Many owners are told their old house should simply be demolished. Sometimes that is right. Often it is not, and the difference is in the frame.
We start by opening a few walls and checking the columns, beams and slabs. Surface cracks and damp are common and usually fixable. What we look for is corroded reinforcement, poor concrete, and foundations that have moved.
The three signs that point towards rebuilding are: widespread structural corrosion, a layout that cannot be fixed without moving most of the load-bearing walls, and a plot where new rules would let you build meaningfully more than the old house holds.
If the frame is sound, renovation is usually faster and cheaper, and you keep the character of the house. We put our findings in writing before any quote, so the choice is yours and it is an informed one.