Since a country house is essentially only a second piece of real estate, we often see very small, sometimes even tiny buildings. And the problem is that even if you have the funds and an ardent desire to add another room to the house, there is no way to do this due to small plot land.
Moreover, the problem with square meters arises for those who do not want to invest too large sums in arranging their dacha. It is precisely the latter that this article is devoted to: how to easily add a few more to the area square meters.
Idea No. 1
Arrangement of storage spaces
In this small room you can see a logical and organized approach to storing small items in the garden. It may seem to you that due to its small dimensions, the space savings are insignificant, but this is not so. Small things that don't have their place create clutter and prevent you from making the most of the square footage you have at your disposal.
Along the perimeter, at arm's length, this house has shelves for books. Not massive, almost invisible, they do not weigh down the interior, but help to quickly tidy up the room, putting everything on the shelves.
Small hanging rack near the workplace ( computer desk) allows you to store CDs and DVDs, stationery, letters and documents. Under the dining table you can see a small food warehouse - here there are cereals and cans of canned food. If desired, the same rack could be made for clothes, increasing its width by about 10 cm.
Near the sofa there are hooks for clothes, they are located above the place for a pet to sleep - a small dog. Combining is always useful as it saves space.
Idea No. 2
Set up a bedroom in the attic
If you want to take the jackpot - that is, win in a house from 8 to 15 square meters - we suggest you arrange a bedroom in the attic. Of course, this will not be a full-fledged room, but for sleeping place, your clothes and something else will have a place there.
If you have wooden floors, think about how to properly disassemble them. The advice of a specialist or a neighbor in the dacha, who himself was involved in the construction of his own house, will also help. The roof will most likely have to be insulated and covered with clapboard.
The staircase to the attic can be arranged either permanent or collapsible. The latter costs much more, but has a metal folding mechanism. You can also think about a ladder - if you don’t often visit the dacha.
Cats love to be on top - literally and figuratively. So you are building an attic not only for yourself - your Vaska will probably never sleep on the first floor again.
Clever arrangement of beds in the attic will help you find space for two or even three beds. And don’t forget to install electricity there so that you can calmly read a book before going to bed. It wouldn't hurt to have a light bulb directly above the stairs so you can see where you're stepping at night.
Idea No. 3
Folding and movable furniture
In the photo you see a table that can turn into a kitchen island, dining table and the cabinet combined. In the middle of the room it performs the first function, near the sofa - the second, and against the wall - the third.
It unfolds with “wings” in both directions, making it two-thirds larger. Additional hooks, a magnetic metal strip for storing knives and a paper towel holder make this the most multi-functional item in the house.
In dry weather it can be placed in the garden by simply rolling it out the door. Here you just need benches or additional chairs. Or you can convert it into an “outdoor kitchen” - for dining on an outdoor terrace, it can accommodate dishes or prepare salads.
This mobile table looks very stylish and modern. And you will always have everything at hand.
Idea No. 4
Pay attention to the second entrance to the dacha - a large gate. Fill the area next to them with concrete (about 16 square meters) and put up a canopy - this way, on fine days, you will double the area of your dacha and get a wonderful place for tea parties, celebrations and reading books.
Life in a big city is becoming more and more expensive and uncomfortable. Many people who own even the most modest real estate in rural areas are moving to suburban areas. They do not strive to become hermits, it’s just that some professions allow them to work at a distance, and for those who rent apartments, this option, at current rental rates, is simply an escape from ruin.
For permanent residence in country house, which was previously used as a summer cottage, a number of reconstruction and landscaping works need to be done. There can be any number of solutions due to different initial data, but let’s try to consider the simplest option, when there is no need to change the layout and touch load-bearing walls, that is, approval of changes to the design documentation is not required.
Regulatory certificate
Without permission from the State Architectural and Construction Inspectorate you can:
- install the boiler;
- install a fire alarm;
- connect to the sewer;
- connect to the gas network;
- make a canopy;
- equip a light gazebo;
- equip an outdoor shower, garage, greenhouse (everything that does not require a foundation).
Action Scenario
Most dachas are not equipped with running water, they do not have a bathroom, gas stove runs on bottled gas, the walls and roof are not insulated. IN warm time for years, summer residents got by summer shower and amenities in the yard, but you need to prepare thoroughly for winter.
