ᐅ Final stage floor plan: Is there still potential for improvement?

Created on: 16 Apr 2018 22:14
M
modder
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 606m² (6519 sq ft)
Slope: slight north-facing slope (3m (10 ft) over 34m (112 ft) length)
House: south-north = 1m (3 ft) height difference
Site occupancy index: 0.35 (212m² (2282 sq ft))
Floor area ratio: 0.40 (242m² (2605 sq ft))
Building envelope: marked in blue (approx. 11.8 x 14.5m (39 x 48 ft))
Boundary construction allowed: no
Parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: two full stories: ground floor + upper floor
Roof type: 38–42° (degrees) gable roof
Architectural style: traditional
Ridge orientation: south-north
Maximum heights / limits: northern eave-side wall height above natural ground level: 3.80m (12 ft 6 in)
Additional requirements: knee wall height from top of raw floor slab to bottom of wall plate 0.50m (70cm / 1 ft 8 in approx. inside)

Client Requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: all according to development plan
Basement, floors: basement + ground floor + upper floor
Number of occupants, ages: 28 (female), 30 (male), plus at least 1 planned child
Space needs in basement: hobby room, utility room, pantry/storage, sauna planned later
Space needs on ground floor: living room, dining + kitchen, WC, hallway
Space needs on upper floor: master bedroom, dressing room, child 1 + child 2, hallway, bathroom
Office: home office!
Overnight guests per year: 3 guests at Easter and Christmas
Closed architecture
Conservative construction style
Open kitchen connected to dining room
Number of dining seats: 5
Living room fireplace: wall-mounted ethanol fireplace
Music / stereo wall: yes
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage or carport: single or double garage
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Other: hallway large enough to bring in and temporarily park a stroller, e.g., when it’s raining outside; staircase with 1m (3 ft 3 in) wide steps and easy to walk on (hence double landings); living room at least 4.5m (15 ft) wide; no direct connection between parents’ and children’s bedrooms; stairway not located in entryway dirt area; all interior doors with 985mm (39 in) clear opening; dining room: lift-and-slide door with 3m (10 ft) width

House Design
- Designer: do-it-yourself
- What do you particularly like about it? Why?
Double-landing staircase, kitchen and dining area facing south, circulation area on the north-east side; large glass window in dining room facing garden, G-shaped kitchen, enlargement of children’s rooms with dormer windows; hallway hopefully spacious-looking even though it could be a little wider
- What do you dislike? Why?
No room for a urinal in the ground floor bathroom
Basement not yet well planned, unsure how to properly separate a future sauna room
Personal budget limit for house including equipment: €425,000
- Preferred heating technology: air-to-water heat pump / ground loop collector + mechanical ventilation with heat recovery + underfloor heating

If You Have to Give Up Anything, on which details / features
- Could give up: exposed roof structure
- Cannot give up: shower in ground floor WC; staircase with straight steps; stairway outside the dirt zone; wardrobe

Why is the Design Like It Is?
Lots of reading layout reviews here, input from builder friends; about 100 hours of drawing floor plans
- What makes it especially good or bad in your view?
In our opinion, very efficient use of space in a relatively small house, pleasant hallway layout

What Is the Most Important / Basic Question About the Floor Plan Summarized in 130 Characters?

Is this floor plan practical?
Are there any major issues or deal-breakers we might have overlooked?

Attached are our own drawings from SketchUp / site plan from the development plan
Our plot is number [9]

Note: Unfortunately, windows are missing on the upper floor. There are planned windows on the gable ends sized 150 x 138cm (59 x 54 in), dormer windows each approx. 200 x 138cm (79 x 54 in), and in the stairwell, master bedroom, and bathroom an additional double casement window sized 78 x 160cm (31 x 63 in)

Lageplan eines Neubaugebiets mit Grundstücken, Straßen und Bäumen


3D-Modell: Weißes Haus mit rotem Ziegeldach, Gaube, Dachfenstern, Zufahrt und grünem Hang.


3D-Modell eines weißen Hauses mit rotem Ziegeldach, großen Glasfronten, Hof und Garten.


3D-Modell eines Einfamilienhauses mit rotem Ziegeldach, weißen Wänden und Terrasse.


Weiße Einfamilienhaus mit rotem Ziegeldach, Dachfenstern und grünem Garten.
Climbee23 Apr 2018 16:00
We are 1.78m (5 ft 10 in) and 1.68m (5 ft 6 in) tall and have 116cm (46 inches) of space between us. We can easily pass each other and find this perfect. Drawers on both sides open without any issues. The situation where someone has an open drawer and you need to pass by is quite rare. That could get tight. But for example, when I move items from one side to the other, I just need to turn around and can place them on the other side without having to shift my position significantly.

The kitchen installer recommended 110 - 120cm (43 - 47 inches).

But like with everything, it’s probably very individual. So: try it out!
J
j.bautsch
24 Apr 2018 07:21
We are 178cm (5 ft 10 in) and 195cm (6 ft 5 in) tall and also have about 115cm (3 ft 9 in). We find the distance comfortable. It was supposed to be 120cm (4 ft), but due to surface-mounted pipes, the countertop with the sink was made deeper, at 65cm (26 inches). Having those extra 5cm (2 inches) on the countertop instead of as space between units is actually great. You don’t really need a deeper countertop if you have a kitchen island. I would also reduce the gap to 120cm (4 ft).

However, the exact distance is not that important at this stage of planning. If it’s going to be just a kitchen island (meaning no floor connections are needed), the exact position of the island can still be decided on installation day.
B
Baufie
24 Apr 2018 11:03
A rather basic question.

“Final stage floor plan” – who created this floor plan?
M
modder
24 Apr 2018 11:13
Hi everyone,

Yesterday we converted part of our kitchen into a semi-island layout. A width of 1.30m (51 inches) works perfectly; 1.20m (47 inches) would also be possible, but 1.30m is more comfortable. You need to make a small step at 1.30m, whereas 1.20m is less comfortable.
The distance to the refrigerator is about 1.50m (59 inches), otherwise my partner can’t get past when I’m standing there.

@Baufie
House design
- Who created the plan: -Do-it-Yourself

The latest, clearly improved versions are here:
Ground floor: #85

Upper floor: #83
B
Baufie
24 Apr 2018 11:35
Do-it-yourself. But this is by far not the finished stage!

How is the upper floor bathroom supposed to be drained? Through the dining room?
Where are all the installation shafts?

There is really still a lot missing before you can talk about a finished stage.

I’m not a fan of do-it-yourself designs.
A
Aotearoa
24 Apr 2018 11:36
One very important point that hasn’t been mentioned yet:

Does the freezer fit through the pantry door? It looks like it might not.

In our previous rental apartment, no refrigerator/freezer would fit through that door.