Thinking of upgrading your home? Torn between demolishing and rebuilding or simply renovating it? There are several factors you should consider before deciding on the better option to avoid unnecessary problems and expenditure.
Budget and time constraints are the obvious aspects to take into account before deciding on remodeling your home. Apart from that, here are the other important factors you should consider before deciding on whether to rebuild or renovate your home.
Compare the cost of rebuilding vs renovating your home
One of the most important things to do before deciding to remodel your home is to compare the cost of rebuilding against the cost of renovating. Realistically, home renovations in Adelaide cost more than building from scratch as it remains a bespoke transformation that is time-consuming and labour intensive. As a result, rebuilding is more pocket friendly because brand new homes can be built quickly with efficiency and optimisation due to the use of modern systems and materials. Depending on how much you want to change your home, convey your ideas to your builder and enquire on the more feasible option to go forward with according to your budget.
Check your local planning laws
Depending on where you live, your local council planning laws may prohibit the demolition or remodeling of houses of a particular age or historical significance. To avoid getting into legal trouble, find out the age of your home from the drainage plan included in your purchase contract. You can also determine your home’s age from council records. Once you have that information, go ahead and check the rules and regulations that are in place for demolishing your home.
Evaluate your current home
Before deciding on what you’re planning to do to your home, you have to comprehensively evaluate it in its current state. Check your home’s structural integrity and examine its current condition, as well as what needs to be repaired in order for a renovation to be effective. It’s best to get advice from a home renovation specialist on how much it would affect your renovation budget and compare it with the cost of building a new space from scratch as quoted by custom home builders in Adelaide. Also consider your home’s access, character, features, and location before deciding whether these factors can fit into your budget or not.
Research your house’s price
Studying the types of houses that sell well in your housing area is important as your home may generally be your biggest asset. Find out your home’s current worth from local agents and how much it will be worth when renovated. Compare that price against what a brand new home of that size can sell for. Research and go through these figures so that you will know how to set your budget and assess your risk exposure regardless of your decision.
Determine the amount of space you want
It is better to first decide on how much extra room you want and whether you intend to make major structural changes to your current home before choosing to rebuild or renovate. Once you are clear on how much added space you want, you can research to see if it’s economically sound to rebuild or just renovate. Share your designs and ideas with your builder so that you can be advised on the best plan of action moving forward.
Decide the position of your home
It’s crucial to prioritise your heating and cooling needs when choosing the best orientation for your home. In most climates, the ideal house orientation is solar north but orientations of up to 20° west of north and 30° east of north are still fine in order to get north-easterly and northern sunlight into your home. You may want to consider designing for solar access or speak to your builder to make structural modifications to your current home if your home is facing the completely wrong direction. Once you have assessed your house’s position, you can determine if a complete rebuild or just renovation is necessary.
Identify what type of home you love
If you love homes that have historical value and the character that comes with a home that’s had past owners, you may enjoy the idea of contributing another chapter to that story by regenerating the home. You may want to refresh an existing home and breathe new life into it with brand new home extensions in Adelaide. On the other hand, if you love the idea of living in a home that nobody else has, you could be more interested in the idea of a brand new place entirely, completely customised to your lifestyle and preference. This, as with anything in life, can change depending on where you live and what stage of life you’re currently in.
Ultimately, it’s your home so only you can decide if you’d like to custom build it from scratch or renovate part of it. Whatever your decision may be, don’t forget to reach out to experienced custom home builders in Adelaide who can guide you with expert advice on making the right choice for your home!