Kurpfaelzer20 Nov 2019 01:05Hello everyone,
I would like to introduce you to my project. I am open to ideas, suggestions, and feedback.
The house (built in 1967) has two full floors and an attic that has already been converted. The electrical system and plumbing need renovation. We have already started on both on the first floor while living there. The toilet, bathroom, hallway, dining room, and kitchen have been completed. The ground floor is rented out, and the attic is empty. The roof is poorly insulated and covered with asbestos-containing fiber cement sheets. The roof will be newly insulated and re-covered, with one dormer facing west, and possibly photovoltaic panels. As part of the renovation, we want to combine the first floor and the attic.
Here is a floor plan of the first floor.
The fireplace with an external stainless steel flue is still in place (about 20 years old).
The first question is, where should the staircase go? The stairwell extends to the attic but currently has no radiators and is therefore a cold, shared staircase typical for multi-family houses. If it is to be used to connect the first floor and attic, the stairway downwards would need to be closed off and made warm and somewhat livable. Furthermore, it is quite far from what feels like the heart of the apartment (kitchen/dining/living room).
If the staircase is moved inside the apartment, as a spiral or straight stair, living space on both floors will be lost, but you don’t have to walk as far to the stairs, and it would be automatically heated. However, this requires cutting a hole in the concrete ceiling, which is a significant effort.
In the attic, except for the central chimney from the heating system, there are no load-bearing walls. The initial idea is to build a long dormer on the west side, as the bathroom there is directly above the bathroom on the first floor and is hardly usable due to the sloping roof. Also, the view to the west is nicer and the sun sets from that direction. On the other side, bedroom and children’s rooms could be located as the roof slope would be less of an issue there.
The ridge of the roof runs along the north-south axis of the house. Since photovoltaic panels might be installed on the roof, the external chimney flue is somewhat inconvenient. The chimney itself will remain. Because a filter will need to be retrofitted within the next few years, the chimney could possibly be replaced by a new one in a different position on the first floor to reduce its shadow impact. I am still undecided on this.
The roof will need an appointment with a structural engineer, as the load-bearing capacity is probably only sufficient for the lightweight fiber cement sheets. The facade is not planned to be insulated, only repainted when the scaffolding is up for the roof work.
Some of you might wonder why everything is not done at once with the family moving out in between. The opportunity to combine the two floors only arose this year. By this time, we had already started renovating half of the first-floor apartment. Since the roof now also needs to be replaced, this provides the maximum design flexibility.
Am I overlooking anything, or do you have any recommendations?
Best regards
I would like to introduce you to my project. I am open to ideas, suggestions, and feedback.
The house (built in 1967) has two full floors and an attic that has already been converted. The electrical system and plumbing need renovation. We have already started on both on the first floor while living there. The toilet, bathroom, hallway, dining room, and kitchen have been completed. The ground floor is rented out, and the attic is empty. The roof is poorly insulated and covered with asbestos-containing fiber cement sheets. The roof will be newly insulated and re-covered, with one dormer facing west, and possibly photovoltaic panels. As part of the renovation, we want to combine the first floor and the attic.
Here is a floor plan of the first floor.
The fireplace with an external stainless steel flue is still in place (about 20 years old).
The first question is, where should the staircase go? The stairwell extends to the attic but currently has no radiators and is therefore a cold, shared staircase typical for multi-family houses. If it is to be used to connect the first floor and attic, the stairway downwards would need to be closed off and made warm and somewhat livable. Furthermore, it is quite far from what feels like the heart of the apartment (kitchen/dining/living room).
If the staircase is moved inside the apartment, as a spiral or straight stair, living space on both floors will be lost, but you don’t have to walk as far to the stairs, and it would be automatically heated. However, this requires cutting a hole in the concrete ceiling, which is a significant effort.
In the attic, except for the central chimney from the heating system, there are no load-bearing walls. The initial idea is to build a long dormer on the west side, as the bathroom there is directly above the bathroom on the first floor and is hardly usable due to the sloping roof. Also, the view to the west is nicer and the sun sets from that direction. On the other side, bedroom and children’s rooms could be located as the roof slope would be less of an issue there.
The ridge of the roof runs along the north-south axis of the house. Since photovoltaic panels might be installed on the roof, the external chimney flue is somewhat inconvenient. The chimney itself will remain. Because a filter will need to be retrofitted within the next few years, the chimney could possibly be replaced by a new one in a different position on the first floor to reduce its shadow impact. I am still undecided on this.
