Buying an established home comes with many benefits but if it’s an older home, you may eventually face one big, costly decision: renovate or knock down rebuild?
With the popularity of home renovation shows such as The Block, it’s easy to get swept up in the idea of renovating. However, like those shows, renovating your own home can be equally dramatic – with multiple decisions to be made on the fly, long lead-in times on products and materials, plus the risk of structural issues that could be uncovered during the renovation process. And this could lead to major budget blow-outs.
But what if there was a simpler way to stay in the location you love but in a home that you’ve always wanted?
A knock down rebuild can offer you that. When you build a home from scratch you’re not limited to a home’s existing design, instead you can choose the right floorplan to suit you and your lifestyle at a fixed cost.
The benefits of a knock down rebuild
For homeowners who love their location but desire a modern, custom-built home, here’s why you should consider a knockdown and rebuild:
Personalisation and Customisation
First of all, a knock down rebuild allows you to stay in the location you love while completely transforming your home. Unlike a renovation, where you may be limited by the existing structure, a knock down rebuild offers the freedom to customise every aspect of your new house. From the layout of rooms to the choice of materials and finishes, you can design a home that perfectly reflects your personal style and lifestyle needs.
Cost Efficiency
One of the most significant benefits of a knock down rebuild is cost efficiency. This approach can be more economical than buying a new property, as it eliminates expenses like land acquisition costs, stamp duty, and agent fees. By rebuilding on your existing property, you can invest more in the design and construction of your new home, ensuring it meets all your expectations without the additional financial burden of moving.
Avoiding Renovation Challenges
Renovating an old house often comes with unexpected challenges, such as uncovering structural issues or dealing with outdated infrastructure. These surprises can lead to significant delays and cost overruns. By opting for knockdown rebuilds, you bypass these renovation hassles entirely, starting fresh with a new home that meets modern standards for safety, comfort, and energy efficiency.
Efficient Use of Land
Rebuilding on your existing lot allows you to make the most of the land you already own. Whether you want to optimise natural light, create more outdoor space, or enhance privacy, knockdown rebuilds give you the flexibility to design a home that maximises the potential of your property. Geelong Homes’ design consultants can help you make the most of every square metre.
Minimising Disruption
Compared to moving or undertaking extensive renovations, a knockdown rebuild involves less disruption to your daily life. You can remain in your current neighbourhood, maintaining your connections to the community while enjoying the benefits of a brand-new home. This continuity, combined with the expertise of Geelong Homes, makes the knockdown rebuild process a smooth and rewarding experience.
The knock down and rebuild process
So, what’s involved in knocking down an old house and building a new one? Below, we explain each step in the Geelong Homes knockdown rebuild journey, from assessing your existing property to constructing your dream home, so you can understand exactly what a knockdown rebuild process entails.
Site Assessment
The first step in the knockdown rebuild process is a thorough site inspection of your existing property. Geelong Homes’ new home consultants conduct this assessment using a combination of online tools, site visits, and direct discussions with you. This detailed evaluation includes soil analysis, consideration of height restrictions, and a review of the environmental surroundings to ensure the site is perfectly suited for your new house. This step lays the foundation for a smooth rebuild journey, addressing potential challenges before they arise.
Design Phase
In the design phase, your personal style and lifestyle needs take centre stage. The design consultants at Geelong Homes will work closely with you to understand your vision for the new home. They will review floorplans that are best suited to your block, discuss various façade options, and ensure that the design maximises natural light, energy efficiency, and overall comfort. This collaborative approach guarantees that your new home is tailored to your needs and preferences, reflecting both practicality and aesthetics.
Planning Process
Navigating the planning process can be complex, but with nearly 30 years of experience in the Geelong region, Geelong Homes is well-equipped to manage this stage. Once the design is finalised, Geelong Homes will handle all planning approvals, ensuring that all technical details are meticulously documented and submitted to the relevant governing bodies. Our expertise ensures that your project complies with all local regulations, allowing you to proceed without delays.
Contract Signing and Permit Application
With the planning process completed, the next step is the signing of the building contract and the application for necessary permits. Geelong Homes assists you in obtaining both the building and demolition permits, ensuring all site costs are covered. During this stage, you will need to arrange for the abolishment of existing services and prepare for temporary accommodation. By managing these details early on, the knock down rebuild specialists at Geelong Homes help to minimise any potential delays, ensuring a seamless transition from your old house to your new dream home.
Demolition
Geelong Homes partners with an experienced demolition company to handle the safe and efficient removal of your existing home. Before demolition begins, we secure the Asset Protection Permit from your local council, ensuring all work is conducted without causing damage to surrounding properties. This careful coordination allows the building process to begin smoothly, setting the stage for the construction of your new house.
