Hello, I’m new here and wanted to ask for your opinions or personal experiences. We currently live in a beautiful old apartment in a sadly dilapidated manor house in the middle of nowhere. Now the house is being sold, and we will probably have to move out by early to mid-2020 due to partial demolition and extensive renovation. Unfortunately, we don’t know the exact timing yet. We only found out the day before yesterday and now feel a bit unsettled. We have been keeping an eye on the real estate market from time to time but never really felt pressured to find something.
I definitely don’t want to rent again, and neither does my husband. He’s a passionate gardener with an impressive plant collection, and moving is already tough enough. Anyway, long story short: we now want to buy something of our own (unfortunately under time pressure). It’s a terrible time since there are very few houses or plots available in the area, and those that are can be really overpriced.
I think building a house is probably not feasible either time-wise or financially (because of a larger plot, a house of about 110 m2 to 150 m2 (1,180 to 1,615 sq ft) would be plenty).
There is an old farmhouse here that we want to take a look at. The barns and garages are in good condition, but the house itself urgently needs renovation—bathrooms, walls, and floors all require work, and the heating is just a stove. The building structure seems quite solid.
That means a completely new heating system would have to be installed, the walls redone, and flooring laid everywhere. I don’t know anything about the insulation yet.
What do you think would be a rough estimate just for the heating system? I imagine many walls would have to be opened up and pipes or wiring installed.
We’re both fairly handy and willing to do the work ourselves. My husband works as a landscaper and can handle bricklaying, plastering, and similar tasks. Is a budget of 50,000 to 60,000 euros (about 54,000 to 64,500 USD) realistic, or am I dreaming?
Oh, a few more details: about 130 m2 (1,400 sq ft) of living space and 2 bathrooms with hot water boilers (which would need urgent renovation as well!).
Thanks in advance, and feel free to be brutally honest.
I definitely don’t want to rent again, and neither does my husband. He’s a passionate gardener with an impressive plant collection, and moving is already tough enough. Anyway, long story short: we now want to buy something of our own (unfortunately under time pressure). It’s a terrible time since there are very few houses or plots available in the area, and those that are can be really overpriced.
I think building a house is probably not feasible either time-wise or financially (because of a larger plot, a house of about 110 m2 to 150 m2 (1,180 to 1,615 sq ft) would be plenty).
There is an old farmhouse here that we want to take a look at. The barns and garages are in good condition, but the house itself urgently needs renovation—bathrooms, walls, and floors all require work, and the heating is just a stove. The building structure seems quite solid.
That means a completely new heating system would have to be installed, the walls redone, and flooring laid everywhere. I don’t know anything about the insulation yet.
What do you think would be a rough estimate just for the heating system? I imagine many walls would have to be opened up and pipes or wiring installed.
We’re both fairly handy and willing to do the work ourselves. My husband works as a landscaper and can handle bricklaying, plastering, and similar tasks. Is a budget of 50,000 to 60,000 euros (about 54,000 to 64,500 USD) realistic, or am I dreaming?
Oh, a few more details: about 130 m2 (1,400 sq ft) of living space and 2 bathrooms with hot water boilers (which would need urgent renovation as well!).
Thanks in advance, and feel free to be brutally honest.
Winniefred10 Apr 2019 17:5650,000–60,000€: What exactly for? You say it’s in need of extensive renovation. Does that mean the roof, facade, windows, doors, heating system, electrical wiring, connections, water pipes, and a complete interior refurbishment including plastering, floors, ceilings, walls, interior doors, stairs, and bathrooms? If so, then I would say no, that budget is probably not enough. Also, this would be a major project that cannot realistically be done alone in just a few months alongside a job. Please provide more details about what needs to be done, the size of the house, and other specifics.
We partially renovated our 100m2 (1,076 sq ft) semi-detached house from 1921 (the roof, facade, front door, and heating system were still in good condition). What we did: electrical work, bathrooms, ceilings, walls, floors, stairs refurbished, interior doors, water pipes, and partially radiators and windows, interior roof insulation, and roof windows. We did most of the work ourselves, and so far we have spent an estimated 60,000€ to maybe 70,000€—I’m not exactly sure because quite a bit was also spent on the garden. Everything was done to a normal medium standard, no luxury. Electrical work, some plumbing, tiling, and roof insulation were done by professionals.
