Reuse of existing concrete slab

Very preliminary question as this project is likely to be a few years away yet.

We live in a 1950s double brick place in Adelaide. At some point in, I guess, the 1970s the previous owner has built a family room extension on the back of the house. It is a simple timber framed and fibro-clad room – it’s a great space, doesn’t leak and is relatively solid. However, it’s getting on a bit now and is probably nearing the end of its life - plus ceiling height is low and it’s not insulated so is cold in the winter and hot in the summer. Plus it’s as ugly as sin.

Whether or not this ever had development approval is questionable – I’ve never wanted to open that particular Pandora’s box with the local council.

We’d like to eventually pull down and replace this extension with an identically-sized family room – just a timber framed, weatherboarded extension of exactly the same dimensions (8m x 4m). No plumbing etc – just a better version of what we already have.

As the existing room already sits on a solid slab which shows no signs of cracking or subsidence etc, would it be feasible to build the new structure on the existing slab? Presumably this would save a lot of work and money in terms of ripping up the old slab and laying a new one.

I don’t know its thickness but if other work the previous owner did to the house is anything to go by it’ll be 50cm thick with multiple layers of steel reinforcement.

I plan to have a chat with a builder in the near future but just wanted to gauge opinion on this one…


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