Hello everyone, I’m new here. I signed up because I came across this forum during my research and I hope to get some tips and suggestions. There is a house in our neighborhood going up for foreclosure auction. The house is considered ready for demolition, so its value is set quite low. This makes it a potential option for us since it is practically in our dream location.
The plot is on a slope and has a basement, with one side being at ground level. The basement is likely damp or the foundation may no longer be in good condition, so we would plan to completely demolish it and then rebuild the basement in a way that part of it could be used as living space.
What kind of costs should we expect for such a basement if we mainly reuse the existing excavation of the old basement, maybe just slightly enlarging it? Some costs should be lower since less earthwork is needed, right, or am I mistaken?
Thank you in advance 🙂
The plot is on a slope and has a basement, with one side being at ground level. The basement is likely damp or the foundation may no longer be in good condition, so we would plan to completely demolish it and then rebuild the basement in a way that part of it could be used as living space.
What kind of costs should we expect for such a basement if we mainly reuse the existing excavation of the old basement, maybe just slightly enlarging it? Some costs should be lower since less earthwork is needed, right, or am I mistaken?
Thank you in advance 🙂
So, we could afford up to 750,000–800,000. But we don’t really want to go that far ;-)
However, if something unexpected were to happen, we wouldn’t immediately face forced foreclosure ourselves.
There is no separate building plan for the area. So, according to Section 34 of the Building Code, since there are 1.5 to 2-story houses and the plot is just over 1000 sqm (10,764 sq ft), we should basically face relatively few restrictions. I also think it might be possible to spread out a large portion of the excavation still to be done in order to balance it out somewhat or possibly later use it for landscaping the garden, which next to the house would probably be more terraced—meaning some filling would be necessary there as well.
So my idea, or rather the partially below-ground basement, definitely isn’t wrong.
However, if something unexpected were to happen, we wouldn’t immediately face forced foreclosure ourselves.
There is no separate building plan for the area. So, according to Section 34 of the Building Code, since there are 1.5 to 2-story houses and the plot is just over 1000 sqm (10,764 sq ft), we should basically face relatively few restrictions. I also think it might be possible to spread out a large portion of the excavation still to be done in order to balance it out somewhat or possibly later use it for landscaping the garden, which next to the house would probably be more terraced—meaning some filling would be necessary there as well.
So my idea, or rather the partially below-ground basement, definitely isn’t wrong.
When planning for demolition, assume the highest hazard classification. The walls from the 1940s and 1950s caused more concern for the demolition contractor than the cowshed. Normally, everything is piled together and tested. The worst value determines the hazard class.
We had the interior stripping done by professionals. For that price, I’m not climbing on the roof to remove tiles myself. You also can’t get very far with a car trailer.
Asbestos removal wasn’t that expensive. We paid just over 3,000 in 2017. This included removing asbestos, properly packaging it, and disposing of it.
The storage heaters were costly.
We had the interior stripping done by professionals. For that price, I’m not climbing on the roof to remove tiles myself. You also can’t get very far with a car trailer.
Asbestos removal wasn’t that expensive. We paid just over 3,000 in 2017. This included removing asbestos, properly packaging it, and disposing of it.
The storage heaters were costly.
Dartfan schrieb:
That’s why my question is whether it would be more practical to add a prefabricated basement as a utility cellar, and then build a house on top of it. Then I don’t understand the principle behind demolishing the existing basement, since that would be practically equivalent.
Dartfan schrieb:
Or whether to build the basement so that part of it can be used as living space on the downhill side, allowing for one less floor above ground. What is roughly the price difference between a living basement and a utility cellar? A living basement costs about the same as above-ground living space, so effectively only the additional cost for a living basement applies, as long as the "living basement instead of utility cellar" saves the same amount of above-ground living area.
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haydee schrieb:
When planning the demolition, assume the highest hazard class. The walls from the 1940s and 1950s caused more concern for the demolition contractor than the cowshed. Normally, everything is collected in one place and tested. The worst test result determines the hazard classification.
We had someone else handle the gutting. For that price, I’m not climbing onto the roof to remove tiles. Also, a trailer won’t get you very far.
Asbestos removal wasn’t that expensive. We paid just over 3,000 in 2017. This covered removing asbestos, proper packaging, and disposal.
The storage heaters were quite costly. May I ask what you paid and how many cubic meters were demolished? The house apparently still has an oil heating system.
11ant schrieb:
Then I don’t understand the principle of demolishing the existing basement, as that would practically be equivalent. Putting aside that the dimensions don’t match what we had in mind, the report notes that the house is damp and there is mold development, so we strongly assume the basement will be damp as well. The structural condition in the photos does not look particularly good either. The basement extends about half a meter (1.5 feet) above ground level on the street side, and the entrance is at ground level. We don’t want to build a house on a poor and damp basement, so we plan to demolish it entirely and build new.
We had approximately 750 cubic meters
6 big bags of asbestos
6 night storage heaters
It was about 50,000 including permits / planning permission, stripping out, laboratory testing, disposal, demolition, transport
More than for a normal house. It was an entire farmstead
We left the retaining wall on the hillside standing. This saved the need for shoring
6 big bags of asbestos
6 night storage heaters
It was about 50,000 including permits / planning permission, stripping out, laboratory testing, disposal, demolition, transport
More than for a normal house. It was an entire farmstead
We left the retaining wall on the hillside standing. This saved the need for shoring
haydee schrieb:
We had around 750 cubic meters (about 26,500 cubic feet)
6 big bags of asbestos
6 storage heaters
It was about 50,000 including permits (building permit / planning permission), gutting, lab testing, disposal, demolition, transportation
More than for a regular house. It was an entire farmstead
We left the retaining wall on the hillside intact. This saved the need for additional support Okay, I don’t quite understand this now. According to the expert report, the house involves approximately 800 cubic meters (about 28,250 cubic feet), with costs estimated at 15-25 per cubic meter (according to demolition companies for similar buildings), so averaged at 20 per cubic meter, resulting in 16,000 estimated, plus a flat rate for clearing the site, which brings their calculation to around 20,000.
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