Help! The house I want to buy is timber framed

Any house can have mice, in the walls and elsewhere. We have had mice before now, although not in the modern timber frame house, nor did anyone else on the estate have mice that I remember.

These are just ordinary houses using a prefabricated building system, brick on the outside, plasterboard on the inside like any other new house.

BBbevan
There is a builder commenting earlier on the thread about these houses. His mention of mice in the walls was what prompted my comment.
OP may have taken his comments on board and worry. Negatives tend to stick on one's mind if already having doubts.

I have bought, sold and lived in a modern timber framed house. We treated it just like a normal house, drilled holes in the walls, put up cupboards and shelves ran extra cabling, you name it, we did it. never a sign of damp or any of the other problems people fear.

We moved out some decades ago, but these houses are now selling at more than £500,000. Once people buy them they tend to stay there. The people we sold to lived there for 25 years and it sold quite quickly when they put it up for sale.

It is a very commonly used building method because the frame can be prefabricated off site and the house erected and made weather tight far more quickly than using more conventional building methods.

I wouldn't think twice about buying another such house.

My DD lives in an old stone built house with 4ft. wide walls. She has mice. It has nothing to do with what your house is built of.

You will be setting yourself up for a lifetime of worry.

"Shall I put up shelves?" "Did those shelves that are now up pierce the membrane?".

"Can I hear a mouse?"

"The builder/ workman/handyman took a deep breath and said its not straightforward with houses like these".

I wouldn't buy it because of the worry. Unfounded it may be but you don't need the doubts.

Eglantine - If you need a mortgage and the Building Society has agreed to give you one, after seeing the surveyor's report. And if you can get buildings insurance.
And the price is right - go for it!

Me again, Ours is oak framed with plastered infills, and a brick- built end. The oak cracks, but it all adds to the charm: the house is 4 years old yet looks medieval. It appears to have none of the faults I've encountered in the 6 or 7 conventionally built houses I've lived in previously, such as damp, rotting window frames. It is so well insulated that we frequently turn off the under floor heating. I suppose it all depends how old the wood framed house you are planning to buy dates from, and how well maintained: you need an experienced surveyor to sniff out any problems. Good luck.

There are timber frames and wood frames and there is a vast difference in the quality of the building.
We have an estate beside us that are little better than garden sheds with an outer brick layer. I watched them being built and wouldn't have had one even as a gift.
There are some beautiful individual houses built from seasoned timber, I think it is just buyer beware.

We had a timber framed house built in our large back garden and sold the old 18th Century one, a brick built former vicarage. We adapted the plans of a Welsh firm who supplied the frame, and employed a local builder who'd built one such close by. The house is great, and gains admiration from everyone, from friends & family to delivery men and window cleaners. It's warm, aesthetic and homely. People stop to photograph it all the time and we've had several offers to buy. Obviously location is important and it's in a good village one, but if top house agents have assured me that timbre framed houses with mod cons sell like hot cakes, so go ahead. On reading this the tone sounds smug, honestly I'm not: I still can't believe that hard work, luck and buying an old wreck of a vicarage brought us from a rented semi- detached to such an attractive dwelling.

Tensiniox you would be hard pressed in Florida to find a house built with bricks and mortar because they are all timber framed with plasterboard type covering which is then either rendered or covered with shiplap wood.

I would buy. As far as I know it is more warm and safe to live in. But most property for sale in USA tranio.com/usa/ are usually made of bricks and mortar... I don't know why honestly. In my opinion wood is more practical and much better in all the ways.

I would not buy a non standard house. Insurance can be hard to obtain.

I’m sitting in my lovely timber framed second home. It’s warm and dry, all the walls are perfectly flat plaster and all the plumbing and electrics are chased in, as in any house! It’s too hot, at the moment to have the wood burning stove on.
The Scandinavians know something about the insulation possibilities of timber framing. As others have said, it’s a very common way of building in Scotland.
It’s warmer than our other house, a 100 year old brick built cottage.
Both houses are insured with a well known insurer, no problem.

I know that Building Regulations are different in some aspects in Scotland but we had a timber-framed bungalow built for us in the 70's and sold it ten years later due to needing an fourth bedroom with no problems at all. Most of the major builders in Scotland have built complete housing estates with timber frames and there does not seem to be any problems when applying for mortgages.

The walls in my timber build are not paper thin ! they are very thick and substantial , but if you have doubts look for something else !

Things must be really different in the USA. I actually work for Building Inspections and if a dwelling does not pass state inspection guidelines then the power cannot be turned on until all the issues are corrected and the home is reinspected.
Each phase of the construction is inspected from the ground up.

Ive known people who have had purchases fall through because their mortgage lenders had unreasonably tight parameters re the type of building they would lend on.

Cant buy it if you cant finance it no matter how fine it is structurally.

Thats what'll mainly affect resale

You need to speak to someone in finance. It is irrelevant that buyers are okay with it if it spooks their lenders.

I just want to say that self builders are subject to the same regulations as all builders, and if anything, are inspected more frequently. Most self builds are done to a very high standard. Eglantine should be able to see the 'sign off' by the building inspector.
Of course, it is silly to buy a house that you are unhappy about, but as Eglantine likes it, she needs to get proper information.

Our house is timber framed with metre-thick stone walls. According to a local historian, it was built with ships' timbers although that's a bit odd as we are about as far from the sea as you can be in England! However, we do have a major river nearby which once served the cradle of the industrial revolution so perhaps it was from cargo boats on the river.It was built in the 1600s & cool in summer & cosy & warm in winter, with good central heating & a log burner. I don't think I'd like a modern house with paper thin walls.

Eglantine as a house is the most expensive thing you are likely to buy, I would say that as you are so full of doubt, you shouldn’t buy it.

If it was by a reputable builder then you would have warranties in place, with a self build you have no idea how it was built or if it was built correctly.

However, you could get the sellers to get various surveys done at their own cost, to set your mind at rest?

Well, I lived in one in Chelmsford for a long time ...then the terrible reports came out about timber framed houses and I thought it would never sell ...but by the time I needed to move, it sold very quickly and had lots of other offers ...so don't worry ! If you are concerned, then probably not a good idea to buy it as it may shadow your enjoyment of the move ! good luck !

One of our neighbours homes is timber built (about 10 years ago) most of it being green oak I think. It not only looks beautiful it's very cosy and economical to run. Last winter they only put their oil central heating on once or twice a week because the house is so well insulated it just retains the heat. And judging be the decor in their home they have had no problems fixing things to the walls. They have now started work on a side extension.

Our house is stone built but we also have a very large wood built extension, and the rooms in the extension are definitely warmer than those with stone walls! But the very well insulated extension keeps all the adjoining rooms cosy.

It might be worth checking with a mortgage provider if they offer mortgages on timber framed houses. I know it can be hard to get a mortgage on some types of builds that are called non standard builds but I don't know if a timber framed house is classed as that. If mortgage providers won't lend it can be hard to sell but if they will lend I would say it's fine to go for it.

Thank you all.

I think now I have to try to get more information about the original build. If it’s not available I will have to see if they will allow the surveyor to do some exploratory work like drilling a hole to see what the infill is.

I’m still worried that it’s a building with a limited lifespan. I know it will outlast me but there’s something about spending my money on a depreciating building that I can’t get my head round.

Oh damn, damn. I can’t be a homeless sofa surfer for ever.
Or can I...........