Conversion: No direct access from the apartment to the cellar?

Hello everyone, we are currently planning the renovation of our attic apartment. Today our architect came by with the first plans. We live with my parents in a 60s two-family house. My parents have about 80 sqm on the ground floor and we have about 55 sqm (including sloped ceilings) in the attic.

Since we unfortunately have very limited expansion reserves (attic + small extension), our architect suggested completely tearing out the staircase in the house to use the space as living area. Since we want to have a separate entrance anyway, entering the apartment would not be a problem. However, our washing machine + dryer are in the basement, so I would have to go out of our apartment every time with the laundry, walk a few meters across the yard, and then back in through the old front door. My husband wouldn’t mind, as long as he gets a bigger bathroom (but he doesn’t do the laundry either :rolleyes:). Putting the machines in the apartment is not really an option for me, but do I really want to go outside every time?

Does anyone have experience with this and can share their experiences? It would be really great to hear some neutral opinions. Best regards, Maike

Does anyone of you have experience with this and can share their experiences? It would be really great to hear some neutral opinions. Best regards, Maike

Good morning! According to my own experience and that of acquaintances, someone who lives under the same roof with their (parents-in-law) has the following problem in the long run: They live with their (parents-in-law) under the same roof:D! Sounds funny - but it is not:p. Everything else is at worst just an inconvenience. Best regards, TomTom.

What do you want to hear? I wouldn't do it that way. But I also wouldn't want to live in the attic, nor with the parents-in-law, or effectively use an attic space. 55sqm is too little for me and it would bother me to have to go from the attic to the basement to get to the washing machine.

That's surely something you have to decide for yourself. Please send photos of how you carry the laundry basket with [Badeschlappen] through the deepest slush.

My question was neither whether you want to live in a house with your parents/in-laws, nor whether the living space would be enough for you. We have already thoroughly considered all of this ourselves and have decided that it is the best solution for us. And now we also have to go to the basement to do laundry, so that would be nothing new and I don't find that a problem either. It’s actually just about whether the stairwell stays in the house, or whether we get to the basement via an open staircase. In our minds, each opinion is simply already fixed, and that’s why I thought some suggestions from outside might be quite helpful!

Sure. The further examples were only meant to illustrate how impossible it is to sensibly answer the question. Taste questions cannot be plausibly classified. If now 5 people say, "no, I wouldn't do that," will you then not do it? Expect that the average consumer does not find your living situation nice. This also includes the stair question. Would a spiral staircase be something for you, possibly? With a partition wall, it only takes up a few square meters.

Hi,

how about a mini-elevator to the basement? Then at least you save yourself the carrying ;)

Regards