Can you remodel an old house?

The price of renovating an old house can be high. Some of the most expensive areas to renovate an older home can be found in replacing the roof and foundation, electrical and plumbing, and upgrading the HVAC system. Make sure you have a thorough inspection before you buy so you know what the price may be up to. Every remodeler needs a vision and plan for a successful renovation.

Walk around your new home, take notes as you go. What do you want the room to look like? If possible, make sketches. Or you can also use 3D interior design applications to design the room. Apps such as “Design a Room” and “RoomStyler 3D Home Planner” have product recommendations (through targeted ads).

You can design the room with real products, and also buy them. Whichever renovation path you choose, you'll need to check if your project requires a planning permit or a building permit. In the UK, some types of extension and renovation are classified as permissible development and therefore do not require planning permission. However, in the U.S.

In the US, any project that involves structural additions or changes to your home or mechanical systems will need a building permit. If you can rearrange and equip your kitchen for maximum utility, you may not need to blow up the walls to gain square meters. Start by replacing space, hoarding shelves with cabinets, pull-out drawers 8 inches wide, containing shelves for canned goods and other items. You get three or more horizontal planes where otherwise you would only have one, says Louis Smith Jr.

You could easily shell out a few thousand to equip the cabinets with upgrades such as dividers, pull-out potting trays and Susans sloths, but you'll save many times that amount by skipping the addition you thought you needed. Start by replacing space-intensive shelves with pull-out drawers at the height of 8-inch wide cabinets, which contain shelves for canned goods and other items.