ᐅ Where to place the staircase? Attic conversion in a hipped roof bungalow
Created on: 4 Jan 2015 19:47
S
Silke123
Hello!
I am new here and could use your help. We are the owners and residents of a hipped roof bungalow. Now that we have a child and are planning for more in the medium term, we want to convert the existing attic into living space.
We are currently facing the problem of not having a clear idea where to place the staircase. Although the hallway is quite large (unfortunately, because this means losing actual living space), there still seems to be hardly any room for a staircase.
We have considered a few ideas:
1. A straight staircase from the kitchen door up toward the bathroom door (problem: the hallway is only 1.85m (6 ft) wide, so the staircase would make it very narrow)
2. A built-in staircase in the pantry (problem: the pantry is only 1.51m (5 ft) wide, so this option is probably not feasible)
3. Combine Child’s Bedroom 1 with the living room, close the door to the bedroom, and install a straight staircase from the middle of the hallway toward the new living room (problem: the staircase would divide the hallway, and you would always have to walk around it)
4. Same as option 3, combine Child’s Bedroom 1 with the living room, close the old door to the living room, and install a half-turn staircase with a landing in the newly created corner (problem: the convenient access to the living room would be lost, and closing the current (glass) living room door would make the hallway darker)
5. Sacrifice Child’s Bedroom 1 and install a half-turn staircase with a landing there (problem: this would sacrifice a lot of living space)
Do you perhaps have a good idea?
I am new here and could use your help. We are the owners and residents of a hipped roof bungalow. Now that we have a child and are planning for more in the medium term, we want to convert the existing attic into living space.
We are currently facing the problem of not having a clear idea where to place the staircase. Although the hallway is quite large (unfortunately, because this means losing actual living space), there still seems to be hardly any room for a staircase.
We have considered a few ideas:
1. A straight staircase from the kitchen door up toward the bathroom door (problem: the hallway is only 1.85m (6 ft) wide, so the staircase would make it very narrow)
2. A built-in staircase in the pantry (problem: the pantry is only 1.51m (5 ft) wide, so this option is probably not feasible)
3. Combine Child’s Bedroom 1 with the living room, close the door to the bedroom, and install a straight staircase from the middle of the hallway toward the new living room (problem: the staircase would divide the hallway, and you would always have to walk around it)
4. Same as option 3, combine Child’s Bedroom 1 with the living room, close the old door to the living room, and install a half-turn staircase with a landing in the newly created corner (problem: the convenient access to the living room would be lost, and closing the current (glass) living room door would make the hallway darker)
5. Sacrifice Child’s Bedroom 1 and install a half-turn staircase with a landing there (problem: this would sacrifice a lot of living space)
Do you perhaps have a good idea?
Is the pantry space sufficient? It is only about 2.8 square meters (30 square feet) in size. I looked into the space requirements for staircases and consistently found minimum dimensions of around 6 square meters (65 square feet).
One more thing I noticed about the pantry: it is not flush with the wall of the entrance area. So, between the wall of the restroom and the imagined extended wall of the entrance, a recess would be created. What should I do with that?
Oh dear – so many questions. It seems the previous owners really gave no thought to a possible attic conversion.
One more thing I noticed about the pantry: it is not flush with the wall of the entrance area. So, between the wall of the restroom and the imagined extended wall of the entrance, a recess would be created. What should I do with that?
Oh dear – so many questions. It seems the previous owners really gave no thought to a possible attic conversion.
Oh wow – thank you so much for your effort!
Since we want to keep the work to a minimum, I also prefer option 2. Could it be that you planned the staircase on the longer side of the hallway (so diagonally opposite the kitchen door)? The drawing shows it differently?! Wouldn’t the corner of the entrance area need to be removed as well (like in option 1)?
The "issue" is that the entrance area is separated by a double door, which opens to the left when viewed from the front door. Normally, you could then install a new door. However, a few years ago we painted the oak-veneer doors and frames white. So, if we change anything with the door, technically all the doors would need to be replaced to avoid a patchy look.
Integrating a staircase is probably more difficult than we thought.
Since we want to keep the work to a minimum, I also prefer option 2. Could it be that you planned the staircase on the longer side of the hallway (so diagonally opposite the kitchen door)? The drawing shows it differently?! Wouldn’t the corner of the entrance area need to be removed as well (like in option 1)?
The "issue" is that the entrance area is separated by a double door, which opens to the left when viewed from the front door. Normally, you could then install a new door. However, a few years ago we painted the oak-veneer doors and frames white. So, if we change anything with the door, technically all the doors would need to be replaced to avoid a patchy look.
Integrating a staircase is probably more difficult than we thought.
No, the stairway starting from the point at the stairs and section A-A has a different viewing direction in V2 compared to V1 – namely from the kitchen wall towards the entrance. This is clearly visible in the section drawing.
I planned the staircase with a tread width of 90 cm (35 inches). Since furniture and other items will need to be moved upstairs at times, it can’t be much narrower.
Can’t the entry vestibule simply be repositioned and the door installed so that it fits properly?
I planned the staircase with a tread width of 90 cm (35 inches). Since furniture and other items will need to be moved upstairs at times, it can’t be much narrower.
Can’t the entry vestibule simply be repositioned and the door installed so that it fits properly?
I find it difficult to move the vestibule since it currently contains the coat rack and a shoe cabinet. While these could be relocated, it would make the area near the front door very tight – the front door must not hit the vestibule doors. There isn’t much space there as it is. I would have real trouble getting a stroller in and out, to give an example.
Would the hallway be too narrow if a straight staircase were installed from the bathroom area up to the kitchen? It’s only 1.88 meters (6 feet 2 inches) wide right now. If you add a staircase with a minimum width of 90 cm (35 inches) there, it would be really tight, wouldn’t it? Or would it not be much of an issue since the staircase leads upward and doesn’t take up the full width of the hallway along its entire length?
Would the hallway be too narrow if a straight staircase were installed from the bathroom area up to the kitchen? It’s only 1.88 meters (6 feet 2 inches) wide right now. If you add a staircase with a minimum width of 90 cm (35 inches) there, it would be really tight, wouldn’t it? Or would it not be much of an issue since the staircase leads upward and doesn’t take up the full width of the hallway along its entire length?
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