ᐅ Building with or without a basement in southern Germany – experiences?
Created on: 14 May 2019 17:24
C
Camille1984
Even though I am still looking for a plot of land, I am already thinking about the house.
In the south of Germany (Baden-Württemberg), it is quite common to build houses with basements, and my family also owns homes with basements.
However, I have always hated basements. As a child, I disliked having to go down to the basement to get something—the stairs, the darkness, and so on. Now, in my rented apartment, we have a shared laundry room in the basement. I hate it! If the washing machine were in the bathroom, I would probably prefer doing laundry.
I am fairly certain I don’t want a basement—also for financial reasons. But of course, everyone has their opinion. In an initial design plan, I included a utility and storage room of almost 10m² (100 square feet), an office of 15m² (160 square feet), a laundry room on the upper floor of just under 10m² (100 square feet) with a sloped ceiling, and a storage room behind a garage. When I think about the things currently stored in the rented basement, everything fits into these planned rooms, and the rest is basically junk…
So my question is for experienced home builders without basements in southern Germany: Do you miss anything? Are you concerned about potential resale value? What are your thoughts?
Thank you!
In the south of Germany (Baden-Württemberg), it is quite common to build houses with basements, and my family also owns homes with basements.
However, I have always hated basements. As a child, I disliked having to go down to the basement to get something—the stairs, the darkness, and so on. Now, in my rented apartment, we have a shared laundry room in the basement. I hate it! If the washing machine were in the bathroom, I would probably prefer doing laundry.
I am fairly certain I don’t want a basement—also for financial reasons. But of course, everyone has their opinion. In an initial design plan, I included a utility and storage room of almost 10m² (100 square feet), an office of 15m² (160 square feet), a laundry room on the upper floor of just under 10m² (100 square feet) with a sloped ceiling, and a storage room behind a garage. When I think about the things currently stored in the rented basement, everything fits into these planned rooms, and the rest is basically junk…
So my question is for experienced home builders without basements in southern Germany: Do you miss anything? Are you concerned about potential resale value? What are your thoughts?
Thank you!
Scout schrieb:
ypg, I think he assumes that in a utility room like this, all the clutter should fit alongside the connections, heaters, and washing machine. Probably.
But I was talking about three areas: technical equipment 5 sqm (54 sq ft), laundry 5 sqm (54 sq ft), storage 5 sqm (54 sq ft).
I don’t deny that you might also want a larger closet for clothes, hobby items, or similar things like all the decorations or tools, but with good planning and plenty of partition walls, quite a lot can be accommodated.
Above all, you have to want it that way! And the original poster does. So I can’t deny that it can work, even if my own priorities would be different.
But you are referring to net floor areas. You need paths, windows, supply lines. Then the 15 m² (160 ft²) quickly become 25 m² (270 ft²).
Our utility room is 16 m² (170 ft²). It contains only the building services equipment, and there is some space left for the laundry drying rack. No room for storage or a washing machine and dryer...
Our utility room is 16 m² (170 ft²). It contains only the building services equipment, and there is some space left for the laundry drying rack. No room for storage or a washing machine and dryer...