about 20 miles away. And at least 3 of our friends have moved houses to other locations rather than have them knocked down. I thought we were talking about houses here? A Tasmanian suburb, yesterday :wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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