In article ,
The Natural Philosopher writes:

Foundations are MUCH better - they have to be. So is wiring, insulation,
plumbing and general use of the space and fitout quality. Its teh
structure where the building regs are bent till they creak that
sometimes gets a bit naff. I.e. use of chipboard floors that creak if no
glue is used, and stud walls instead of block. A block house is a
quieter house IME.

Victorian/Edwardian stud walls are fine, but that's because they
normally have over an inch of plaster on either side. A stud wall
with plasterboard (skimmed or not) is very different.

Also use of plasticky windows and doors is a bit naff in anything other
than ultra modern styled places. However if the owner doesn't do window
frame painting, they outlast softwood.

Modern houses are nice 30-100 year and then tear em down places. Low
maintenance then replace.

Since the STRUCTURE house cost these days probably represents on many
sites less than 50% of the 'value' I would expect many of them to be
torn down and replaced anyway in due course.

Houses have been built for many years with a life expectancy
of 200 years. There has been much speculation that a number of
the building techniques employed in houses since the late '60's
will have significantly shorter life expectancy, and should
consequently be selling at lower prices more equivalent to those
with a lease 100 years, but this isn't something people consider
when buying a house.

--
Andrew Gabriel