Hello everyone!
After taking some time to consider our architect’s design and adjusting the ground floor to fit our ideas, I would now like to share the floor plan with you. Ideally, construction would start next year, but we are not in a real hurry.
The plans show a second preliminary draft from our architect, including an initial cost estimate. Unfortunately, dimensions are not included yet. The first draft was mainly to illustrate that our dreams cannot be realized within the original budget we had planned.
Development plan/restrictions
Plot size => approx. 450-500 m² (The exact size is not yet fixed as we are receiving the plot as a gift from my parents, and we are still unsure about the future boundaries.)
Slope => slight slope from west to east (approx. 1m (3 feet) over the house’s length)
[I]The house has an almost ideal north/south orientation. The entrance, carport, and driveway are therefore located on the north side.[/I]
- There is no development plan.
Homeowner requirements:
Style, roof type, building type => flat roof with roof terrace
Exterior dimensions => [I]11.80m x 7.2m (39 feet x 24 feet) with a bay window of 4.4m x 1.5m (14 feet x 5 feet) (no specification from us)
[/I]
Basement, floors => basement with a granny flat + 2 full floors + roof terrace
Number of people, age => 2 adults in the main living unit + 2 children expected soon + 1 person in the granny flat
Office: family use or home office? => My wife is a teacher and will regularly do some work at home. I will be working from home up to 4 days a week in the future.
Open or closed architecture => open living/kitchen/dining area
Conservative or modern design => modern design
Open kitchen, kitchen island => open, yes, but no island (if possible, without overhead cabinets)
Number of dining seats => 6-10 people (table 2.4m x 1.0m (8 feet x 3 feet) + 8-10 chairs)
Fireplace => undecided (my wife wants one, I don’t – leaning towards no)
Music/stereo wall => no
Balcony, roof terrace => roof terrace
Garage, carport => 2x carport
Utility garden, greenhouse => no
House design
Planning by:
- our trusted architect.
What do you like in particular?:
- open kitchen, cube on the roof with covered roof terrace, small utility room on the ground floor for washer and dryer
What do you dislike/what needs improvement?:
Basement – the layout needs optimization for a technical room.
Ground floor – should be mirrored west to east completely; we are also concerned that the living room width of 3.5m (11.5 feet) feels narrow and tunnel-shaped. I want the sofa on the north side and the TV on the south side.
Upper floor – 45° walls in the children’s bathroom
Preferred heating technology:
- gas boiler/solar vs. heat pump (air/water or geothermal) – still completely undecided, the floor plan should be finalized first, then heating load will be calculated.
If you had to do without certain features/extensions …
… what could you do without:
for now, the carport and basement finishing as well as expanding the children’s rooms + bathroom since we don’t have children yet. Otherwise, we would like everything included.
… what can’t you do without:
- open living area on the ground floor, granny flat, roof terrace
Since our architect is on vacation until early December, we are currently on a bit of a break, which we have used to reshape the ground floor according to our ideas.
[I][I]
We are now considering extending the longitudinal side by at least 50cm (preferably 1.0m (3 feet)) to increase the living room width from 3.5m (11.5 feet) to 4.0-4.5m (13-15 feet) (we extended the building by 1m (3 feet)).[/I]
We mirrored the plan from west to east to achieve a greater spatial separation between the living room and the granny flat. Additionally, we planned a niche for a side-by-side refrigerator – unfortunately at the expense of the already small utility room.
Sorry there are no measurements included yet, I will provide them as soon as possible. Please ask if you want specific dimensions.
Now to the architect’s cost estimate:
Site development: 7,000€
Surveying: 2,500€
Main house: 285,000€
Carport: 12,000€
Controlled ventilation system: 10,000€ (requested by us)
Sun protection: 7,500€
Ceiling spotlights: 2,000€ (requested by us)
Landscaping: 2,500€
Paved surfaces: 20,000€
Kitchen: 15,000€
Fireplace: 7,000€ (initially requested by us, now uncertain)
Architect fees approx.: 29,000€[/I]
Specialist experts, structural engineering, fire protection, energy saving regulations approx.: 11,000€
Total: 410,500€
The architect’s calculation assumes building costs of 326€/m³ (including VAT) of gross volume.
