Demolish or retain?
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First post here so I hope I’m in the right area.
We are currently living in a small village in Meath that has few facilities and have decided we are going to build our own home. Because we live in a development plan area in a village we are not classed as rural and don’t have family or work ties to the land.
We have found a 1 acre site quite near a different village that has facilities i.e. shops, school etc.
The site has a derelict two storey house on it, and I’m wondering whether we should attempt to restore the house and add an extension (big extension) or should we demolish.
The critical points in order of importance to us are cost (build), cost (running), planning and preservation of old building.
I appreciate that, to many here, preservation or retention would be higher up the list but my first and foremost item is most house for least money.
Will applying for planning permission to demolish the house, it would be habitable with an expenditure of money, likely be accepted.
Typically are renovations as cost efficient as rebuilding utilising modern construction techniques i.e. timber frame or terracotta building blocks.
The sight is set back and is lined by trees so even a modern building wouldn’t “blight” the landscape and we have no intention of felling trees.
Regards
John
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of course you want the most house for your money . this is ireland of the naughties
Perish the thought of a nice house or that you will probably spend most of your time in your car …
I say . knock it down . lash a load concrete supports in the ground. and cover with corrugated iron, making sure to cover all the site.
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Gees A Boyle, after all the work that the RIAI is doing to bring architecture to the people…
To answer jwt:
Without seeing the building it is difficult to comment. Also it depends on how attached to the old building you are.
Generally speaking it is cheaper to knock it and start again, if it is in bad condition. Especially if floor to ceiling heights are low; if you are thinking of putting in underfloor heating, if you’d prefer larger windows etc.
Also you’ll never be able to get similar insulation values if you stick to the old building.So if money is the main criterion, then knock it.
As there is an existing building on site, then the granting of permission is quite likely – so in this case simply apply to demolish and replace and a refusal is not really going to negatively affect the site. Alternatively, if Planners can be spoken to, arrange a pre-planning with the planner and tell him/her that you’d like to demolish and replace.If you are in any way considering to retain the building then you’ll probably have to get an architect involved – depending on how sensitively you’d like the extension to be. Even before you submit to planning it should be possible to get a proposal retaining the old building and another for a new build and get costs done by a Q.S. You could then compare and see which option is best for you.
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