Hi,
a quick question for the experts: we might want to rent out our hobby room later as a self-contained apartment.
The room is in the exposed basement level, with floor-to-ceiling windows. We are planning all the necessary connections for electricity, bathroom, etc. What concerns me now are two things: the apartment itself and the wall thickness. The exterior wall is 24cm (9.5 inches) concrete plus 12cm (5 inches) of perimeter insulation. The interior walls, which separate the apartment from our main entrance and the utility room, are currently planned as 24cm (9.5 inches) brick. That seems a bit thick to me. We would lose several square meters of living space because of that. How thick do these walls really need to be? Would 17.5cm (7 inches), for example, be sufficient?
We don’t even know if we will ever rent out the apartment. Given its size (about 30m² (320 square feet)), it would only be suitable for students anyway. We just want to be prepared, either for our own children or to rent to family members or students. We might also spend a few years abroad and thought it would be beneficial to have rental income during that time.
I’m wondering whether the effort is even worth it considering the room size. The room will be very bright, but just the separate entrance door with certain security features has already cost us €2500. The connections will cost another €5500, including the construction of the bathroom, etc. We are easily looking at €10,000 in total.
Only if we don’t do it, we might regret it later. We definitely don’t want to rent to strangers while living in the house. At most, as mentioned, to students or family members, or when we are abroad for a few years. In old age, it could supplement the pension if needed. But currently, renting to strangers while living here is not an option—only family.
The connections are currently being installed anyway, so that’s fine. Even for the hobby room, having a small kitchen corner and a toilet will be very useful.
Still, I’m interested in your opinion. And how thick do the interior walls really need to be for renting out? 24cm (9.5 inches) or would 17.5cm (7 inches) be enough? Or even less?
a quick question for the experts: we might want to rent out our hobby room later as a self-contained apartment.
The room is in the exposed basement level, with floor-to-ceiling windows. We are planning all the necessary connections for electricity, bathroom, etc. What concerns me now are two things: the apartment itself and the wall thickness. The exterior wall is 24cm (9.5 inches) concrete plus 12cm (5 inches) of perimeter insulation. The interior walls, which separate the apartment from our main entrance and the utility room, are currently planned as 24cm (9.5 inches) brick. That seems a bit thick to me. We would lose several square meters of living space because of that. How thick do these walls really need to be? Would 17.5cm (7 inches), for example, be sufficient?
We don’t even know if we will ever rent out the apartment. Given its size (about 30m² (320 square feet)), it would only be suitable for students anyway. We just want to be prepared, either for our own children or to rent to family members or students. We might also spend a few years abroad and thought it would be beneficial to have rental income during that time.
I’m wondering whether the effort is even worth it considering the room size. The room will be very bright, but just the separate entrance door with certain security features has already cost us €2500. The connections will cost another €5500, including the construction of the bathroom, etc. We are easily looking at €10,000 in total.
Only if we don’t do it, we might regret it later. We definitely don’t want to rent to strangers while living in the house. At most, as mentioned, to students or family members, or when we are abroad for a few years. In old age, it could supplement the pension if needed. But currently, renting to strangers while living here is not an option—only family.
The connections are currently being installed anyway, so that’s fine. Even for the hobby room, having a small kitchen corner and a toilet will be very useful.
Still, I’m interested in your opinion. And how thick do the interior walls really need to be for renting out? 24cm (9.5 inches) or would 17.5cm (7 inches) be enough? Or even less?
S
Sebastian7922 Jun 2016 12:52If they are installed separately, then that is not a problem.