The living area currently is approx. 156m² (1,680 sq ft) + 38m² (410 sq ft) granny flat + 30m² (320 sq ft) usable space in the basement.
Calculating only on living area, that equates to around 1,470€/m² (137 USD/sq ft).
Including all costs, it comes to 2,110€/m² (197 USD/sq ft).
Does this seem realistic to you?
What do you think about the design? What would you improve?
I look forward to your suggestions!
Best regards, Mathias
After taking some time to consider our architect’s design and adjusting the ground floor to fit our ideas, I would now like to share the floor plan with you. Ideally, construction would start next year, but we are not in a real hurry.
The plans show a second preliminary draft from our architect, including an initial cost estimate. Unfortunately, dimensions are not included yet. The first draft was mainly to illustrate that our dreams cannot be realized within the original budget we had planned.
Development plan/restrictions
Plot size => approx. 450-500 m² (The exact size is not yet fixed as we are receiving the plot as a gift from my parents, and we are still unsure about the future boundaries.)
Slope => slight slope from west to east (approx. 1m (3 feet) over the house’s length)
[I]The house has an almost ideal north/south orientation. The entrance, carport, and driveway are therefore located on the north side.[/I]
- There is no development plan.
Homeowner requirements:
Style, roof type, building type => flat roof with roof terrace
Exterior dimensions => [I]11.80m x 7.2m (39 feet x 24 feet) with a bay window of 4.4m x 1.5m (14 feet x 5 feet) (no specification from us)
[/I]
Basement, floors => basement with a granny flat + 2 full floors + roof terrace
Number of people, age => 2 adults in the main living unit + 2 children expected soon + 1 person in the granny flat
Office: family use or home office? => My wife is a teacher and will regularly do some work at home. I will be working from home up to 4 days a week in the future.
Open or closed architecture => open living/kitchen/dining area
Conservative or modern design => modern design
Open kitchen, kitchen island => open, yes, but no island (if possible, without overhead cabinets)
Number of dining seats => 6-10 people (table 2.4m x 1.0m (8 feet x 3 feet) + 8-10 chairs)
Fireplace => undecided (my wife wants one, I don’t – leaning towards no)
Music/stereo wall => no
Balcony, roof terrace => roof terrace
Garage, carport => 2x carport
Utility garden, greenhouse => no
House design
Planning by:
- our trusted architect.
What do you like in particular?:
- open kitchen, cube on the roof with covered roof terrace, small utility room on the ground floor for washer and dryer
What do you dislike/what needs improvement?:
Basement – the layout needs optimization for a technical room.
Ground floor – should be mirrored west to east completely; we are also concerned that the living room width of 3.5m (11.5 feet) feels narrow and tunnel-shaped. I want the sofa on the north side and the TV on the south side.
Upper floor – 45° walls in the children’s bathroom
Preferred heating technology:
- gas boiler/solar vs. heat pump (air/water or geothermal) – still completely undecided, the floor plan should be finalized first, then heating load will be calculated.
If you had to do without certain features/extensions …
… what could you do without:
for now, the carport and basement finishing as well as expanding the children’s rooms + bathroom since we don’t have children yet. Otherwise, we would like everything included.
… what can’t you do without:
- open living area on the ground floor, granny flat, roof terrace
Since our architect is on vacation until early December, we are currently on a bit of a break, which we have used to reshape the ground floor according to our ideas.
