Deciding Whether to Renovate or Demolish & Rebuild

deciding if you should renovate or demolish and rebuild your perth home

You love the area you live in, but your house is getting too small; what do you do? It’s a predicament many growing Australian families face.

Traditionally, people have either decided to sell and relocate to a more suitable property or renovate their existing home usually by or an extension to accommodate the kids.

With rising costs associated with buying and selling alongside an ever-growing selection of home renovation TV shows more and more Australians are deciding to work with what they’ve got. Amidst all this is a third option that has been increasing in popularity where property owners are choosing to demolish and rebuild a home that accommodates all their requirements.

Choosing whether to renovate your existing home or to demolish and rebuild can be a difficult decision to make. Before you reach for the sledge hammer here’s some things you should consider.

 

Cost

The cost is usually the biggest factor you need to consider. The cost will vary depending on the extent to which you want to change your property. Following which you’ll need to decide what makes more sense financially.

For example, if your home is quite old you may have structural integrity problems that may limit your capacity to renovate. Trying to improve the existing structure of your home may be an expensive exercise and not worth the trouble that can come with that.

If you’re looking to go down the route of making a lot of major renovations, you may find knocking down and starting again more cost effective.

 

nexus home demolish rebuild new designer home in perth

Compliance and regulations

Before you make any hasty decisions one of the first things you should investigate is what local council restrictions may apply to your property.

Perhaps your home is heritage listed therefore preventing an extensive range of renovations and the opportunity to demolish and rebuild. For example, if you’re in Western Australia, under the Heritage Act 2018 there’s limits regarding changes you can make to the façades of heritage listed buildings. View our character home renovations guide for a full breakdown of the important considerations you need to make before embarking on a period home renovation project.

Council standards and regulations may also limit other aspects such as the size of the property you build so it’s well worth investigating before you start pulling any triggers.

 

Maintenance

If you’ve ever lived in an older home, you’ll know that it requires a lot of upkeep and regular maintenance.

Renovating will let you avoid that for the newer parts of your home however you may find the older parts keeping you busy. Demolishing and rebuilding a new home will reduce your maintenance demands to almost zero.

 

Lifestyle

Whether you decide to renovate or demolish and rebuild you’re probably going to experience some turbulence at one stage or another. If you decide to renovate expect tradespeople coming and going at different times of the day which can cause a lot of disruption to your day to day. The Nexus process however cuts down onsite construction by up to 75% by building modular and prefab home extensions offsite causing less disruption than your traditional building methods.

Similarly, if you decide to demolish and rebuild, you’re going to have to find somewhere else to live in the meantime. This means packing up and moving which can be a big upheaval for families.

It’s important to consider both options and the impacts it can have on your lifestyle at home. This is why it always pays to seek the guidance of an experienced home and renovation builder so that you understand what’s ahead and you go in with your eyes wide open.

 

Character

Although our homes might not be perfect it’s their quirks, imperfections and architectural uniqueness that makes them special to us.

When you decide to demolish and rebuild your losing out on the character that your home had before. Depending on the kind of person you are that might be something you want to retain going forward.

If that’s the case, a renovation or second storey addition may be more in-line with what you’re looking for. Take a look at our approach to persevering the legacy in a character home renovation.

 

nexus homes second storey addition perth

Sustainability

It’s a known fact that a lot of older homes weren’t built with environmental sustainability in mind.

When you build a new home, you can consider sustainability the whole way through your home rather than making accommodations based on what works.

This may include taking advantage of natural resources and utilising the best technology available. The result being savings on your energy bill and our environment.

 

What are the benefits of renovating?

  • Depending on the size of your renovation project and thanks to modular building techniques like ours, most of the time you won’t need to relocate while the renovations are taking place. This will mean you’ll save on relocation expenses and avoid the annoyance of having to move elsewhere temporarily.
  • Enjoy the ability to pick and choose the elements of your home you want to keep or revamp.
  • If you’ve built up equity in your property, you can
  • The investment you make in renovating will usually increase the value if/when you decide to sell.

 

What are the benefits choosing to demolish and rebuild?

  • The demolish and rebuild approach lets you retain everything you love about where you live in a new luxury home with all the modern trimmings.
  • The demolish and rebuild approach will often be cheaper than renovating.
  • Less maintenance – with everything being new you don’t need to spend much time on upkeep.
  • No need to compromise, have the freedom to design a home that accommodates all your needs.
  • Reduced the chance of complications arising. Working with older buildings takes extra care and can often present its own challenges.
  • Your investment will increase your property’s resale value.

 

Still unsure which approach is right for you? Nexus Homes Group has over 20 years’ experience in building renovations and custom designed homes in Perth. Contact us today and sit down for a free consultation with our director Matt, who will take the time to help you assess your options and find the right solution for you and your property.