In the house where they live all year round, should be: uninterrupted heating, cold and hot water, insulated facade and roof, equipped bathroom, reliable windows and doors.
The correct sequence of work looks like this:
- Any reconstruction, alteration or addition begins with strengthening the foundation and arranging the blind area.
- Then they insulate, and sometimes re-cover the roof.
- After this, gas is supplied or equipment is installed in the house to use another type of fuel.
- The next stage is the installation of a water supply system. If it is not possible to connect to the centralized village system, you need to dig your own well.
- Old windows will definitely require replacement. New sealed window systems can significantly reduce heat loss in a building.
- The reconstruction process is crowned by insulation of the building facades.
In most cases, any owner is also faced with the need for interior repairs and new interior decoration of the house, however, such decisions depend on design preferences and are not accompanied by as many errors as construction.
Fundamental approach
Experienced builders say that the most important thing in a house is the foundation and roof.
Foundation cracks indicate a heavy load, but sometimes they can be caused by frost heaving of the soil under the foundation, followed by thawing and shrinkage.
A specialist must understand the reasons that caused the cracks. The method of their elimination depends on the origin. If the destruction is caused by the behavior of the soil, then you can get by with constructing a blind area that will prevent the soil from freezing below the foundation.
It is made around the perimeter of the entire building, approximately 60-80 cm wide with a slight slope (from 3 to 10°). Correct blind area protects the foundation of the house from rain and flood waters, and also prevents its deformation.
Concrete, asphalt, paving slabs, sometimes cobblestones, turf and gravel (although the latter do not protect so well from water getting under the foundation).
The standard sequence of work is as follows: remove the soil, fill in and compact sand, then lay a layer of gravel, which, after compacting, is filled with concrete.
After installing the blind area, you need to repair the cracks in the foundation. To do this, use a special mesh, which strengthens the base, and a plaster mixture.
If foundation cracks are caused not by freezing of the soil, but by large structural loads, then it should be strengthened more seriously: in this case, excavation work will be necessary. First you need to dig around the base by 35-50 cm.
Then use a hammer drill to drill holes in two rows to match the diameter of the iron rods (the distance between the holes in a row is 35-45 cm, between rows is 25 cm). Having cut the rod with a grinder, you need to drive these pieces into the holes throughout the foundation.
Then weld reinforcement of an unmeasured length to the rods along the perimeter of the base in two rows and fill the trench with waste slag mixed with cement 5:1, fill it with water, and compact it. Then you need to put up the shields and fill them to the level of the old foundation with a solution of cement or concrete.
Roofing under a microscope
Before reconstructing the roof, it must be inspected inside and out.
In rafter systems, they check the junction points of the rafters, in which deformations may occur due to shrinkage of the wood and weakening of the fastening, as well as the ends of the rafter legs (mauerlats), where favorable conditions for the material to rot.
Damaged wood is cut off, and if the cross-section is significantly reduced, the rafter legs, posts, struts and other parts of the rafters are strengthened or replaced with new ones. Reinforcement of wooden beams can be done using over-beams or under-beams, which are attached to the beam being strengthened using vertical bolts.
Reinforcement of rafters in case of minor damage by rot is carried out by prosthetics or extensions. Longitudinal cracks in the rafters are tightened with metal clamps on bolts.
All wooden elements load-bearing structures made of new wood are carefully treated with an antiseptic.
As a rule, roofing material In old houses slate is used. When choosing a new coating, you should remember that for natural tiles needs to be strengthened rafter system, and for bitumen - arrange a continuous sheathing.
Therefore, lightweight roofing materials - such as metal tiles - are optimal for reconstruction. Roofing (with a capillary groove) corrugated sheeting is less commonly used. Both materials are laid on a thin sheathing.
Before replacing the roof, the slate must be removed. First, the slate nails with which the material was attached to the sheathing are removed, then the sheets are torn off from load-bearing structure and dismantled from top to bottom along the slope.
Lay a new coating on the rafter system starting from eaves overhang, from right to left, overlapped in both vertical and horizontal joints. The mounting holes should be drilled slightly to the right of the bottom point of the cavity.
