Demolish, remodel or build new?

Town & Country Builders LLC is a licensed general contracting design-build firm that has been serving Oahu residents for the past 35 years. The company specializes in custom and prepackaged homes, remodels, additions, designer kitchens and bathrooms, Americans With Disability Act (ADA) modifications/improvement as well as multigenerational homes, and offers full construction services including planning and permitting.

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Whether to demolish, remodel or build new is an age old question which leaves homeowners in a dilemma about which direction to take and how to proceed with construction activity. Let’s investigate the pros and cons. Let’s say that the house is more than 50 years old and the kitchen, bathroom, light fixtures, and floor covering have all aged substantially. It’s a tough decision to make whether to demolish, remodel or build new, especially if the home has been in the family for some time and has personal memories associated with it.

If the home has sound structural integrity, then it may be worth saving, but if the home has any combination of asbestos floor covering, lead-based paint over the EPA allowable threshold, galvanized water supply lines or old-style electrical wiring with insulators, then it is recommended to demolish it and start new.

In some cases, the decision to rebuild is contingent upon budgetary considerations because one may have a large household and there are not enough finances to build a new home large enough for the family with the current resources. In this case, the right choice is to remodel the existing home if it is in sound condition.

Before. Rebuilding the addition in progress.

Take for example, this two story home in Manoa originally constructed in 1938 (pictured here), where the existing addition was poorly constructed. The owner’s parents are aging and can no longer climb the stairs to use the bathroom facility. The solution was to demolish and reconstruct the addition with a full bathroom on the ground floor. The challenge was to complete the demolition work, but leave the fireplace and brick chimney in tact and build the new addition around the refurbished fireplace. The mission was accomplished!

For assistance with the assessment of your home’s condition and recommendations, call the professionals at Town & Country Builders LLC. Town & Country Builders is a member of the Better Business Bureau with a A+ rating, a certified remodeler and winner of the excellence in customer satisfaction award for 2011, 2012 and 2013. The company also is a member of the National Association of Home Builders and the Building Industry Association of Hawaii.

TOWN & COUNTRY BUILDERS LLC
contact // 737-7766
web // www.townandcountrybuildersllc.com