ᐅ Closing an open space after several years – costs? Structural considerations?

Hello everyone,

I have an informational question.
We are about to start building a semi-detached house. However, we still don’t know if we will get the north or south side.
I would like to know: For example, if we get the north side, could I convert an open space (air space) into a separate children’s bathroom in about 10 years? The main bathroom would be right next door upstairs, and the kitchen would be directly below the open space.

At the moment, we have a small child who wouldn’t really benefit from their own bathroom yet, and if they could use it now, it would likely become outdated quickly. But if we do the conversion in 10 years, I think it would bring a lot of joy, and until then, we could benefit from natural light in the upstairs hallway and the ground floor.

Now the question is whether this would be simple to do or if it would require major structural changes and possibly adjustments to the plumbing. How expensive could something like this be? Is it even worth it, or would it be better to close off the open space for now, enlarge the utility/laundry room first, and maybe divide it later into an extra bathroom?

Thanks in advance,

I don't see an open space in your case. But of course, bathrooms can also be "pre-installed" or prepared in advance.

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Hi. An architect could probably design it so that you can close or connect the area later on. In any case, I imagine it would be quite complicated to do this afterward and probably not a tidy job. You’ll be living on a construction site again for several weeks (months?). Personally, I would close it off now and install all the pipes and electrical wiring. Then, sometime later (in 10 years), you can add the tiles and finishes. Until then, you can use the space as a storage room or something similar. Doing it afterward will definitely be more expensive than doing it now. You can install the tiles and finishes yourself… you’ll have 10 years to practice.

11ant schrieb:

I don’t really see an open space in your plans. But of course, you can also just “pre-install” bathrooms.

Yes – that would only be a small open space instead of the kids’ bathroom – about 2x2 meters (6.5x6.5 feet) just to have an additional window in the upstairs hallway and in the downstairs kitchen.

But if it’s really that expensive to close it off, we will probably first turn it into a large laundry room. At least there I can hang clothes, iron, etc.

sebisanu schrieb:

Hi. An architect could probably design it so you can close or connect the area later. Definitely, I imagine it would be very complicated to do this afterward and certainly not a clean process. You would be living in a construction zone for several weeks (months?). I personally would close it off now and install all pipes and electrical wiring. Then in 10 years or so, you can add the tiles and finishes. Meanwhile, you can use it as a storage room or something else. Doing it afterward will also be much more expensive than doing it now. You can install the tiles and finishes yourself... you’ll have 10 years to practice

Yes, that’s exactly what I feared. Thanks