Attic conversion - obstacle or realistic?

  • Erstellt am 2024-06-14 15:52:23

Hausdaniel

2024-06-14 15:52:23
  • #1
Hello everyone,

we are building a single-family prefabricated house (Effizienzhaus 40) and are already full of anticipation.

We parents want to remodel the attic (see photo) into a bedroom and partly as a storage room in the long term (in 4-5 years, when financial leeway is available again, that's why no expansion is possible right now).

At the beginning, it should first only serve as a storage space.

The more I research, the more uncertain I become regarding the expansion.

The prefabricated house company we are building with has installed the vapor retarder in the upper intermediate ceiling.

Do I need to consider more than the following points:


    [*]Insulation
    [*]Electronics (already done during the construction phase)
    [*]Ventilation (we have the floor-to-ceiling window, is that enough?)
    [*]Vapor retarder possibly?
    [*]Floor/screed
    [*]Space-saving spiral staircase as access to the attic
    [*]Possibly erecting a wall (separating sleeping and storage areas)


Which points do you think are unproblematic to manage? Where could it get tricky?

What do you think, what overall budget should be expected?

As you can see, I am a bit at a loss right now.

Thank you very much!
 

nordanney

2024-06-14 16:37:44
  • #2

How about heating ==> connection to underfloor heating with new hydraulic balancing
Roof window, because otherwise you (except for the small window in the gable) do not really have daylight in the room/rooms
Building permit for the conversion into living space
Is it easy to make a breakthrough through the current ceiling for a spiral staircase? (definitely a wooden beam ceiling, right?) Dismantle space-saving staircase.
Drywall to clad the sloping ceilings (if these are not to be extended down to the floor, you will have to work here again)

That's what comes to mind spontaneously.

And if I guess correctly, the insulation is already being done by the house builder in the ceiling. So you will have to spend money again to carry out insulation between the rafters and/or above the rafters.
 

hanse987

2024-06-14 21:03:47
  • #3
If you don't have the money for the expansion now, will you have it in 5 years? I would doubt it, because after moving in, a lot often goes towards small things and garden design, and it adds up. Meanwhile, you also have to pay money to the bank monthly.

Additionally, you'll quickly create a construction site in the new house again. Do you want that?

Is your upper intermediate ceiling structurally designed for the expansion?

As already mentioned before, roof windows will be needed. Retrofitting is difficult if there is photovoltaic on the roof.
 

Hausdaniel

2024-06-14 21:11:01
  • #4


It is structurally feasible. We are already installing a large floor-to-ceiling window right at the start.

We will have the money in 5 years.

The construction site will just be like that then.
 

ypg

2024-06-14 21:26:18
  • #5
I think it is not only wise but necessary to confront the construction company right away with a later expansion. Without more (without conduit), you won't get anything up there easily, which is however needed. Especially over a spiral staircase. Shouldn't you place the staircase right away so that you can place a staircase on the upper floor over the stairwell of the lower one? Who needs a floor-to-ceiling window in a bedroom where you can't even escape the neighbor's line of sight?! But window or no window: a larger stairwell is needed, fire protection and safety should be observed, Surely nowadays one often deals with older houses with attic expansions, but for me, with today's knowledge about the dangers, the fun stops when safety is not ensured. Of course, a spiral staircase is allowed. However, it is not very practical for rooms that you want and have to use every day.
 

hanse987

2024-06-14 21:42:44
  • #6

I wouldn’t call the window large now, just a normal door. If you made a wide window with the same area as your door, you would have more light in the room.


Well then do it in 5 years, but clarify the building regulation side (e.g. escape route) already and plan the preparation (heating, electricity, network/TV wiring, stair access, …) meticulously. If something is missing, it can become really complicated.
 

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