ᐅ Energy-Efficient Renovation and Refurbishment: How to Plan?

Hi,

we are planning to buy a single-family house built in 1981 in the Recklinghausen district. It is a solid brick house with a registered living area of 115 sqm (1240 sq ft) including sloped ceilings. However, there is also a fully finished attic and basement, which are not included in the living area.

Except for the kitchen, nothing has been renovated in the past 40 years, but everything has been regularly maintained and repaired. The house has a brick veneer exterior with, reportedly, only an air gap as insulation. The roof insulation consists of glass wool, typical for 1981 standards. The windows are double-glazed plastic frames.

What we want to address cosmetically are:
- Guest toilet on the ground floor
- Main bathroom on the upper floor
- Basement bathroom
- New windows, front door, and basement door
- Remove all floor tiles in the basement and ground floor (the living room has herringbone parquet, which still looks good and may only need refinishing)
- Remove carpet on the upper floor and attic as well
- Install parquet or tiles throughout
- Remove a wall between the kitchen and dining room
- New heating system, currently an old gas boiler; there is also an old tiled stove on the ground floor, which will likely remain
- Add two dormers on the rear side of the house would be great
- Photovoltaics would be beneficial since a wall box for electric vehicle charging is planned in the garage
- Two basement rooms have glass block windows, which should be replaced with regular windows

How would you plan the renovation? What steps would you take?

I especially wonder about the roof, heating pipes, and electrical system. Additional power outlets will definitely be needed.

Also regarding energy-related renovations, I am unsure what makes sense. The brick veneer will stay and might be painted. But how can it be insulated? Roof insulation without a new roof? Heat pump or new gas boiler? Underfloor heating?

I don’t have any professional contractors in my network, only some with DIY skills. So I will have to arrange professionals and possibly support the work myself.

But in what order should I “invite” tradespeople?

What budget would you suggest for the house purchase and for the renovation?

hartzneubau schrieb:

The house has a brick veneer (with probably only an air cavity as insulation). The roof was insulated with glass wool according to the 1981 standard.
The windows are double-glazed plastic frames.

By 1981, the first thermal insulation regulations for new buildings were already in place. Either the load-bearing masonry includes some thermal insulation, or there is an insulation layer behind the brick veneer. An uninsulated air cavity was very rare in 1981.
Apart from blown-in insulation into a possibly existing air cavity, measures on the facade for buildings of this age are usually not economically sensible or necessary.

For the roof, the condition and type matter and would need to be inspected on site.

Replacing the windows is usually worthwhile with triple glazing and warm edge spacers (yes, this is possible with walls from 1981). The front door depends on its condition and type.

An experienced energy consultant (from the energy efficiency expert list of Dena) can best answer this and all other energy-related questions on site. He or she can prepare a renovation roadmap (ISFP) listing reasonable measures, costs, savings, and possible funding options.

If you don’t have expertise, that would be the most sensible approach.

What you SHOULD NOT do: Invite a roofer to ask for opinions on a new roof, a plumber for a new heating system, and a painter for facade insulation ideas.
Do this only after someone who does not offer any of the required or planned measures has designed the project. Then you will have concrete specifications (e.g., heat pump with X kW, replacement of heating radiators XYZ, and development of hydraulic balancing including the heating load calculation from the consultant).

If dormers are planned, an architect is usually a better advisor than a chimney sweep.
The total costs naturally depend entirely on the planned measures and desired features.

hartzneubau schrieb:

How would you plan a renovation now? What would be your steps? [...]
But if so, in what order should I "invite" (consult) whom?

hartzneubau schrieb:

We are still planning for ourselves and roughly estimating the costs for our plans. [...]
Would you expect a completely new electrical system in the house? Like all cables removed, new fuse box, etc.?

1. Plan the renovation carefully, including a detailed, individualized renovation schedule; otherwise, the project will become a bottomless pit, and you will have to keep adding money continuously.
2. Please do not open a new thread for every little detail.

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Does the house already have underfloor heating? What type should be installed?