ᐅ Renovation of an Older Building (1966): Two-Family House – Floor Plan Sketch
Created on: 30 Jul 2018 13:39
H
HappyDee45
Hello everyone,
We are currently planning a renovation of an older house built in 1966. Over the years, the house has been extended and remodeled several times. It has previously served as a two-family home. We are taking over the house now and do not want any "stranger" tenants living in it. This means we want/need to live in the house ourselves as a single-family home for the next 1-2 decades at least.
So, we have the challenge—or luxury—of being able to plan a lot of space.
You can find our first draft attached.
Basement:
We do not want to make any changes here for the most part. Only the electricity meter and related equipment need to be removed from the stairwell as part of the electrical upgrade. We have discussed with the electrician to create an “electrical room” in the workshop for this purpose. Everything else will remain as is.
Ground Floor:
On the ground floor, we plan to remove three walls to create a large open living and dining area including the kitchen. The pantry will be prepared as a potential bathroom (water supply and drainage will be renewed). We might want to add a bathroom there in about 10 years. A full guest bedroom is essential for us, due to family circumstances. The office will serve as a home or remote work space for both of us. The “home theater” will probably remain an unused room for now until we have more budget to invest there.
Upper Floor:
On the upper floor, we plan to move the door to the terrace (currently located in the "children’s room") and relocate the wardrobe wall to create a new hallway with access to the terrace. In the bedroom, we will add a wall to create a second bathroom on the upper floor (currently, there is a kitchen in that space).
Attic:
The attic will remain an unheated area and will remain unused or serve as an attic storage space.
This is roughly our current plan. A structural engineer has already reviewed the walls. Most of the work will be done by ourselves. But here, we want to focus on the floor plan.
We are open to all ideas. Please share any constructive feedback.
Thanks and best regards
We are currently planning a renovation of an older house built in 1966. Over the years, the house has been extended and remodeled several times. It has previously served as a two-family home. We are taking over the house now and do not want any "stranger" tenants living in it. This means we want/need to live in the house ourselves as a single-family home for the next 1-2 decades at least.
So, we have the challenge—or luxury—of being able to plan a lot of space.
You can find our first draft attached.
Basement:
We do not want to make any changes here for the most part. Only the electricity meter and related equipment need to be removed from the stairwell as part of the electrical upgrade. We have discussed with the electrician to create an “electrical room” in the workshop for this purpose. Everything else will remain as is.
Ground Floor:
On the ground floor, we plan to remove three walls to create a large open living and dining area including the kitchen. The pantry will be prepared as a potential bathroom (water supply and drainage will be renewed). We might want to add a bathroom there in about 10 years. A full guest bedroom is essential for us, due to family circumstances. The office will serve as a home or remote work space for both of us. The “home theater” will probably remain an unused room for now until we have more budget to invest there.
Upper Floor:
On the upper floor, we plan to move the door to the terrace (currently located in the "children’s room") and relocate the wardrobe wall to create a new hallway with access to the terrace. In the bedroom, we will add a wall to create a second bathroom on the upper floor (currently, there is a kitchen in that space).
Attic:
The attic will remain an unheated area and will remain unused or serve as an attic storage space.
This is roughly our current plan. A structural engineer has already reviewed the walls. Most of the work will be done by ourselves. But here, we want to focus on the floor plan.
We are open to all ideas. Please share any constructive feedback.
Thanks and best regards
H
HappyDee451 Aug 2018 13:39@kaho674 We should almost hire you — you really have some great ideas! Thank you, and keep the suggestions coming. I think we won’t remove the wall, but the idea is great and we’ll still discuss it tonight!
Oh — we only know those kinds of parties by word of mouth ;-)
Regarding the barbecues and so on, your points are completely understandable. We’ll first take some time to carefully consider how and for what purpose we want to use the terrace — that might already lead us to a solution. It will probably come down to using the balcony in front of the kitchen. We definitely want to keep the option of a staircase to the garden open!
@11ant I understand your reasoning and line of thought. Medium and long term, the goal is naturally to reduce this expense (insulation, solar thermal systems, etc.). Our current calculation (including the mentioned additional costs) works with our lifestyle. This discussion is still primarily about the floor plan rather than the cost calculation directly.
@Climbee Wow! First of all, thank you very much for your effort and the design. We will definitely take a close look at it and reconsider. I have to admit, there are unfortunately one or two arguments against it (unknown to you because not mentioned), but those also need to be thought through. Thanks!
Oh — we only know those kinds of parties by word of mouth ;-)
Regarding the barbecues and so on, your points are completely understandable. We’ll first take some time to carefully consider how and for what purpose we want to use the terrace — that might already lead us to a solution. It will probably come down to using the balcony in front of the kitchen. We definitely want to keep the option of a staircase to the garden open!
@11ant I understand your reasoning and line of thought. Medium and long term, the goal is naturally to reduce this expense (insulation, solar thermal systems, etc.). Our current calculation (including the mentioned additional costs) works with our lifestyle. This discussion is still primarily about the floor plan rather than the cost calculation directly.
@Climbee Wow! First of all, thank you very much for your effort and the design. We will definitely take a close look at it and reconsider. I have to admit, there are unfortunately one or two arguments against it (unknown to you because not mentioned), but those also need to be thought through. Thanks!
Climbee schrieb:
So, hab mal ein bisserl reingeschmiert. Great idea. Only the bedroom access needs to be reconsidered because otherwise it becomes too indirect. But that should be easy to fix. In my opinion, the extra effort would definitely be worthwhile.
kaho674 schrieb:
Great idea. Only the bedroom access would need to be reworked, otherwise it’s a bit of a hassle. But that should be easy to fix. In my opinion, the extra effort would definitely be worth it.Yes, that was just an initial thought. It definitely needs further revision. But as a basic idea, moving the parents’ area there and giving the children the terrace makes sense. They will probably use it more often than the parents from the bedroom side (especially if you are a non-smoker *grin*).
HappyDee45 schrieb:
I understand your reasoning and way of thinking. Medium- to long-term, the goal is of course to reduce this expense (insulation, solar thermal systems, etc.). My suggestion, on the other hand, is to separate a portion of the living area with an external entrance, where you could accommodate a self-contained unit (or holiday guests) until the two oldest children move in there.
HappyDee45 schrieb:
Our current calculation (including the mentioned ancillary costs) fits our lifestyle. And that is certainly fair enough. The note about the finite household budget doesn’t mean you “shouldn’t” do it. Other people buy a sports car or eat out every week. That is also not cheap.
HappyDee45 schrieb:
The main focus here is still primarily on the floor plan and not directly on the cost calculation. Well, not quite, because if you ask “Is the right side clear?” and I see a truck losing its brakes coming from the left, I’d rather warn you than strictly stick to your question.
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