Cost of major addition vs new house

[I_forget]

My old house is from the 50’s and I’m wondering the exact benifits of doing a major addition instead of a new house. I’d imagine removing the entire existing house 1 1/5 floor down to the foundation. Add crawl space along the rear of the house. New house would be 2 full floors. No water leaks in the basement or cracks currently. Probably don’t need to install weeping tile around the existing foundation.

Other benefits
-existing landscaping can stay in the front
-I can do flooring trim etc
-friends who are tradesmen. Friend could be the GC

Any other cost savings or advice ? House is in Edmonton.

[LKILR]

Before you begin to remodel you might want consider checking for asbestos because of the year the house was built. If there is it can make demolition a real chore and expensive.

[fishtank]

Originally Posted by I_forget

My old house is from the 50’s and I’m wondering the exact benifits of doing a major addition instead of a new house. I’d imagine removing the entire existing house 1 1/5 floor down to the foundation. Add crawl space along the rear of the house. New house would be 2 full floors. No water leaks in the basement or cracks currently. Probably don’t need to install weeping tile around the existing foundation.

Other benefits
-existing landscaping can stay in the front
-I can do flooring trim etc
-friends who are tradesmen. Friend could be the GC

Any other cost savings or advice ? House is in Edmonton.

horror reno story of a house i know paid 300k for a old house.. major reno done app 200k to a old house inside out only to find out basement was leaking additional 50k to added to cost .

[Newview01]

We are just starting a major reno (gutting 1500 sq ft, up and down, to the studs, insulation and all, as well as new windows). Will cost $100000, as opposed to $300k minimum for new. Probably looking at another $30k to do the outside if we have money left over.

[big zeke]

Many folks dream up big renos and get surprised with stuff like foundations, plumbing, asbestos and wiring. Spend a few grand and bring in a few qualified trades to evaluate this stuff prior to starting any reno, this will help remove surprises. Renos can also drag on so the time you're living out of the house may be a factor as well. Certain things (like broken foundations or ungrounded wiring) can be very expensive to fix in a reno.

Too many folks skip to step 2 (demo & reno) without completing step 1 (investigate & plan). Had a friend start off on a 50k kitchen reno (and new windows thruout), ended up at 300k, only thing original was the doorstep...he got a reno AND a mortgage out of that deal.

Tread slowly, spend money in the planning, manage scope growth.
Zeke

[Trochu]

Another thing to consider is the housing value in the neighbourhood. I don't know where you live, but I wouldn't want a $400k house in a $200k neighbourhood.

[fishtank]

Originally Posted by fishtank

horror reno story of a house i know. paid 300k for a old 1950's house.. major reno done app 200k to a old house inside out only to find out basement was leaking additional 50k to added to cost .

the house is still consider and 1950's house , and for the money spend, they could have build a new one with a new foundation.

[artie]

new home warranty
even if you build the house yourself you have to get involved with the new home warranty. Myself I would rebuild the old one doing as much work myself as I can even if I hire labor. The last new house I helped on the new home warranty boys were doing inspections and the bank was doing inspections and the city was doing inspections makes me want to cry.

[chasingtail]

If the house is in the City/town I would sell it and buy a new one, be much cheaper. Acreage/Farm different story.

[dale7637]

My folks just finished a major expansion/addition to their house, and I truly don’t think they would ever consider it again.
Too many things pop up that you don’t plan on.

[oilngas]

to me the only reason to do a "Big" Reno on a 50's house is the location and lot. Too many headaches ahead. If I was set on the neighbourhood, I would look into buying a "tear it down and start new house" and do that while staying in the original.
Just me and my thoughts

[srs123]

Where is your house? Are you close to downtown? If so then gut and replace and sell with a markup. Building an addition on a current house will require a geotechnical investigation. And propor design to limit differenfial settlement as the old house is done settling but new addition will be trying to move. Also you say you dont need weeping tiles, but how is the ground on the sode of addition ?.


Too many questions , run the costs with your contractor and plan on doing things right . Or sell the house to a developer and buy new

[wildbill]

Originally Posted by I_forget

My old house is from the 50’s and I’m wondering the exact benifits of doing a major addition instead of a new house. I’d imagine removing the entire existing house 1 1/5 floor down to the foundation. Add crawl space along the rear of the house. New house would be 2 full floors. No water leaks in the basement or cracks currently. Probably don’t need to install weeping tile around the existing foundation.

Other benefits
-existing landscaping can stay in the front
-I can do flooring trim etc
-friends who are tradesmen. Friend could be the GC

Any other cost savings or advice ? House is in Edmonton.

You could be opening up a big can of worms renovating, and the costs could add up very quickly, or you might get lucky, if I was you, build new you’ll get exactly what you want opposed to working around what you currently have and trying to make it work

[brslk]

About 6 years ago we decided we wanted to renovate our house. We love the neighborhood (near the U of A) and it was paid off.
It was a small house with a small bathroom on the main floor and a smaller one downstairs, no bathroom upstairs where the three bedrooms were.
It needed a new roof, new windows, the foundation was cracked and the house was 70 years old.
We had some quote done for what we wanted and they came in around $300,000.
We had it knocked down and built a custom home designed by us, completely as we wanted it. Doubled the square footage and also doubled the value of the home.
The new house cost us around $600,000 to build, the lot (which we already owned) was valued at $400,000 and the house is now valued at $1.2.

Every person in our neighborhood has told us that they regret renovating their houses and wished they had done what we did.
I am so glad we went with building instead of just adding onto and renovating.

We rented a house a couple of blocks away while our house was being built so it was neat and frustrating watching our house get built over the course of two years.

