Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jul 25, 2007 2:08 pm Hi all,
We have been researching project homes for quite a while now and very happy with the design of the Eden Brae Entertainer especially the focus on the outdoor area from the kitchen and generally the layout of the house. However, we got to thinking about whether to use our existing home and rebuild around it. The front and original part of the house is double brick built in the 50s and would need to be gutted internally. It is lovely and cool in summer and warm in winter. Then we could demolish the back part of the house (a flat roof extension added in the 60s). We would then be able to add a second story as well as extend the rear of the house (dependent on the capacity of the existing house to take a second story. Needless to say the block is large. I have a number of concerns regarding this idea and would love to hear your thoughts. My reservations include cost; age of the existing structure; difficulties in obtaining council approval (Sutherland Council); coordination of builders etc (as compared with a project home. Thanks J. Re: Building decisons 2Jul 25, 2007 2:35 pm J,
Always a tough one - I know who has a 1920's house they have done the extend, extend and now doing the 2nd story etc, and they said "wish we'd knocked it alldown and built a new house" But they would not have anice bungalow 20 stone frontage - so it's a choice. The 50 house should be strong as an ox, and you will need to do something at the front to change it, and it is normally more costly to extend due to integration with the old building issues. A builder mate of mine told that building a 2nd floor will add 30 to 40% to the cost these days due to safety railings etc. As a guide - in a much smaller project - I had an engineer at my place recently to work out adding some new external steps - and he said he would rather just make them free standing so he does not have to evaluate the existing structures ability to suport them etc. So do some sums and then see what you can live with - renovations while living there can be tiresome, and cash flow when knocking is down is another issue. Review your area, make sure the house and space will all be used properly, are you staying for along time and then decide. Good luck. Steve What ever you do - make it eco friendly as well. Re: Building decisons 3Jul 25, 2007 3:02 pm Wouldn't surprise me if this option ended up being more expensive. I'd say to do it properly, you would have to find a good architect who would design the whole thing for you, and that's not cheap, and then you would have to find a quality small builder to do the job.
It is definitely doable, but could be more trouble than it's worth. Currently Building in Bayside (Brighton East) I’m curious about how you went with this. We are planning a KDRB and considering Plantation Homes as a builder. I’m aware that after the demolition another soil test… 1 6321 i wouldn't be worried, you'll definitely miss something, no matter how many times you review. we've spent close to 5 months ensuring everything got reflected in the… 5 9439 Thanks for your reply. I will just wait and see I guess. Trying to get some more information from our builder. 9 11715 |