[I][I]
We are now considering extending the longitudinal side by at least 50cm (preferably 1.0m (3 feet)) to increase the living room width from 3.5m (11.5 feet) to 4.0-4.5m (13-15 feet) (we extended the building by 1m (3 feet)).[/I]
We mirrored the plan from west to east to achieve a greater spatial separation between the living room and the granny flat. Additionally, we planned a niche for a side-by-side refrigerator – unfortunately at the expense of the already small utility room.
Sorry there are no measurements included yet, I will provide them as soon as possible. Please ask if you want specific dimensions.
Now to the architect’s cost estimate:
Site development: 7,000€
Surveying: 2,500€
Main house: 285,000€
Carport: 12,000€
Controlled ventilation system: 10,000€ (requested by us)
Sun protection: 7,500€
Ceiling spotlights: 2,000€ (requested by us)
Landscaping: 2,500€
Paved surfaces: 20,000€
Kitchen: 15,000€
Fireplace: 7,000€ (initially requested by us, now uncertain)
Architect fees approx.: 29,000€[/I]
Specialist experts, structural engineering, fire protection, energy saving regulations approx.: 11,000€
Total: 410,500€
The architect’s calculation assumes building costs of 326€/m³ (including VAT) of gross volume.
The living area currently is approx. 156m² (1,680 sq ft) + 38m² (410 sq ft) granny flat + 30m² (320 sq ft) usable space in the basement.
Calculating only on living area, that equates to around 1,470€/m² (137 USD/sq ft).
Including all costs, it comes to 2,110€/m² (197 USD/sq ft).
Does this seem realistic to you?
What do you think about the design? What would you improve?
I look forward to your suggestions!
Best regards, Mathias
Hi,
I don’t want to nitpick, but I would take the architect’s cost estimate with a grain of salt at first glance:
Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery 10,000 € (about 10,950 USD): For our house, the quotes ranged between 15,000 and 25,000 € (about 16,400 to 27,400 USD), and your split-level design is definitely a more complex structure. 10,000 € (about 10,950 USD) would only be realistic if you do the installation yourself.
Additional construction costs for you are probably earthworks and utility connection fees (not the site development). Both can easily add up to 10,000 € (about 10,950 USD), so that leaves only 20,000 € (about 21,900 USD) for the entire architect’s fee?
Best regards,
Andreas
I don’t want to nitpick, but I would take the architect’s cost estimate with a grain of salt at first glance:
Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery 10,000 € (about 10,950 USD): For our house, the quotes ranged between 15,000 and 25,000 € (about 16,400 to 27,400 USD), and your split-level design is definitely a more complex structure. 10,000 € (about 10,950 USD) would only be realistic if you do the installation yourself.
Additional construction costs for you are probably earthworks and utility connection fees (not the site development). Both can easily add up to 10,000 € (about 10,950 USD), so that leaves only 20,000 € (about 21,900 USD) for the entire architect’s fee?
Best regards,
Andreas
Good morning,
thank you for the input.
We will discuss this again with our architect. The earthworks are not listed separately; so far, I assumed they were included in the price for renovations through the tenders. ---> will discuss this with him again.
We still need to clarify the controlled residential ventilation. I was expecting a cost of around 10,000 to a maximum of 15,000 euros. 25,000 euros is definitely much too high for me. I would rather do without it then.
We will also address the utility connection costs, thanks!
thank you for the input.
We will discuss this again with our architect. The earthworks are not listed separately; so far, I assumed they were included in the price for renovations through the tenders. ---> will discuss this with him again.
We still need to clarify the controlled residential ventilation. I was expecting a cost of around 10,000 to a maximum of 15,000 euros. 25,000 euros is definitely much too high for me. I would rather do without it then.
We will also address the utility connection costs, thanks!
Good morning,
@Nofret But then we would lose the only space available for a cabinet to store the vacuum cleaner or similar items. We don’t want that. Therefore, we are considering making the door to the stairwell glass, so that light can still enter the hallway.
An alternative would be a skylight, but I’m not sure how that would affect a photovoltaic system, which is likely to be installed on the roof sooner or later.