The wife and I both agree now that we've been living in the house for 4 years, there is nothing we would change about it.
We picked everything down to the type of hinges on the doors.

The most surprising thing was, we agreed on every thing. We didn't have a single argument over the house during the planning or the build.

[thumper]

Originally Posted by brslk

About 6 years ago we decided we wanted to renovate our house. We love the neighborhood (near the U of A) and it was paid off.
It was a small house with a small bathroom on the main floor and a smaller one downstairs, no bathroom upstairs where the three bedrooms were.
It needed a new roof, new windows, the foundation was cracked and the house was 70 years old.
We had some quote done for what we wanted and they came in around $300,000.
We had it knocked down and built a custom home designed by us, completely as we wanted it. Doubled the square footage and also doubled the value of the home.
The new house cost us around $600,000 to build, the lot (which we already owned) was valued at $400,000 and the house is now valued at $1.2.

Every person in our neighborhood has told us that they regret renovating their houses and wished they had done what we did.
I am so glad we went with building instead of just adding onto and renovating.

We rented a house a couple of blocks away while our house was being built so it was neat and frustrating watching our house get built over the course of two years.

The wife and I both agree now that we've been living in the house for 4 years, there is nothing we would change about it.
We picked everything down to the type of hinges on the doors.

The most surprising thing was, we agreed on every thing. We didn't have a single argument over the house during the planning or the build.

You had me going there - right to the last 2 sentences !!! Great joke!

[wildbill]

Originally Posted by thumper

You had me going there - right to the last 2 sentences !!! Great joke!

X2

[brslk]

Originally Posted by thumper

You had me going there - right to the last 2 sentences !!! Great joke!

lol I'm as shocked as anyone. My wife and get along incredibly well. We've been married for 16 years and I can count the arguments on one hand.
It's almost eerie how similar we are in our sense of humour, the way we look at things... all sorts of stuff.

[mmhmmmm]

Home renovator and builder here. Specialize in higher end customs houses and monster renovations like what your considering. The friend who will be your contractor is what peaks my interest. He will have to be a very good friend to gc a job for you. Is he going to be paid? In my experience dealing with friend trades as a gc is an absolute nightmare. And I wouldn’t consider doing it without a some payment on the line! Especially for a job like this. A contractor for a Reno like this needs to be onsite a lot! And many details cannot be decided until other things happen. It can be quite a process


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Albertadiver]

Just to rain on the parade even more.... Here's what the folks in Government feel is needed in our province.

http://www.municipalaffairs.alberta....lder-licensing

Beginning December 1, 2017, new requirements are in effect for residential builders in Alberta. All residential builders are required to have a builder licence in order to construct new homes.

After consulting with Albertans, amendments were made to the New Home Buyer Protection Act to establish licensing requirements for residential builders. Builder licensing is intended to reduce the risks prospective home owners face by establishing a licensing system, providing information on builders, and creating provisions to remove or suspend builders when necessary to protect home owners from negligent or unscrupulous businesses.

Builder licensing applies to anyone constructing new homes, including condominiums and large multi-family homes, as well as renovations when a residential construction project requires new home warranty coverage.

Key Dates
December 1, 2017 - Program requirements come into effect. Active residential builders who have registered two or more new homes in the registry since November 1, 2015, may receive a Provisional Licence. Full licence applications are available online. The interim builder registry, listing licensed builders, is available online.

March 31, 2018 - All builders, including those with a provisional licence, are encouraged to apply for their licence before this date to avoid processing delays that could impact their business.

May 1, 2018 - Provisional licences expire. All builders must have a builder licence in order to obtain new building permits and to build new homes in Alberta. The builder registry, with enhanced builder information, is online.

[MyAlberta]

Originally Posted by I_forget

My old house is from the 50’s and I’m wondering the exact benifits of doing a major addition instead of a new house. I’d imagine removing the entire existing house 1 1/5 floor down to the foundation. Add crawl space along the rear of the house. New house would be 2 full floors. No water leaks in the basement or cracks currently. Probably don’t need to install weeping tile around the existing foundation.

Other benefits
-existing landscaping can stay in the front
-I can do flooring trim etc
-friends who are tradesmen. Friend could be the GC

Any other cost savings or advice ? House is in Edmonton.

Financing? Sit down with your lender and discuss your options. A torn down house has a different value for loan backing.

If the home has good serviceability, rent it out. Your equity plus rental cash flow will give you a strong position to find a tear down to rebuild. A tear down in a good location has more potential than a rebuilt home in so so location. Compare your exposure and liquidity if required. In the first case (good location tear down), the tear out improves value, while in the second case (so so, serviceable), value decreases. With similar expenditures on construction, the two cases would likely have very different resale values.

My neighbour took off his roof and added a second story with modern finish. Not sure, but guessing he netted around 50k on sale. An investor bought 6 lots together of nice bungalows, knocked them down and built in high end infills. Year and a half later they sit empty. Guessing he has around 10M sitting idle.

[I_forget]

Some things to add and answers to your questions.

-It’s a 9000 sq foot lot close to school and the neighbourhood
Lots are all 6500 square feet. It’s being rented right now
-I could sell for $500k but lots that size are not common
- the existing foundation is small because the current upstairs. Probably 800 square feet. As opposed to a bungalow from the same era which would be 1000sq feet +
I’d do the demo myself, flooring, trim exterior etc. Friends who build houses as well.

Anyways thanks for the reply’s. It may be easier to build brand new with that small foundation. If it was larger and all that was needed was 2nd floor I’d feel differently.