ᐅ Renovation of an Older Building (1966): Two-Family House – Floor Plan Sketch
Created on: 30 Jul 2018 13:39
H
HappyDee45
Hello everyone,
We are currently planning a renovation of an older house built in 1966. Over the years, the house has been extended and remodeled several times. It has previously served as a two-family home. We are taking over the house now and do not want any "stranger" tenants living in it. This means we want/need to live in the house ourselves as a single-family home for the next 1-2 decades at least.
So, we have the challenge—or luxury—of being able to plan a lot of space.
You can find our first draft attached.
Basement:
We do not want to make any changes here for the most part. Only the electricity meter and related equipment need to be removed from the stairwell as part of the electrical upgrade. We have discussed with the electrician to create an “electrical room” in the workshop for this purpose. Everything else will remain as is.
Ground Floor:
On the ground floor, we plan to remove three walls to create a large open living and dining area including the kitchen. The pantry will be prepared as a potential bathroom (water supply and drainage will be renewed). We might want to add a bathroom there in about 10 years. A full guest bedroom is essential for us, due to family circumstances. The office will serve as a home or remote work space for both of us. The “home theater” will probably remain an unused room for now until we have more budget to invest there.
Upper Floor:
On the upper floor, we plan to move the door to the terrace (currently located in the "children’s room") and relocate the wardrobe wall to create a new hallway with access to the terrace. In the bedroom, we will add a wall to create a second bathroom on the upper floor (currently, there is a kitchen in that space).
Attic:
The attic will remain an unheated area and will remain unused or serve as an attic storage space.
This is roughly our current plan. A structural engineer has already reviewed the walls. Most of the work will be done by ourselves. But here, we want to focus on the floor plan.
We are open to all ideas. Please share any constructive feedback.
Thanks and best regards
We are currently planning a renovation of an older house built in 1966. Over the years, the house has been extended and remodeled several times. It has previously served as a two-family home. We are taking over the house now and do not want any "stranger" tenants living in it. This means we want/need to live in the house ourselves as a single-family home for the next 1-2 decades at least.
So, we have the challenge—or luxury—of being able to plan a lot of space.
You can find our first draft attached.
Basement:
We do not want to make any changes here for the most part. Only the electricity meter and related equipment need to be removed from the stairwell as part of the electrical upgrade. We have discussed with the electrician to create an “electrical room” in the workshop for this purpose. Everything else will remain as is.
Ground Floor:
On the ground floor, we plan to remove three walls to create a large open living and dining area including the kitchen. The pantry will be prepared as a potential bathroom (water supply and drainage will be renewed). We might want to add a bathroom there in about 10 years. A full guest bedroom is essential for us, due to family circumstances. The office will serve as a home or remote work space for both of us. The “home theater” will probably remain an unused room for now until we have more budget to invest there.
Upper Floor:
On the upper floor, we plan to move the door to the terrace (currently located in the "children’s room") and relocate the wardrobe wall to create a new hallway with access to the terrace. In the bedroom, we will add a wall to create a second bathroom on the upper floor (currently, there is a kitchen in that space).
Attic:
The attic will remain an unheated area and will remain unused or serve as an attic storage space.
This is roughly our current plan. A structural engineer has already reviewed the walls. Most of the work will be done by ourselves. But here, we want to focus on the floor plan.
We are open to all ideas. Please share any constructive feedback.
Thanks and best regards
The access from the bedroom to the bathroom seems convenient at first glance. But when you have to get up at night because you ate something bad or just need to use the toilet, my beloved partner wakes up every time the flush is used or any noise is made. You end up with a cramp in your bladder from trying to urinate quietly. No, that’s really unnecessary.
In contrast, a walk-in closet as an antechamber is almost ideal, especially if it is separated from the bedroom. Then the other person can continue sleeping while I’m already putting on my socks and gone long before.
In contrast, a walk-in closet as an antechamber is almost ideal, especially if it is separated from the bedroom. Then the other person can continue sleeping while I’m already putting on my socks and gone long before.
Please post some pictures here.
A house also needs to be managed and lived in; vacancy is not good for the structure, and occupied space requires maintenance. This is a house that makes no sense as a single-family home for fewer than five children. At least one separate living unit can easily be accommodated here. Or maybe a holiday apartment?
