Cost of house demolition, can the basement be reused?

Hello. I am new here in the forum and need help with a somewhat rough estimate. I have been looking for a house for a long time, but mostly the plots were too small or the houses too expensive, because almost everywhere a lot would still need to be repaired, which would have exceeded our financial limits. Now it is so that I have found a large inexpensive plot, but there is a small (5 rooms, 115m², 1 1/2 stories, built in 1963) house on it. It is in great need of renovation. Since the house is too small anyway for our family (we need 6 rooms and at least 140m²), we are considering demolishing the house and rebuilding. The problem with this is 1. the house has a basement. Since the new house should ideally also have a basement, can the old basement (if structurally sound) be somehow reused? Or at least partially? Because the model houses usually do not have basements and since we have to watch the costs, it would be quite practical if the old basement could continue to be used. How much does such a demolition actually cost? How much of a demolition could you manage yourself before a company has to take over? Regards Pollux

Hello Pollux,

just like you, we experienced the same last year, but now we are a bit further - the demolition of "our" little house from 1953 will take place at the end of February.

We also considered either completely renovating (about as expensive as building new, since we would have also added an extension) or at least keeping the basement.

Keeping the basement and building new on top seems quite appealing at first glance, but it quickly became clear to us that our dream house simply does not fit on the typical square (8 x 8m) basement.

In addition, we were advised against such a "patchwork" from various sides, because for example in the event of moisture damage in the house or cracks in the house, it can be quite difficult to prove to the construction company that the basement is not to blame. Another factor is that the basement would still have had to be insulated to meet today's energy standards.

Long story short: We are having it completely demolished and building entirely new.

The costs for the demolition are hard to estimate. We obtained various offers and for a similarly sized house ranged between EUR 9,000.00 and EUR 32,000.00. Each is a total price including disposal. I think in your case it will only help to get individual offers.

We did not choose the cheapest provider but selected a company from the neighboring town - the company is known to us and has a good reputation. That was worth a certain surcharge to us. We found it very important that we received a fixed price offer for each. Many companies don't do that, instead you get an offer and somewhere in the fine print it says that the disposal is only estimated...

Doing it yourself can be good, but also can increase costs. For example, I was told that many materials arising from a demolition can be reused and then of course utilized by the demolition company. If these materials are gone, it naturally becomes more expensive...

In which area is the house to be demolished located? Maybe I can help you with specific company recommendations?

Regards,

Dirk

Thank you for the detailed answer. I had already suspected that about the basement, but at least hoped to be able to use it as a partial basement. But oh well. I just hope there won’t be any problems with the complete new construction because the property is on a slope. The house to be torn down is located in the district of Lippe, right in the southwestern corner.

The issue is, first, that the house has a basement. Since the new house should ideally also have a basement, can the old basement (if structurally sound) somehow still be used? Or at least partially? Because most model houses usually don’t have basements and since we have to watch the costs, it would be quite practical if the old basement could still be used.

Is the structural analysis available?

Whether you can use the existing basement or at least partially use it, a trusted expert will tell you; also, a damage assessment procedure must be set in motion, otherwise no construction company will take it on. If the existing basement is usable, you should not underestimate the connection costs to the new building to be erected!

How much does a demolition actually cost?

That cannot be estimated because no one knows what materials were used in the construction.

How much of a demolition can you manage yourself before a company needs to step in?

Every demolition contractor tries to reuse a part of the demolition. If they can reuse or sell a lot for profit, the price for you as the client decreases. Conversely, this also means that if you put in a lot of work yourself, in the end you will pay more.

Rhenish greetings