There have been some updates:
In the basement, the entrance will be constructed differently for structural reasons. The glass partition for a small vestibule will be taken into account when positioning the windows, but will only be installed later if needed.
So, we will try it first without this glass partition.
Attached are two pictures showing how it would look with and without the glass wall.
We will also only equip the guest toilet with a glass partition if needed.
The small anteroom in the dressing room was removed again — it is a bigger structural issue, but as a result, the bathroom is a bit larger.
The layout of the upper floor remains the same; the office and children’s room will be the same size as in the last draft. Unfortunately, I don’t have the current version available.
The windows in the children’s rooms will probably be slightly larger, but according to the architect, this is not an issue at the moment.
After quickly obtaining all the neighbors’ signatures in the past few days, today we will submit the plans to the architect, who will then file everything with the city while we go on a well-deserved vacation.
After 8 months of planning, the building permit application / planning permission is finally being submitted!
@Nofret But then we would lose the only space available for a cabinet to store the vacuum cleaner or similar items. We don’t want that. Therefore, we are considering making the door to the stairwell glass, so that light can still enter the hallway.
An alternative would be a skylight, but I’m not sure how that would affect a photovoltaic system, which is likely to be installed on the roof sooner or later.
There have been some updates:
In the basement, the entrance will be constructed differently for structural reasons. The glass partition for a small vestibule will be taken into account when positioning the windows, but will only be installed later if needed.
So, we will try it first without this glass partition.
Attached are two pictures showing how it would look with and without the glass wall.
We will also only equip the guest toilet with a glass partition if needed.
The small anteroom in the dressing room was removed again — it is a bigger structural issue, but as a result, the bathroom is a bit larger.
The layout of the upper floor remains the same; the office and children’s room will be the same size as in the last draft. Unfortunately, I don’t have the current version available.
The windows in the children’s rooms will probably be slightly larger, but according to the architect, this is not an issue at the moment.
After quickly obtaining all the neighbors’ signatures in the past few days, today we will submit the plans to the architect, who will then file everything with the city while we go on a well-deserved vacation.
After 8 months of planning, the building permit application / planning permission is finally being submitted!
Since the last post in May, progress has been very slow due to the city having issues with the turning area and the building height.
Now that we have finally reached an agreement, I just need to get the signature of one more neighbor, then the plans can be submitted to the city.
Construction has meanwhile been postponed to early next year. At the start of our planning, we were aiming to move in by the end of this year.
@Bauexperte
I would really appreciate your assessment of the costs!
A few details regarding this:
- Construction according to the Energy Saving Ordinance 2016
- 840m³ (29,669 ft³) gross volume
- 180m² (1,938 ft²) living space + 17m² (183 ft²) basement replacement room
- 36.5 cm (14.4 inches) solid brick walls
- Triple-glazed windows
- Electric roller shutters
- Heating system not yet decided, either gas with solar or air-to-water heat pump
- Central controlled ventilation system with heat recovery
- Double carport attached to the house (ideally not made of wood, but matching the house with concrete supports and flat roof)
Now that we have finally reached an agreement, I just need to get the signature of one more neighbor, then the plans can be submitted to the city.
Construction has meanwhile been postponed to early next year. At the start of our planning, we were aiming to move in by the end of this year.
@Bauexperte
I would really appreciate your assessment of the costs!
A few details regarding this:
- Construction according to the Energy Saving Ordinance 2016
- 840m³ (29,669 ft³) gross volume
- 180m² (1,938 ft²) living space + 17m² (183 ft²) basement replacement room
- 36.5 cm (14.4 inches) solid brick walls
- Triple-glazed windows
- Electric roller shutters
- Heating system not yet decided, either gas with solar or air-to-water heat pump
- Central controlled ventilation system with heat recovery
- Double carport attached to the house (ideally not made of wood, but matching the house with concrete supports and flat roof)
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