Hello dear forum community,
I’ve had a somewhat crazy idea running through my mind for the past few days.
We built our house in 2015 and everything is basically perfect for us. However, in 2017 we had another child and are now five in total. Unfortunately, our house does not include three children’s bedrooms, so our two daughters share a room. That might work for now, while they are still toddlers, but I fear that this will not always be a good solution...
Since my dad and I have done a lot of the work on our house ourselves, we have been trying to come up with some ideas. Unfortunately, the floor plan does not offer many options, and realistically, only an extension is possible.
However, the building plan assigns a specific building plot. This plot is already fully utilized in all directions. Except to the north, where we still have about 8 meters (26 feet) of space... Currently, this area is occupied by our garage plus carport.
I could imagine an extension above the carport/garage here.
For that, the existing ceiling made of rafters and battens would need to be replaced with a concrete ceiling (a precast concrete slab?). I would like to keep the carport and garage as they are, and just build on top of them. The garage stands 1 meter (3 feet) outside the building plot, so I wouldn’t be able to build over the entire area. Still, this would create a floor space of about 8 x 6 meters (26 x 20 feet). Then everyone would have their space in the house...
My questions on this are:
1. Would something like this be possible, or would such a construction project be prohibited due to building regulations / planning permission?
2. Could the garage/carport be retained, or would this also be impossible due to structural engineering reasons? The concrete ceiling would need to be supported on the existing brick garage.
3. The bathroom and a new room would only have lighting through (large) roof windows—is this allowed?
4. What would be sensible or feasible regarding heating? The utility room is located right next to the carport... we have a gas boiler installed.
5. The current “parents’” bedroom would then become a large hallway—what could be done with that space?
I know there are no 100% certain answers here... I’m mostly interested in the key issues I might have missed that could turn this into a bad idea...
I’ve had a somewhat crazy idea running through my mind for the past few days.
We built our house in 2015 and everything is basically perfect for us. However, in 2017 we had another child and are now five in total. Unfortunately, our house does not include three children’s bedrooms, so our two daughters share a room. That might work for now, while they are still toddlers, but I fear that this will not always be a good solution...
Since my dad and I have done a lot of the work on our house ourselves, we have been trying to come up with some ideas. Unfortunately, the floor plan does not offer many options, and realistically, only an extension is possible.
However, the building plan assigns a specific building plot. This plot is already fully utilized in all directions. Except to the north, where we still have about 8 meters (26 feet) of space... Currently, this area is occupied by our garage plus carport.
I could imagine an extension above the carport/garage here.
For that, the existing ceiling made of rafters and battens would need to be replaced with a concrete ceiling (a precast concrete slab?). I would like to keep the carport and garage as they are, and just build on top of them. The garage stands 1 meter (3 feet) outside the building plot, so I wouldn’t be able to build over the entire area. Still, this would create a floor space of about 8 x 6 meters (26 x 20 feet). Then everyone would have their space in the house...
My questions on this are:
1. Would something like this be possible, or would such a construction project be prohibited due to building regulations / planning permission?
2. Could the garage/carport be retained, or would this also be impossible due to structural engineering reasons? The concrete ceiling would need to be supported on the existing brick garage.
3. The bathroom and a new room would only have lighting through (large) roof windows—is this allowed?
4. What would be sensible or feasible regarding heating? The utility room is located right next to the carport... we have a gas boiler installed.
5. The current “parents’” bedroom would then become a large hallway—what could be done with that space?
I know there are no 100% certain answers here... I’m mostly interested in the key issues I might have missed that could turn this into a bad idea...
Maria16 schrieb:
Before you invest a lot of money: would it be an option to temporarily separate the living area to use as a bedroom for yourselves?
It’s certainly not an ideal solution, but ideally the two younger ones would still share a room for another four or five years, and then the oldest would move out on their own at 18 or 19. So it would only be a few years with that setup.
