Old house renovation or new build house?

**kentvogel** · 10-06-2011, 01:52 AM

We confused whether we are renovating an old house or building a new house can be!

The "old", detached single-family house, built in 77, (dimensions 10x10) is on a very small plot of 150 sqm living space guess!
Facilities in brief:
2 medium-large basement with laundry room, party room and bathroom,
EC with a large living / dining area including fireplace, kitchen and bathroom,
1 floor with 3 rooms and bath (all rooms have 'extreme' drafts)
memory

We would innh the house with only a residual debt of about 100.000 €. the family can take over.

However, many fall at work:

completely new exterior cladding,
be found for a wall element made of glass bricks must be an alternative, looks very old fashioned way!
new underfloor heating on both levels;
EG & first floor bathroom complete renovation
Completely new kitchen, wall & tear associated with housing
In the basement will be built a sauna in the old bathroom
Completely new party room
Of course the whole house re-decorating
The first floor can remain

I do not know if we are ourselves financially better if we just buy a new house directly, or let it build as we'd like.
Perhaps there are indeed experienced rabbits that I can possibly give a few tips, as well as I can maybe get an idea of the costs, what to expect during renovation or a new building for us.

**jadnashua** · 10-06-2011, 08:12 PM

While we have some non-USA members, I'm not sure there's anyone here that can give you any ideas about costs in the UK (assuming you mean that London). Building a house gives you the opportunity to make it the way you want. But, especially if it is your first house, sometimes what you think you want isn't what you really want until you've lived with it. So, some people wait and move a few times before they get a good handle on what works for them and what they really want before building. Remodeling gets MUCH more expensive if you decide you want to change the general layout of the house...it costs to tear it apart, and then it costs to build it back up again. On new, depending on what you're doing, it may be cheaper; depends on how much of an old structure you decide to keep.

**jimbo** · 10-07-2011, 07:05 AM

There are great "bones" in old houses, great architectural style, and probably a level of interior finish details that are not found today. But you are talking not about a 'remodel' where a more-or-less fixed cost contract can be created and worked from. You are talking about a RESTORATION...where every board you remove potentially opens up a whole new and un-budgeted can of worms. So just be very aware and realistic about what you are getting into.

You said old, and I was thinking that '77 meant 1877 or 1777 ( we have houses from that generation even here in the colonies, in my old home town in Massachusetts).....but now I gather you mean 1977, so that is not really "old" and propably you would have less exposure to serious structural issues!