Have you outgrown your home? Or has it perhaps gotten shabby and no longer suits your needs? While renovating your existing digs, selling up and buying a new home or building elsewhere are three possible solutions to these common housing conundrums, there’s a fourth option that’s also worth considering: knocking down your house and building a new one in its place.

Given the many advantages of tearing down your home and starting afresh, it’s not hard to see why this is an increasingly popular solution. If you’re not clued in on the benefits of this building approach, read on and then weigh up whether it’s the right option for you.

It can be a smarter move financially

One of the main appeals of opting to tear down your existing home and rebuild is that it can be more cost-effective than renovating. Some costs associated with renovating and extending a home are difficult to determine during the design stage. Some examples are when new subfloor, underpinning or plaster rectification are required. As a result, allowances for such costs are built into the contract you will have with your renovating company.

This obviously won’t factor into your financials if you choose to knock your house down and rebuild, since your existing home will be completely demolished, allowing you to start afresh.

There are less surprises

Many people love surprises, but not so much when they’re renovating their home. Unforeseen problems like leaky pipes, dodgy wiring and undetected asbestos can turn what should be an exciting home makeover project into a lengthy, stressful and costly nightmare. Which is another reason why KDRs can be a more attractive and cost-effective option.

You can stay in the same neighborhood…

While demolishing and rebuilding your home has plenty of financial benefits, this building approach has a positive impact on your lifestyle, too. KDRs are a great option for families who love where they live and are loath to leave but are in desperate need of a new home that better suits their needs.

Rather than upping sticks and buying or building elsewhere, opting for a knockdown-rebuild means you can construct the home of your dreams but stay in the area you’ve grown to adore.

Or buy a house to raze and rebuild where you love

A shortage of land in and around metropolitan areas has been a driving force behind the popularity of knockdown-rebuilds. This is especially true for those who have their heart set on building their dream home in their favorite inner-city, rather than relocating to where vacant land is more readily available.

Properties in well-established areas can be pricey, no matter how dilapidated they are. Before you splash out some serious cash on such a property, weigh up the cost versus the lifestyle benefits to make sure the price of the purchase, demolition and rebuild is worth it.

It’s also worth getting advice from a local real estate agent. They will be able to point you toward potential properties, plus they can tell you more about what the property’s value might be if you were to rebuild, versus simply renovating.

You start with a clean slate

While renovating requires you to work around existing structures, knockdown-rebuilds offer a lot more design freedom. While you will still have site conditions to challenge the design, you have a clean slate to explore new ideas and challenge the previous layout. Building a new home gives you more options in terms of the style and size of the home, sustainability and the use of technology and modern building practices.

You can go green(er)

Another benefit of undertaking a KDR is that you can up your home’s sustainability game in ways that would not be possible if you were to renovate. For example, starting from scratch means that you can optimize the orientation and layout of your home and the placement of windows, to allow for maximum sun exposure in winter; shade and coolness in summer; and cross ventilation.

These three key passive design strategies harness renewable energy resources such as the sun and wind to heat, cool, ventilate and illuminate your home naturally. This in turn allows you to improve your home’s carbon footprint and reduce your household energy spending.

Knockdown-rebuilds give you the opportunity to construct your new home from the ground up, using sustainable materials and incorporating the latest smart, eco-friendly fixtures, features and gadgets too.

Sold on the idea of a knockdown-rebuild? Have you ever embarked on a knockdown-rebuild project? Do you have any advice to share for people who are considering this building approach? Tell us in the comments below.