The roof will need an appointment with a structural engineer, as the load-bearing capacity is probably only sufficient for the lightweight fiber cement sheets. The facade is not planned to be insulated, only repainted when the scaffolding is up for the roof work.
Some of you might wonder why everything is not done at once with the family moving out in between. The opportunity to combine the two floors only arose this year. By this time, we had already started renovating half of the first-floor apartment. Since the roof now also needs to be replaced, this provides the maximum design flexibility.
Am I overlooking anything, or do you have any recommendations?
Best regards
Kurpfaelzer schrieb:
Here is a floor plan of the first floor.Well, then go ahead and add the others as well.https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Kurpfaelzer20 Nov 2019 17:50Here is the current floor plan of the attic. The white areas at the edges represent the knee wall. On the right side, it is only partial because the balcony is located underneath.
The ground floor cannot be changed at the moment, but it looks almost identical to the upper floor.
The ground floor cannot be changed at the moment, but it looks almost identical to the upper floor.
Well, if this project is going to move forward, a lot of information is missing... Room layout, how many people will be living there? Would it possibly be better to combine the ground floor and first floor and rent out the attic? Radiators or underfloor heating? Approximate budget? And so on.
kbt09 schrieb:
Wouldn't it possibly be better to combine the ground floor/first floor and rent out the attic? I think the ground floor might be easier to separate, but regarding that:
kbt09 schrieb:
a lot of information is missing ... Original plans (which usually reveal many more details) rather than sketches without dimensions and wall thicknesses are usually much more helpful based on experience.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Kurpfaelzer28 Mar 2020 09:12Hello everyone,
thank you for the two responses. You are right, it’s easier to work with proper plans. Attached are the current ground floor plan, as well as the first floor and attic plans as drawn by the architect.
Why not combine the ground floor and first floor? Simply because the ground floor is currently rented out and because as we get older, we will need a small single-level apartment rather than a large two-story house. As a young family, climbing stairs is manageable. The idea is that in old age we will live on the ground floor.
How many people will live there?
The ground floor, as mentioned, is excluded. In the new first floor and attic, we plan for 2 adults plus 2-3 children. We are still looking for an apartment for grandma. She currently lives alone in a house. Idea 1: terminate the tenant’s lease for own use (which would be unfortunate given the long-standing and trustworthy rental relationship), Idea 2: grandma moves temporarily to the first floor after combining floors, where there is still a bedroom. We would then sleep in the attic. However, the apartments will share only one kitchen. Idea 3: we find another apartment nearby.
Radiators or underfloor heating?
Currently there is underfloor heating in the first floor bathroom and kitchen/dining area. The rest is radiators. Planned: underfloor heating will also be installed in the new large living room on the first floor and throughout the attic. The goal is an air source heat pump. If that goal cannot be achieved, we still have a gas connection. Currently, there is a good oil burner.
Approximate budget: The architect roughly estimated 150,000 euros. Since the facade also needs repainting, and we require a new balcony railing and possibly a new front door, I would say around 200,000 euros. It is not intended to be luxurious but durable and practical.
Thanks in advance for all your input. Stay healthy!
thank you for the two responses. You are right, it’s easier to work with proper plans. Attached are the current ground floor plan, as well as the first floor and attic plans as drawn by the architect.
Why not combine the ground floor and first floor? Simply because the ground floor is currently rented out and because as we get older, we will need a small single-level apartment rather than a large two-story house. As a young family, climbing stairs is manageable. The idea is that in old age we will live on the ground floor.
How many people will live there?
The ground floor, as mentioned, is excluded. In the new first floor and attic, we plan for 2 adults plus 2-3 children. We are still looking for an apartment for grandma. She currently lives alone in a house. Idea 1: terminate the tenant’s lease for own use (which would be unfortunate given the long-standing and trustworthy rental relationship), Idea 2: grandma moves temporarily to the first floor after combining floors, where there is still a bedroom. We would then sleep in the attic. However, the apartments will share only one kitchen. Idea 3: we find another apartment nearby.
Radiators or underfloor heating?
Currently there is underfloor heating in the first floor bathroom and kitchen/dining area. The rest is radiators. Planned: underfloor heating will also be installed in the new large living room on the first floor and throughout the attic. The goal is an air source heat pump. If that goal cannot be achieved, we still have a gas connection. Currently, there is a good oil burner.
Approximate budget: The architect roughly estimated 150,000 euros. Since the facade also needs repainting, and we require a new balcony railing and possibly a new front door, I would say around 200,000 euros. It is not intended to be luxurious but durable and practical.
Thanks in advance for all your input. Stay healthy!
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