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Building a translator friendly house
Thread poster: Mirja Maletzki
Sandra & Kenneth Grossman
Sandra & Kenneth Grossman  Identity Verified
Israel
Local time: 10:36
French to English
+ ...
Gym room Mar 25, 2016

I am surprised that nobody mentioned this: you should outfit one of the rooms as a gym.
You don't need expensive equipment: for example you could have, a mat, a few hand weights, an inclined bench, a step, a jump rope, etc. Don't get into expensive items before you have an idea what you want to do, what you actually can do, and what you want to spend.

Most importantly: a nice screen, a decent sound system and an Internet-enabled device so you can download videos and listen to
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I am surprised that nobody mentioned this: you should outfit one of the rooms as a gym.
You don't need expensive equipment: for example you could have, a mat, a few hand weights, an inclined bench, a step, a jump rope, etc. Don't get into expensive items before you have an idea what you want to do, what you actually can do, and what you want to spend.

Most importantly: a nice screen, a decent sound system and an Internet-enabled device so you can download videos and listen to Internet radio. You will need this.

As you know, sitting for long hours is deadly. Take a break every now and then, and visit the gym for a few minutes!

You will thank me.



Sandra
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Mirja Maletzki
Mirja Maletzki  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 16:36
Korean to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you! Mar 30, 2016

Thank you everyone for the awesome responses and feedback!


North it is, then


I was leaning towards North as well (no pun intended) but I do kinda enjoy the early morning sun in my room (or the rooms I’ve been living in so far). Always makes me feel energized. But yeah, I wouldn’t really want to give up the view over the fields for that.


I was originally thinking of
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Thank you everyone for the awesome responses and feedback!


North it is, then


I was leaning towards North as well (no pun intended) but I do kinda enjoy the early morning sun in my room (or the rooms I’ve been living in so far). Always makes me feel energized. But yeah, I wouldn’t really want to give up the view over the fields for that.


I was originally thinking of combining bedroom and office into one larger room, maybe separated by sliding doors or midheight partitions. But the business expenses argument is a good one I hadn’t considered yet. I’m just a bit worried that I might not like it… I spent my whole life working from my bedroom (first my mom’s house, later a one-room student apartment, now a one-room apartment in Korea)… Even when I had more rooms available (I bought a 3 room apartment during my university years and rented a 4 room apartment in Korea for a while), I found myself never even spending time in the living room, let alone use another of those rooms as office because I always felt the most comfortable in my own bedroom. Go figure

(In case it’s all a bit confusing, I live in Korea right now and am planning to return to Germany next year where I bought some land in my hometown.)


As for the advice on not handling the contractors on my own… that’s a no-brainer, I’d never even dare to try that. Luckily, there are lots of rules and regulations in Germany when it comes to construction, so I won’t have to worry about the costs exploding or it taking twice as long.


The working space itself:

(Not sure if anyone here is familiar with Pat Flynn but he did a tour of his custom home office once - check out SPI TV on YouTube “My custom home office tour and setup” if you like - which I really liked.
He has a desk on the left that’s for non-computer stuff, a standing desk in the middle and a computer desk on the right. The standing desk’s surface is whiteboard, so you can plot world domination on it
Since I’m mainly a video game translator and sometimes do guest lectures on the side, I also like the setup of the TV at the end of the standing desk.)


Yoga mat space! YES!

I also love the either „Hängesessel“ or hammock idea. Either one of those two would be awesome.
I wish I could have higher ceilings but there are some rules and regulations about having to build a “one floor building”. Funnily, it can actually have two floors but the second one has to be 2/3 of the first one… It’s all complicated and the higher the ceilings, the more square meters are calculated, or so it seems, so they can’t be too high.


I’m on the fence when it comes to soundproofing. I live right next to the subway in Korea and am rather desensitized when it comes to that. And as I’m already nearing 40, suddenly acquiring a large family isn’t very likely right now (not that it`s impossible but… oh well).


But in that case as well, I really like the setup from that home office video, he has some kind of soundproof thick-ish black window shades.

