Anyone ever take down an older home and rebuild

It could be a close call. Is the house level and solid? Does the current floor plan work for you? Does the kitchen and baths need updating and/or replacing? Those 2 areas alone can run into many tens of thousands of dollars to renovate.

A house that old, if it has original plumbing and wiring, would also likely need some, if not all of it replaced.

And once you start opening walls on an old home there's no telling what you may find------dry rot, termite damage, mold issues etc.

Plus, is the current house laid out how you like or would you tear out walls to reconfigure and open things up to better suit your needs?

The bigger question is are you planning on doing much of the work yourself to save on labor costs or are you having someone else do the work? Sweat equity is a good thing----if you know what you're doing, if not, the labor costs add up quickly.

Should have mentioned this in my previous post.

One of my nephews and his wife outgrew their starter home in River Ridge and found a house on a much larger lot just a few blocks from their home and bought it.

They decided the older home on the lot would not fill their needs as far as square footage, configuration and what it would cost to make it like they wanted, so they had it torn down.

It was basically a 1 story ranch style house and they built a 2 story 4 BR, 3 bath home in its place and they couldn't be happier with their decision.

The home on my property was built in 1881. We have decided to tear down and rebuild once the interest rates become a little more favorable.

Yes. The re-surveys (one for the demo permit and another one to merge two parcels) and permits took way too long, expect delays. Beureacrats never hurry.

Treat the demo, clearing and filling, etc. as seperate contracts. Pay cash as much as you can as the parish won't see that as part of the final home closing.

quote:

---

Any idea what their price range and time frame was for this project?

We’re trying to decide if we want to add a 2nd floor, or start over w a tear down & rebuild

---

I've never been one to ask what people spend their money on or how much things cost. I know they weren't in a rush since they stayed in their starter home while the lot was cleared and house built. They are both highly paid professional people so it's safe to assume their combined salaries made it much easier to do this and not have to sell their starter home for capital.

Adding a 2nd floor on an existing house requires a lot of work, both in tearing things out and rebuilding.

Even if a partial 2nd floor over 1/2 the existing house, the roof will need to be opened and that area totally removed, all existing ceiling joists will need to be replaced with larger dimensional lumber to handle the heavier load of the 2nd floor, lots of new wiring, plumbing, A/C and heat need to be put in place, you'll lose floor space on the 1st floor so the stairs can be put in place, and if trying to do this while still living in the house is VERY inconvenient.

If I were thinking about this, I'd opt to buy something existing or build new to fit your needs.

quote:

---

considering buying one of the lots around us but the wife can't get past the price of the lot.

---

I can only imagine the price of that lot. With the way things are costing now, I'd think a bare lot is up there with the cost of a decent size starter home 20 years ago.