Hello dear building experts,
I have a question regarding the potential purchase of a semi-detached house and hope someone can help me out :-)
The property in question is an old red brick semi-detached house from the 1930s that is up for sale. However, the layout of the entire house is somewhat unusual.
I’ll try to explain: It is a one-and-a-half-story house, meaning a ground floor, a first floor, and an attic converted for living space with a pitched roof. From the outside, it looks more like a classic detached house.
If you stand in front of the gable side, the division of the house runs vertically from the top of the gable through the front of the house, so that the left half of the house and the left side of the roof belong to one living unit, while the right half of the house and the right sloping side of the roof belong to the other unit.
A rear extension was added on the right side of the house with a separate entrance installed. Both halves have separate heating systems, etc.
We are now wondering whether the unusual division could cause any disadvantages for us if we decide to buy. For example, the roof half of the semi-detached house for sale was retiled and insulated about 10 years ago, but the other half was not, and generally, the half not for sale looks like it is in urgent need of renovation. What would happen, for instance, if the other half eventually had to be demolished? Would our half still be able to stand on its own? Would that be structurally possible? Maybe someone has experience with unusually divided houses 😎
I have a question regarding the potential purchase of a semi-detached house and hope someone can help me out :-)
The property in question is an old red brick semi-detached house from the 1930s that is up for sale. However, the layout of the entire house is somewhat unusual.
I’ll try to explain: It is a one-and-a-half-story house, meaning a ground floor, a first floor, and an attic converted for living space with a pitched roof. From the outside, it looks more like a classic detached house.
If you stand in front of the gable side, the division of the house runs vertically from the top of the gable through the front of the house, so that the left half of the house and the left side of the roof belong to one living unit, while the right half of the house and the right sloping side of the roof belong to the other unit.
A rear extension was added on the right side of the house with a separate entrance installed. Both halves have separate heating systems, etc.
We are now wondering whether the unusual division could cause any disadvantages for us if we decide to buy. For example, the roof half of the semi-detached house for sale was retiled and insulated about 10 years ago, but the other half was not, and generally, the half not for sale looks like it is in urgent need of renovation. What would happen, for instance, if the other half eventually had to be demolished? Would our half still be able to stand on its own? Would that be structurally possible? Maybe someone has experience with unusually divided houses 😎
B
Bauexperte31 Jul 2016 13:37Hello,
It’s not as unusual as you might think; in the pre-war years and afterwards, it was common to build extensions onto existing houses.
If the right half is demolished, you don’t need to worry, because the respective owner must ensure that your half—if you are seriously considering purchasing it—remains standing without damage.
What you should be clear about when buying is that, most likely, it was only an extension that was built. This means both halves share one common party wall; anything else would surprise me and is something you should confirm with the owner. Nowadays, each semi-detached house usually has its own party wall—typically made of sand-lime brick—with an air gap between the walls. Given the existing construction—if my assumption is correct—this results in a different sound profile. In other words, you can hear a lot from each other, even without open windows.
Best regards, Bauexperte
ruby27 schrieb:
The house in question is an old red brick semi-detached house from the 1930s that is for sale. … When you stand in front of the gable end, the division of the house runs vertically from the peak of the gable along the front wall … On the right side, an extension was added to the house with a separate entrance installed in the addition. … What would happen, for example, if the other half had to be demolished at some point? Could our half still stand on its own? Would this be possible from a structural standpoint?
It’s not as unusual as you might think; in the pre-war years and afterwards, it was common to build extensions onto existing houses.
If the right half is demolished, you don’t need to worry, because the respective owner must ensure that your half—if you are seriously considering purchasing it—remains standing without damage.
What you should be clear about when buying is that, most likely, it was only an extension that was built. This means both halves share one common party wall; anything else would surprise me and is something you should confirm with the owner. Nowadays, each semi-detached house usually has its own party wall—typically made of sand-lime brick—with an air gap between the walls. Given the existing construction—if my assumption is correct—this results in a different sound profile. In other words, you can hear a lot from each other, even without open windows.
Best regards, Bauexperte
Thank you for your reply! You are absolutely right, I hadn’t even thought about soundproofing yet_O I also assume that both halves share a common partition wall. Now we are wondering whether a potential future demolition would cause significant damage to our side or if it is even technically possible to leave one side standing 😕 It’s somewhat reassuring that the other owner would have to cover all costs and liabilities, but what if it turns out that our half cannot remain standing on its own? Would the other owner then have to pay for a new house? What would happen?
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