Sheets of metal tiles need to be cut with special scissors; a grinder should never be used. Damage to the protective layers caused by this tool may further affect the performance properties of the material.
The sheets are fastened to the sheathing with special galvanized screws with polymer coating and obligatory rubber gaskets. In addition to sheet metal tiles, with roofing works Oh, they use additional materials - planks, skates, snow supports. This helps give the roof a finished look. appearance and provide additional protection.
But any covering can only be laid on a high-quality roofing “pie” consisting of insulation, vapor barrier and waterproofing films, and so on.
Is there life in the attic
Owners who decide to make maximum use of the usable space in the house, as a rule, turn a non-residential attic into a comfortable attic.
To do this, during roofing work, not only the finishing coating is replaced, but also the entire “pie” is improved, completing it with the missing layers, and they also often add light to the attic by installing inclined roof windows in the roof.
Such work is quite expensive, but it is worth it.
In other cases, the attic can be left uninhabited, but its ceiling will certainly have to be insulated.
The floor of the attic was the ceiling of the living space. It is impossible to live with a cold ceiling. It is this non-insulated structure that can provide up to 30% of the building’s heat loss. To insulate the floor, you need a vapor barrier film and insulation. In general, for correct device cold ventilated attic you need:
- Install a vapor barrier underneath the thermal insulation layer. Otherwise, problems with the insulation getting wet and condensation forming are inevitable. The vapor barrier must be sealed hermetically.
- Lay a layer of thermal insulation. The less heat that penetrates from the room into the attic, the better.
- Provide supply and exhaust ventilation. The attic “loves” drafts.
How to make a house on your own from scrap materials? A young couple from Portland (Oregon, America) were able to prove by their own example that this is possible. They remodeled an old barn and assembled their home literally piece by piece. What did they end up with? We decided to take a look at the results of their labors!
Young enthusiasts
Newlyweds Michael and Jenny had long dreamed of owning their own home, but they were sorely lacking in funds to buy it. The only thing we managed to purchase for a small amount of money was an old dilapidated barn and a small piece of land. The young people still had some money left. It was decided to spend it on restoring the house and decorating the interior.
Everything you have at hand
The couple received the barn not empty, but filled with old boxes and boards. They were used to restore and strengthen the facade of the house, as well as partial interior decoration. Interestingly, Michael and Jenny were lucky with the wood; they got teak and cedar boards. This wood was also useful for creating furniture, which the owners of the house made with their own hands, which allowed them to significantly save money. The rest of the interior items were purchased at flea markets and family sales.
Despite the fact that the area of the house is only 35 square meters, zoning was well organized in it. The kitchen was separated with a bar counter. The living room was not cluttered with furniture; there is only a sofa that the owners moved from the old interior, as well as a homemade table and stool. The second floor was completely dedicated to the bedroom. It turned out to be relatively spacious and well organized.
Rebuilding a cottage into a residential building- this is not basic insulation, but actually a reconstruction of the building. Solutions should not damage the existing building and improve its comfort and energy efficiency.
Dachas are designed for use in the warm season. However, dacha areas concentrated around cities are gradually turning into areas of individual development, despite the lack of social infrastructure necessary for a full-fledged life. But the engineering component is present there (to a greater or lesser extent), and turning a dacha into a residential building allows not only to increase comfort summer holiday, but also to acquire full-fledged country housing for the family.
You can achieve results in different ways. A radical approach, which is often preferred by new owners after purchasing a plot, involves demolishing the old house and building a new one. However, if the dacha is built with high quality, in many cases it is more rational to choose reconstruction. The advantages of this approach are more modest costs than with new construction and the ability to carry out work while living in the house. Each dacha is individual, and reconstruction programs are different, but there are measures that must be completed.
Features of dachas and scenarios
The peak of land distribution occurred in the late 80s and early 90s of the 20th century. This fact determines the age country houses. Usually these are one-story, less often two-story buildings with an area of up to 40 m2, consisting of a couple of rooms and a veranda (their area was limited until the mid-1980s, then more spacious houses appeared). They built dachas from brick (often of excellent quality), wood, frame and frame-panel structures. Professionals were rarely attracted to work; the requirements for construction technologies were not always observed, for example, the foundation was rarely laid to the standard depth. The dachas do not meet the requirements for residential buildings according to the degree of insulation or not insulated at all.
