ᐅ Using a Tiny House as an Extension or Affordable Extension Options?
Created on: 9 Feb 2024 10:34
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Nordfamilie
Hello Homebuilding Forum,
After a long search, we found a house we'd like to buy because the plot has the perfect location for us, the house itself is really nice, and the price of about 500,000 EUR is also within our range.
Unfortunately, there is one point that doesn’t quite work for us yet: the house currently has a size of about 100 square meters (1,076 square feet) plus a converted attic of about 20 square meters (215 square feet). For us as a family, that feels a bit tight, and we would need about 2-3 additional rooms, roughly 50 square meters (538 square feet) more space.
Our first idea was an extension – and so we had quotes made. However, these amount to nearly 180,000 (plus additional costs) for 50 square meters (538 square feet), which is well over our budget.
Our next idea was to possibly connect a tiny house or similar through a conservatory to the main house to gain additional space. Our initial calculation shows costs of around 100,000, which would roughly be feasible for us. Is there anything we might have overlooked here?
Are there other options to gain more space? Are we missing something or do you know of providers who offer extensions in Lower Saxony at a lower cost?
I look forward to any input or suggestions.
Best regards
Nordfamilie
After a long search, we found a house we'd like to buy because the plot has the perfect location for us, the house itself is really nice, and the price of about 500,000 EUR is also within our range.
Unfortunately, there is one point that doesn’t quite work for us yet: the house currently has a size of about 100 square meters (1,076 square feet) plus a converted attic of about 20 square meters (215 square feet). For us as a family, that feels a bit tight, and we would need about 2-3 additional rooms, roughly 50 square meters (538 square feet) more space.
Our first idea was an extension – and so we had quotes made. However, these amount to nearly 180,000 (plus additional costs) for 50 square meters (538 square feet), which is well over our budget.
Our next idea was to possibly connect a tiny house or similar through a conservatory to the main house to gain additional space. Our initial calculation shows costs of around 100,000, which would roughly be feasible for us. Is there anything we might have overlooked here?
Are there other options to gain more space? Are we missing something or do you know of providers who offer extensions in Lower Saxony at a lower cost?
I look forward to any input or suggestions.
Best regards
Nordfamilie
motorradsilke schrieb:
But that’s not the case in every company.
For my husband, for example, it was called mobile work instead of home office, so employees could work wherever they wanted. That is basically the difference between mobile work and home office.
Employers usually do not offer mobile work instead of home office because they suddenly feel altruistic.
With home office, the employer must comply with occupational health and safety regulations and monitor their implementation (escape routes, lighting, etc.). This is not required for mobile work since the workplace is not fixed and therefore cannot be inspected.
Additionally, providing office furniture (office chair, desk, etc.) is not a requirement for employees working mobile. The employer can simply hand an employee a laptop and say: Good luck, we’re working mobile now!
For this reason, most companies prefer to offer mobile work rather than home office because it is simply cheaper and easier for them...
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motorradsilke11 Feb 2024 05:25SoL schrieb:
That’s basically the difference between mobile working and working from home.
Employers usually don’t offer mobile working instead of working from home because they suddenly feel generous.
For working from home, the employer has to comply with occupational health and safety regulations and monitor compliance (emergency exits, lighting, etc.). This is not required for mobile working because the workplace is not fixed, so the employer cannot be held responsible for inspections.
Additionally, providing office furniture (office chair, desk, etc.) for employees is not a requirement during mobile working. The employer can simply hand the employee a laptop and say: Good luck, we’re working remotely now!
That’s why most companies prefer to offer mobile working rather than working from home, as it’s cheaper and easier for them... It’s also advantageous for both sides. Motivation tends to be higher when you can work wherever you want.
W
WilderSueden11 Feb 2024 09:18motorradsilke schrieb:
Regardless, no one really checks where you actually work. Paper is patient. This works fine until someone slips on an icy path on the way to an outbuilding. Then it will be checked very carefully whether it really is a work accident or not.
Apart from that... anyone who sits in an office all day wants living-space standards, not a drafty garden shed.
motorradsilke schrieb:
For my husband, it was called flexible working, not home office, so employees can work wherever they want. It’s called flexible working because the employer then avoids most regulations. The official workplace is still the office, where the employer controls the conditions.
M
motorradsilke11 Feb 2024 09:30WilderSueden schrieb:
This works fine until someone slips on black ice while walking to the outbuilding. Then it will be examined very closely whether this really counts as a work accident or not.
Besides that... anyone who spends the whole day in an office wants living space standards, not a drafty garden shed.
This was not about a drafty garden shed, but about a tiny house that just can’t officially be called living space because here in Germany we tend to overregulate every little detail.
Yes, of course, it’s possible to find fault with everything, but you still can’t protect yourself from all risks and eventualities. Often it’s best to just do something in a way that feels right to you.
W
WilderSueden11 Feb 2024 10:22This project definitely requires a building permit / planning permission. Bedrooms and offices are certainly considered living spaces, and the size will exceed any exemption limits anyway. As living space, the house must comply with the building energy regulations. The manufacturer makes certain claims, but I am somewhat skeptical with only 15cm (6 inches) of insulation. Prefabricated house manufacturers typically require significantly more; for example, Danwood uses 12cm (5 inches) of polystyrene plus mineral wool in the stud frame, if I remember correctly. Pineca claims to achieve the same with about half the thickness, and at that price, it’s definitely not high-performance insulation. Regarding airtightness and especially the vapor barrier, I am also curious to see the exact wall structure.
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