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 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 as 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 knockdown 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.
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 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.
