The reconstruction of the house took them two years.And this is still an ideal case

The future owners contacted me for the first time in January 2013 and I assessed the technical condition of the house. The fifty-year-old building was structurally sound and it was possible to fulfill the main requirement, i.e. to create two separate apartments here. The purchase was given the go-ahead, and the formalities surrounding the transfer of the house took a few more months. Four months have passed because of them too.

Study and project: five monthsWe started working on the study in June 2013. The biggest challenge was to fit into a very limited budget and determine which structures are necessary to live in and what can wait for a later stage of construction.

The original leaky casement windows had to be preserved, the heat-insulating facade and the new roof were postponed until later. We worked on the project until autumn.

Construction procedure: three monthsIn October, we submitted an application to the building authority. Fortunately, there were no complications with this and by the end of the year the house was granted permission. In the meantime, the owners were selecting construction companies and they started work in January 2014.

Construction: sixteen monthsConstruction companies could start work in winter. This is quite unusual as it is impossible to build in the cold due to wet construction processes such as concreting or masonry. But in this case, the first months were worked only inside the house, where the craftsmen could flood. The renovation was completed after more than a year in April 2015. Approval remained and the owners moved in in May.

The renovation took two yearsFrom purchase to moving in, it took two years and five months, of which the project, offices and construction work took approximately two years. I have encountered a very similar time span for other renovations. If it is built with companies, the preparation and construction work usually last two to three years. However, it usually takes five to ten years to build it yourself.

Even the interior often cannot do without major reconstruction. The difference in the height of the floors in the individual rooms was up to 4 cm.

Timetable of the ideal renovation

The best time to choose a property is in the spring.

Project preparation takes too long. Can it be speeded up?

The question is whether it is worth it. You build mostly once in a lifetime and it takes a while to get the hang of building. Although you will have a lot of construction experts around you, the decisions are yours.

When you buy a house that needs a complete renovation, expect to be able to move in in two years at the earliest. Before buying, have the condition of the house assessed, because that way you will know whether it is not hiding a defect that will make the reconstruction more expensive or significantly longer. When preparing the project, take your time and use the time to plan your housing, changes in the project are much easier than on the construction site, and you have a construction expert at hand.

If the preparation is too rushed, big changes are made during construction, and this costs extra money. It is much cheaper to move the wall on the drawing than to tear it down and rebuild it directly on the construction site. So use this preparation time to think about your future home.

The reconstruction of the house should not take place without a structural survey and assessment by a structural engineer. Often wooden ceilings are rotten and have to be completely (and expensively) replaced. Repairing buildings with disturbed foundations and load-bearing walls is reasonable only for exceptionally valuable buildings.

Did you manage to renovate your house after buying it in less than two years?

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Readers they voted until 0:00 on Wednesday, September 14, 2016. The poll is closed.