Read more about our knockdown rebuild and construction process here.
Building with Geelong Homes as your knockdown rebuild specialist
Geelong Homes has been building homes across the Geelong and Surf Coast region for almost 30 years, and we have an experienced team who will support you through all aspects of your knockdown rebuild from planning to demolition right through to the build of your home.
By choosing us to help you with your knockdown rebuild, you’ll not only enjoy the general benefits we mentioned above but you’ll experience our expert advice and craftsmanship, upfront costs, quality standard inclusions and most importantly, you will be guided by our passionate local team who will support you on your building journey every step of the way.
Why building new is less stressful
When you partner with a reliable builder like Geelong Homes, they will be with you throughout the entire process.
When building with Geelong Homes you only have two points of contact. At the beginning it’s your new home consultant, with the support of a sales associate, who will be key to helping you choose the right floorplan and facade design, help to coordinate any site work, write up and explain your contract and all the associated documents, such as costs and finalised house plans. Your new home consultant remains available to answer any of your questions and provide advice throughout your building journey.
However, once construction begins, your main point of contact will be your site manager. You first meet your site manager at our head office before construction begins. During your build, your site manager provides you with weekly updates on how your new home is progressing. They also provide you with regular emails and access to our client portal so that you can keep track of the progress. And once each stage is completed, your site supervisor will invite you to the site to see the progress.
With a new build, your builder will be managing the build from start to finish – therefore you can sit back and enjoy the ride.
Interior design guidance
If you are spending your hard earned cash on renovating or building your home, you want to feel confident in every decision that you make and some of the most difficult decisions can be the aesthetics.
Building a new home with Geelong Homes, comes with expert interior style advice from our Style Studio team.
Our Style Studio team are on hand to guide you through the selection of your home’s colours, fixtures and fittings. This is the colour and material selections for inside your home, such as wall colour, cabinetry finishes, flooring, door handles, taps and bathware, and tiles. They also help plan your electrical fixtures and fittings, which includes mapping out your lighting plan to help create a more light-filled space.
In our Style Studio you’ll also make your exterior selections – such as roofing, cladding, brickwork and hardware.
This means every decision you make, you can feel confident in!
A 10-year structural guarantee
If not done right, older homes, despite a renovation or extension, will constantly need maintenance. However by building a new home, you can feel confident that your home will last many years and covered by warranties.
By law, builders must comply to a number of warranties when building a new home, warranties that last up to 10 years from completion of the work.
This gives you peace of mind that your home will be secure and will have all the latest products and materials as stated in your contract.
To build homes that stand the test of time, Geelong Homes only uses quality suppliers, superior materials and supports local businesses. And Geelong Homes’ guaranteed Quality Assurance system guarantees all our builds have the highest standard of quality.
A greener, more energy efficient home
In Victoria, all new homes need to comply with the Energy Efficiency provisions in the National Construction Code (NCC) – and this includes complying with a minimum 6-Star Energy Efficiency Standard.
However, Geelong Homes offers many features that can further improve your home’s energy efficiency. Not only does Geelong Homes offer clever designs that can be mirrored or flipped to make the most of the north sun, it also offers upgrades such as double-glazed windows and the state-of-the-art 4.5kW Bradford Solar ChargePack, which includes Tesla Powerwall with backup.
The Bradford Solar ChargePack, including Tesla Powerwall allows you to store your solar energy for use anytime, day or night, with 80 per cent self-sufficiency off-grid capacity – meaning you’ll always have electricity in your home and you’ll have the reassurance that your home will have power during unreliable times such as power outages.
It addition to having a low-maintenance, new home, which will save you money on ongoing maintenance costs, you will also save thousands of dollars each year with sustainable energy.
Conclusion
If you’re at a crossroads with your current home and considering a renovation – have you considered another alternative – a knockdown rebuild?
Geelong Homes have been building homes across the Geelong and Surf Coast region for almost 30 years – and have completed many knockdown rebuild projects.
There are many benefits to a knockdown rebuild as opposed to renovating:
- Building new won’t limit you to the house’s existing design – allowing you to choose the perfect floorplan for you and your lifestyle.
- Building a new home can be less stressful than renovating if you choose a reliable builder who offers you a fixed, upfront price.
- A new home will have a 10-year structural guarantee, plus all the latest products that are stated in your contract.
- A new home will have a minimum 6-Star Energy Efficiency rating, with more upgrades to improve your home’s energy efficiency even further.
- You will save money in the short and long-term, thanks to low maintenance costs and ongoing savings in heating and cooling from building a more energy efficient home.
