Cultivation Planning / Change

A completely new approach that at first glance even appeals to me quite a bit. But I think the effort will be many times greater. Almost no stone remains unturned on the upper floor. Besides, the staircase to the attic is also in the stairwell and would have to give way to the bathroom – so how do you get upstairs then?

That’s exactly the problem I meant – changes in old buildings are almost impossible, even if they would be sensible.

The point about resale value is of course also interesting. We would really have to agree that if we rebuild it in this "tube-shaped" way (although I don’t see it as complicated as planned or as I further planned it, but that’s a matter of taste), then we will probably live there for life anyway.

I hadn’t thought about the attic at all. Of course, it’s a huge renovation. Tearing out and turning the staircase would definitely be quite a project. Sure, it would then have to go all the way up. But without the plans, you just can’t get an overview.

As I said, unfortunately I don’t have anything in digital form from the ground floor. I can only say that the ground floor basically corresponds 1:1 to the upper floor in the plan, and that the extension planned on the upper floor already exists 1:1 on the ground floor – just with different room usage. In fact, there would be a long hallway with a bend. It would be very dark there. What might possibly be done with the old building is to place the new bathroom in the spot of Child2 (same area), and then divide the extension differently – but how... For example, kitchen + living/dining area in the extension to the right, and then 2 rooms on the left. But I also don’t want the children’s room to open directly into the living room when I open the door... Hope you understand what I mean – I think I find it quite hard to express myself.

After reading along in both topics for a while, the only sentence that comes to mind is "wash me, but don’t get me wet." Sorry for the harsh words, but you want too much at the same time and don’t even consider other approaches to the space distribution across the different floors. And if you only remodeled 6 years ago, apparently back then you didn’t really think through your future either. Can you really be sure at the end of your decision-making process that it will fit for the next 30 years?

What I overlooked/forgot again: the office in the attic – is that approved in any form? What is it needed for? Are escape routes available? Could the office be placed on the ground floor and the oldest child accommodated in the attic in the medium term (which, it feels, is probably closer to the parents than a room on the ground floor, but the floor plan for that is still missing in the topic, right?)

Whether an as yet unapproved conservatory could be built over additionally would have to be clarified with the building authority or by talking to an architect who must be very confident in his matter. It should be understood on its own that a permit must then be obtained for the conservatory (just as clearly that the thing might have to be removed if it should not be approvable).

I just read through everything here again. There is actually already enough space in the house. However, you have too many mental blocks to come to a viable solution. New approach: The parents move to the upper floor. A stairlift or even an elevator costs a fraction of the extension costs. And as far as I understood you, the parents are still fit enough at the moment to climb the stairs three times a day. The ground floor would be large enough for you for now. It is not reasonable that two retirees live for free in 140m² while you struggle upstairs. Of course, it is nice if every child has their own large room. But two primary school children can still easily share a 17m² room, that is not a problem at all.

For the office in the attic, we did not submit any applications - we also did it on our own. Even insulated and clad the rafters (with the help of the roofer who also installed the roof windows). The underfloor heating with screed panels was done by a floor layer, the spiral staircase by a carpenter.

Escape routes - no idea. Just the stairs - and if there were a fire, you can easily get out through the roof window. Presumably, you wouldn’t get approval for that, but it was a cost-effective solution - and since I am the only one up there anyway, it’s my own risk.

Children’s room up there already fails because you can 100% not get a bed up the spiral staircase, unless you want to carry every single screw up separately.

Parents to the upper floor is really off-limits. My father only smokes in the conservatory, and he is almost a chain smoker... That’s not an option without turning the family peace around 180°.

No prohibition is the conversion of the upper floor also within the existing structure - I just can’t imagine it being cheaper than the "extended" annex. You would really have to sketch a plan and then find someone who can name a price for it. I can’t imagine what that costs and what effort it involves :-(

For the annex for €150,000 I can easily get financing. I had verbal commitments from 4 out of 5 banks when I asked back then. The only one who didn’t want to play along is my house bank because the loan-to-value was exceeded (they normally only finance up to 76%). When switching, there will be early repayment fees... but I would sue them because the revocation instructions are wrong for the existing loans. But I will only do that once they are paid off and I have no risk. But that is a completely different matter and definitely doesn’t belong in this thread.