Many of them don't have engineering equipment. True, in recent decades, dachas have been modernized with the installation of an autonomous water supply, gas supply and sewage systems with the installation of septic tanks instead of cesspools.
Depending on the quality and condition of the dachas, actions to adapt them to permanent residence. In all cases, it is necessary to insulate the house and provide it with heating, water supply, and sewerage. However, it may be necessary to increase the area major renovation, redevelopment.
If the dacha has an area of 40-50 m2 and is intended to accommodate one or two people, then you can get by with the existing volume. But for a comfortable stay for a family with children, it is desirable to have more space. It can be increased by 50-70% by installing an attic, doubled by the addition of the second floor, and more by completing the premises at the level of the first floor. If necessary, you can complete the house at any time, and the created amenities will then be useful during the seasonal use of the home, and when renting or selling it.
Inspection of the building
When making plans for modernization, you should take into account the type of structures and the condition of the country house building. It must be examined from the ridge to the foundation and all data recorded. It is better to involve a specialist who will estimate the wear and tear of the building as a percentage. If it reaches 40-60%, major repairs and replacement of structures will be required before insulation. If the wear and tear is greater, the dacha is considered dilapidated and it is not practical to turn it into a residential building.
The survey will show the possibility of installing a second floor or attic, the volume and nature of the repair work, and convenient insulation technology. This largely depends on the material of the walls.
Brick houses can last 100 years or more and lend themselves well to renovation. The danger for them is posed by uneven subsidence of the foundation and wetting of the walls. If there are no cracks in the walls, windows and doors do not jam, then the foundation is stable. If you notice moisture in the walls, you should find out the cause of the phenomenon and the possibility of eliminating it. Typical for country houses brick walls 250 mm thick. They are able to withstand the superstructure of the floor, but it is important to evaluate the bearing capacity of the foundation. If you are not confident in its reliability, then you should limit yourself to the attic or use a light frame structure for the walls of the second floor.
Frame houses built in Soviet era and standing even for more than 30 years, can be reconstructed if the frame is well preserved - a single system of wall posts and floor beams. You can find out the condition of the structures by removing the wall cladding and opening the floors (opening will still be necessary when insulating the walls and floor of the house, and if there is mineral wool in the walls, it will probably need to be replaced). In a one-story frame house The second floor should not be completed, but the construction of an attic is possible.
A wooden cottage made of logs or beams, with proper care, can last more than 50 years. The tree should not be rotten, affected by rot or fungus. With a small amount of damage, the crowns of the walls and floor beams can be replaced. The foundations of wooden dachas are usually columnar, shallowly buried and can be strengthened. It is possible to add a second floor using frame technology.
House designs vary in durability. Rafters, roofing, wooden floor beams, plank floors, windows, as a rule, wear out after 30-50 years. All elements are inspected and the finishing layers are opened (this will still have to be done during insulation).
If damaged, structures and finishes can be easily replaced, and new materials and design solutions can be used. For example, it is better to replace chipboard cladding plasterboard sheets, in case of severe damage to the rafters and the need to change them, it is rational to make an attic or a full floor. It may be necessary to strengthen the attic beams so that they can withstand the high load during residential use.
Work plan
Transforming a dacha into a house always includes work on repairing and strengthening structures, insulation with the creation of a closed insulation loop along all enclosing surfaces, installation engineering communications with installation of equipment, finishing. The completion of the premises, taking into account that their structures (including the foundation) must be autonomous, can be carried out before, simultaneously or after (for example, if you need to quickly move into the house) the completion of work in the main building. However, a new volume, the appearance of which will affect the shape of the roof of the entire building or in which it is planned to place a bathroom or staircase, should be built first.
You should not take on the entire complex of work at the same time, especially if it is not possible to complete it quickly. It is better to identify stages, each of which should begin after the completion of the previous one in the following sequence:
foundation and floor of the first floor (repair and insulation);
attic, attic, roof (repair, insulation, etc.);
engineering support (primarily, the introduction of utility networks into the house, heating, ventilation);
walls (windows, insulation, finishing).
