Architectural design / renovation of a single-family house - Your opinion is requested

Hello everyone,

after searching for a building plot for a long time without success or not finding a nice one, we found a beautiful existing house by chance and want to remodel it a bit from autumn so that it fits our ideas even better.

Built in 1983, well maintained, at least as far as you can see. Brick facade, basement with separate granny flat, bathroom on the ground floor completely renovated in 2016, gas heating from 2000, plot 480 sqm.

Essentially, we want to change the following:

1. Add a vestibule in front of the previous entrance

2. Close the open ceiling above the approximately 30 sqm living room by inserting a floor ceiling in order to create two more children's rooms upstairs. In the current design, a lounge is planned on the right upstairs and another children's room on the left. We will definitely do exactly the opposite.

3. Remove the existing open fireplace and load-bearing wall between living room and dining room to create more spaciousness in the living area. However, the chimney should continue to be used and a new stove integrated.

4. We would like to energetically renovate and retile the roof, as it has to be raised on one side anyway because of the two new children's rooms.

5. Replace windows throughout the house, sliding glass door in the living room and front door.

6. Build a conservatory above the current balcony/ terrace, accessible from living and dining rooms.

7. New tiles throughout the entire ground floor.

8. Replace underfloor heating on the ground floor if necessary and extend it into the extension, replace existing radiators upstairs with underfloor heating and install new underfloor heating in the two children's rooms.

9. Expand the current kitchen and sacrifice the pantry and guest toilet for this, new toilet then in the extension.

10. New/expanded bathroom upstairs

In general, all measures planned so far comply with the building plan that is over 30 years old, but is it still valid after such a long time?

Now to my further questions:

What do you think of the architect's design?
What can be improved?
What have we not considered?
Are there other ideas/ suggestions?
What about electrical and water pipes, do they necessarily have to be renewed as well?

Since we have only had three architect meetings, I would like to know what experiences you have had with your renovations regarding costs?

Can a rough budget be estimated for the individual above-mentioned points?

As you can see, questions upon questions.

Many thanks in advance for all opinions and a lively discussion.

Questions are always welcome. And if I have forgotten important information for assessment, please let me know. Thank you!

Well, first of all, congratulations on the house – from 1983 that is technically still quite a current house, with a clinker facing shell even roughly at today's level. In the roof, there is probably glass wool between the rafters.

You didn't write anything about the windows, given the construction year and clinker, I assume tropical wood with insulated glazing, but of course not yet triple glazing. Plus tiled or stoneware floors, attractive, possibly not quite up-to-date in terms of color. Wall tiles already in newer formats, 20/20 or larger.

Water pipes are probably still good, the local lime content also plays a bit of a role. Electrical is also still good, but regarding the number of sockets, probably needs to be expanded from today's perspective. I would always lay various additional cables next to them for control lines; modern houses are becoming increasingly "smarter."

The architect should be able to say something about costs best. Many factors come into play there. Renewing underfloor heating also means replacing the floor tiles, even if they are still good. Interior doors are also not cheap. At that time, they were modern up to room height, not rarely in black, which many house buyers don't really like anymore today. You can sink a lot of money into bathrooms. Walk-in showers were not yet common back then; the ceramics in curry, moss green, or Bahama beige today find only a few fans...

I cannot answer your questions, but I find little storage space for 6 people or do you have a basement?

I would make the extension larger so that there is more space for the wardrobe. In case of doubt, 6 people must be able to put on jackets and shoes there. The front door should also still be able to open.

First of all, thank you for the initial comments. The windows are made of plastic and double-glazed. And yes, the floor tiles are still okay, but we don't like them visually at all.

The tip about the sockets and new wiring is good, thank you.

By the way, the house has a basement (45sqm living area + 21 sqm garage as well as a 45sqm granny flat).

We had already considered enlarging the extension because we need storage space for %.

Are there any further comments on the room layout and the overall floor plan??

The windows are made of plastic and double-glazed.

Depending on when the windows are from, you can keep them and change the color with a film. Are they double- or triple-glazed?

the floor tiles are still okay, but we don't like them visually at all.

If this refers to the color and the structure and size are pleasing, coating can also be used here.

Are there any further comments on the room layout and the general floor plan??

No, we know too little about that. We are missing the development plan (you also asked about its validity: unlimited until revoked, the latest version always applies), we see too little of the property; and what you like, we certainly cannot guess. There isn't much left to discuss anyway, the house is long since built. You must have already taken into account when buying that it can be made suitable with alterations and additions within a manageable scope. You can always only moderately correct existing structures if it is to remain noticeably cheaper than a complete new build. If the house is more expensive than the bare land, in my opinion, it must also be worth it; otherwise, you would buy another one.

Hello,

the windows are double glazed. We do not like the tiles either in terms of color or size.
In general, we want to maintain the character of the house and make some situational changes (extension, adding two new children's rooms). I just wanted to know if anyone has ideas for the upper floor [OG], since we can change quite a bit there due to the drywall construction. Our total budget for the expansion is 300,000 EUR.