Hello Forum,
I have been quietly following the discussions here for some time and now have a small request/question of my own.
I’m looking for an opinion from someone knowledgeable or who may have experience with something similar.
I am facing the decision to either renovate an old house or demolish it and build new. The house is an older building from 1936 with solid masonry walls and about 6cm (2.5 inches) of air gap between the inner and outer walls. A renovation would essentially require renewing almost everything (insulation, roof, electrical system, plumbing, flooring, heating, etc.), which according to an initial rough estimate from an expert would cost around 150,000 euros.
The house itself has 160 square meters (approximately 1,722 square feet) of living space, or about 200 square meters (2,153 square feet) including the converted attic. For the plan to work and allow for a generational change, an extension with a separate apartment is needed. For this, the existing annex (built in 1937) behind the house would have to be either demolished or renovated. The annex likely has thinner walls and renovating it might be more complex (possibly requiring interior insulation). There is no estimate yet for the renovation of this second part.
Now my question, and I know this mostly depends on personal taste, but I thought I’d simply ask: In this case, is a renovation worthwhile? According to the expert, new construction with similar quality would cost about 1,400 euros per square meter, more like 1,600 euros if you want something custom-built rather than a "catalog" house (so around 240,000 euros on average). Basically, I do like the old house (higher ceilings, good layout, solid walls…) but of course I don’t want to pay more for a renovation than for new construction. Also, the renovation would barely reach a KfW 100 energy standard, while a new build would likely meet KfW 55 or similar.
So mentally, I am comparing the renovation with a new extension including the separate apartment against a complete new build. If I exclude the separate apartment, I guess 150,000 euros for 160 square meters is a reasonable price, right?
What do you think? Does anyone have experience? What would be a typical cost estimate for a complete new build (including the separate apartment) plus demolition?
Sorry for the longer message, and I hope someone can share a brief reply.
Thanks,
Dave
I have been quietly following the discussions here for some time and now have a small request/question of my own.
I’m looking for an opinion from someone knowledgeable or who may have experience with something similar.
I am facing the decision to either renovate an old house or demolish it and build new. The house is an older building from 1936 with solid masonry walls and about 6cm (2.5 inches) of air gap between the inner and outer walls. A renovation would essentially require renewing almost everything (insulation, roof, electrical system, plumbing, flooring, heating, etc.), which according to an initial rough estimate from an expert would cost around 150,000 euros.
The house itself has 160 square meters (approximately 1,722 square feet) of living space, or about 200 square meters (2,153 square feet) including the converted attic. For the plan to work and allow for a generational change, an extension with a separate apartment is needed. For this, the existing annex (built in 1937) behind the house would have to be either demolished or renovated. The annex likely has thinner walls and renovating it might be more complex (possibly requiring interior insulation). There is no estimate yet for the renovation of this second part.
Now my question, and I know this mostly depends on personal taste, but I thought I’d simply ask: In this case, is a renovation worthwhile? According to the expert, new construction with similar quality would cost about 1,400 euros per square meter, more like 1,600 euros if you want something custom-built rather than a "catalog" house (so around 240,000 euros on average). Basically, I do like the old house (higher ceilings, good layout, solid walls…) but of course I don’t want to pay more for a renovation than for new construction. Also, the renovation would barely reach a KfW 100 energy standard, while a new build would likely meet KfW 55 or similar.
So mentally, I am comparing the renovation with a new extension including the separate apartment against a complete new build. If I exclude the separate apartment, I guess 150,000 euros for 160 square meters is a reasonable price, right?
What do you think? Does anyone have experience? What would be a typical cost estimate for a complete new build (including the separate apartment) plus demolition?
Sorry for the longer message, and I hope someone can share a brief reply.
Thanks,
Dave