Internal work (installation of equipment and devices, redevelopment, renovation of finishing) can be carried out in parallel with the main construction processes. At this time, you can live in the house despite temporary discomfort.
The first three stages in terms of the type of work are not fundamentally different for brick, frame or wooden houses, but depending on the material of the walls, different insulation materials are used.
Less troublesome is the reconstruction of brick buildings. It’s not difficult to insulate walls; you can work slowly while already living in the house. Frame buildings are the most labor-intensive to reconstruct. To obtain a high-quality result, the walls of a house that has served for many years will have to be virtually rebuilt.
Foundation and floor
At the beginning of any construction work Ensuring the strength of the foundation is a top priority, and reconstruction is no exception.
Foundation. Repairs may include sealing cracks, eliminating moisture (this may require installing drainage around the building, injecting water-repellent compounds, etc.) Above the surface of the ground, waterproofing and insulating the basement, installing or repairing a blind area are performed. If brick wall cladding is planned, a separate foundation is laid for it.
Floors. The technology of floor insulation depends on its design. As insulation, you can use bulk material (expanded clay, sawdust, etc.), slab material (expanded polystyrene, mineral wool), roll insulation (penofol, fiberglass). The thickness of the layer depends on the material. For example, extruded polystyrene foam ( best material for floor insulation) you will need 20-30 mm, expanded clay - at least 100 mm. If there is an undesirable rise in the floor level, the most effective insulation is used.
If the floors are laid on the ground, the finishing coating is removed and the insulation is laid directly on cement screed. It is advisable to protect hygroscopic materials from below and above with a waterproofing film. The insulated floor can be cemented or covered with oriented strand board (OSB), then a topcoat can be installed. If the floor in the house was finished with vinyl or ceramic tiles, then the insulation can be laid directly over this coating.
Rebuilding a cottage into a residential building: roof
In country houses (both one-story and two-story) under the roof there is most often an unused attic space. During reconstruction, it can be left cold by insulating the attic floor, or turned into warm attic(which is easier to do if height allows). They use mineral insulation (expanded polystyrene is not used due to fire safety requirements), laying them in a layer of 150-180 mm.
Attic. It will be necessary to repair the roof rafters and insulate the attic floor. Rotten areas in the rafters are trimmed off, the reduced sections are supplemented with overlays, the cracks are tightened with metal clamps, and if necessary, the rafter legs are replaced. It is not necessary to replace the roof, but if this is done, you need to lay waterproofing under the roofing material so that accidental leaks do not damage the insulation in the attic. It is laid between the floor beams
In floors made according to wooden beams, the structure should be exposed, the wood should be treated with an antiseptic, and the damage should be repaired. It is convenient to lay the insulation between the beams (after having made a base for it from boards or slabs resting on the cranial bars). The waterproofing is laid so that it protects only the insulation from below, and wooden structure could be ventilated from the underground. The insulation is covered with waterproofing, and a rough and finished floor is installed on top or on top of the floor. There should be a vapor barrier film under the insulation; waterproofing over the layer is not necessary for a reliable roof.
Attic. After the restoration of the rafters, it will be necessary to modernize the roof covering with the installation of a waterproofing film underneath it for reliable protection future roofing “pie”. Sometimes, in order to increase the space under the roof, it is necessary to dismantle and rebuild the rafter system. If the height is sufficient to accommodate a living space, then it will be necessary to erect attic (frame) walls that will enclose the warm volume under the roof that is being used. The surface of the attic floor, which will remain outside the living area, is insulated (as in a cold attic), then the insulation is brought up between the wall studs, and then laid between the rafters (or in the attic ceiling, if it is made flat). The thermal insulation is hermetically protected from the internal space with a vapor barrier film.
Engineering communications
In dacha development areas there are usually no centralized utility networks. Only electricity is available (and in some places there are frequent outages), but the allocated power of the lines is, as a rule, small (2.5-5 kW per consumer, while in ordinary villages at least 6 kW are allocated, and in cottage towns - 15- 25 kW). Exceeding the permissible power can create emergency situation for the entire village. Therefore, autonomy and cost-effective equipment are an urgent requirement for home engineering.
