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Baubiene3218 Apr 2018 18:56Hello everyone,
I would like to share our challenging situation:
We are a young family and would really like to have our own home soon (we are currently still living in a rental apartment).
My parents own a nearly 900 square meter (about 9,700 sq ft) plot of land near Regensburg, where there is currently a house from the 1950s (with only a wood stove, no heating system, as typical for that time). My parents live on the ground floor, and my grandmother lives on the first floor (the attic is partly converted but without water supply). Together with an architect, we have already created a plan to fully expand the attic, but this is not an option for us due to the small living space of only about 50 square meters (about 540 sq ft).
Our idea would therefore be to possibly demolish the old house and build a semi-detached house. One half would be for the “young family” with 2–3 bedrooms, and the other half would have the ground floor for my parents and the first floor for my grandmother.
However, we currently cannot really imagine what kind of floor plan would make sense here (especially with the two-unit semi-detached house). This is just an idea at the moment. Does anyone have a similar situation or know of semi-detached houses divided into two apartments?
We do not want to hire an architect for this idea yet, as we have already invested in costs for the attic expansion plan, and of course, the budget is limited.
An extension or renovation of the current house is also being considered, but right now we are unsure if this makes sense for such an old building...
We also don’t want to keep the old house and just build a new home in the garden, as this would leave very little garden space.
Our plot measures approximately 20 meters by 40 meters (about 66 feet by 131 feet).
Does anyone have any advice or ideas for us?
We appreciate any response.
Thank you very much 🙂
I would like to share our challenging situation:
We are a young family and would really like to have our own home soon (we are currently still living in a rental apartment).
My parents own a nearly 900 square meter (about 9,700 sq ft) plot of land near Regensburg, where there is currently a house from the 1950s (with only a wood stove, no heating system, as typical for that time). My parents live on the ground floor, and my grandmother lives on the first floor (the attic is partly converted but without water supply). Together with an architect, we have already created a plan to fully expand the attic, but this is not an option for us due to the small living space of only about 50 square meters (about 540 sq ft).
Our idea would therefore be to possibly demolish the old house and build a semi-detached house. One half would be for the “young family” with 2–3 bedrooms, and the other half would have the ground floor for my parents and the first floor for my grandmother.
However, we currently cannot really imagine what kind of floor plan would make sense here (especially with the two-unit semi-detached house). This is just an idea at the moment. Does anyone have a similar situation or know of semi-detached houses divided into two apartments?
We do not want to hire an architect for this idea yet, as we have already invested in costs for the attic expansion plan, and of course, the budget is limited.
An extension or renovation of the current house is also being considered, but right now we are unsure if this makes sense for such an old building...
We also don’t want to keep the old house and just build a new home in the garden, as this would leave very little garden space.
Our plot measures approximately 20 meters by 40 meters (about 66 feet by 131 feet).
Does anyone have any advice or ideas for us?
We appreciate any response.
Thank you very much 🙂
Semi-detached houses are basically end units of terraced houses and are generally not designed as duplexes (i.e., for apartments on separate floors). However, semi-detached houses don’t necessarily have to have equally wide units, so it would be possible to plan one unit at a "typical width" and the other at a width suitable for apartments (which your plot would allow, without considering the building envelope here).
Off the cuff, I’m thinking more along these lines: still similar to a semi-detached house, but with the grandmother’s apartment in the middle on the ground floor, so three units on the ground floor and two units on the upper floor. Separate ownership units / parcels of land are probably not that important here (?)
Those who are “grandmothers” now might not be so well placed upstairs in the future.
Haydee’s suggestion also seems worth considering to me.
At the top of the floor plan section, there is a questionnaire. Please fill it out here and also include a zoning plan excerpt of the property (or just the cadastral map if it is a §34 area). Then we can discuss on a clearer basis.
We can also review the current floor plans to see if they could be sensibly integrated into a new building.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Off the cuff, I’m thinking more along these lines: still similar to a semi-detached house, but with the grandmother’s apartment in the middle on the ground floor, so three units on the ground floor and two units on the upper floor. Separate ownership units / parcels of land are probably not that important here (?)
Those who are “grandmothers” now might not be so well placed upstairs in the future.
Haydee’s suggestion also seems worth considering to me.
At the top of the floor plan section, there is a questionnaire. Please fill it out here and also include a zoning plan excerpt of the property (or just the cadastral map if it is a §34 area). Then we can discuss on a clearer basis.
We can also review the current floor plans to see if they could be sensibly integrated into a new building.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
An interesting project! :-)
For the floor plan design, you should clarify the financial situation and the (emotional and physical) expectations of all family members. Who contributes what, who owns the land, and so on.
If I understood YPG correctly, she would split the ground floor in half to accommodate the parents and grandmother there. You would then have the entire upper floor (and possibly even the attic). I think that’s a very sensible idea, since the grandmother is probably the person most likely to have trouble climbing stairs first. And you would have fewer stairs to climb within your living unit.
