ᐅ Single-family house without a basement – creating additional usable space elsewhere
Created on: 26 Mar 2018 14:43
E
EnnoBecker
Hello everyone,
We are building our single-family house without a basement with the following specifications:
Gable roof with a 45° pitch
Knee wall 1m (3.3 ft)
Living area: 148 m² (1,593 sq ft)
House dimensions: 8.95m x 11.32m (29.4 ft x 37.2 ft)
We want to compensate for the lack of storage space from the missing basement through the following measures:
I have questions regarding the following points:
1 - Attic:
This is a cold roof, meaning the floor between the upper floor and attic is insulated with mineral wool and has a vapor barrier in between.
The goal is to create more storage space. The attic is not intended to be used as living space.
For this purpose, I want to use tongue-and-groove boards, as these are vapor permeable compared to OSB panels and therefore prevent issues with rising moisture from the upper floor.
Questions:
The attached picture is provided as an example.
2 - Garage
The garage is planned to be 3.45m (11.3 ft) wide and 9m (29.5 ft) long. Inside the garage, a partition wall will be installed to separate the parking space from a storage area. Do you have recommendations for manufacturers or personal experience with this?
Thank you for your help.
Best regards,
Enno
We are building our single-family house without a basement with the following specifications:
Gable roof with a 45° pitch
Knee wall 1m (3.3 ft)
Living area: 148 m² (1,593 sq ft)
House dimensions: 8.95m x 11.32m (29.4 ft x 37.2 ft)
We want to compensate for the lack of storage space from the missing basement through the following measures:
- Make the attic accessible
- Build an extended single garage
- Build a spacious garden shed
I have questions regarding the following points:
1 - Attic:
This is a cold roof, meaning the floor between the upper floor and attic is insulated with mineral wool and has a vapor barrier in between.
The goal is to create more storage space. The attic is not intended to be used as living space.
For this purpose, I want to use tongue-and-groove boards, as these are vapor permeable compared to OSB panels and therefore prevent issues with rising moisture from the upper floor.
Questions:
- So far, a pull-down attic ladder is planned. My wife prefers a fixed space-saving staircase with a railing for easier access. In my view, this should be no problem as long as the access hatch to the attic remains insulated. Are there suitable solutions for this?
- We would also like to dry wet laundry in the attic. In our case, is this unproblematic? I believe the evaporated moisture could easily escape.
- What do you think, how much effectively usable floor area would this create?
- Do you have any personal experience with this?
The attached picture is provided as an example.
2 - Garage
The garage is planned to be 3.45m (11.3 ft) wide and 9m (29.5 ft) long. Inside the garage, a partition wall will be installed to separate the parking space from a storage area. Do you have recommendations for manufacturers or personal experience with this?
Thank you for your help.
Best regards,
Enno
H
hemali200327 Mar 2018 11:09I would first check the actual size of the area upstairs. We also considered what would make sense to store up there – but now I wonder if the effort and hassle of moving a few boxes is really worth it. The space is quite limited...
If we had installed a proper staircase for it (which was briefly considered because it didn’t seem that small in the floor plans), I would probably have been really frustrated.
In fact, storage space in the house should not be planned too sparingly, and you shouldn’t rely only on cheap temporary solutions. You’ll only regret that later. Many things simply cannot be stored in the garage, garden shed, or attic. At least I’m cautious about that, since I wouldn’t want to pull out my nice belongings after a year covered in mold or infested with insects.
If we had installed a proper staircase for it (which was briefly considered because it didn’t seem that small in the floor plans), I would probably have been really frustrated.
In fact, storage space in the house should not be planned too sparingly, and you shouldn’t rely only on cheap temporary solutions. You’ll only regret that later. Many things simply cannot be stored in the garage, garden shed, or attic. At least I’m cautious about that, since I wouldn’t want to pull out my nice belongings after a year covered in mold or infested with insects.
C
Caspar202027 Mar 2018 11:32EnnoBecker schrieb:
This is a cold roof, meaning the ceiling between the upper floor and the attic is insulated with mineral wool with a vapor barrier foil in betweenI would always insulate the roof as well. In our case, both the upper floor ceiling and the roof are insulated. We store all sorts of things up there. With a typical cold attic floor, stored items tend to deteriorate over time because in summer it essentially gets overheated.
H
hemali200327 Mar 2018 11:39Caspar2020 schrieb:
With a traditional cold floor, the material breaks down over the years because in summer it basically cooks itself. Plus cold in winter, along with moisture, moths, spiders... I wouldn’t overestimate this storage option.
G
Gartenfreund27 Mar 2018 15:10To put it differently: How much more would a basement cost compared to a larger garage and a garden shed? If the higher costs are manageable (through personal labor or similar), I would consider building a basement.
In the basement, you can place the heating system and washing machine, freeing up more space upstairs. It's also an ideal location for a freezer chest and food storage because the temperature remains fairly constant throughout the year. In our basement, the temperature stays around 12°C (54°F).
The unused garden area can then be used for edible plants, apple or peach trees, as well as currants or other crops.
In the basement, you can place the heating system and washing machine, freeing up more space upstairs. It's also an ideal location for a freezer chest and food storage because the temperature remains fairly constant throughout the year. In our basement, the temperature stays around 12°C (54°F).
The unused garden area can then be used for edible plants, apple or peach trees, as well as currants or other crops.
Similar topics