I live in a 1870 4 bed Victorian pile in Suffolk, bloody thing is solid, when we had new build spent a fortune on upkeep, due to shoddy workmanship, thin walls, plasterboard etc and crap neighbours.
in the pile it does cost more to heat, but worth it, just wear more jumpers,
when we moved in had to spend money getting it up to scratch, but well worth it, and 9ft ceilings make it all worth while, plus the half acre of garden.
yes it will in probability cost you a bit more, but you pay for quality

i own a Victorian semi that had not been touched since the 1950s

there are some good pointers that people have pointed out
firstly a good survey of the house.

check the wiring, ours had an old consumer unit and no earths to the lights or sockets, you will also notice that there will only be one socket in each room. (you are looking at over £3500 for a rewire)

central heating, look at spending around £3000 for a decent combi boiler and radiators.

the attics are massive, if you are thinking of converting in the next few years, get the plumbers and electricians to put the services in place up there. as it will save you a small fortune in the long run.

flooring, check for dry rot, wet rot and woodworm, ours had all 3, you need to make sure that the vents are clear under the house to allow the air to circulate, if the floor bounces and squeaks under your foot the joist is rotten or on its way out, believe me i learned the hard way.

if you keep the wooden floors, make sure you fill in all the gaps between the boards, as it will get chilly in the winter.
last year our gas bill for the quarter, over winter was over £600.

look at fitting wood burning stoves in the fireplaces, as this is handy in the winter months and keeps the bills down.

check for rising damp as they didn't build on a proper foundation.

for insulation most energy companies offer a discount to insulate the attic or even sell the insulation rolls for £3 each.
you cant insulate the walls as there is no cavities.

windows, if you can, fit double glazing, they also do upvc double glazing keeping with the Victorian theme. we had original windows fitted, and would give you an headache just looking through them, as everything looked warped and the glass had air bubbles in it.

also we have all the original doors in the house, they suffer from alot of swelling and shrinkage when the seasons change!

on the plus side of owning a Victorian house, it will be large, with high ceilings and character with all the old features, ours has all the original ceiling roses and plaster coving & decorative wood rails.

it took us over a year in total to renovate but it was worth it

Originally Posted by CRmeansCeilingReached

thanks, I've already factored in £1000 for full structural survey - possibly from someone specialising in surveying Victorian properties?

DJB - I'll be asking the estate agent on monday for details about damp-proof course, insulation etc, will try and get a modern history of work completed on the house. all but two small windows have been replaced with UPVC double glazing. cheers for the checklist.

Make sure the surveyor checks for dry rot properly ie , he lifts any carpets and checks floorboards and better still , the joists .Bath stone absorbs water like a sponge and causes dry rot , so if it is stone fronted , assume there may be a problem
Also subsidence . If there are trees growing within say , 5-10 mts of the house
they will suck up a lot of moisture , causing the clay to shrink and the house to subside.get him to check this carefully

the Environment Agency agency website has a facility to check the flood risk in the area .Just put the postcode in and a map will flash up : Linky thing

Environment Agency - Am I at risk of flooding?

I would also have a look at the neighbourhood closely.Have all the other houses been carved up into bedsits , etc ?
Internet speeds locally ?
Is it a conservation area , can you put a sat dish up ( if you want one that is )
Last : Don't believe a word the estate tells you .. They are mostly lying cunts
Hope this helps

Get in a small jobbing builder, plumber etc to give the place a look- over.

We can spot all sorts of problems, because the sellers often try to "hide" faults.... any hardboard or plywood boxing, get under the floor to check the joists etc.

My first house, (which my first wife is still squatting in ) was a Victorian build and while I loved the space etc was an absolute money pit and a bugger to heat.

Lot's of others have already given good advice, any 60's rip- out to modernise the place will cost a lot to restore, the idea of wood- stoves is a good one, open fires need at least 4 times the amount of fuel.

I bought a Victorian house in 1989. Many of the points raised here are exactly what we had to do ie rewire, damp roof course, refelt the roof, renew flashing in gulleys etc. Also the cold water tank may be lead/aluminium - cant recall what ours was but in order to replace it a large hole had to be cut in ceiling - worth checking that before any interior redecoration. Also if not already fitted consider a Ramsay ladder for easy access to attic. We couldnt make any major alteration as we were in a conservation areas. Had to stay with sash windows which were drafty in winter but maybe you have original shutters. Ours were painted up but was worth the effort to get them operational. One good upside was that the house held its value well and cant complain as we sold very well in 2006. Good luck.

There might be a horse buried in the garden.

What is it with people and these bloody wood burning stoves? Perfectly good beautiful fireplaces ripped out and replaced with nasty chinese cast iron stoves. Stoves are what you have in a log cabin or a shed. If you want efficient, just go for Gas central heating.

Originally Posted by EX_STAB

What is it with people and these bloody wood burning stoves? Perfectly good beautiful fireplaces ripped out and replaced with nasty chinese cast iron stoves. Stoves are what you have in a log cabin or a shed. If you want efficient, just go for Gas central heating.

Do you know how much gas costs? Last winter my bill was £600 for the quarter.

Open fires are so inefficient, they drag in huge amounts of cold air and drag the heat straight up the chimney.

A wood stove is near 80% efficient.

Our last winter's gas bill was £200, the majority of our heat came from 10 trailerfulls of scrap wood from a local woodyard..... £5 a trailer.

Our house dates from the 1700s but it has passed through being Victorian. It was the Edwardians that gentrified it, thatch off, tiles on (so raised pitch) and put a brick skin over half-timbering.

It was bloody freezing, but we've slowly learned how to improve things. We had the sashes renovated by Ventrolla, a sturdy door curtain put in (and thick curtains and shutters elsewhere) and sited a log burner very well so that it warm soaks a healthy chunk of the house. In the last week or so we have rather retreated into the sitting room which has a log fire and so stay toasty. As we are listed I belong to the SPAB as their technical advice line has been very useful and I have had to master lime pointing for some of our walling.

We love the house 'tho - it's very distinctive and fun. It doesn't have a right angle in the place so all the furniture is trimmed or custom made.