ᐅ House Planning – Considering the Possibility of a Third Child
Created on: 23 Sep 2015 11:23
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Tego12Hello!
Since we will be building in the near future and are currently considering the general framework to approach an architect/designer, the following question has come up for us:
We need an additional room (besides the standard ones – master bedroom, child 1, child 2, living area) for a possible third child (which is rather unlikely, but it’s hard to completely rule it out). If no third child arrives, this room would be used as a guest room/office. The size should be roughly 10-12 sqm (107-129 sq ft), since the chance of a third child is quite low.
Now, there seem to be three main options (house around 140-150 sqm (1,507-1,615 sq ft), pitched roof up to 45 degrees, no basement):
1) Room on the ground floor -> reduces the large open living/dining/kitchen area (there also needs to be space for a utility room and a small shower bathroom)
2) Room on the upper floor -> reduces the overall size of the bedrooms and children’s rooms (so far, I haven’t seen a really good floor plan here, especially since a house with a pitched roof up to 45 degrees effectively offers less space on the upper floor than on the ground floor)
3) Expandable attic -> at first, apart from possible additional costs (which I cannot estimate yet), I don’t see any major issues, except that a second staircase is needed, which also takes up space.
My question: Which option would you generally prefer? What are the advantages and disadvantages? The room is not immediately needed; an attic could also be converted a few years later.
Thanks and regards
Since we will be building in the near future and are currently considering the general framework to approach an architect/designer, the following question has come up for us:
We need an additional room (besides the standard ones – master bedroom, child 1, child 2, living area) for a possible third child (which is rather unlikely, but it’s hard to completely rule it out). If no third child arrives, this room would be used as a guest room/office. The size should be roughly 10-12 sqm (107-129 sq ft), since the chance of a third child is quite low.
Now, there seem to be three main options (house around 140-150 sqm (1,507-1,615 sq ft), pitched roof up to 45 degrees, no basement):
1) Room on the ground floor -> reduces the large open living/dining/kitchen area (there also needs to be space for a utility room and a small shower bathroom)
2) Room on the upper floor -> reduces the overall size of the bedrooms and children’s rooms (so far, I haven’t seen a really good floor plan here, especially since a house with a pitched roof up to 45 degrees effectively offers less space on the upper floor than on the ground floor)
3) Expandable attic -> at first, apart from possible additional costs (which I cannot estimate yet), I don’t see any major issues, except that a second staircase is needed, which also takes up space.
My question: Which option would you generally prefer? What are the advantages and disadvantages? The room is not immediately needed; an attic could also be converted a few years later.
Thanks and regards
There are also other options, for example, having a room downstairs (as a guest room, it benefits from the guest bathroom being nearby), and splitting the utility room into a small service room downstairs and the utility room upstairs. This way, you distribute the additional required square meters across both floors, and the laundry is done where it is generated.
Converting the attic means having a fixed staircase instead of a space-saving folding attic ladder and results in less or no storage space in the roof. Additionally, furniture placed under the sloping ceilings will usually need to be custom-made.
Is the gable roof and house size fixed?
Converting the attic means having a fixed staircase instead of a space-saving folding attic ladder and results in less or no storage space in the roof. Additionally, furniture placed under the sloping ceilings will usually need to be custom-made.
Is the gable roof and house size fixed?
Hello,
thank you for your first response. In this development area, a roof pitch of up to 45 degrees is allowed. A gable roof itself is not set in stone, but we simply love the look of brick-clad houses with gable roofs. Other roof shapes are definitely permitted in the area, it’s quite flexible. I wouldn’t completely rule out an alternative either. The size of the house is also not fixed. As large as necessary, but no bigger. I’m not a fan of huge houses, both in terms of lifestyle and budget 😉
I find the idea of splitting the utility room quite interesting. However, I have never seen a floor plan like that before. Why is this solution so uncommon? Technology is still technology, and laundry is done where it’s generated, which initially makes sense... what are the disadvantages?
You are of course right about the drawbacks of the attic space... without a basement, storage space is definitely worth its weight in gold...
Your question about “whether the gable roof is fixed” implies there is an ulterior motive... in your opinion, is there a clearly better house or roof design for our “problem”?
Thanks and regards
thank you for your first response. In this development area, a roof pitch of up to 45 degrees is allowed. A gable roof itself is not set in stone, but we simply love the look of brick-clad houses with gable roofs. Other roof shapes are definitely permitted in the area, it’s quite flexible. I wouldn’t completely rule out an alternative either. The size of the house is also not fixed. As large as necessary, but no bigger. I’m not a fan of huge houses, both in terms of lifestyle and budget 😉
I find the idea of splitting the utility room quite interesting. However, I have never seen a floor plan like that before. Why is this solution so uncommon? Technology is still technology, and laundry is done where it’s generated, which initially makes sense... what are the disadvantages?
