Our house will undergo a complete renovation and an additional storey will be added. For the renovation, most of the existing walls will be retained.
For the renovation, all walls up to the bottom edge of the new window height will be removed, then a ring beam will be installed, and the additional storey will be built using timber panel construction. The existing brick walls will be insulated with wood wool and will receive a rainscreen facade made of standing seam steel sheets (which is cheaper than zinc sheets?). The goal is to achieve KfW 55 energy standard or better.
The ground floor slab will be insulated and fitted with underfloor heating. The basement stairs will be extended by one step, allowing about 25 cm (10 inches) of height for this.
In the attic, the sloping roof surfaces are suitable for wall heating.
The children's rooms have a gallery accessible via a ladder. They can only be reached through the ground floor. This makes the parents' area more private and may allow the house to be divided into two separate units in the distant future.
The living and dining area is compact. The front door will be glass to enjoy the evening sun (there are currently no windows on the west side, which is often a shame). The entrance is far enough from the street that this should not be an issue.
Basically, we also wondered if rebuilding would be more sensible. At the moment, I’m leaning more towards renovation.
Construction is not planned before 2025. We are not in a hurry as the children are still small and we have enough space for now.
(The site plan is oriented to north)
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size – 1040 m² (11200 sq ft)
Slope – Slight, about 1.50 m (5 feet) drop
Site coverage ratio – 0.25
Floor area ratio – 0.4
Number of storeys – 1.5
Roof shape – free choice
Architectural style – free choice
Orientation – existing building
Client Requirements
Architectural style, roof shape, building type – renovation and additional storey of the existing building
Basement, storeys – half basement, 1.5 storeys
Number of occupants, ages – 2 adults + 2 children (4 & 2 years)
Space requirements on ground and upper floors – Ground floor: 85 m² (915 sq ft), Upper floor: 55 m² (590 sq ft)
Office use: family or home office? – full-time and part-time home office
Occasional overnight guests – few
Open or closed floor plan – open living space
Conservative or modern construction – modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island – yes, yes
Number of dining seats – 4 to 6
Garage, carport – available
Utility garden, greenhouse – possibly later
Large cistern with rainwater harvesting integrated into the house
Central mechanical ventilation with heat recovery – as some neighbors like to use their fireplaces, plus other benefits of this system
Photovoltaic system fully covering north and south roofs
Basement must be newly insulated
Clay plaster for interior finishing
House Design
Planned by: myself
What do you especially like? Why? The additional storey keeps the house compact
What do you not like? Why? – Everything is fine so far
Estimated budget according to architect/planner – no quotes obtained yet
Personal price limit for the house including fittings: 400,000 (less would be better)
Preferred heating technology – heat pump with horizontal trench ground collector
If you had to give up anything, which details or expansions
- could you do without:
- could you not do without:
Why was the design developed this way? For example:
- based on the interior walls of the old house
- we switched from an extension to an additional storey because it is cheaper. The view from the master bedroom is much nicer now than it would have been with an extension.
What is the key/essential question about the layout, summarized in 130 characters?
Do you see any problem I might have overlooked? Your honest opinions are usually direct but very helpful :-)
For the renovation, all walls up to the bottom edge of the new window height will be removed, then a ring beam will be installed, and the additional storey will be built using timber panel construction. The existing brick walls will be insulated with wood wool and will receive a rainscreen facade made of standing seam steel sheets (which is cheaper than zinc sheets?). The goal is to achieve KfW 55 energy standard or better.
The ground floor slab will be insulated and fitted with underfloor heating. The basement stairs will be extended by one step, allowing about 25 cm (10 inches) of height for this.
In the attic, the sloping roof surfaces are suitable for wall heating.
The children's rooms have a gallery accessible via a ladder. They can only be reached through the ground floor. This makes the parents' area more private and may allow the house to be divided into two separate units in the distant future.
The living and dining area is compact. The front door will be glass to enjoy the evening sun (there are currently no windows on the west side, which is often a shame). The entrance is far enough from the street that this should not be an issue.
Basically, we also wondered if rebuilding would be more sensible. At the moment, I’m leaning more towards renovation.
Construction is not planned before 2025. We are not in a hurry as the children are still small and we have enough space for now.