The tip about the outlets is great, I’ll make sure to do that. I had already had in mind to get a couple more LAN outlets all over the house (not that much of a Wifi fan) but more general outlets seem like a really good idea as well. I’ve been seeing outlets these days which come with USB ports and I really like that as well.


Once again, thank you all for your input
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Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:36
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Costs Mar 30, 2016

Mirja Maletzki wrote:

....... I won’t have to worry about the costs exploding or it taking twice as long.


- so long as you don't change anything, introduce new requirements, or ask for changes to the project after you've approved it. That's what causes costs and deadlines to get out of control.

It seems to me that you only know some details about the house. You need someone with an overall understanding of the whole thing: an architect (but not me; I can't stand domestic clients!).

[Edited at 2016-03-30 13:05 GMT]


 
Merab Dekano
Merab Dekano  Identity Verified
Spain
Member (2014)
English to Spanish
+ ...
ceiling Mar 30, 2016

I live both in Belgium and in Spain. In Belgium, the house has very high ceiling (more than 3.5 meters, for sure). In Spain I can touch the ceiling of our apartment.

"North", "South", I do not know; my curtains stay closed most of the times anyway. What does have big difference for me is the height of the ceiling. The higher, the better. It gives me a feeling of freedom.


 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:36
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Ceilings Mar 30, 2016

Merab Dekano wrote:

I live both in Belgium and in Spain. In Belgium, the house has very high ceiling (more than 3.5 meters, for sure). In Spain I can touch the ceiling of our apartment.

"North", "South", I do not know; my curtains stay closed most of the times anyway. What does have big difference for me is the height of the ceiling. The higher, the better. It gives me a feeling of freedom.


Yes - a high ceiling and tall windows are nice BUT will increase your heating bill because you need to heat all that extra air volume, and the heat will always rise to the top, far above your head


 
Merab Dekano
Merab Dekano  Identity Verified
Spain
Member (2014)
English to Spanish
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True, but... Mar 30, 2016

Tom in London wrote:

Merab Dekano wrote:

I live both in Belgium and in Spain. In Belgium, the house has very high ceiling (more than 3.5 meters, for sure). In Spain I can touch the ceiling of our apartment.

"North", "South", I do not know; my curtains stay closed most of the times anyway. What does have big difference for me is the height of the ceiling. The higher, the better. It gives me a feeling of freedom.


Yes - a high ceiling and tall windows are nice BUT will increase your heating bill because you need to heat all that extra air volume, and the heat will always rise to the top, far above your head


Very true, if you build the house in Europe. Tenerife would be different. No heating for us.


 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:36
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Belgium Mar 30, 2016

Merab Dekano wrote:

Very true, if you build the house in Europe. Tenerife would be different. No heating for us.


You said your house with the high ceilings is in Belgium. It gets cold in Belgium.


 
Merab Dekano
Merab Dekano  Identity Verified
Spain
Member (2014)
English to Spanish
+ ...
Very much, yes. Mar 30, 2016

Tom in London wrote:

Merab Dekano wrote:

Very true, if you build the house in Europe. Tenerife would be different. No heating for us.


You said your house with the high ceilings is in Belgium. It gets cold in Belgium.


Very cold, yes, Tom. And the windows are not equipped with double glazing (sorry if I'm messing up the terms. I meant double glass windows). However, since my wife is working in an office and my kid goes to school, I only keep heating on in my "office" room. Not that I'm working with my t-shirt on, but it's quite ok, except some really cruel days (a couple of years ago we had -17 Cº for a week or so).