Heating. In conditions of limited energy supply, it is beneficial to use a solid fuel boiler for heating a house (and not install gas, even if this is possible). Modern models have high efficiency, do not require frequent loading, work on all types of solid fuel (wood, coal, straw, sunflower husks, shavings, as well as pellets and briquettes made from wood products, which are convenient, but significantly more expensive than firewood). Due to the cheapness and availability of fuel, such boilers are more economical than gas and especially electric ones.
A double-circuit boiler can be used for hot water supply; an alternative for heating water is an electric boiler (operated at night rates), supplemented with a solar collector.
Water supply. Often on summer cottage there is already a sand well or a well, and all that remains is to introduce water into the house (the pipe must be laid at a depth of at least 1 m), include it in the system pumping station, dilute water to the devices. The productivity of a sand well is approximately 0.5-1 m3/h, which corresponds to one or two open taps. For small house with a boiler with a capacity of 40-60 liters this is quite enough.
Sewerage. To clean the wastewater, you will have to install autonomous sewerage. More economical and reliable systems using a septic tank, the operation of which does not require an electrical connection. The septic tank is buried at a distance of 5-6 m from the house, the sewer pipe leading to it should exit the building at a depth of 0.5-0.7 m and be laid to the septic tank with a slight slope. There is no need to lay it to the freezing depth.
pumping station, boiler equipment, boiler, etc., it is better to place it in a separate technical room and introduce external networks there. To avoid running pipelines around the house, you can place the bathroom and kitchen nearby.
Rebuilding a cottage into a residential building: walls
When insulating walls, it is important to cover them with a continuous, continuous layer of insulation. In the lower part of the walls of the house it should be started below the floor level (about 300 mm, also covering the base), in the upper part it should be placed above the level of the attic floor. The material is laid from bottom to top.
Brick house. The insulation is always mounted outside on a wall that has been cleared of old plaster and is protected from external influences finishing. Two technologies are used: the “wet” method and the ventilated facade; mineral wool or expanded polystyrene are used as insulation. The layer thickness must be at least 100 mm.
With the “wet” method, the insulation is glued to the wall and additionally secured with dowels; the finishing is plaster laid on it in a grid. The insulation must be rigid to support the weight of the plaster.
When creating a ventilated facade, before laying the insulation, vertical guides are attached to the cleaned wall, which will serve as support for the facade slabs. Insulation is laid between them. It is possible to use not only hard, but also soft roll materials. A windproof film is placed on top of the insulation, if it is mineral wool (to prevent the material from blowing out) and the structure is covered with cladding made of slab products (siding, lining, boards, OSB). Between the sheathing and the windbreak leave ventilation gap 30-50 mm thick, necessary for weathering moisture that can penetrate the wall from the outside or from the inside.
A wooden house (made of logs or timber) is also insulated using ventilated facade technology. However, as insulation for walls, it is permissible to use only materials with high vapor permeability, for example, based on mineral or wood fibers. It is impossible to cover wood with polystyrene foam or polyethylene foam. As a wind barrier, a super-diffuse membrane with high vapor permeability (1400 g/m2 per day and above) should be used. Exterior finishing can be made from a blockhouse to return the structure to its wooden appearance.
Frame house. Replacing insulation that has served for more than 20 years and has lost its heat-protective qualities is a necessary procedure during reconstruction frame house. Various options are possible. When the cross-section of the frame posts is 50 x 150 mm, it is convenient to place the insulation between them. WITH inside it is protected with a vapor barrier, with an external vapor-permeable wind barrier, and sheathing is installed on both sides - plasterboard sheets (from the inside), OSB, waterproof plywood, lining or siding. A frame wall restored in this way will last for decades.
If the wall thickness is insufficient (50-100 mm), which is typical for summer panel houses, additional insulation can be installed outside using ventilated facade technology. Place the vapor barrier film on the outside of the existing wall. But if there is no confidence that the structure of the house will withstand the weight of the insulation and sheathing, then it can be built around the perimeter with walls made of heavy wall material (brick or aerated concrete). U one-story building The thickness of the walls can be 120-150 mm, for a two-story one - 200-250 mm. The walls are erected on a separate foundation (shallow, since they are not load-bearing). Insulation is installed outside using technology adopted for brick houses.