(The site plan is oriented to north)
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size – 1040 m² (11200 sq ft)
Slope – Slight, about 1.50 m (5 feet) drop
Site coverage ratio – 0.25
Floor area ratio – 0.4
Number of storeys – 1.5
Roof shape – free choice
Architectural style – free choice
Orientation – existing building
Client Requirements
Architectural style, roof shape, building type – renovation and additional storey of the existing building
Basement, storeys – half basement, 1.5 storeys
Number of occupants, ages – 2 adults + 2 children (4 & 2 years)
Space requirements on ground and upper floors – Ground floor: 85 m² (915 sq ft), Upper floor: 55 m² (590 sq ft)
Office use: family or home office? – full-time and part-time home office
Occasional overnight guests – few
Open or closed floor plan – open living space
Conservative or modern construction – modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island – yes, yes
Number of dining seats – 4 to 6
Garage, carport – available
Utility garden, greenhouse – possibly later
Large cistern with rainwater harvesting integrated into the house
Central mechanical ventilation with heat recovery – as some neighbors like to use their fireplaces, plus other benefits of this system
Photovoltaic system fully covering north and south roofs
Basement must be newly insulated
Clay plaster for interior finishing
House Design
Planned by: myself
What do you especially like? Why? The additional storey keeps the house compact
What do you not like? Why? – Everything is fine so far
Estimated budget according to architect/planner – no quotes obtained yet
Personal price limit for the house including fittings: 400,000 (less would be better)
Preferred heating technology – heat pump with horizontal trench ground collector
If you had to give up anything, which details or expansions
- could you do without:
- could you not do without:
Why was the design developed this way? For example:
- based on the interior walls of the old house
- we switched from an extension to an additional storey because it is cheaper. The view from the master bedroom is much nicer now than it would have been with an extension.
What is the key/essential question about the layout, summarized in 130 characters?
Do you see any problem I might have overlooked? Your honest opinions are usually direct but very helpful :-)
Schorsch_baut schrieb:
Wood beam ceilings require substantial supporting beams with appropriate bearings for such spans. Or several columns. Large open spaces like that are easier to achieve with concrete slabs. I agree with that. As I mentioned, even with our concrete slab we had extra costs to eliminate a support post and achieve such a large open-plan area. Honestly, I can’t imagine that this could really be done with a wooden ceiling.
S
Schorsch_baut13 Feb 2023 17:11That’s nice, but then you might end up with a KVH beam over 30 cm (12 inches) high as a supporting beam or its steel counterpart. Both require appropriate bearings. And I guess you would need more than one supporting beam to prevent the ceiling from vibrating too much. But that’s just my amateur opinion.
For such an ambitious renovation, I would consult an architect very early on, before letting all your ideas grow too much only to have to discard them later.
For such an ambitious renovation, I would consult an architect very early on, before letting all your ideas grow too much only to have to discard them later.
SoL schrieb:
A different question: What aspects of the house do you consider worth preserving and why?
In other words: Is it just sentimental attachment, or could it simply be removed? The floor plan fits our daily routines very well. My wife is on board 🙂. We will save part of the demolition. There are more KFW subsidies available for renovation than for new construction. Even for a new build, I could imagine implementing this floor plan as it is. Is it possible to build something like this as a new build at a comparable price?
In that case, a concrete ceiling might make more sense. Probably not a big difference in terms of cost.
To be honest, I don’t believe that you can renovate this for 400k, nor that you can build it new for that amount.
I assumed that the 400k mentioned in the original post refers only to the renovation costs and that the purchase price for the property has already been excluded, right?
I assumed that the 400k mentioned in the original post refers only to the renovation costs and that the purchase price for the property has already been excluded, right?
I am known for speaking uncomfortable truths: I consider the renovation for 400k to be unrealistic. You are basically building a new house. You are only keeping the old (probably uninsulated) concrete slab and the old exterior walls, which are technically disastrous in terms of insulation. Everything you plan from now on has to conform to these walls. So, you’re not really saving anything.
On top of that, you are adding another floor, a new roof, and on the outside, you are installing every expensive climate-related gadget you’ve seen on Instagram.
I don’t see this as a new build, nor as a “renovation” for 400k.
On top of that, you are adding another floor, a new roof, and on the outside, you are installing every expensive climate-related gadget you’ve seen on Instagram.
I don’t see this as a new build, nor as a “renovation” for 400k.
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