ᐅ Plan for the possibility of a future extension from the beginning
Created on: 5 Mar 2018 22:34
L
Lina80Hello!
We are currently planning the construction of our single-family home with a general contractor. The building permit / planning permission application has already been submitted to the authorities.
After submitting the application, friends suggested the idea of adding an extension to the entrance area to create significantly more space. The reason behind this is that our eldest daughter has a severe disability, and it would be very practical for us to have a large entrance mat for her wheelchair and more space for storage and maneuvering. We designed our house with a general contractor; the floor plan is a standard design and fits quite well overall, but unfortunately, the entrance area is small.
In theory, our friends’ idea seems fairly easy to implement, provided the authorities give their approval. Unfortunately, our builder estimates the costs at around 14,000 euros, which is currently too expensive for us. Now we are wondering if it would make sense to prepare for a future extension and, if so, what kind of preparations. For example, would it be sensible to have a foundation slab laid at the location already during the new build phase? What we would probably definitely do is relocate the basement window to the south and replace the planned window in the storage room with a floor-to-ceiling window, so that the opening for a future access from the extension is already fully prepared.
Do you have any more or better ideas?
Best regards, Lina80
PS: Something is not working with uploading the pictures right now – I will try again tomorrow from a different device!
We are currently planning the construction of our single-family home with a general contractor. The building permit / planning permission application has already been submitted to the authorities.
After submitting the application, friends suggested the idea of adding an extension to the entrance area to create significantly more space. The reason behind this is that our eldest daughter has a severe disability, and it would be very practical for us to have a large entrance mat for her wheelchair and more space for storage and maneuvering. We designed our house with a general contractor; the floor plan is a standard design and fits quite well overall, but unfortunately, the entrance area is small.
In theory, our friends’ idea seems fairly easy to implement, provided the authorities give their approval. Unfortunately, our builder estimates the costs at around 14,000 euros, which is currently too expensive for us. Now we are wondering if it would make sense to prepare for a future extension and, if so, what kind of preparations. For example, would it be sensible to have a foundation slab laid at the location already during the new build phase? What we would probably definitely do is relocate the basement window to the south and replace the planned window in the storage room with a floor-to-ceiling window, so that the opening for a future access from the extension is already fully prepared.
Do you have any more or better ideas?
Best regards, Lina80
PS: Something is not working with uploading the pictures right now – I will try again tomorrow from a different device!
A concrete slab for an extension would initially remain unused until the extension is built, and therefore it would need to be thermally insulated from the main building slab (to prevent cold from entering the house). It would also remain unburdened for that time, which naturally would affect its settlement behavior. I could be wrong—after all, business consultants are supposedly clueless about these things—but my immediate thought is that the slab would not cost more to install in a few years than it does now. So, I wouldn’t be in a hurry to do it.
What I find more important to clarify now is whether the desired extension would even be allowed there, or if it would already lie outside the building permit/planning permission boundaries. This means
that the extension would have no actual structure, but would basically be like a kind of terrace made just from the slab?
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
What I find more important to clarify now is whether the desired extension would even be allowed there, or if it would already lie outside the building permit/planning permission boundaries. This means
Lina80 schrieb:
if we had a large clean-off mat for her wheelchair and more space for parking and maneuvering
that the extension would have no actual structure, but would basically be like a kind of terrace made just from the slab?
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
So, I finally managed to upload it.
@11ant: The plan is to eventually build a complete extension, not just the slab. :-) I just thought it might be easier and more cost-effective if all the materials and machinery for the concrete slab are already on site...?
Explanation of the picture:
On the left edge, you can see part of the carport, with the driveway at the bottom of the image (which corresponds to south). In the current plan, the front door is a bit hidden from the street, oriented towards the west side. In the extension (shown in pencil), we could move it forward so it faces the street. The idea is a flat-roofed extension of about 5m² (54 sq ft), basically an entrance hall with a boot scraper and open access to the storage room (where the window of the storage room currently is). On the carport side, we would need a simple solid wall, and between the new and original house walls at the rear of the extension, either a fixed pane or a floor-to-ceiling window to avoid it being too dark. That would mean eventually removing the existing window, so it would probably make sense if the replacement window is already floor-to-ceiling. We would leave the passage from the extension into the existing hallway (where the front door currently is) open.
The carport ceiling could be extended as a canopy over the front door and along the house wall, allowing us to get to the car with everything dry.
Have I explained this clearly? Does this sound reasonable? And is it possible to get something like this significantly cheaper somewhere else than for $14,000?
Best regards,
Lina
@11ant: The plan is to eventually build a complete extension, not just the slab. :-) I just thought it might be easier and more cost-effective if all the materials and machinery for the concrete slab are already on site...?
Explanation of the picture:
On the left edge, you can see part of the carport, with the driveway at the bottom of the image (which corresponds to south). In the current plan, the front door is a bit hidden from the street, oriented towards the west side. In the extension (shown in pencil), we could move it forward so it faces the street. The idea is a flat-roofed extension of about 5m² (54 sq ft), basically an entrance hall with a boot scraper and open access to the storage room (where the window of the storage room currently is). On the carport side, we would need a simple solid wall, and between the new and original house walls at the rear of the extension, either a fixed pane or a floor-to-ceiling window to avoid it being too dark. That would mean eventually removing the existing window, so it would probably make sense if the replacement window is already floor-to-ceiling. We would leave the passage from the extension into the existing hallway (where the front door currently is) open.
The carport ceiling could be extended as a canopy over the front door and along the house wall, allowing us to get to the car with everything dry.
Have I explained this clearly? Does this sound reasonable? And is it possible to get something like this significantly cheaper somewhere else than for $14,000?
Best regards,
Lina
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