Floor plan multigenerational house conversion old barn

Is the front door going on the south side as well? Are you replacing the floor slab? We considered that necessary, for example. The existing floor slab was directly on the marsh soil, no protection against groundwater and no reinforcement. Also, part of it was an old stable, so the floor slab had to be replaced anyway. I ask because the floor level could change as a result, depending on how far you can excavate. The structural engineer and architect gave us a maximum depth. For us, at what was formerly also 2.3 meters, it's really tight (but with underfloor heating) with the front door, but just about works ;)

I wouldn’t initially have any budget concerns. We are working with significantly less budget, but as I said, we only modernized the upper floor and the roof is in good shape. There haven’t been any really nasty surprises so far. But I’m not an expert, and the roof alone will certainly cost a lot.

To address the floor plan, a few questions. What is intended for the rooms without windows? How will they be ventilated? I’m thinking particularly of washing machines, dryers, hanging laundry, etc., all of which cause moisture. Is there going to be a children's bathroom upstairs or will the three children share your bathroom? Do you really have no option to use the gable side and the south side?

By the way, who said the roof must be completely renewed? Has a building surveyor, architect, or structural engineer been involved? We developed a rough plan for our renovation with the latter and now only call them as needed. Our mason wanted to do internal insulation with regular aerated concrete and an air layer. That wouldn’t have been ideal. Maybe it would have worked, maybe we would have had moisture damage soon after. Our architect put a stop to that. Especially as laypeople, but with good support from many craftsmen in the family, we are glad to have the opinions of the architect and structural engineer. I always like to compare that with the views of the executing trades. If there are disagreements about execution, you can work them out. The decision, of course, must still be made by us.

Shouldn't the eaves be considered here to estimate the knee wall height?

I was more concerned with the view to the outside.

I was more concerned with the view to the outside.

So the roof overhang?

I would rather think about how to gently integrate the huge windows into the existing building. As an inspiration, I see your avatar.

So around the roof overhang?

Ergo the lower edge of the gutter. That is probably under 2 m from the planned top edge of the finished floor. Remove the old floor and immediately gain 20 cm.

Understood. 2m from the top of the finished floor. That might be more than tight. It needs to be clarified whether it has this height.

Regarding the avatar: this open gate is the short west side and is intended to be used as a window & to be preserved in its style (with the bricks). On the south side, we no longer see these bricks etc. That otherwise really doesn’t fit with the height.