However, when outside there is a misery going on (rain, cold, wind, dirt, terrorists, you name it), high ceiling gives me some sort of comfort. Maybe it's just me.


 
jyuan_us
jyuan_us  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 03:36
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
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Translator-friendliness Mar 31, 2016

I couldn't understand why there is this question in the first place. Is it necessary for your house to be translator-friendly? In what way is translator-friendliness different to freelancer-friendliness? (I mean a freelancer in any trade)

 
Mirja Maletzki
Mirja Maletzki  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 16:36
Korean to German
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TOPIC STARTER
Oh well Mar 31, 2016

jyuan_us wrote:

I couldn't understand why there is this question in the first place. Is it necessary for your house to be translator-friendly? In what way is translator-friendliness different to freelancer-friendliness? (I mean a freelancer in any trade)



Oh well, me being a translator and this being a translator forum, it seemed rather appropriate to pick this title for the question.


I could be a freelance podcaster or consultant, then I would probably need lots of walking space in my room.

Or I could be a freelance moderator for video games (I have a buddy who does that full-time), then I'd need several consoles near my desk when in-game questions pop up.

Or I could be a freelance plumber, then a kitchen table and a shed in the garden for the tools would probably suffice fulfil my "freelance' needs.


It just seemed to me that "translator-friendly" would be the quickest and easiest way to explain what I'm looking for.


 
Dan Lucas
Dan Lucas  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:36
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
Get wired Mar 31, 2016

Mirja Maletzki wrote:
The tip about the outlets is great, I’ll make sure to do that. I had already had in mind to get a couple more LAN outlets all over the house (not that much of a Wifi fan) but more general outlets seem like a really good idea as well.

Wired internet is noticeably and sometimes dramatically faster than Wifi, depending on the content and the amount of interference you have with other networks etc. My work PC is wired up. Of course, your router will broadcast a Wifi network too, so it's not an either/or situation.

I had at least one LAN socket put in every room and two in some, such as the living room. I don't watch TV but I sometimes will stream a film from BBC Iplayer or from Amazon Prime so the television needs one and then the music player wants another and so on. Now I wish I'd put in more ethernet sockets, to be honest. If you use a VoIP phone for business, for example, you probably want to give it its own socket.

Remember that adding anything, even sockets priced at a few euros, costs money. The electrician gave me a plan of where they were putting things and asked me if I wanted anything else. We walked round the house, about a third finished, and I made liberal additions. It cost me hundreds of euros, just like that. The components are cheap but while adding sockets and running cable is not hard, it is time-consuming - and that costs.

I didn't even consider trying to have my house built while I was still living in Japan and you are correct not to attempt to do it from Korea. Building a house is an adventure and will require more time than you think.

You will need to be there several times a week because there are so many things on which the builders will need your input. You will need to balance things carefully to stay in budget too. Aside from one major item, we came in on budget and that, as my surveyor noted, doesn't happen very often.

But it's so worth it in the end.

Regards
Dan


 
Balasubramaniam L.
Balasubramaniam L.  Identity Verified
India
Local time: 13:06
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English to Hindi
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SITE LOCALIZER
Don't make your house too comfortable Mar 31, 2016

Or you will never translate and just enjoy yourself in your house!

From a translator's point of view, your working room should be well lit, have ample electrical sockets, wifi and internet connections, lots of storage space to keep references, ergonomic chairs and tables, that is about it.

If it is a two-storeyed house, I would have my working room on the second floor, as it would be more peaceful and would have better view.

I would have a largish room so t
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Or you will never translate and just enjoy yourself in your house!

From a translator's point of view, your working room should be well lit, have ample electrical sockets, wifi and internet connections, lots of storage space to keep references, ergonomic chairs and tables, that is about it.

If it is a two-storeyed house, I would have my working room on the second floor, as it would be more peaceful and would have better view.

I would have a largish room so that I can move about, as sometimes I like to think on my feet. Some people also like to translate while walking, using speech to text software. Your room should be large enough to allow this.

If you have children, their rooms should be farthest from your working room!
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jyuan_us
jyuan_us  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 03:36
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
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If your house is very translator-friendly, it might never sell Mar 31, 2016

This is simply because a house that is extremely friendly to a translator might have a lot of features that a potential buyer might not like at all. For example, it has been suggested that the house should face North. What if the street is to the south of your house? You will have the back of your house facing the street?
I think such a house will never sell if you decide to move in the future.


