ᐅ Floor Plan Design for a Semi-Detached House 17x10 m – Optimal Use of Space?
Created on: 7 Aug 2018 12:10
M
MadameP
Hello everyone,
I’ve been following the forum for a while and have been pondering over a practical floor plan for our semi-detached house project, but I just can’t make progress. The maximum allowed footprint for each half of the semi-detached house is 8.50m (28 feet) wide by 10m (33 feet) deep, so we don’t have to build a “narrow” house. If possible, we want a staircase with straight steps, either straight or a half-turn landing staircase (I simply can’t stand the steps that narrow towards the middle and don’t want to walk on that for the next 20 years...). The “standard” semi-detached floor plan with guest bathroom, cloakroom, spiral staircase one behind the other and then living area etc. doesn’t appeal to us at all. We’re not necessarily looking for fancy features that take up unnecessary space but want the “perfect” layout with a bit of flair. As a layperson, I’ve been stuck on this for weeks—whenever I think I solved the ground floor, the upper floor doesn’t fit and vice versa. So I’m hoping for your input.
We already own the plot, and the plan is to rent out one half of the semi-detached house and live in the other. That means we will build one showpiece and one with decent standard; the exterior should be uniform.
I’ll just start:
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 479 sqm (5158 sq ft), 23m (75 ft) wide, 20.80m (68 ft) deep
Slope: slight incline towards southwest, about 1.50m (5 ft) max over the plot depth and width
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.35
Floor space index (FSI): 0.7
Building line / boundary: 3m (10 ft) setback line (not including garages etc.), no defined building envelope
Edge development: no (garage allowed)
Parking spaces: 2 per unit, total 4
Number of floors: 2 full stories
Roof type: pitch 25–45 degrees, gable, half-hipped, vaulted
Style:
Orientation:
Maximum height / limits: max. building height 9.50m (31 ft)
Additional requirements: none
Homeowners’ requirements
Style, roof, building type: modern, clean lines, simple building shape, gable roof
Basement, floors: basement preferred, 2 full stories, attic as expansion reserve
Number of occupants, ages: 3 (45/40/2); the second half of the semi-detached house should be suitable for a family with 2 children
Space needs, ground and upper floors:
Ground floor: guest toilet, cloakroom, large open living/dining area, open kitchen
Upper floor: large children’s room, master bedroom, family bathroom, possibly small study for home office
Attic (expansion reserve): studio / guest room / hobby room, connections/drywall for shower bathroom
Office use: family use and home office
Overnight guests per year: about 20 nights, 1-4 persons
Open or closed architecture: mixed—living/dining/kitchen open, stairs to basement and attic closed, no direct access to upper floor from living area
Traditional or modern construction: modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: both
Number of dining seats: 8
Fireplace: yes, if within budget
Music/speaker wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: no, 2 parking spaces
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons why certain things should or shouldn’t be:
The attic should be finished by ourselves. If the basement doesn’t fit the budget, a utility room must be planned on the ground floor; however, due to the slope, we prefer to invest in the basement. The family bathroom should ideally have a T-layout with a level-access shower and toilets “back to back.” Walk-in closet in the master bedroom is desirable but not a must; if not possible, at least 3m (10 ft), preferably 3.50m (11.5 ft) for wardrobes.
House design
Designer: architect from a construction company
What do you like most? Why?
- the opposite entrances
- the straight staircase
- the kitchen/dining layout
- glass wall with door to separate hallway and kitchen in the design of the semi-detached house on the upper plan side
What do you dislike? Why?
- planned without basement; if including basement, the stairs are located between kitchen and dining area (going all the way through the house); with basement, utility room could be omitted
- staircase too much “in the middle” — I would prefer it shifted slightly to the right side of the plan to gain more living space
- 4 to 4.5m (13–15 feet) window front with sliding door to the garden desired instead of regular doors to better open living space to the garden
- semi-detached units are not offset in height relative to each other (this was a request to avoid an overly massive-looking building and to reduce the need for extensive land grading in the southern half—the natural slope should easily allow a staggered design)
- maximum width of 8.50m (28 feet) per semi-detached unit is not fully utilized (only 7.75m (25 feet))
- upper floor bathroom too small / poor layout
Estimated price according to architect/planner: to come (currently company holiday)
Personal price limit for the house, including fixtures: 700k
Preferred heating system: preferably geothermal, if budget allows
If you had to give up something, which details/expansions could you forgo?
