While we would all love to salvage dated or dilapidated homes, the reality is a lot of them can’t be saved.
Starting from scratch with a knockdown rebuild can seem overwhelming, but it’s also a chance to build your dream home.
Wally Gebrael, design and approvals manager at New South Homes, shares five reasons why a knockdown rebuild could be your best option.
A knockdown rebuild project can allow you to create your dream home without changing location.
Can be more cost-effective
Renovating may seem like the cheaper strategy, but with the costs associated with renting, moving and storage units it can often become a false economy.
Gebrael says it can be more expensive again to renovate an older-style home due to factors such as reinforcing foundations and correcting outdated floorplans.
“In some of the older areas where homes are 50 or 60 years old, it gets to a point where there’s only so much more you can do to that home before you’re throwing away money trying to renovate it,” he says.
“With older homes, you don’t really know what’s hidden until you start exposing walls. It can involve a lot more work and money than originally planned.”
New homes suit a modern lifestyle
Newly built homes are designed to support a modern family life with features such as open-plan living, indoor-outdoor functionality and spacious bedrooms with built-in robes.
However, many older homes need a fair bit of work to bring them into the 21st century.
“A lot of areas around Sydney have older established homes and I think they’ve run their lifetime,” Gebrael says.
“Fifty years is not a long time for a home, but technology then was very different to today.
“A lot of older homes have a hallway down the middle of the house and are quite dark with separate kitchens, whereas today’s homes are very light and open.”
Past the point of renovation
If a home needs too much work, especially to its foundations, Gebrael says it’s best to consider a knockdown rebuild as it can end up draining time and money.
“With minor cosmetic changes to the home – like re-doing a bathroom or a kitchen, or knocking down a wall to make a room bigger – it makes sense to opt for a renovation,” says Gebrael.
Customise your floorplan and style.
“But when you’re trying to double the size of the home or you’re taking off the roof to extend up and out the back, re-doing all the bathrooms, all the electrical and plumbing… it really makes no sense to keep the home.”
Gebrael also says older homes can have issues such as rising damp or mould, which can be very hard to get rid of.
“You can do a lot of band-aid fixes, but that’s all they are. Some homeowners have no choice but to knockdown in these cases,” he says.
More control over the design
Renovations mean working with a design that is already there, especially for homes with heritage overlays.
For more of a personalised approach, knockdown rebuild is the better option, Gebrael says.
Finer details including storage in the kitchen can be worked through with an architect so the home is created for your needs.
A contemporary transformation.
“Because we do a lot of custom design, customers often come to us with they want already… it makes it a bit easier because we know the style they like and what they’re trying to achieve,” he says.
Some of their clients’ most sought-after styles include Hamptons and French Provincial, which New South Homes can provide.
Dream home, dream neighbourhood
Not only can you have your custom-built dream home, but you can stay in or move to your desired neighbourhood with a knockdown rebuild.
You may want to live on a particular street or close to favourite shops and eateries, but in the established market it can be hard to find the right type of home in the rught location.
A knockdown rebuild means homeowners don’t need to compromise and can live in a house that suits their style as well as their lifestyle.