Two signs that an old house is worth renovating

Construction & Contractors Blog

If you are thinking about buying and sprucing up an old house but are unsure if this is a sensible decision, here are some things that might indicate that the property is worth renovating.

The structural framework is intact

Before buying and attempting to renovate an old house, it is crucial to have it surveyed, as this will give you a much better idea of the true condition of the property. If the results of the surveying process indicate that the house's structural framework is intact and shows no signs of any serious deterioration, then it might be worth purchasing this property.

One thing that often drives up the cost of residential home renovations is having to perform repair work on a building's framework, as accessing the framework involves a lot of damage to wall and ceiling plaster and flooring materials (some of which might be in perfectly good condition) in order to gain access to the framework and fix its broken components. These wall and floor materials then have to be replaced.

Furthermore, if a house's framework has been in a state of disrepair for a long time, it is very likely that it will have inflicted damage on other areas of the building and that these areas will also need to undergo costly repair work. For example, if the framework inside some of the wall cavities rotted many years ago, these walls will probably be badly cracked and have to be rebuilt, as they may eventually collapse due to the lack of support from the framework. 

However, if the structural framework of the house you wish to buy is intact, you should be able to avoid these type of costly repair bills.

The house is free from hazardous substances

Another good sign that an old house is worth investing in is if it is free of any hazardous substances. Examples of these substances include lead (in old lead-based wall paint), asbestos (a cancer-causing building material that was widely used by contractors until it was banned) and mould (a fungus that tends to proliferate in damp, badly insulated older houses). The discovery of these substances in a house can quickly turn a straightforward renovation project into something that will be far more expensive and complex to complete.

For example, if there is asbestos in the property, you would have to pay a professional to remove and properly dispose of this material, as it would be unsafe (and possibly illegal) to do this yourself. This could add weeks to the renovations and thousands to your final renovation bill.

Likewise, if there is lead or mould in the house, you would have to invest in expensive, high-tech respirators (to avoid breathing in lead or mould particles, both of which can be extremely dangerous) as well as a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) Hoover to safely clean the surfaces that are covered in lead dust and mould  particles. This, too, could be time-consuming and would make your renovations far more costly.

For more information on knowing if an old house is worth renovating, find a contracting service near you that offers residential home renovations.

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18 April 2019

How I Constructed My New Home

Hello and welcome to my construction blog. My name is David and I would like to tell you about the process of designing and building a new home from the ground up. I had always dreamed of building my own home and last year, that dream became a reality. I had been saving money for many years so I could afford to buy the materials and employ the contractors needed to construct my home. I learnt so much during the process, I decided to start this blog. It was a wonderful day when the final piece of my home was put into place and I am now very happy.