I know of a building which has been gutted by fire, stone and brick construction.
It was empty for ages before the fire and I had my eye on it coming up for sale as it would be perfect for my needs.
Most buildings in this state seem to end up demolished, it would need new floors and a roof but other than that is there any reason why it couldn't be usable?
Not at all.
BILs house was reduced to a similar state, sold and rebuilt nicely.
It will also need insulation to modern standards - and its that *sort* opf issue that often leads to complete demolition - the cost of upgrading old stuff to new standards exceeds a demo/rebuild.
Things that may catch you ou are
damp proof courses - there? sound? subsidence and general foundation issues - underpinning aint worth it on a derelict. insulation and windows - will it be simple to bring it up to spec? or costly with special hand work needed. Overall drainage and rainwater dispoal - are there good working drains where you want them? Soakaway? In the end commercial (comopany) rebuilds opt for the 'known cost' of a new build rather than the risk of the restoration and that also tends to need more intelligence on site. And they get VAT back too.
Heat can reduce the mortar strength to the extent the walls can collapse. You need to get it checked to see if the walls are salvageable.
*smile*, go with your spreadsheet, not your heart :-)
Loads of barn conversions out there show it must be pretty common.
The issue I guess is that to refit joists, & roof ... in an existing stone shell is so much hard work that it is quicker to demolish & rebuild .... time is money for a builder .. could be a benefit to d-i-y, in that it is time an not money you have to lay out.
forgot to add .. on a new build you can reclaim the VAT as a Selfbuilder, but not on a refurb.
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