When is it worth rebuilding a house and when is it a teardown?
Your home just isn’t cutting it anymore. Maybe you need more space. Maybe you need less space. Maybe you are just plain tired of what you’ve been looking at for the last 15 years.
Now what?
Let’s begin by answering a few basic questions: Do you love your neighborhood? What would it feel like to leave your neighbors behind? Is the problem the house itself? Or is it the lot, the location, or the kind of house it is? Would you rather move to a new house or remodel the one you’re in? Are you prepared to remodel a new house in a different neighborhood?
Chances are, whether you move or stay, you are going to enter into a renovation
project of some kind. So let’s get prepared.
Look objectively at your house. Yeah, I know that’s the window little Jimmy hit his first baseball through, and there are the pencil lines on the back of the closet door charting the growth of your blessed additions, but somehow, some way, you’ve got to get real about letting go of some “stuff” and move on. For many people, getting over this hurdle is the hardest of all. For others it’s not a problem. Ultimately, when you take the leap, it can be the most exhilarating feeling in the world. Out with the old you, in with the new you!
As to whether to tear the house down or renovate is, unless the building has significant historic value, you’re probably better off tearing it down. Depending on the circumstances, building a new home will almost always cost less per square foot than renovation. And with new construction, you can get exactly what you want, everything is square and level; all the systems are new and everything will work just like new, because it is.
On the other hand, for some people, remodeling an old cottage, or waterfront shingle house is a passion. It’s costly to reproduce many charming, quirky details that make older buildings desirable. Sure, the new plan probably isn’t the most efficient. In a perfect world you might like a bigger closet or the guest room farther away from the master, but often it’s just not worth the trade-off against the history and character of your potential gem.
No matter what you do ” whether you move, rebuild, build new, upsize or downsize” do it with style, your style. Take sometime and reflect on who you are, what your values are, and how those ideas might be reflected in your home.
My experience has shown that working with someone you trust to guide you through this process can be an exhilarating, life affirming experience. Skilled design professionals can take you on a journey into yourself and expose you to products, lifestyles, materials, and colors you never imagined. The world is full of amazing things that can transform how you think of yourself and how you live everyday.
Tear down, rebuild, start all over again? It all depends on you. Only by getting to know yourself better, being clear on what your needs are, and knowing the values you want to express in your home will you be able to come up with a solution that makes sense. If you need help getting this straight, finding some good professional help may be the very best way to start.