REEF began another project today, tearing down a house on Bass River.  After a lengthy cost analysis, permitting, and design process, it was determined that tearing down the old house and re-building was a more cost effective way for the homeowner to acheive their goals.  When considering remodeling or building new, one must take all of the new building code requirements into account.  In this case, it made sense to build a new home!

If you are considering Building or Remodeling on Cape Cod, contact us by clicking below and see how we can help!

  Many of our projects for New Homes and Remodeling, involve tearing down all or a portion of the existing home.  With the changes in structural, energy and mechanical codes that have come into existence over the last few years, it is often times less expensive to tear down a house instead of remodeling.  The major factor in this decision is labor.  Labor continues to be one of the largest expenses in construction, and when you figure the labor involved in disassembling an existing home, and then re-building it to the new standards, the costs just don't make sense.  Tearing down an average home takes less than a day, and can cost as little as $7,000.  Once the tear down is complete, the project starts from a clean slate, guaranteeing a predictable, high quality result.  Oh yeah, and it is kind of fun to watch as well. Here is a video of a house we tore down yesterday in Dennis

      This is an important question to ask when you are considering a major renovation or remodeling project on Cape Cod.  Renovation costs are skyrocketing, especially for antiquated homes that may require substantial additional work to meet all current structural, mechanical, and enery codes.  The real underlying value for properties on Cape Cod is the land and the location. So often times, when compared to the value of a remodeling, a new home of comparable size may not be much more expensive, and in some cases, could be less expensive.  Something to think about for your Cape Cod Home. Here is an article from about.com with some advice on a teard-down project.

http://homebuying.about.com/od/investmentproperties/qt/92707_TearDown.htm

Much of the work requested over the last several years has been for small, nicely detailed, and smartly-designed homes to replace family cottages in areas near many of Cape Cod's beaches. Zoning bylaws do allow cottage tear-downs in most towns, and you would be surprised what towns will allow to replace them.  Often times customers come in with a desire to remodel or renovate an old cottage, but once they find out the poor condition of the structure, the cost to upgrade all mechanical systems, and the requirements of the structural and energy codes, the costs often times far surpass the costs of new construction.  REEF has new home plans tailored for this scenario called our Cottage Collection (Click here to see our -Cottage Plans.)  These plans are compact, efficient, and but stylish and offer a lot of flexibilty and they are a good starting point for many of our customers. Click below and contact us today to find out what we can do for you!!