Hello,
we are planning to purchase a single-family house.
Here are some details:
Year built: 1957
Living area: 130 m² (1400 sq ft) / basement
Plot size: 830 m² (0.2 acres)
Price: €85,000
Gas heating from 2005
Garage
Windows from 1980
Double-layer exterior walls
3-core wiring without RCD
Clay roof tiles / no insulation
That should be enough for now.
We really like the room layout.
- Upstairs, only a non-load-bearing wall needs to be removed to create a large bathroom.
- Downstairs, there is a guest toilet that also needs to be renovated.
- Inside, everything must be completely stripped out, meaning carpets and wallpaper.
- The subfloor consists of wooden floorboards that we want to sand and restore, at least in the living room.
- In the upper rooms, we plan to just repaint the floorboards for now.
- The windows need to be replaced.
- New kitchen (relocating connections)
- Blown-in insulation or ETICS (external thermal insulation composite system)
The electrical distribution panel dates from around 1980 and has 3-core wiring but no RCD. The question is whether to completely renew the electrical system while the walls are already open.
The pipes are galvanized and according to the realtor do not need to be replaced.
We have an inspection by a building surveyor scheduled for tomorrow, who will thoroughly check the entire house.
So far we have optimistically estimated renovation costs at around €70,000.
Basically, we have a shell and plan to rebuild everything internally.
What are your experiences with such renovations? What additional issues could arise that we might not have considered? Where can problems occur?
We have already agreed with the realtor that he will "hold" the house for us. We are happy to pay the costs for the surveyor because if everything is okay we get a good feeling. If the surveyor advises us against it, he will have saved us from a bad purchase. He should also give us an approximate idea of what costs to expect.
Do you have general experience with houses from the 1950s regarding structural condition or durability?
Best regards
we are planning to purchase a single-family house.
Here are some details:
Year built: 1957
Living area: 130 m² (1400 sq ft) / basement
Plot size: 830 m² (0.2 acres)
Price: €85,000
Gas heating from 2005
Garage
Windows from 1980
Double-layer exterior walls
3-core wiring without RCD
Clay roof tiles / no insulation
That should be enough for now.
We really like the room layout.
- Upstairs, only a non-load-bearing wall needs to be removed to create a large bathroom.
- Downstairs, there is a guest toilet that also needs to be renovated.
- Inside, everything must be completely stripped out, meaning carpets and wallpaper.
- The subfloor consists of wooden floorboards that we want to sand and restore, at least in the living room.
- In the upper rooms, we plan to just repaint the floorboards for now.
- The windows need to be replaced.
- New kitchen (relocating connections)
- Blown-in insulation or ETICS (external thermal insulation composite system)
The electrical distribution panel dates from around 1980 and has 3-core wiring but no RCD. The question is whether to completely renew the electrical system while the walls are already open.
The pipes are galvanized and according to the realtor do not need to be replaced.
We have an inspection by a building surveyor scheduled for tomorrow, who will thoroughly check the entire house.
So far we have optimistically estimated renovation costs at around €70,000.
Basically, we have a shell and plan to rebuild everything internally.
What are your experiences with such renovations? What additional issues could arise that we might not have considered? Where can problems occur?
We have already agreed with the realtor that he will "hold" the house for us. We are happy to pay the costs for the surveyor because if everything is okay we get a good feeling. If the surveyor advises us against it, he will have saved us from a bad purchase. He should also give us an approximate idea of what costs to expect.
Do you have general experience with houses from the 1950s regarding structural condition or durability?
Best regards
There are some new findings:
- The basement is damp but not wet or musty (no mold). The inspector said this is typical for a basement of this age. The tiles and the paneling on the walls would need to be removed.
- The electrical system needs to be completely replaced. The estimated cost is about €10,000.
- The roof needs insulation. The old insulation that is partially present must be removed and replaced with new insulation. The estimated cost is about €18,000.
So, we are already looking at around €30,000 in necessary expenses.
