We are renovating a terraced house from the 1960s with split-level floors. Since we want to have direct access to the garden on one level, our architect recommended a single-story extension (entrance, cloakroom, kitchen, and dining room). From there, the first split level would be reached by 7 steps. This level would include the living room, toilet, and office. One exterior wall of the original house will be removed.
At first, I thought this would be really cool, like a gallery or split-level house. Now, I’m not sure if it might be inconvenient in everyday life. You enter the living room by going up 7 steps in the dining room. The wall will be removed to create an open layout.
I would really appreciate your opinions!
At first, I thought this would be really cool, like a gallery or split-level house. Now, I’m not sure if it might be inconvenient in everyday life. You enter the living room by going up 7 steps in the dining room. The wall will be removed to create an open layout.
I would really appreciate your opinions!
Arauki11 schrieb:
I’m not sure if I mean the same wall, but in any case, I would want to keep it as open as possible. So, I would want to remove the wall between the dining and living area completely or keep just a half-height partition. You haven’t mentioned that yet.
I also think that from the living room sofa, you don’t often look through the dining area to the outside, and it would be more important to me to be able to look outside while moving around. Therefore, I would want the attached ceiling to be higher.
Have you ever checked it with a 3D model or walked through the rooms?
You absolutely must draw the furniture accurately now! I think we mean the same wall, and it would definitely be better if it’s completely removed. The two columns shown on the plan will be replaced by a beam. Maybe the steps could be made wider, possibly even with a seating step. I’m not sure if that would look good...
We would really like to view it in 3D but so far have only done some experimenting ourselves with Blender. Do you have any recommendations for service providers?
dbertig schrieb:
We would really love to view it in 3D, but we have only experimented a bit ourselves with Blender. Do you have any recommendations for providers? Unfortunately, no. For us, it was the girlfriend of our son who studied architecture and showed us the construction manager’s 3D files. We found this especially helpful for details; in one case, a poorly positioned support beam actually saved us from making a big mistake. I think there are experts here who know about this—maybe you should start a dedicated thread on the topic.
These support beams can be designed nicely, depending on taste, using steel or wood, or even integrated into an open shelving unit, or something about one-third height in between...
Arauki11 schrieb:
Unfortunately not. In our case, it was the son’s girlfriend, who studied architecture, and she showed us the general contractor’s 3D files. We found that extremely helpful, especially for details like this; in one case, a poorly positioned support beam actually saved us from making a mistake. I think there are people here who know about this, maybe you should start a dedicated thread on the topic.
These supports can be nicely designed, depending on taste, using steel or wood, or even incorporated into an open shelving unit, or simply something about one-third height in between... I could also ask the architect if they create 3D models.
We still need to think of something nice for fall protection; ideally, I’d prefer no protection or just a handrail at my own risk. I’d like it to be as open as possible, but I haven’t found anything really great yet...
Another idea I have is to slightly raise the extension including the floor. That way, we could eliminate 1-2 steps to the living room, possibly needing only minimal safety measures, and the living room would feel a bit more “connected.”
dbertig schrieb:
Another consideration of mine is whether we should raise the extension including the floor slightly. That way, we would save 1-2 steps leading to the living room.I would definitely explore that option. Then the ceiling height in the kitchen doesn't need to be over 3m (10 ft), but 2.80/2.90m (9 ft 2 in / 9 ft 6 in) would work, and you won’t be looking at the ceiling when going down the five-step staircase.
For the parapet, I recommend a glass railing. It is mounted on the concrete slab and from the level of the floor covering, it’s just glass. We have it running all around in the hallway. Costs about 1,000 euros per meter (around 300 USD per foot).
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