You are of course right about the drawbacks of the attic space... without a basement, storage space is definitely worth its weight in gold...
Your question about “whether the gable roof is fixed” implies there is an ulterior motive... in your opinion, is there a clearly better house or roof design for our “problem”?
Thanks and regards
Hello,
take a look at the current floor plan threads in this section. There are already some nice suggestions, including ones with a utility room on the upper floor. For example, here you can find a floor plan from a user with three children's rooms: https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/grundriss.10733/
What about the knee wall height? If you want three children's rooms, it would be beneficial if each room could have a "standard" window rather than just a skylight.
Depending on the size of your house, I would try not to reduce the space for the kitchen, dining room, and living room too much. Especially if you plan to have three children someday, they will need space in the communal areas. That means perhaps a larger dining table, a bigger couch, and some free space where the children can play and spread out their toys...
I find about 25 sqm (270 sq ft) for the living room ideal, plus roughly the same amount for the kitchen and dining area. (Or maybe around 15 sqm (160 sq ft) for the kitchen and approximately 40 sqm (430 sq ft) for the combined living and dining room...) But of course, this depends heavily on the floor plan. A smaller space can also feel spacious if it is well designed.
take a look at the current floor plan threads in this section. There are already some nice suggestions, including ones with a utility room on the upper floor. For example, here you can find a floor plan from a user with three children's rooms: https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/grundriss.10733/
What about the knee wall height? If you want three children's rooms, it would be beneficial if each room could have a "standard" window rather than just a skylight.
Depending on the size of your house, I would try not to reduce the space for the kitchen, dining room, and living room too much. Especially if you plan to have three children someday, they will need space in the communal areas. That means perhaps a larger dining table, a bigger couch, and some free space where the children can play and spread out their toys...
I find about 25 sqm (270 sq ft) for the living room ideal, plus roughly the same amount for the kitchen and dining area. (Or maybe around 15 sqm (160 sq ft) for the kitchen and approximately 40 sqm (430 sq ft) for the combined living and dining room...) But of course, this depends heavily on the floor plan. A smaller space can also feel spacious if it is well designed.
Tego12 schrieb:
I find the idea of splitting the utility room quite interesting. However, I have never seen a corresponding floor plan for this. Why is this solution so uncommon? Technology stays technology, and laundry is where it occurs—sounds reasonable at first... what are the disadvantages?We saw this in a show home and were quite impressed by the idea. Maybe it’s because you have only looked at floor plans with gable roofs. In those, space upstairs is often limited, and you don’t necessarily relocate the utility room upstairs as well. There have been some members here in the forum who do have such floor plans.
Disadvantage:
Everything you dry outside you still have to carry down and then back up later.
Tego12 schrieb:
Your question about "whether the gable roof is fixed" implies there’s a deeper consideration... in your opinion, is there a significantly better house or roof shape for our "problem"? Possibly, adding knee walls and adjusting the roof pitch up to a two-story layout with a shallow gable or hip roof could create more space on the upper floor. The additional costs involved would then have to be weighed against the costs of a (prepared) attic conversion.
Thanks again for your responses!
If the utility room is divided between the ground floor and the upper floor, you could of course place the office, which could also serve as a potential third bedroom, on the ground floor (I want to emphasize again that a third child is not planned; it’s just a possibility that needs to be considered in a new build, whether due to an “accident” or a later renewed desire to have another child).
Then all three rooms plus a bathroom would be on the upper floor, even with a pitched roof, each having a proper window plus one skylight (ideally a floor-to-ceiling skylight).
How large would the two utility rooms need to be? For the technical equipment on the ground floor, I would roughly estimate 6 square meters (about 65 square feet) for technology plus 2-3 small cabinets for storage, etc. The room for the washing machine, dryer, and one drying rack should be sufficient at around 5 square meters (about 54 square feet), right?
If the utility room is divided between the ground floor and the upper floor, you could of course place the office, which could also serve as a potential third bedroom, on the ground floor (I want to emphasize again that a third child is not planned; it’s just a possibility that needs to be considered in a new build, whether due to an “accident” or a later renewed desire to have another child).
Then all three rooms plus a bathroom would be on the upper floor, even with a pitched roof, each having a proper window plus one skylight (ideally a floor-to-ceiling skylight).
How large would the two utility rooms need to be? For the technical equipment on the ground floor, I would roughly estimate 6 square meters (about 65 square feet) for technology plus 2-3 small cabinets for storage, etc. The room for the washing machine, dryer, and one drying rack should be sufficient at around 5 square meters (about 54 square feet), right?
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