Yesterday we looked at the Pros of Remodeling Green. Today let’s look at some of the downsides or negatives of remodeling green vs. building a new green home.
Most economical green home remodels rely on the fact that you have a decent shell of a home standing already. Some very old homes, homes with mold, or homes with major design flaws can be tough to remodel green and it will cost you more than if your house was in better shape to start with.
While having a place to live as you remodel is useful, it can also be annoying to live among the shambles of a remodel. Plus, in some cases there are remodel tasks that cannot be completed with you living in the house so you’ll have to find temporary housing.
There can be hidden costs such as architectural design fees, structural engineering fees, demolition costs, permit fees, plus of course there is always the strong possibility of unforeseen or emergency conditions.
If you’re making structural changes they may bring down the resale value of your home if you make the wrong decision. For example, making a structural change that makes no sense to the original design – an old school sun porch on a modern dwelling.
If the cost of remodeling green will outweigh your resale value it’s smarter to build new.
What you want vs. what you can have may not match up. Some green home features won’t work well, or will cost too much with certain homes, whereas if you build, you get to plan those features in from the start (in most cases).
Can you think of other negatives of green remodeling?
Tags: Cons of green remodels, eco remodeling, green remodeling, green remodeling pros, new green construction, new green home, pros & cons of building new green homes, Pros of Remodeling Green, remodeling existing structures, remodeling green
1 comment
Comments feed for this article
Trackback link: http://www.bestgreenhometips.com/2009/05/cons-of-remodeling-green/trackback/