R D S wrote:
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.





--
To people who know nothing, anything is possible.
To people who know too much, it is a sad fact
that they know how little is really possible -
and how hard it is to achieve it.