Situations When Tearing Down and Rebuilding a House Is Better Than Renovating It
When homeowners need to make significant structural changes to their houses, they are usually confronted with a choice between two options: to renovate or to knock everything down and build from scratch. Many homeowners are usually quick to go the renovation way because they consider it to be the cheapest option. Though renovating is cheaper in most cases, it is not always the best option.
Here are some situations when it may be better to demolish an old house and build a new one instead of renovating.
When the house is located on prime land.
In real estate language, 'prime' land refers to land that is pricey because of its ideal location for building or other purposes. For homeowners who live in high-end suburbs or areas and are considering selling their homes in the future, a knock-down and rebuild job would make more financial sense than a renovation job. This is because these homeowners can always fetch a good price in the real estate market when they sell the property and recover the amount that they used to perform the demolition and rebuild.
Homeowners that want to tear down and rebuild their houses for speculative purposes in the real estate market should consult a local real estate agent first. These real estate professionals can help assess the value of the property and advise the homeowner if the knock-down rebuild job is worth their money.
When homeowners want to go 'green.'
Ensuring energy-efficiency in homes is important today, and it will be in the days to come. A lot of old homeowners have now embraced the global push for people to live in energy-efficient houses. For these homeowners, renovating may not achieve the desired energy rating because the materials and techniques used to construct their houses might not have chosen with energy performance in mind.
Since almost everything might have to be torn down and rebuilt during the renovation job, it may be more practical to simply demolish the entire structure and rebuild with new energy-efficient materials, and any reuseable materials salvaged from the old house. Demolishing and rebuilding can achieve better energy rating, but also help save time and money spent doing tough renovation jobs.
There are many other situations when a knock-down rebuild might be a better option over renovating. If you can't decide which way to go, feel free to consult a contractor that specialises in building constructions, renovations and demolitions.
