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Tag: house renovation

  • Tackling a House Build Abroad

    Tackling a House Build Abroad

    Carol, a podcast listener in the Auvergne region of France, has sent through these photos and top tips for success.

    Above are two pictures that will give you an idea of what we took on, nearly a complete rebuild keeping a few old walls and the footprint of the house. My tips are for people like ourselves, who knew very little about construction.

     

    Tips:

    – For a large project hire an architect and/or contractor, whom you trust. He should help choose all your sub-contractors and advise you on every aspect of the building.

    -Think a long time about exactly what you want (amount of space, type of house, how you will use your home) and what you are willing to pay. This will be invaluable information for your architect and will be key to your satisfaction with his work.

    – Hire the best, preferably local, sub-contractors you can afford.  A good job done saves lots of grief later. Also good local sub-contractors, such as plumbers, electricians, painters, etc., will continue to be your handymen later and will feel responsible for their work.

    – Visit your building project as often as time permits. I made 16 monthly trips from the USA to France during the first 18 months of construction, and then I visited nearly every day during the last year. I was amazed at the number of questions the workmen asked me when I was on site. They gave me good advice and were generally willing to do what I asked. Workmen, however, do not like to change things they have already done just because you weren’t there to state your preference.

    – Expect to go over-budget! It’s amazing the number of things that turn out not to be included in the all inclusive budget the architect will give you.

    – Expect to go over-time! Your architect/contractor does not have control over every person working on your house. All it takes is one business being late to hold up all the others. (A late delivery of tiles, which had been ordered well ahead of time, slowed our building by several weeks.)

    – Although it is expensive, it is a good idea to take building insurance. We were advised against it, and now are involved in a court case against a sub-contractor, who delivered shoddy work. Building insurance would have made this case much easier to arrange.

  • When is The Best Time to Improve a House’s Energy Efficiency?

    When is The Best Time to Improve a House’s Energy Efficiency?

    Improving a home’s energy efficiency is a common sense undertaking, but it’s worth considering when you actually do it. The first thing to bear in mind is that the existing building stock is not static, it’s in a life cycle. Eventually all houses will need some maintenance, whether it’s new windows or getting the roof fixed etc. We have to realise that this is the very moment to improve insulation and so on, otherwise it’s too expensive. If the scaffolding is going up anyway then take advantage.

    Also, when you upgrade a component you should go for the best available because it could be 30, 40 or 50 years before somebody needs to do the job again. The key here is not to do a job just to save the energy, as the cost will be considerably more.

  • Which is better – renovation or new build home?

    Which is better – renovation or new build home?

    It’s certainly worth weighing up the pros and cons of renovation versus new build, but it will vary according to where you are in the world and the costs attached.

    Budgeting for a new build is often a lot easier as you are starting with a blank canvas and have a fairly realistic forecast of what you will pay. With a renovation it’s possible that you may run into unforeseen problems and have to adapt your approach, thus the cost may increase. The schedule is also something that should be a lot more predictable with a new build. Adding energy efficiency into the design is another benefit of starting from scratch and although retrofitting an existing house is possible, it is undoubtedly more complicated. Another bonus is that new builds can be designed to use the standard products on the market, whereas with a renovation – such as a listed building – you may have to get bespoke items made. In some countries there may even be a tax incentive… for example, in the UK, new builds are eligible for a VAT refund, which can save you a significant amount.

    A renovation, on the other hand, could still be better value. Starting from scratch quickly gets expensive and you might have added infrastructure costs to bear in mind (such as connecting mains water, electricity, sewage, road connections etc.). Where land is at a premium, re-modelling an existing property may also give you a greater choice of locations. Sometimes an unsightly house can put people off but it can be altered easily if you can see the angle.

     

    We’d love to hear about your experiences and any additional factors that played their part in the decision making process.