What’s emotionally interesting here is whether the people involved would be willing to move at all or if they are so rooted in the existing house that demolition is out of the question for them. A solution should also be discussed for the construction period if the current building is actually going to be demolished before the new house is ready. This is not only a logistical issue, but depending on the grandmother’s attitude, she might not be willing to go through something like that.
You should also consider how each living unit is intended to be used in the future if the respective party(ies) move out or pass away.
If the multi-generational household is eventually dissolved, the subsequent use should still be practical without requiring major adjustments.
I would base the allocation of people to the different floors in case of a new build on these parameters.
For the floor plan design, you should clarify the financial situation and the (emotional and physical) expectations of all family members. Who contributes what, who owns the land, and so on.
If I understood YPG correctly, she would split the ground floor in half to accommodate the parents and grandmother there. You would then have the entire upper floor (and possibly even the attic). I think that’s a very sensible idea, since the grandmother is probably the person most likely to have trouble climbing stairs first. And you would have fewer stairs to climb within your living unit.
What’s emotionally interesting here is whether the people involved would be willing to move at all or if they are so rooted in the existing house that demolition is out of the question for them. A solution should also be discussed for the construction period if the current building is actually going to be demolished before the new house is ready. This is not only a logistical issue, but depending on the grandmother’s attitude, she might not be willing to go through something like that.
You should also consider how each living unit is intended to be used in the future if the respective party(ies) move out or pass away.
If the multi-generational household is eventually dissolved, the subsequent use should still be practical without requiring major adjustments.
I would base the allocation of people to the different floors in case of a new build on these parameters.
P.S. (I won’t use "Edit" since another post has already been added):
That an attic floor is typically significantly smaller than a standard floor is actually quite obvious and not something you only realize during the planning stage, is it?
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Baubiene321 schrieb:
Together with an architect, we have already created a plan for the complete conversion of the attic, but this is not an option for us due to the small living area of only about 50 sqm (538 sq ft).
That an attic floor is typically significantly smaller than a standard floor is actually quite obvious and not something you only realize during the planning stage, is it?
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Maria16 schrieb:
An interesting project!
If I understood YPG correctly...".Oops, I haven’t written anything yet [emoji6]
Anyway.
I would first consider the ages and needs of the generations.
Grandma is probably not well housed on the upper floor, the same goes for the parents.
What are Grandma’s requirements?
And the parents? How old might they be?
I think a standard floor plan or typical house design won’t get you very far.
There are semi-detached house layouts where the older generation occupies two-thirds of the ground floor, the younger family one-third on the same floor, and the entire upper floor.
But there are also four-family houses that look like semi-detached houses, with two entrances and stairs leading to separate apartments behind.
You also need to consider how much the different groups want to live together.
For example, if Grandma is less mobile and eats with the “parents,” you could build the ground floor for the middle generation, with a living space and bathroom for Grandma at the front. But that uses a lot of floor space for the house.
This wouldn’t be a problem if you all can meet upstairs, including a balcony or roof terrace.
For example, space needed on the ground floor: Grandma 40m (130ft), parents 80m (260ft), you upstairs 120m (390ft).
!!!However, this depends on what is allowed to be built on the plot -> floor area ratio, plot ratio, number of dwellings, number of stories, etc.…!!!
I would have other concerns... my great-grandmother lived in a 1950s house upstairs with my grandparents. They shared kitchen and bathroom.
They seemed very old to me back then... Grandma lived with Grandpa in a semi-detached house of about 55m² (590ft²), great-grandma in the attic with around 30m² (320ft²), one kitchen on the ground floor, the bathroom upstairs.
It worked. My grandparents were about 65 at the time, great-grandma maybe 85.
My parents, now older than my grandparents were then, in their mid-70s (75), live alone in a 160m² (1720ft²) single-family house and would no longer want to live with anyone else, give up their rooms, take someone in, or live with family members again.
That means they wouldn’t want to live in anything smaller than about 109m² (1170ft²) if they were to move. At 75 years old.
Where do your parents stand? Your grandma?
And more importantly: what do they want? What are their needs?
Also: A demolition and rebuild means at least 1.5 years of temporary housing...
So there is no way to give advice now without knowing your personal situation. Do you live more as an extended family, or do you prefer to live separately?
My advice:
1. Hire an architect who can maximize everything possible from your plot.
Possibly:
2. Two-thirds of the ground floor for the parents, one-third for your entrance, stairwell, and utility room, the entire upper floor for you. For Grandma, a kind of annex or pavilion that could later be rented out or converted into an office/practice.
Maybe an option to divide differently later.
If the parents have only just reached their 50s, they might prefer a small semi-detached house with a staircase now, you the larger one. Grandma again in a single-level annex. Later, horizontal separation.
You might actually need to think more in L- or T-shapes, allowing several apartments with one or two entrances that can be adapted later.
But this should only be done by an architect.
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