Originally Posted by
Nicholas Lawrence
It all depends. My experience was pretty much the opposite.
I owned a late 1970s house that was poorly built. For example, when we decided to insulate the attic, I removed all the old blown in insulation, and discovered a layer of craft paper under it, but only within arms reach of the access panel. Turns out the old code required craft paper under the insulation, and the builder saved a dollar or two I am sure by doing it only within arms reach of the access panel, knowing the inspector would not check everywhere. Noticeably less insulation on the far side of the attic as well. You know if they are trying to save pennies like that, the rest of the construction is not that great, and it showed.
In contrast, the late 1950s house I own is very well built. A husband and wife had it built for their family, and I bought it from her. The construction quality is excellent, and it has been very well maintained. The electric needs to be upgraded, but nobody has done anything weird in here.
I think people should pay more attention to construction quality when they are looking at houses, but unfortunately there is poor workmanship in all eras, and the older ones may have suffered poor maintenance as well.