Buyers are often asked by insurance companies or mortgage lenders to specify the age of a property. Sometimes this can be a fairly simple task. However, with some older properties it can actually be quite tricky and all that can be provided is an educated guess. Here are a few pointers to help you identify the age of a house:

1. Check the meters as they will often carry an installation date. If it is a reasonably modern house this will correspond to the build date.

2. If the house is relatively new, a land registry search will give an indication of when the developer first sold the property to a buyer. Although, as a general rule the land registry records the title of land and is less specific about what is actually on the land.

3. Does the property have cavity walls or solid walls? Houses built before 1939 tended to have solid walls. Look at the brickwork. Are all of the bricks laid lengthways (in a stretcher pattern)? This tends to show two skins of bricks and a cavity wall. If any of the bricks have the ends facing out (known as headers) it is likely to be a solid wall. Most post war houses have cavity walls.

4. If you know or suspect that your house still has the original window frames, this should provide some clues. Sliding sash windows are generally pre-1919.

5. Large wooden picture framed windows were a feature of the 1960’s. In the 1970's and 1980's windows were generally smaller to reflect the rising costs of energy.

6. Flat roofs suggest that the property was built in the 60's or 70's. If your property has a low-pitched roof with interlocking concrete tiles, it is almost certainly a 70’s construction.

7. Medium pitched roofs of around 45 degrees and hipped roofs are a feature of inter-war (1919-39) design.

8. Pitched roofs with gabled ends indicate construction in the period immediately post war.

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