ᐅ Planning a Building Extension (Foundation/Load-Bearing Capacity/Alternatives)
Created on: 26 Sep 2019 13:09
P
pmuente
Hello,
I’m Peter and new here.
At the moment, I’m dealing with my eight-family house.
The house was built in 1957. Actually, it consists of two adjacent four-family houses, each with two apartments side by side and two stacked above. All the apartments are about 57m² (600 sq ft) each.
The previous owners renovated a lot over the decades, but not the roof, and it is now beyond repair.
Since the stairwell leads up to the attic, the idea came up to add another floor with four more apartments (side by side).
The city building authority approved this. Unfortunately, there are no original plans, not even in the city archives. Because of this, the structural engineer instructed to expose the foundation of the load-bearing exterior walls and the central wall in one continuous section.
And here things stand now. All the foundations are only as wide as the load-bearing walls (30cm (12 inches)) and the structural integrity is, by today’s standards, insufficient even for the existing building.
To add the additional floor, all load-bearing walls and foundations would have to be strengthened.
However, for a building of this length, the foundation reinforcement alone would reportedly cost no less than €100,000.
I don’t want to put such a strain on the old house.
Currently, neither architect nor structural engineer can offer a solution.
One idea I had was to build the apartments almost independently, using steel columns and beams above the existing structure at a height of 5.5m (18 feet). Visually, I find steel beams running along the existing building appealing, and it would decouple the weight of the new apartments from the old structure. Everyone still looks at me skeptically, but I’m searching for solutions and both the architect and structural engineer seem somewhat conservative at the moment.
I hope to find national and many other suggestions in this forum.
Thank you very much.
Peter
I’m Peter and new here.
At the moment, I’m dealing with my eight-family house.
The house was built in 1957. Actually, it consists of two adjacent four-family houses, each with two apartments side by side and two stacked above. All the apartments are about 57m² (600 sq ft) each.
The previous owners renovated a lot over the decades, but not the roof, and it is now beyond repair.
Since the stairwell leads up to the attic, the idea came up to add another floor with four more apartments (side by side).
The city building authority approved this. Unfortunately, there are no original plans, not even in the city archives. Because of this, the structural engineer instructed to expose the foundation of the load-bearing exterior walls and the central wall in one continuous section.
And here things stand now. All the foundations are only as wide as the load-bearing walls (30cm (12 inches)) and the structural integrity is, by today’s standards, insufficient even for the existing building.
To add the additional floor, all load-bearing walls and foundations would have to be strengthened.
However, for a building of this length, the foundation reinforcement alone would reportedly cost no less than €100,000.
I don’t want to put such a strain on the old house.
Currently, neither architect nor structural engineer can offer a solution.
One idea I had was to build the apartments almost independently, using steel columns and beams above the existing structure at a height of 5.5m (18 feet). Visually, I find steel beams running along the existing building appealing, and it would decouple the weight of the new apartments from the old structure. Everyone still looks at me skeptically, but I’m searching for solutions and both the architect and structural engineer seem somewhat conservative at the moment.
I hope to find national and many other suggestions in this forum.
Thank you very much.
Peter
What is the current status of the planning? What is the cost of the roof without new housing units, and what are the current figures including the new apartments?
I think you are confusing the idea of passing the roof costs onto new tenants. Usually, there are reserves for the new roof. New apartments are additional expenses, so you should clearly separate those. But even without reserves, loans are currently very affordable.
pmuente schrieb:
A new roof costs money but doesn’t generate income, which is why so many houses are extended upwards to offset the high costs with rental income.
I think you are confusing the idea of passing the roof costs onto new tenants. Usually, there are reserves for the new roof. New apartments are additional expenses, so you should clearly separate those. But even without reserves, loans are currently very affordable.
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boxandroof16 Oct 2019 12:08pmuente schrieb:
Since I urgently need a new roof, wouldn’t a roof without added value be an even worse investment, or am I mistaken?Install the largest possible photovoltaic system on the roof. Each additional square meter (square foot) generates more profit, and the cost is lower if the scaffolding is already in place for the roof.Otherwise, an investment that preserves value is simply necessary and cannot be classified as good or bad.
It would have been so much easier if the foundations had been right.
Since any improvement to the foundations will cost at least €50,000 (about $54,000) or more, it will probably just be a new roof structure.
A photovoltaic system would be a new topic I’d have to look into. However, I don’t live there, and apparently selling electricity is no longer profitable.
Since any improvement to the foundations will cost at least €50,000 (about $54,000) or more, it will probably just be a new roof structure.
A photovoltaic system would be a new topic I’d have to look into. However, I don’t live there, and apparently selling electricity is no longer profitable.
B
boxandroof17 Oct 2019 03:41But it is worthwhile even without self-consumption. Selling to tenants is not practical.
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