Good evening!
I’m hoping for some collective advice. We want to expand a two-family house – the options we considered at the time were either an extension or creating a usable attic by slightly raising the knee wall. I had major reservations about the first option because I’ve hardly ever seen an attractive extension. Then the architect sent me a design that I quite liked. However, it later turned out that structurally it only works with so many compromises that it’s unusable again. For several days now, I’ve been looking at this view and it only looks worse. It resembles a garage. But that’s not all – what was supposed to be a shaded area is unfortunately only 1.7m (5.6 ft) high. Yet that matches the balcony, as it was trimmed to the same width.
All parties involved, meaning us and the architect, generally get along well but are currently a bit stressed with each other. How does one handle a situation like this? By the way, we’re still puzzled about how the chaotic arrangement of windows on the garden side came about.
I’m hoping for some collective advice. We want to expand a two-family house – the options we considered at the time were either an extension or creating a usable attic by slightly raising the knee wall. I had major reservations about the first option because I’ve hardly ever seen an attractive extension. Then the architect sent me a design that I quite liked. However, it later turned out that structurally it only works with so many compromises that it’s unusable again. For several days now, I’ve been looking at this view and it only looks worse. It resembles a garage. But that’s not all – what was supposed to be a shaded area is unfortunately only 1.7m (5.6 ft) high. Yet that matches the balcony, as it was trimmed to the same width.
All parties involved, meaning us and the architect, generally get along well but are currently a bit stressed with each other. How does one handle a situation like this? By the way, we’re still puzzled about how the chaotic arrangement of windows on the garden side came about.
P
pagoni202021 Apr 2021 09:47@Hausbau0815 – I’m not sure if your pedantic censorship was really necessary here.
In your own house building thread, you now have a second endless debate going on, after the first one was apparently deleted by the admin for some reason, and you don’t exactly show restraint in describing the mistakes—which, of course, are always made by others.
As someone who apparently only feels surrounded by opponents and completely incapable service providers, you seem to be reading something deliberately negative into this.
Of course, it is not easy to fully understand others in the impersonal internet, but I had the impression from the original poster that they are planning an interesting, unusual project and—luckily—approach it with a good sense of humor and can also laugh at themselves, which is often missing elsewhere.
Therefore, I believe they would speak up if they felt treated unfairly; I assume they are aware that they do not want to upset anyone here, but at most share possible suggestions or food for thought that a neutral reader might notice.
As an older person with some similar experiences, I often recognize in hindsight that I was sometimes blind to certain aspects when making decisions, precisely because I was too emotionally involved.
That is why any comment can be constructive, even an apparently unpleasant one, because if you only want to read agreeable or “censored” opinions, you would remain in your own closed circle of thinking and could skip open-minded participation in such a forum altogether.
In your own house building thread, you now have a second endless debate going on, after the first one was apparently deleted by the admin for some reason, and you don’t exactly show restraint in describing the mistakes—which, of course, are always made by others.
As someone who apparently only feels surrounded by opponents and completely incapable service providers, you seem to be reading something deliberately negative into this.
Of course, it is not easy to fully understand others in the impersonal internet, but I had the impression from the original poster that they are planning an interesting, unusual project and—luckily—approach it with a good sense of humor and can also laugh at themselves, which is often missing elsewhere.
Therefore, I believe they would speak up if they felt treated unfairly; I assume they are aware that they do not want to upset anyone here, but at most share possible suggestions or food for thought that a neutral reader might notice.
As an older person with some similar experiences, I often recognize in hindsight that I was sometimes blind to certain aspects when making decisions, precisely because I was too emotionally involved.
That is why any comment can be constructive, even an apparently unpleasant one, because if you only want to read agreeable or “censored” opinions, you would remain in your own closed circle of thinking and could skip open-minded participation in such a forum altogether.
Hausbau081524 Apr 2021 22:16I would now like to suggest that the original poster probably did not find your comments very amusing. There are people—including myself—who actually enjoy planning and carrying out a house project together with their adult children.
Hausbau0815 schrieb:
There are also people—myself included—who enjoy planning and carrying out a house project together with their adult children. I completely understand that, and having a relationship on equal terms in adulthood is a great thing.
The thing is, at least to me, it sounded like the adult child was simply being planned for, not planning together. Not a joint plan, but a plan made for them. And in that case, a 3.5-room apartment is not exactly ideal for the child’s family planning after already completing their studies. Hence the questions about what the “youngest child” really wants. No one here really knows how things actually are on-site. At least to me, it’s unclear or I might have simply misunderstood. But ultimately that doesn’t matter, this is an internet forum.
I think this thread has raised many important points. This involves a lot of money for a potential project, and the original poster (OP) has already expressed doubts. Yes, I find all the responses here reasonable and quite important. Even if the OP indirectly says they want to spend the remaining money on a special house, with the fallback plan of possibly creating a retirement shared living arrangement or even selling the property, its financial feasibility still needs to be examined. Because the child moving out soon is a very realistic scenario. Only this way can a well-informed decision be made.
Hausbau081524 Apr 2021 23:11Tassimat schrieb:
...... because the child moving out in the near future is a very realistic scenario. Only in this way can a conscious decision be made.Why? And why is a 3.5-room apartment not that great for family planning, as you say? I can't understand what is wrong with a 3.5-room apartment for a young family. My daughter currently lives with her husband and their nearly 3-year-old son in a two-room apartment, and their second child is on the way. They would be happy to have a 3.5-room apartment. Also, given the current availability of daycare and kindergarten places, children’s illnesses, closure of childcare facilities due to COVID-19, working from home with a young child, etc., it is very advantageous to have a grandmother and/or grandfather available.
Hausbau0815 schrieb:
And why isn’t a 3.5-room apartment really ideal for family planning, as you say? Because it’s too small.
Hausbau0815 schrieb:
My daughter currently lives with her husband and their nearly 3-year-old son in a two-room apartment, and their second child is on the way. They would be happy with a 3.5-room apartment. Of course they would appreciate an upgrade. But ideally, they want: living room, bedroom, 2 children’s rooms, and an office. You yourself said that having a home office is important right now. Make it 5 rooms. A second bathroom will also become essential once the second child is out of diapers. And there’s a lot of laundry—better not to have it in the living room or a shared basement. Why? Personal experience living in a four-room apartment.
With children, living in four or fewer rooms only works for a short transitional period or if you simply can’t afford otherwise (which seems unlikely in a house-building forum). The grown child here is a high earner (said positively!).
S
saralina8725 Apr 2021 07:21Hausbau0815 schrieb:
Why? And why do you say that a 3.5-room apartment is not ideal for family planning? I can’t understand what’s wrong with a 3.5-room apartment for a young family. My daughter currently lives with her husband and their almost 3-year-old son in a two-room apartment, and a second child is on the way. They would really appreciate having a 3.5-room apartment. Also, considering today’s daycare and kindergarten availability, a child’s illness, closures of care facilities due to COVID, working from home with a toddler, etc., it’s very helpful to have a grandmother and/or grandfather nearby. Working from home is especially difficult in a 3.5-room apartment when you have a small child. I’m seeing that right now in our own situation. The changing table shares a room with my husband’s workspace, which is far from ideal.
What I find even more limiting about an apartment is the lack of garden access (unless it’s on the ground floor). For me, that would be the main reason for leaving our beloved apartment, even if we hadn’t decided to build a house.