Hello, dear forum community,
I have been reading along for some time and have already learned a lot, so thank you very much for that!
My husband and I have been searching for a home for ourselves and our two young children for 10 months. Currently, I am interested in a semi-detached house listed as having 4 rooms. However, these are not fully separate rooms. I have two questions about this:
1) One of the four rooms is a converted attic that is open to the stairwell (with a small gallery overlooking the staircase) — so it is not a fully enclosed room. How much would it typically cost to replace the gallery on the top floor with a drywall partition to create a fully separated room from the rest of the house?
2) According to the listing, one of the two fully enclosed rooms on the first floor can be "easily divided." In my opinion, it would only be possible to add a drywall partition through the room (which has two windows), but this would inevitably make one half a walkthrough room since it wouldn’t be possible to fit a second door. Additionally, there is only one radiator in this room. Is it feasible to install a second radiator "with minimal effort"?
Otherwise, the semi-detached house meets our requirements quite well: built in 2017, gas condensing boiler, and photovoltaic system, with no renovation backlog. The location and number of rooms represent a compromise we are willing to accept for financial reasons (yes, I know there are forum members who advise against any compromise, but after extensive searching and many disappointments, I no longer share that view. Therefore, it makes little sense to advise us to simply keep looking for five fully separate rooms in the desired area, as these cost more than 750,000 euros and such offers are very rare at our current place of residence).
Thank you in advance for your answers! Warm regards!
I have been reading along for some time and have already learned a lot, so thank you very much for that!
My husband and I have been searching for a home for ourselves and our two young children for 10 months. Currently, I am interested in a semi-detached house listed as having 4 rooms. However, these are not fully separate rooms. I have two questions about this:
1) One of the four rooms is a converted attic that is open to the stairwell (with a small gallery overlooking the staircase) — so it is not a fully enclosed room. How much would it typically cost to replace the gallery on the top floor with a drywall partition to create a fully separated room from the rest of the house?
2) According to the listing, one of the two fully enclosed rooms on the first floor can be "easily divided." In my opinion, it would only be possible to add a drywall partition through the room (which has two windows), but this would inevitably make one half a walkthrough room since it wouldn’t be possible to fit a second door. Additionally, there is only one radiator in this room. Is it feasible to install a second radiator "with minimal effort"?
Otherwise, the semi-detached house meets our requirements quite well: built in 2017, gas condensing boiler, and photovoltaic system, with no renovation backlog. The location and number of rooms represent a compromise we are willing to accept for financial reasons (yes, I know there are forum members who advise against any compromise, but after extensive searching and many disappointments, I no longer share that view. Therefore, it makes little sense to advise us to simply keep looking for five fully separate rooms in the desired area, as these cost more than 750,000 euros and such offers are very rare at our current place of residence).
Thank you in advance for your answers! Warm regards!
Winniefred30 Aug 2021 17:22Oh, and of course insulation for the middle, we still needed that. But that was in 2017, before prices skyrocketed.
K
Kensington30 Aug 2021 18:00Hello Winniefred,
Thanks for the tip! That sounds good. Even if it were more in the four-digit range.
We only wanted to do one of the renovations, not both.
But without any intervention, the house only has 3 full bedrooms plus the open attic. And right, we only really “need” 4 rooms. (Although you can live with 8 people in one room, as seen in less affluent countries.) But even finding 4 rooms is difficult. 5 rooms would be the much-cited dream, the decadent, yes, certainly undeserved ideal, which is why I mentioned in advance the argument to rather “wait for the ideal house.”
With a fifth room, by the way, you could do quite a lot; it wouldn’t be a problem. Nobody lacks ideas there. Even if no child lives in it. Right?
The current owners of the house are expanding, by the way, after only 3 years in their first home; they apparently built the house for one child, and a second pregnancy wouldn’t surprise me in that case.
Best regards!
Thanks for the tip! That sounds good. Even if it were more in the four-digit range.
We only wanted to do one of the renovations, not both.
But without any intervention, the house only has 3 full bedrooms plus the open attic. And right, we only really “need” 4 rooms. (Although you can live with 8 people in one room, as seen in less affluent countries.) But even finding 4 rooms is difficult. 5 rooms would be the much-cited dream, the decadent, yes, certainly undeserved ideal, which is why I mentioned in advance the argument to rather “wait for the ideal house.”
With a fifth room, by the way, you could do quite a lot; it wouldn’t be a problem. Nobody lacks ideas there. Even if no child lives in it. Right?
The current owners of the house are expanding, by the way, after only 3 years in their first home; they apparently built the house for one child, and a second pregnancy wouldn’t surprise me in that case.
Best regards!
K
Kensington30 Aug 2021 18:02Hello Hausbautraum20,
I thought so. If anything, we would close off the attic space towards the stairwell.
Thank you!
Best regards!
I thought so. If anything, we would close off the attic space towards the stairwell.
Thank you!
Best regards!
Winniefred30 Aug 2021 18:05Oh, I see. In that case, the option in the attic is definitely better and not excessively expensive. For us, the house would have had only two bedrooms plus the gallery otherwise. Now, the children have the first floor, and we have a large bedroom and a toilet with a washbasin in the attic. Using drywall construction, we also added a small bathroom there; the plumbing was installed by the sanitary professionals, and we only had to connect it.
I would have liked a fifth room as well, but our house doesn’t allow for it. It would be convenient for guests or for my husband to work from home, etc. But well, such houses simply weren’t affordable.
I would have liked a fifth room as well, but our house doesn’t allow for it. It would be convenient for guests or for my husband to work from home, etc. But well, such houses simply weren’t affordable.
K
Kensington30 Aug 2021 18:16Hi Winniefred,
yes, just like you, we would use the rooms! The extra bathroom you have is definitely nice.
In this house, the utility room with the heating system is located under the roof (not a great idea, but maybe necessary because of the photovoltaic system?), so the washing machine connection is already there, meaning the water supply is already installed. However, I won’t know how large the heating system in that room is until after the viewing.
Best regards!
yes, just like you, we would use the rooms! The extra bathroom you have is definitely nice.
In this house, the utility room with the heating system is located under the roof (not a great idea, but maybe necessary because of the photovoltaic system?), so the washing machine connection is already there, meaning the water supply is already installed. However, I won’t know how large the heating system in that room is until after the viewing.
Best regards!
We also converted our attic into a spacious master bedroom with a shower bathroom.
The two kids each have their own room on the first floor, and the third room on the first floor is small and narrow, so it has become our walk-in closet. This way, large wardrobes are not needed in the kids’ rooms, giving them more space.
Of course, it gets quite warm up there in the summer; we insulated with 18cm (7 inches) of insulation. Keep that in mind as a disadvantage for the attic space.
You mentioned it’s already converted, so really only a drywall partition and a door are needed. I would budget around $1,000 and have a professional do the work.
The two kids each have their own room on the first floor, and the third room on the first floor is small and narrow, so it has become our walk-in closet. This way, large wardrobes are not needed in the kids’ rooms, giving them more space.
Of course, it gets quite warm up there in the summer; we insulated with 18cm (7 inches) of insulation. Keep that in mind as a disadvantage for the attic space.
You mentioned it’s already converted, so really only a drywall partition and a door are needed. I would budget around $1,000 and have a professional do the work.
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