Seriously – even though the south side only has glass block “windows”?
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
HappyDee45 schrieb:
So now we have the problem / luxury of being able to plan a lot of space.
A house also needs to be managed and lived in; vacancy is not good for the structure, and occupied space requires maintenance. This is a house that makes no sense as a single-family home for fewer than five children. At least one separate living unit can easily be accommodated here. Or maybe a holiday apartment?
HappyDee45 schrieb:
We wanted to leave the windows as they are for now, since they don’t necessarily need to be replaced.
Seriously – even though the south side only has glass block “windows”?
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
H
HappyDee4531 Jul 2018 07:22kaho674 schrieb:
The access from the bedroom to the bathroom seems convenient at first glance. But if you have to get up at night because you ate something bad or just need to use the restroom, my beloved partner next door wakes up with every flush and every little sound. It gives you a cramp in your bladder trying to pee quietly. No, that’s not acceptable.
In contrast, a walk-in closet as an antechamber is almost perfect, especially if it’s separated from the bedroom. Then the other person can keep sleeping while I’m already stomping around putting on socks and out the door.We discussed this again last night and find all the points mentioned completely valid, so there is nothing against the idea anymore. I’ll upload a new sketch later. The ideas and arguments were actually all sensible!
11ant schrieb:
Post some pictures here.
A house needs to be managed and lived in; vacancy doesn’t do any good to the building’s condition, and occupied space needs maintenance. This house makes no sense as a single-family home for fewer than five children. At least one separate apartment can easily be accommodated here. Or a holiday flat?
Seriously – even if the south side only has glass block "windows"?That’s absolutely correct! We are currently calculating around €750 (EUR) for additional costs. Ideally, we both and three children will live here for the next 10 years. Her parents live very far away and will probably visit often. Yes, it’s large! Too large until all the children are here, but I don’t want any “strangers” in my house. Of course, it might not work out with the children and we could be “stuck with it,” but that’s a conscious risk.
I’m postponing new windows as long as possible. When I replace them, I want to do facade insulation at the same time. But neither is currently a must. The glass blocks remain only in two windows. All the others were replaced with previous windows. We will of course replace these last two glass block windows now.
New windows... that reminds me: for a house built in 1966, what condition is the exterior insulation in? Do you still need to do anything there? It might be worth considering doing that at the same time as installing new windows, which could potentially be enlarged or repositioned. This is a major renovation, and you probably wouldn’t want to be living in the house during that work. Personally, I would prioritize this before any cosmetic remodeling. €750 in additional costs is quite steep!
And I still don’t understand the term "terrace" for the upper floor if it’s not a hillside house. To me, a terrace has access to the garden. Is it some sort of attached balcony with stairs leading to the garden? How can there be a terrace on the upper floor? Or is it simply another balcony?
H
HappyDee4531 Jul 2018 07:46Climbee schrieb:
New windows... that reminds me: for a house from 1966, what does the facade insulation look like? Do you still need to do something there? It might be worth considering doing that together with new windows, which could possibly be enlarged or repositioned. That’s a bigger project, and you wouldn’t want to be living in the house at that time. Personally, I’d prioritize that before any “cosmetic renovations.” €750 in additional costs is quite steep!I just wrote about that – with the facade insulation, new windows will most likely be part of the plan. But financially, we can’t manage that at this stage. First, the wiring and other installations, as well as the roof, will be renovated. The windows aren’t from 1966 but from 1998. That is planned for the next phase. We also don’t intend to install any floor-to-ceiling windows. The windows will be replaced one-to-one. But for now, we’re postponing that as long as the window frames are still in good condition. The glazing itself is double-glazed and gas-filled – so still definitely acceptable. The additional costs are really high, but we’re working on it little by little.
Climbee schrieb:
And I still don’t understand the term “terrace” for the upper floor if the house isn’t built on a slope. To me, a terrace means access to the garden. Is it some kind of attached balcony with stairs leading to the garden? How do you explain having a terrace on the upper floor??? Or is it simply another balcony?I’ll upload some plans later. Maybe the term terrace isn’t the best choice. Basically, in the 1990s, a room was added to the house from the basement upward. But on the upper floor, there wasn’t a room anymore, just a terrace/balcony… however you want to call it. More understandable? You can see the (slope) location of the house quite well in the exterior elevation plans.
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