Renovate or Rebuild? Must-Know Facts to Guide Your Decision

by Carlisle Homes

If you love where you live, but not the house you live in, chances are a renovation or knockdown-rebuild is on the cards – here are the key factors to consider when deciding between the two.

Are you tossing up whether to renovate your dated home or knock it down and build from scratch? While renovating can be a great way to open up and refresh your living spaces, a knockdown-rebuild gives you the opportunity to create your dream home, with every feature customised exactly the way you want it. Rebuilding can often be cheaper per square metre than renovating too, making it a smart financial move.

Read on to get the facts on renovations versus knockdown-rebuilds, so you can make the right decision for you and your family.

Start with a clean slate

While renovating lets you preserve the original character of an older home, it comes with constraints as you’ll need to work within your property’s existing structure and layout. You’ll inevitably face some limitations as to what you can and can’t do, which could mean sacrificing some of the features you really wanted in your updated home.

By demolishing your existing house and building a new, contemporary home in its place, you’ll have complete control over every aspect of the design, layout, and features. In short, you’ll enjoy the freedom to design the home of your dreams, rather than being forced to compromise on the features you want.

Your perfect home, customised for you

Another advantage of choosing the knockdown-rebuild route - the ability to personalise every little detail of the design, from the size and layout of rooms, and the colours and finishes, to the design of the façade. This allows you to create a home that perfectly suits your family’s lifestyle, and reflects your style to a tee.

No costly renovation pitfalls

A minor or moderately sized renovation can prove cost-effective, particularly if you choose to do a lot of the hard work yourself. But fact is, once you start pulling up floors and taking down walls in an older home, you’re likely to encounter a few nasty surprises – and they can often be costly to fix.

If you decide to build a brand-new house with Carlisle Homes, you’ll receive a fixed-price contract, with no hidden fees or extra costs tucked away in the small print. What you agree to spend on your new Carlisle house is exactly what it will cost.

Unlock your block’s full potential

When updating an existing house, you’ll generally need to work with where it sits on your block – even if the aspect isn’t ideal. For example, you might be overlooked by the neighbours, or your living areas might be dark and uninviting.

Building anew lets you unlock your block’s full potential. Choose a new house design with ample room to entertain and relax, with living areas oriented to maximise natural light, air flow and indoor-outdoor connection. This ensures a brighter, fresher living space that’s more enjoyable to be in. It will also require less energy to heat and cool, saving you money on power bills.

Energy efficiency

If having an energy-efficient home is important to you, building from scratch is the clear way to go. All new homes today are required to meet current energy-efficient building standards, so they’re cheaper to run and kinder on the environment. That means your new home will come fitted with the latest sustainable features, like quality insulation, double glazing, and efficient heating and cooling.

While it is certainly possible to add features like these when you’re renovating an existing home, very often they are difficult and expensive to retrofit.

Boost the value of your property

By creating a modern, energy-efficient home with a contemporary layout and high-quality finishes and fixtures, you and your family will not only enjoy a comfortable living environment, but you’ll significantly increase the value of your property.

A home built to last

Building a new Carlisle home from the ground up gives you the peace of mind knowing that your home is built to the highest standards of quality, using the latest, energy-efficient materials.

And we give you the assurance to prove it. All our homes come with a 25-year structural guarantee. To give you further confidence, three months after construction, we will undertake a comprehensive 100-point warranty inspection to address and rectify any issues.

Get all the support you need from our knockdown-rebuild team

Carlisle Homes is Melbourne’s leading expert in knockdown-rebuilds. Our specialist in-house team has decades of experience in knockdown-rebuilds, and is ready to help you figure out your finances, choose the perfect design for your budget and block, and guide you right through the demolition and construction process.

Keen to learn exactly what happens during the knockdown-rebuild process, and pick up some expert tips for success? Check out our knockdown-rebuild podcast.

More homes, more options!

If you’ve decided to embark on a knockdown-rebuild, you’ll find your perfect design at Carlisle Homes. We have over 200 home designs for you to choose from – that’s more than any other Melbourne builder. There’s something for every budget, block size, family size and set-up, so be sure to take a look.

Building in one of Melbourne’s inner- or middle-suburban suburbs on a block measuring 50 feet (15.24 metres) wide? We’re about to release new luxury Affinity homes that have been specially tailored to optimise this classic Melbourne lot size – keep an eye on our Home Files blog for all the details, coming soon!