Ideas and Questions about House Recycling approx. 110-year-old House

Moin Moin

first of all, please excuse my too small capitalization

I'll start with myself.

I completed an apprenticeship as a plant mechanic for SHK, then obtained my technical college entrance qualification in the field of construction engineering. Now I am starting a degree (building energy technology) and maybe afterwards my master’s in facility management (but that’s still open... first achieve the one, then dream of the other)

My mother owns an approximately 110-year-old converted farmhouse which has advantages and disadvantages. A few that come to mind quickly:

+ it breathes (double-shell exterior wall with about 6cm cavity) no risk of mold
+ big (plot + house)
+ the plot is in a great location, quiet in a good neighborhood (the rear garden border is adjacent to a compensation area)

- IT BREATHES (winters are cold, you can’t really heat against it or only “cheaply” counteract with a 22 kW wood stove)
- the current floor plan is nice but poorly implemented (main house ground floor + 1st floor, to the right and left rear there are two outbuildings. ground floor no upper floor. between is a conservatory)
- old wooden ceiling (you can hear every step!!!)

We kids used to live upstairs... then we did some remodeling and rented out upstairs (only in the main house). But that is not much, yet the idea of renting remains... it is the only solution to financially manage the future new construction project.

A few data points:
- no foundation insulation
- as already mentioned, 2-shell exterior wall with cavity (main building very old bricks, outbuildings hard-burned bricks)
- majority of windows double-glazed without vapor barrier
- majority of ground floor with 20x20 clinker tiles
- outbuildings have cellars in the rear part (1 filled in, the other is used as a cistern for garden irrigation <-- cistern part is sinking (cross cracks in masonry))

This should not be a project that starts in 2 years and is done as quickly as possible...
It will be a project that maybe begins in 5-10 years and takes as much time as it needs.

I am someone who likes to plan everything early enough to fully exploit ideas and possibilities. Because only then do you get a result that is impressive and affordable.

SO
the main purpose of the renovation is to provide my mother with a barrier-free apartment where she can fully enjoy her retirement without worrying about any physical or financial problems.
The second benefit is as mentioned financial... that means planning the building structure and room layout so that (ideally) 3 additional apartments are integrated, bringing in extra money to pay off the loan (additionally, there are better conditions this way)

We decided that we definitely want to keep the plot. Also, we all found it a shame to completely replace the charm and style of the old house with the Bauhaus style or similar modern nonsense (sorry)...

Therefore, I saw the solution in recycling the old house with additional modern accents.

I’ll start roughly with the process floating around in my head...

- gradually most materials of the house will be dismantled, processed and stored, meaning roof tiles, roof truss, masonry in the upper floor, wooden ceiling, masonry in the ground floor, clinker tiles, etc.
- the old concrete foundation remains, it will be overlaid with insulation and a new proven foundation poured on top and possibly widened to the sides (if building permit-wise possible)
- new internal exterior wall made of aerated concrete or hollow clay bricks will be built
- open construction method (supports made of old beams, interior walls built up from old clinker bricks)
- concrete ceiling made of precast ceiling parts (you know, those with the lower reinforcement already in place, then formwork is set and the rest with upper reinforcement is poured into the concrete...)
- as roof construction perhaps a flat roof or a roof with little pitch (no tar paper), preferably a green roof or with gravel.
- in front of the inner shell 11 cm insulation or more will be installed (I heard there are already spacers from inner wall facade bricks allowing for more) plus a ventilated cavity of 3-4 cm
- the facing bricks should consist mostly of the existing clinker bricks as said (new accents through e.g. dark clinker bricks for corner facings or similar are quite conceivable)
- interior walls also from old stones that are sandblasted or similar (rustic look)

These are just the rough points, I know, MY GOD if only it were that simple.

I think I have written enough for now... as said this thread is primarily a place for thoughts, ideas and questions...

Oh yes, questions... :D

It is possible to overlay the existing foundation, only the paving in front of the building must be adjusted to make it level...

A widening to increase the living area of the outbuildings must certainly be applied for... is something like that even possible? How much does it cost?

Is it sensible/possible to reuse the old clinker bricks for the new outer shell? (I know it’s a lot of work) Do you have ideas for removing the mortar? So far, I thought of a stone drum... (diameter about 1m, length about 1.5 m)

The old wooden beams surely look nice with their rustic charm but will certainly not be used for major structural tasks but e.g. as open frames (passage without door) that should be doable (if they are not rotten or similar)

The old roof tiles I think are done for. The surface is so rough that dirt would immediately build up again... I’ve read about coatings for preparing tiles but here it is no longer useful, right?
Another idea for some roof tiles: use them as cladding on the outer shell at the base area, i.e. up to about 60cm height (so 2-3 roof tiles stacked) embedded in concrete (construct concrete formwork similar to roof battens to hook the tiles, then mortar on the concrete and set the tiles firmly on top). So a steep roof tile cladding (70-80°) up to hip height.
I can’t yet imagine how that looks but it could be impressive...

So, that’s a first approach of my ideas...
I have many more questions, but everything in its time.
I hope you understand everything I tried to describe.

Every beginning is difficult... but think carefully about it and the end is easier to reach than you think.

You have quite a lot on your mind. I would try to approach it in a structured way. Basically, I would at least go through it with an expert or professional so that you don’t waste your energy on pointless things. They can tell you what you should do, what you can do, and what doesn’t make sense. I have the feeling that while you have a lot of ideas, I don’t think all of them are good ideas.

Overall, it sounds to me like you would have to invest a lot of money and even more time into the project to get it reasonably finished.

For the age-appropriate conversion, you can apply for a [Förderkredit] from [Kfw].

First of all, I can only agree with Koempy. First, find a professional to whom you can present your ideas. Then you should have an architect give you a cost estimate for what all the measures will cost (or do you want to do everything alone?). If you want to do a lot/all by yourself, then plan a lot of time and nerves and still a lot of money.

Whether you can enlarge the living area of the extension is another question. Is there a development plan? Floor area ratio?... The building authority is the right contact for this. If necessary, a building inquiry (preferably with the help of an architect) should be made.

As for the financial aspect: You write that the conversion and rental are the only way to financially manage your planned new building. Are you sure that it really pays off financially with the costs of the conversion measures (which, after all, also have to be paid and surely cost more than €3.50)?

Thank you very much for the advice...

The financial aspect and the approach itself are initially disregarded.
It is mainly about the practical possibilities of recycling in house construction...

What was written above is, so to speak, only a brief written introduction covering the main aspects...
It should not come across as if I have many "great" ideas and some extra tralala here and there ;) and at the same time lose the overview.

The main questions relate primarily to the recycling mentioned above.

I am aware that I cannot simply widen the house... In addition, for the sake of "uniformity" in settlements, the houses sometimes have to have similar shapes, structures, and floor plans... (e.g., all houses have pitched roofs or nowadays all houses have flat roofs)

But does that apply everywhere? Can I also find this in the building plan?

I repeat, the implementation will still take at least 5 years!!!

What is possible and what is not?

(I will research the [bebauungsplan], I doubt that there is even a drawing of the house. But there must be some papers)

If you completely demolish the old house and rebuild it, don’t you then need a completely new building permit?