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?
B
Bauexperte6 Jan 2015 09:58Hello,
Best regards, Bauexperte
Silke123 schrieb:Unfortunately, there is no perfect solution. I think you should weigh the effort against the result.
What was never really up for discussion before the attic conversion – so maybe it’s not that important after all. But a lot of living space would be lost “just” to make room for a staircase.
Silke123 schrieb:A good double casement window costs about EUR 1,000, a reasonably sized dormer starts at around EUR 3,500.
The possible issue with the roof pitch could be solved with a dormer. That would mean additional costs, but you need to bring light into the upper hallway anyway, and with today’s prices for good Velux windows, a dormer solution might not be much more expensive?!? I haven’t really looked into it yet.
Silke123 schrieb:It’s possible, but not that simple. It would either impact the renovation of the entrance area, meaning the loss of children’s room “2,” or you would have to give up the guest bathroom and the pantry. In the latter case, the staircase could even be installed from the vestibule side.
I find it a shame that the staircase can’t just be placed in the (yes, very large) hallway.
Best regards, Bauexperte
Bauexperte schrieb:
A good double casement window costs around EUR 1,000, and a dormer of a reasonable size starts at about EUR 3,500. We can do quite a bit of the work ourselves, so maybe the difference in material cost won’t be that large. But thanks already for giving me an idea of the scale.
Bauexperte schrieb:
It’s possible, but not quite that simple. Either the remodeling of the entrance area would be affected, which would mean losing the second kid’s room, or you’d have to give up the guest bathroom and pantry. In the latter case, the stairway could even be realized from the vestibule side. Haha, how naïve of me to consider a roof conversion "just like that." My husband already thinks this is moving way too fast. Unfortunately, when it comes to simplicity, he probably has a point.
But I’ve already received quite a few helpful tips from you all. Maybe I’ll simply talk to the local staircase builder. Now I can at least make a few suggestions to him.
East Frisian greetings
Silke