ᐅ Complete renovation of an old single-family house

All in all, it’s a difficult situation. You have to consider what you want to achieve.
If you want to replace the heating system and install underfloor heating, then the screed has to be removed or milled everywhere.
All floors need to be taken out, screed worked on or possibly redone, new floors installed. Hallelujah.
As Joedreck already mentioned, it’s hard to say.

Personally, I would start with the roof insulation or renewal. Then the windows, and after that you can decide what’s next. Maybe the other way around—windows first, then the roof.
Either way, both can be done while living in the house without many issues.
Energetically, these are probably the most impactful and also major projects.

New pipes? Well, is it really necessary? If the old ones still work and there are no leaks, why go through all that work?
New electrical wiring? Again, is it necessary? You could add a few outlets here and there, but ripping out old cables and installing new ones just for the sake of it doesn’t make sense.
I would only add new outlets if there are only one or two in a room.
You can renovate a bathroom without having to replace the pipes.
Sometimes you simply cannot invest in an old building the way you want to, and if you do, it requires a massive effort.

So my approach would be:
Check the roof condition – determine necessary renewal measures – estimate costs.
Check the windows condition – determine necessary renewal measures – estimate costs.
Check the heating system condition – determine necessary renewal measures – estimate costs.

These are, in my opinion, the three most important points to assess together. What makes the most sense financially and practically to start with?
The facade can be addressed later, because I believe that in terms of energy efficiency, facade insulation does not provide as much benefit as the points mentioned above.

A renovated bathroom, new floors, fresh paint, and similar improvements would only be a high priority for me if the current state is close to unacceptable.

I generally agree with you. However, based on the title, I assumed a complete renovation. At first, even in an unoccupied state.
For bathroom renovations, I would always check the condition of the plumbing (water supply and drainage).
Galvanized steel pipes, for example, tend to clog over time. If that happens two years after a bathroom update, it’s really frustrating.
The same goes if the old cast iron soil stack develops a leak shortly afterward.
With copper and plastic pipes, on the other hand, I wouldn’t do anything.

Insulation should be done in the order suggested by the previous poster. For example, exterior wall insulation can be effectively done as a DIY project, provided you’re not completely inexperienced.

I would always upgrade the electrical system when renovating a room anyway.
From my own unfortunate experience, I know how annoying it is to have to do that afterward.
You can save money here by pulling the wires yourself and installing the sockets. The old wiring doesn’t necessarily need to be removed, just decommissioned.
BUT the final connection should definitely be done by a qualified professional!

But as I said: please provide more information about the house, the budget, and maybe the planned scope! Otherwise, we’re just shooting in the dark.

Phew... it’s difficult when you’re living in the house and want to continue living there during renovations. Our neighbors are renovating floor by floor, but they’re really fed up with all the dust and dirt.

We bought an old building whose roof, facade, and almost all windows are still in good condition. Also, we don’t live there because with two children, it really wouldn’t have worked.
It depends on what needs to be done. I would also hire a professional—either a structural engineer or an architect for the assessment and planning; they often have reliable tradespeople they work with. Our approach so far: demolition from the inside (bathrooms except for one toilet and a washbasin, wallpaper, old electrical wiring, doors, two partition walls, old flooring down to the original wooden floorboards, wallpaper, partially old interior plaster... basically, we created a shell inside). Then the professional rewired the entire electrical system, plumbers removed radiators and installed the pipes, cut off old lead pipes, and laid new connections as well as old ones. A professional will handle the attic conversion, and we’ll also have the tiles done by a specialist. Right now, we’re working on drywall (lowering ceilings and putting up some walls), filling the electrician’s grooves. Some replastering will be done too, with help from an experienced DIYer who renovated his half-timbered house entirely by himself. Most of it was really dirty and physically demanding work (jackhammering, removing tiles and plaster, and hauling everything away). What remains are mainly finishing tasks like laying floors, wallpapering, painting, installing new interior doors, and so on. But none of it is rocket science if you’ve done it before.

However, I think no matter how well you plan, living in the house during renovation will be uncomfortable. The dust gets everywhere. But it’s only temporary. As long as you can eat, sleep, and have a toilet (maybe you can shower at friends’ or parents’), it should be manageable for a while, and you just do more work gradually. Although that’s probably more time-consuming than doing everything at once. Good luck!

Hello,
what became of your project? Can you break down the steps you took?
What expected and unexpected costs did you encounter?

Hello,
at the moment, I am still actively working on creating a solid plan with a clear approach. I haven’t actually started building yet, literally speaking.
Since I have to live inside the house the entire time, unfortunately, it’s not that easy to organize everything.
I am really very grateful for all the responses you have given me so far. Thank you very much!!!
Of course, I knew that this would not be easy, but I didn’t expect it to be so complicated in the details, really not!!!
Let me give you an example:
What type of new heating system is the most practical to install???
When consulting with professional companies, it seems that everyone praises their heating concept highly.
Should I choose a new gas heating system??????
Or would it be better to go for a pellet heating system, meaning a boiler????
Some others highly recommend geothermal heating because you don’t have ongoing energy costs. Heat from the ground is always available for free!!!!!!
And of course, no one wants to make a wrong decision and possibly have to tear the whole system out again after two or three years!!!!!
You can see how many questions already arise just from the heating example and how difficult it is to decide what to do!!!!
Everything is also connected with enormous costs.
If I may speak realistically, I fear that I probably won’t be able to start the whole project this year, let alone finish it, although I’m not the kind of person who constantly hesitates and procrastinates.
I have really appreciated your contributions so far, as most of them show practical knowledge about how things really work and what to expect.
I don’t want to close this thread yet, as I am still in the planning phase and would be very interested in more helpful contributions on this topic to gradually develop a roadmap for the project and absolutely avoid a building disaster once it starts!!!

Best regards and thanks to everyone who has participated so far and to all who will contribute to the thread with tips, experiences, and good advice!!!!!

Alexander!!!!