ᐅ Attic conversion in a 25-degree hip roof – a practical undertaking?
Created on: 24 Oct 2023 13:38
H
Hausgestalten
Hello forum,
We are considering purchasing a large bungalow with 200m² (2,150 sq ft) of living space. Despite the generous size, there are only three rooms, and we are missing two additional rooms (children’s bedrooms) for our family. We want to rule out dividing the space with drywall partitions because the floor plan (window distribution, hallway location) does not support this well. The bungalow is very well-maintained (and only 8 years old) and feels well-designed in its layout.
Now the question is to what extent this bungalow has potential for converting the attic. The building footprint measures 22m x 12.5m (72 ft x 41 ft).
Are there any self-builders here who have completed an attic conversion with a 25-degree roof pitch? Are dormer windows necessary, or would floor-to-ceiling skylights (such as Velux windows) also create a good room atmosphere? How much usable space could we realistically gain?
Another question relates to the costs of such a project. Would a budget of $50,000 be sufficient, or is that too low?
Thank you in advance for sharing your experiences.
We are considering purchasing a large bungalow with 200m² (2,150 sq ft) of living space. Despite the generous size, there are only three rooms, and we are missing two additional rooms (children’s bedrooms) for our family. We want to rule out dividing the space with drywall partitions because the floor plan (window distribution, hallway location) does not support this well. The bungalow is very well-maintained (and only 8 years old) and feels well-designed in its layout.
Now the question is to what extent this bungalow has potential for converting the attic. The building footprint measures 22m x 12.5m (72 ft x 41 ft).
Are there any self-builders here who have completed an attic conversion with a 25-degree roof pitch? Are dormer windows necessary, or would floor-to-ceiling skylights (such as Velux windows) also create a good room atmosphere? How much usable space could we realistically gain?
Another question relates to the costs of such a project. Would a budget of $50,000 be sufficient, or is that too low?
Thank you in advance for sharing your experiences.
H
Hausgestalten24 Oct 2023 18:29WilderSueden schrieb:
This results in a roof structure height of just under 2.8m (9 ft 2 in). But that height is only directly under the ridge, and some of it will be taken up by the floor construction. In the edge areas, you have very little height. A spacious feeling will generally not develop there.
Regarding costs, I think 50k is far too low. You need to alter the thermal envelope, install a staircase, add several roof windows... then most of the budget is already gone. This doesn’t even take dormers into account. Plus, you have to finish it as living space: electrical work, heating, flooring, painting...
I would generally advise against taking on a huge house that doesn’t fit and trying to force it to work. Thank you very much for your opinion. We basically agree with you, but the plot is a dream and such properties won’t be available again in this area anytime soon. We could indeed do without the guest room... but not without the study and the children’s rooms...
In your opinion, what would be a realistic total cost for an attic conversion to create two children’s rooms?
W
WilderSueden24 Oct 2023 19:16The problem is that the costs are not necessarily linear. You need a proper staircase regardless of whether there is 1 or 5 rooms upstairs. The staircase also needs to be logically integrated with the ground floor, which is probably not trivial either. The ground floor ceiling can no longer function as the thermal envelope once there is a room above. It might be possible to build some kind of hybrid construction, partially using the roof as the envelope and partially the ceiling, with an insulated wall between the living area and the attic. Whether that is cheaper than installing insulation between all the rafters throughout is doubtful. Roof windows and dormers could only be installed in the living area, as well as the floor, electrical wiring, and heating. Upstairs, you will probably also want a bathroom, which alone can quickly reach around 10,000.
Hausgestalten schrieb:
Attached is the floor plan. It is unreadable.
Hausgestalten schrieb:
We urgently need it Then it’s the wrong house.
Hausgestalten schrieb:
However, the plot is a dream and such plots are hardly available in this area anymore anytime soon. So what? The house does not fit. This is already the second person this week who falls in love with the house and land and wants to discuss unrealistic dreams in a forum.
If we could actually read the floor plan, we could see if anything can be done with it. But the house is only eight years old, which is too young to gut it completely.
For the renovation, you need access (stairs), which also requires space on the ground floor. The staircase should ideally be centrally located in the house because no one wants to crawl to their room upstairs. One residential floor requires a second emergency exit, which you can only achieve with these Velux windows. Then there’s heating and electrical work—compared to that, the interior finishing is a minor issue.
But you can see for yourself how tight it is with the beam structure and how it will be.
Let someone else have the house if it’s exactly what they are looking for. Look for a suitable house, not just a dream plot.
H
Hausgestalten24 Oct 2023 21:09ypg schrieb:
It’s unreadable.
Unfortunately, we only have a poorly copied floor plan from the real estate agent. I had hoped it could at least be roughly skimmed (you can somewhat make out the room labels, right?).
Hausgestalten schrieb:
Unfortunately, we only have a poorly copied floor plan from the agent. I had hoped it could at least be skimmed quickly (you can somewhat make out the room labels, right?). Hardly, this thing is a nightmare. I can make out a bedroom, an office, a children’s room, a living room, kitchen, bathroom, utility room, and some miscellaneous spaces. What I don’t see is where a staircase would be integrated here. At most in the kitchen, which I can’t clearly identify anyway. What are those pipes under the roof? Skylights?
50K? Let’s see: insulation, roof windows, heating, drywall, plastering, floors, walls, electrical, painting, staircase. Hmm, I’m not optimistic.
Hausgestalten schrieb:
However, the plot is a dream and you won’t find anything like it in this area again anytime soon. Well, if only that little word “if” didn’t exist:
Hausgestalten schrieb:
70k would be our absolute maximum for this. … and that “if” is really a first-class “but.” You’ll have to put a 1 in front of that 70. When you—especially after the shock of climbing through the floor hatch—stand in such a huge storage room, it feels endless and you can easily imagine that the real estate agent’s phrase “anything is possible” was made up here. But as soon as the last segment of the meter stick is extended, the dream gets its death blow. Reality really is a bitch.
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