Should I demolish my house?

BY Scott Moore, REALTOR

You may have noticed a phenomenon in some areas of Winnipeg: a house that looked OK is completely demolished and replaced from scratch. Maybe you’ve driven by wondering if it was really necessary to demolish the house.  Surely the initial house was salvageable, right?  

There’s one thing you can’t see from the street: the foundation.  It generally determines whether a home will be demolished or fixed.  Let’s explore this issue a little further.

The #1 Factor: The Foundation

Teardowns are more likely in older Winnipeg neighbourhoods like Wolesley, River Heights and North Fort Garry. The problem was very likely a stone foundation. Stone foundations were made of mortared-together stones.  It was assumed these foundations would withstand the test of time, but the problem for us Winnipegers is that our dirt isn’t the same as other parts of the country. The ground moves and shifts in Winnipeg, causing our houses to do the same.

Due to natural shifting, some of Winnipeg’s older stone foundation homes have issues.  The foundation may break apart, allowing water to enter and damage the home.  In other cases, houses may sink to one side making for a crooked or leaning house. 

Some homeowners decide to fix the foundation.  Fortunately, many reputable companies in Winnipeg do a terrific job fixing foundations.  They lift the house, remove and replace the old foundation, and set the house back over the new foundation. As you can well imagine, this work can be very expensive and sometimes it makes more sense to demolish and start from scratch.  

Newer homes now have concrete foundations.  They are built on piles, which are long concrete pillars set deep into the ground.  Unlike a stone foundation, houses built on piles stay in place. 

How can I tell if my house has structural damage?

1. Large cracks on walls, ceiling or chimney: Many cracks are normal, but large cracks and cracks that form in stairway pattern can be signs of more serious problems.

2. Soil pulling away from exterior walls: This happens normally depending on moisture levels in the earth—in drier years, you will see more pulling; in wetter years, less so. But if it’s extreme, this suggests the foundation is moving.

3. Doors and windows that won’t close correctly: Again, this is pretty common in Winnipeg, but if doors or windows are separating from the wall, won’t stay closed, or won’t lock, this can indicate a problem.

4. Sagging roof or ceiling. There’s really no good or normal reason why your roofline or ceilings should be sagging or bowing. If this is happening, you should check it out.

What should I do if I think my Winnipeg house is a teardown?

If you suspect your home is a teardown, call me.  A teardown isn't the end of the world, I promise. 

The first step is to confirm your suspicions. I can help you separate the big problems from the small problems and connect you with experts that will give you honest assessments of the home’s current state, and what the costs would be to address the problems.

The second step is to look at what the market value of your home will be as is— and then look at what the market value would be if you completed the repairs. I will prepare a full statistics-based report for both situations and then we will discuss. That math eventually tells us whether its worth it to do the repairs, or whether it makes more sense to tear it down.

Once you’ve decided to demolish your home, what’s next?

Option 1: Sell it as is— basically, for the value of the land. We have relationships with several contractors actively looking for houses like yours, and I have years of experience helping people move on from homes like this.

Option 2: Demolish and rebuild, either for yourself to live in, or to sell. No matter which way you look at this option, you’re looking at a big project, but the payout is there—either in quality of life for you (a new sound house that works for you without losing your neighbours or community) or financially when the project is complete and you have a very desirable new home in an established neighbourhood to sell. Again, please call me. I have relationships with many builders and can help coordinate the build process with you— which is important if you’re building for yourself, and really important if you’re building with resale in mind.