The windows are still in good condition. If you want to replace them with new triple-glazed windows, the facade will also need to be insulated. That would be an additional roughly €20,000. However, windows and facade can be done later.
The question is what other issues might come up during renovation.
We would essentially be investing almost the entire purchase price again in renovation costs.
But for €160,000, we would still have a livable, newly renovated house.
... if everything goes smoothly ...
- The basement is damp but not wet or musty (no mold). The inspector said this is typical for a basement of this age. The tiles and the paneling on the walls would need to be removed.
- The electrical system needs to be completely replaced. The estimated cost is about €10,000.
- The roof needs insulation. The old insulation that is partially present must be removed and replaced with new insulation. The estimated cost is about €18,000.
So, we are already looking at around €30,000 in necessary expenses.
The windows are still in good condition. If you want to replace them with new triple-glazed windows, the facade will also need to be insulated. That would be an additional roughly €20,000. However, windows and facade can be done later.
The question is what other issues might come up during renovation.
We would essentially be investing almost the entire purchase price again in renovation costs.
But for €160,000, we would still have a livable, newly renovated house.
... if everything goes smoothly ...
18,000 euros for roof insulation is quite steep... Seeing numbers like that can be a bit overwhelming. But as mentioned here, depending on the condition, you don’t necessarily have to do everything at once; some things can be postponed or done yourself.
At 1,000 euros per square meter (0.09 square feet) for renovation costs, that would have totaled 200,000 euros. However, it ended up being 60,000 euros, with a few thousand more to come, but we won’t exceed 70,000 euros. So it can definitely be done much more cheaply. You just have to consider whether you really want to do everything, whether you want to hire it out or do it yourself, and whether the whole project is ultimately worth it to you. Or if you’d rather spend a bit more and go for a new build, since with the renovation costs mentioned above, the price difference isn’t that large.
By the way, our house from the 1970s was also livable before renovation. Of course, it didn’t look great, but that’s more a matter of personal expectations.
At 1,000 euros per square meter (0.09 square feet) for renovation costs, that would have totaled 200,000 euros. However, it ended up being 60,000 euros, with a few thousand more to come, but we won’t exceed 70,000 euros. So it can definitely be done much more cheaply. You just have to consider whether you really want to do everything, whether you want to hire it out or do it yourself, and whether the whole project is ultimately worth it to you. Or if you’d rather spend a bit more and go for a new build, since with the renovation costs mentioned above, the price difference isn’t that large.
By the way, our house from the 1970s was also livable before renovation. Of course, it didn’t look great, but that’s more a matter of personal expectations.
You can definitely install roof insulation yourself. It’s not complicated. Even most hardware stores provide flyers and instructions. If necessary, you can consult an energy advisor who can occasionally check if you’re on the right track.
Even 200mm (8 inches) of insulation costs less than €10 per square meter (about $10 per square foot). The vapor barriers for under and over the insulation together cost around €2 per square meter (about $0.20 per square foot).
I insulated my top floor ceiling and spent around €700 on materials.
PS. Why insulate the entire roof? It usually makes more sense to insulate the top floor ceiling because heat escapes through the ceiling of the room.
Even 200mm (8 inches) of insulation costs less than €10 per square meter (about $10 per square foot). The vapor barriers for under and over the insulation together cost around €2 per square meter (about $0.20 per square foot).
I insulated my top floor ceiling and spent around €700 on materials.
PS. Why insulate the entire roof? It usually makes more sense to insulate the top floor ceiling because heat escapes through the ceiling of the room.
N
nightdancer20 Aug 2016 16:51nelly190 schrieb:
PS. Why insulate the entire roof? It actually makes more sense to insulate the ceiling of the top floor since that’s where the heat escapes through the room ceiling.Probably because the attic is being used as living space. That gets expensive, as you often have to access the roof covering.
P
Peanuts7420 Aug 2016 17:46Or if you want a warm roof without significant temperature fluctuations...
G
garfunkel20 Aug 2016 19:41I also think €10,000 for electrical work is quite a lot... What exactly needs to be done there?
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