Alternatively, if technically feasible, I might also consider enlarging the storage room on the upper floor at the expense of the current children’s rooms. Then the rooms wouldn’t be 15 square meters (160 square feet) anymore, but at least all the rooms would be located in the same section of the house.We had the idea of partitioning the living room as well... but the window placement is very inconvenient... plus the room would only be about 2.5 x 2.5 meters (8 x 8 feet)...
Enlarging the storage room was also considered... but I discarded that idea. Because the floor plan didn’t really work out, and the “thick” walls around the storage room are likely load-bearing... according to the plans, all load-bearing walls are 17.5 cm (7 inches) of sand-lime brick...
Simply put...
What about the attic space?
With a bit of creativity, you could turn it into a nice, cozy area.
I used to spend a lot of time in the attic room of my former girlfriend back then, and we really found it cozy. Of course, you can’t stand up everywhere, etc. But especially for a teenager, it could be really nice!
What about the attic space?
With a bit of creativity, you could turn it into a nice, cozy area.
I used to spend a lot of time in the attic room of my former girlfriend back then, and we really found it cozy. Of course, you can’t stand up everywhere, etc. But especially for a teenager, it could be really nice!
Golfi90 schrieb:
Simply put...
What about the attic space?
With a bit of creativity, you could turn it into a nice, cozy area.
I used to spend a lot of time in the attic room of my former girlfriend’s house, and we found it really comfortable. Of course, you can’t stand up everywhere, etc. But especially for a teenager, it might be a really nice spot!I would estimate the height in the middle of the attic to be less than 1.50 meters (5 feet) ... so really just suitable for storing boxes, etc.
I would have simply built a wall from the end of the room divider (kitchen unit/wardrobe wall) to the right-hand exterior wall. That would make it about 3.9 by 3.2 meters (13 by 10.5 feet). ;-)
Yes, you would need to rearrange the furniture quite a bit—move the couch to where the dining area is and eliminate the second dining area since there’s still a table in the kitchen.
Alternatively, you could remove the dining area and build walls there, though you’d need an angled section to maintain access to the living area.
BUT: Ideally, this would be a solution for just a few years. Hopefully, it would be relatively inexpensive and could be reversed once the children have moved out.
Aside from whether all of this could really be remodeled easily and whether the heating system would need to be changed, I think the money required would be a shame to spend—especially considering what you would do with so much space after the children leave.
Before considering an extension, I would probably think briefly about a sofa bed or a fold-down bed in the living room or a mattress sleeping area for the parents in the storage room with a wardrobe in one of the children's rooms or in the hallway.
Yes, you would need to rearrange the furniture quite a bit—move the couch to where the dining area is and eliminate the second dining area since there’s still a table in the kitchen.
Alternatively, you could remove the dining area and build walls there, though you’d need an angled section to maintain access to the living area.
BUT: Ideally, this would be a solution for just a few years. Hopefully, it would be relatively inexpensive and could be reversed once the children have moved out.
Aside from whether all of this could really be remodeled easily and whether the heating system would need to be changed, I think the money required would be a shame to spend—especially considering what you would do with so much space after the children leave.
Before considering an extension, I would probably think briefly about a sofa bed or a fold-down bed in the living room or a mattress sleeping area for the parents in the storage room with a wardrobe in one of the children's rooms or in the hallway.
M
Matthew039 Jan 2019 15:00Basti2709 schrieb:
They are 2.4 and 10 years old...Well, that’s a hopeful sign!
The 10-year-old might want to spend a year in Australia or somewhere similar at 19, then go on to university, vocational training, etc. Sharing a flat or having their own apartment isn’t unrealistic.
That would mean the current 4-year-old would have their own room by age 13. From now until 10 years old, sharing a room is usually no problem, then two challenging years followed by having their own space during puberty.
Of course, things can turn out differently, but in this scenario, I wouldn’t consider an extension worthwhile for the extra comfort of the kids.
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