 
Mirja Maletzki
Mirja Maletzki  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 16:36
Korean to German
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TOPIC STARTER
I’m not quite sure I am following you. Apr 1, 2016

jyuan_us wrote:

This is simply because a house that is extremely friendly to a translator might have a lot of features that a potential buyer might not like at all. For example, it has been suggested that the house should face North. What if the street is to the south of your house? You will have the back of your house facing the street?
I think such a house will never sell if you decide to move in the future.





Considering that ours is a “I’m sitting at my desk several hours a day”-profession, how extreme could the translator-friendliness even get? I cannot imagine any kinds of translator needs for which I would change the innate structure of the house itself.


(And considering that I’m the one building the house – if I can’t imagine it, it’s probably not gonna happen)


I’d understand your concerns if I were to build an adult (enter three letter word) dungeon in the basement but…uhm… yeah, not gonna happen.

And our profession comes about as vanilla as it gets. Whether or not I paint the walls in eye-soothing colors, have space for a yoga mat, or even a hammock shouldn’t really matter to potential tenants.


And for the room I work in facing North… If a potential tenant doesn’t like that room, they can decide to turn one of the guestrooms - or if they feel adventurous even the living room - into their bedroom or their office. I wouldn’t force anyone to adhere to the exact same use of the rooms I have.


From a potential USP, I actually think that a house with unobstructed view over the fields but without a single room facing that way is much less likely to sell.



That said, I’m not seeing myself moving out. Maybe when I’m old and grey and need to go into a nursing home but I wouldn’t really be willing to build a house now that doesn’t make me happy and then being forced to live in it for 40 years on the off chance that I might have to rent it out when I’m 80.


 
Huw Watkins
Huw Watkins  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
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Italian to English
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Face North and Ethernet Sockets and Treadmill Desk and Veg Patch May 29, 2016

I have, by luck, always had offices that face North. I can tesitify that it makes a big difference with glare. The only glare in late afternoon/evening. Another hidden bonus is that North facing walls is in a house are usually a lot cooler. This means that your tired old PC actually runs better because the floor area next to the wall is quite cool - especially in winter.

I had to rewire my house during a renovation a few years back and took the opportunity to throw in some CAT (5) E
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I have, by luck, always had offices that face North. I can tesitify that it makes a big difference with glare. The only glare in late afternoon/evening. Another hidden bonus is that North facing walls is in a house are usually a lot cooler. This means that your tired old PC actually runs better because the floor area next to the wall is quite cool - especially in winter.

I had to rewire my house during a renovation a few years back and took the opportunity to throw in some CAT (5) Ethernet cabling. A roll was not terribly expensive and a friend bought a tool online to do the connections and crimping etc at the ends (if your electrician can't do it). Ethernet internet is more stable, faster and more secure, all depending on your router too of course. I just had my wires running to a standard router that the Internet ISP sent out to me, with Ethernet wall sockets in each room. If you do this, you will likely have more cables than Ethernet ports on the router (the standard is 4 on most routers), so it's a god idea to pop a coloured dot or some other form of labelling on the Ethernet wall socket and the Ethernet jack that plugs into the router so you know which room is which if you have to swap around (which you don't much I found). Also Cat 6 and 7 has better shielding (from interference) than CAT 5, but CAT 5 worked fine for me. You can also go big on routers if you like, there are plenty of geeky forums to explore on the topic.

The other thing to consider I'd say is a treadmill desk set-up. It'll keep you moving and warm in your little North-facing corner in winter and save on energy bills! They say it is very healthy too - you get to do 10000 steps a day quite comfortably as you work. I'm investigating this possibility myself at the moment.

My last suggestion is a decent veg patch, mini orchard and especially greenhouse/poly tunnel in the South-facing part of the garden. This will mean lots of nice fresh fruit and veg to eat and a great excuse to get out of the house inbetween projects to check on your beloved plants and wage war on the weeds.

[Edited at 2016-05-29 11:18 GMT]
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