Settlement house (1947) in timber frame construction - is renovation worthwhile?

Hello everyone,

what should one think of such a property? The 90m² would need to be completely renovated, and an extension of about the same size should be added.

Is it even worth keeping the timber frame structure, or would demolition and rebuilding be more sensible? Would demolition even be possible; it is a semi-detached house - the other half has already been completely renovated and extended.

Before purchasing, of course, we would conduct an inspection with an architect - but it would be great to get a few opinions in advance! I have no idea what to think of the timber frame construction of that vintage...

Hello everyone,

what do you think of such a property? The 90m² would have to be completely renovated, and an extension of about the same size should be added.

Is it even worth keeping the timber frame construction, or would demolition and rebuilding be more sensible? Would demolition even be possible; it is a semi-detached house – the other half has already been completely renovated and extended.

Plans/photos would be helpful here now ...

I don't have any plans yet - do these photos help or what should they show?

How and when was the 2nd half renovated? I personally would tend toward demolition, solely out of fear of damage/mold/pests in the old timber frame. 1947 (really?) was 2 years after the war - they surely built very, very simply and cheaply then. We demolished a timber frame house from the 60s on our plot. Besides asbestos (which was not yet used in 1947), the wooden structure was already quite "rotten" in some places due to moisture. But I can't tell you how the demolition of a DH half works. You will probably then have to move the second common wall nowadays usual on your plot.

After a solid house provider tried to disparage the competition by saying, "wood studs are worn out after 40 years," it’s pretty cool to see a wood stud from 47. It also looks quite well maintained in the few pictures.

Yes, the well-maintained condition is noticeable in a positive way. But renovating 90m² and adding 90m² will be so expensive, I would really prefer to consider new construction. Some things are also not so easy to do. For example, a facade insulation is missing the roof overhang.

Is the floor plan with the extension even practical? Are there any parts of the house worth preserving?

You will probably have to implement the nowadays usual second party wall on your property.

You would want that in terms of soundproofing anyway. How well the houses are separated from each other you should be able to find out from the documents.

Just ask the neighbor what surprises he experienced during the renovation.