3 reason to build new instead of renovating

[@designthinkingwithgian]

Would be great if you could do a cost breakdown for both scenarios.

[@ID-hz1ju]

Nick and John are the best in Massachusetts hands down and they are not afraid to put their knowledge of the residential construction business out there unlike a majority of the mass builders who are just building for a profit and are not willing to pass along their knowledge to the next generation of builders. Thank you both.

[@keelhe893]

I appreciate the tips and insight. My first build was a headache because I bought into a subdivision and received subpar work. I always dreamed of renovating an old home but I think you convinced me to do another new build but the way I want it will be the key to my success this time

[@notshylo]

I’m going to do a complete reno/expansion (going from ~1200 sq ft to ~3600 sq ft) but essentially the only thing that will remain in the same place is the front facade (it has to due to neighborhood regs). 2/3rds of the house doesn’t even exist at this point, and the remaining third will be gutted past the studs to the foundation. Walls and stairs moving. So I think the line between new builds and renovations can be blurry in some cases.

[@kylemacht]

Always a tough decision, especially with a tight budget. I much prefer to start from scratch to control the performance. The trickier part of the equation is taking into account embodied CO2. Ideally, you want to reuse the structure as much as you can, but that can be more of a pain than it is worth. Also, if you are able to use FSC lumber, it might not be as bad to start over.

[@robertsugarland]

Will your concepts also apply to small unit apartments build in the 70s? to get higher rents and less manintance…

[@shifty277]

This is a video specific for the US & CA market - tell this to the big main cities in the UK - London, Manchester etc there isnt any space/land left lol! In London pretty much every home being built is apartments with a minimum 5 storeys high. Great video, conversation and audio as always. I see the point you guys are referring too. If someone has 750k should they build a place or buy a place and sink the remainder in refurbing. Thumbs up.

[@av3s763]

In my experience, renovating can cost more than building new and always leaves you with some compromises over what the home owner actually may want. I purchased a new 3,000 SqFt spec house in Maine on three acres then purchased the property next to it. We combined the two properties to give us plenty of room to grow then added another 4,000 SqFt while modifying the existing. While I love the result and it does have a lot of character, the flow and details could have been better if we just started from scratch. The project likely would have been less expensive and more timely as well. In the end, I did what I did given I wanted to live in the space during construction and the property is located adjacent to family. So there were reasons to accept the compromise.

[@cmm170526]

Great episode! Thank you very much 👍

[@kevinbennett3645]

Hey Nick and the team. Question for you: I'm a younger carpenter/general contractor in Connecticut. It's hard to get other sub contractors who come highly recommended to answer phone calls or get them scheduled into a project. Any tips on getting good subs to work with you? Thank you.

[@Strutty603]

The issue I have with building is that I see a lot of poorly built houses going up around me. Matt Risinger recently did a walk through of some new construction sites that were going to be in worse shape than what is being pulled down. Your argument for pulling down only works when you have a great builder like yourselves.

[@williamdrake2315]

If you have to gut the house you may be better of starting over. It is a matter of totaling the expenses but the newer materials like lvl studs, zip system, insulating the exterior shell, high performance HVAC and air renewal, exterior cladding, water management for your basement, etc. s cannot easily be done if the old house is in the way.

[@sergeyb8]

It all depends. Too many variables. Total gut on a house with solid framing and foundation is perfectly fine. Just an example

[@ColeSpolaric]

I can already see the comments about how only people with money can build to get everything they want. Some builders only focus on high end homes. Nothing wrong with that. Some builders will focus just on production building for the majority of people. Nothing wrong with that either as long as they still build using quality construction methods.

[@dlg5485]

I've been asking myself this very question and I've decided that a tear down and rebuild makes more sense for me. I want a Net Zero home, which would be very difficult if not impossible to achieve that level of performance with a remodel, AND keep costs under control. The problem is that my house is on a small suburban lot in a working class area with stagnant home values, so any significant investment will almost certainly never be supported by the local economy. I don't necessarily care too much about this because I don't ever plan to move. I like my neighborhood exactly because it's an affordable place to live and will be a good place to retire. That said, it also doesn't make sense to spend $300k on a home in a neighborhood with avg home values in the low $100s. The only way for me to get the home that I want at a cost that isn't completely stupid, is to owner-build. It just doesn't make sense for me to add 20% in cost for a builder, given my situation,and I have A LOT to learn before I'll be ready to take that on. Fortunately, I'm not looking to do this for at least a few years. Hopefully prices will continue to fall, as I suspect they will.

[@Mumumama205]

What about remodeling a 650 sq ft concrete block bungalow and adding on a shipping container addition in the back. Bungalow is 70 years old, needs new electric, plumbing, windows, kitchen, bath, floor, but no change of floor plan or roof. So basically creating 2 homes added into 1 where we can live and also rent out front existing. Rent 1500 month and remodel cost 50k so break even in 5 years. Another big issue is that builders are not keen to do massive remodels, too much fiddling.

[@sergeyb8]

Would absolutely love to build new and I actually have funds to do so but unfortunately there aren't any good lots left. You are left with very remote "cookie cutter" new street devs. and lots right on main road (too busy and dangerous for kids/fams). OR you have to pay up for a house to demo, which I don't have funds for.

[@sergeyb8]

@@aayotechnology Concord is one of top (maybe 5) most expensive towns in MA. I can't afford that. My budget for everything is about 1.2mil. Just want a high quality 2700ish sqft house

[@dlg5485]

I typical house demo shouldn't cost any more than $15k, which is certainly far less than buying a new lot, as long as you already own the lot where the house currently sits.

[@sergeyb8]

@@dlg5485 Yeah but it's not like the house-to-demo is free. I mean, even if the house is total pos, in Boston area they are still sold for huge money. That's what I meant to say. An example, an 1800sqft house we sold is now estimated at about $600k. The tiny lot itself is probably $400k max.. That house sits on boulder foundation (with basement) that leaks like spaghetti strainer. Was flooded at least 3 times knee deep. Termites damage and impossible to build a second level anyway.