We partially renovated our 100m2 (1,076 sq ft) semi-detached house from 1921 (the roof, facade, front door, and heating system were still in good condition). What we did: electrical work, bathrooms, ceilings, walls, floors, stairs refurbished, interior doors, water pipes, and partially radiators and windows, interior roof insulation, and roof windows. We did most of the work ourselves, and so far we have spent an estimated 60,000€ to maybe 70,000€—I’m not exactly sure because quite a bit was also spent on the garden. Everything was done to a normal medium standard, no luxury. Electrical work, some plumbing, tiling, and roof insulation were done by professionals.
I don’t find Lumpi’s cost breakdown unrealistic at all.
Take the example of windows: Sure, basic windows are inexpensive, but if you want to include the front door, a large sliding door to the garden, new window sills, and electric roller shutters installed, the cost for the "windows" category can easily reach 20,000€ (about $22,000). If you want to keep the old building’s charm with drafty, large roller shutter boxes inside, it will be cheaper.
New builds are often estimated at around 2,000€/m² (approximately $185 per sq ft). This means that for a major renovation, you can also expect costs well over 1,000€/m² (about $93 per sq ft).
Anecdotal cases of how cheaply someone might manage it with their own labor don’t really help here. Anyone who can do that will consult their own skilled trades friends, not us here.
Take the example of windows: Sure, basic windows are inexpensive, but if you want to include the front door, a large sliding door to the garden, new window sills, and electric roller shutters installed, the cost for the "windows" category can easily reach 20,000€ (about $22,000). If you want to keep the old building’s charm with drafty, large roller shutter boxes inside, it will be cheaper.
New builds are often estimated at around 2,000€/m² (approximately $185 per sq ft). This means that for a major renovation, you can also expect costs well over 1,000€/m² (about $93 per sq ft).
Anecdotal cases of how cheaply someone might manage it with their own labor don’t really help here. Anyone who can do that will consult their own skilled trades friends, not us here.
Tigerlili schrieb:
but the house is in need of major renovation, [...] and there is only a stove heating system. When a non-expert notices a "need for major renovation," this is often just the tip of the iceberg. The age of the technology (not the exact construction or installation year, but rather the decade to which the current standard belongs) roughly corresponds to the beginning of the "renovation backlog" era for the property. This applies similarly to aesthetic aspects: when the wallpaper was fashionable can indicate when the walls were last opened up, meaning the approximate age of cables and wiring. Regarding maintenance of buildings and equipment, agriculture, postal services, and railways are no different. The year a facility was taken out of operation helps estimate whether repairs are still worthwhile: roughly thirty years correspond to a complete (100%) level of deterioration.
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Farilo schrieb:
Lumpi, my offer stands! Let me know when you go shopping!Yeah.. blah blah, no offense. Now, a quick word about the heating: according to the original poster, there are stoves present that need to be removed and disposed of. That’s expensive, especially since it’s hard to find someone who does it. An old farmhouse probably won’t have a gas connection, so the only sensible option is a heat pump—and for such an old house, not a small one. Plus, you need a heat distribution system; underfloor heating is the standard, and that involves quite a bit of work. To make all that work properly, it should be professionally designed—and nobody does that for free.
A heat pump and underfloor heating won’t cost less than $30,000 even in a new build.
Sure, you could put a masonry stove in the living room for a total of $10,000. Good luck with that for the coming years.
And since you’re so curious: I built my own heating system and it cost me far less than $50,000 or $30,000, but the original poster probably can’t manage that based on their question.
If there is no gas available, oil heating with radiators is used.
Shutters on an old farmhouse? A complete break from the style.
There are probably very small wooden mullioned windows inside, which replacing with plastic ones doesn’t cost tens of thousands.
I still believe that 60 for materials will take you quite far.
Shutters on an old farmhouse? A complete break from the style.
There are probably very small wooden mullioned windows inside, which replacing with plastic ones doesn’t cost tens of thousands.
I still believe that 60 for materials will take you quite far.
M
Matthew0311 Apr 2019 12:09Lumpi_LE schrieb:
No one installs a heat pump and underfloor heating in a new build for less than 30k..From a contractor? Then yes, but I thought this is about self-build? Our air-to-water heat pump with underfloor heating in the new build for 156m² (1680 sq ft) cost just under 18k in self-labor, pump by Weishaupt.
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