- can give up: straight staircase, geothermal, attic expansion reserve (in that case, the upper floor layout would need to change significantly as guest room and one staircase would no longer be needed), T-bathroom
- cannot give up: basement
Why was the design created as it is now? For example:
Standard design from planner? We still need to discuss that; we received the plans shortly before the construction company’s holiday started.
Which requests from you were implemented by the architect? Straight staircase, maximum privacy from neighbors, not a standard cookie-cutter floor plan.
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad? As a layperson, I don’t feel qualified to call it “good” or “bad.” I can only say what I like or dislike, which I have mostly summarized above. We basically like the draft and think it could work with the proper modifications.
What is the most important fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Would changing the staircase but keeping the entrance arrangement significantly gain living space, and would basement and attic alter the layout?
I’ve been following the forum for a while and have been pondering over a practical floor plan for our semi-detached house project, but I just can’t make progress. The maximum allowed footprint for each half of the semi-detached house is 8.50m (28 feet) wide by 10m (33 feet) deep, so we don’t have to build a “narrow” house. If possible, we want a staircase with straight steps, either straight or a half-turn landing staircase (I simply can’t stand the steps that narrow towards the middle and don’t want to walk on that for the next 20 years...). The “standard” semi-detached floor plan with guest bathroom, cloakroom, spiral staircase one behind the other and then living area etc. doesn’t appeal to us at all. We’re not necessarily looking for fancy features that take up unnecessary space but want the “perfect” layout with a bit of flair. As a layperson, I’ve been stuck on this for weeks—whenever I think I solved the ground floor, the upper floor doesn’t fit and vice versa. So I’m hoping for your input.
We already own the plot, and the plan is to rent out one half of the semi-detached house and live in the other. That means we will build one showpiece and one with decent standard; the exterior should be uniform.
I’ll just start:
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 479 sqm (5158 sq ft), 23m (75 ft) wide, 20.80m (68 ft) deep
Slope: slight incline towards southwest, about 1.50m (5 ft) max over the plot depth and width
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.35
Floor space index (FSI): 0.7
Building line / boundary: 3m (10 ft) setback line (not including garages etc.), no defined building envelope
Edge development: no (garage allowed)
Parking spaces: 2 per unit, total 4
Number of floors: 2 full stories
Roof type: pitch 25–45 degrees, gable, half-hipped, vaulted
Style:
Orientation:
Maximum height / limits: max. building height 9.50m (31 ft)
Additional requirements: none
Homeowners’ requirements
Style, roof, building type: modern, clean lines, simple building shape, gable roof
Basement, floors: basement preferred, 2 full stories, attic as expansion reserve
Number of occupants, ages: 3 (45/40/2); the second half of the semi-detached house should be suitable for a family with 2 children
Space needs, ground and upper floors:
Ground floor: guest toilet, cloakroom, large open living/dining area, open kitchen
Upper floor: large children’s room, master bedroom, family bathroom, possibly small study for home office
Attic (expansion reserve): studio / guest room / hobby room, connections/drywall for shower bathroom
Office use: family use and home office
Overnight guests per year: about 20 nights, 1-4 persons
Open or closed architecture: mixed—living/dining/kitchen open, stairs to basement and attic closed, no direct access to upper floor from living area
Traditional or modern construction: modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: both
Number of dining seats: 8
Fireplace: yes, if within budget
Music/speaker wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: no, 2 parking spaces
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons why certain things should or shouldn’t be:
The attic should be finished by ourselves. If the basement doesn’t fit the budget, a utility room must be planned on the ground floor; however, due to the slope, we prefer to invest in the basement. The family bathroom should ideally have a T-layout with a level-access shower and toilets “back to back.” Walk-in closet in the master bedroom is desirable but not a must; if not possible, at least 3m (10 ft), preferably 3.50m (11.5 ft) for wardrobes.
House design
Designer: architect from a construction company
What do you like most? Why?
- the opposite entrances
- the straight staircase
- the kitchen/dining layout
- glass wall with door to separate hallway and kitchen in the design of the semi-detached house on the upper plan side
What do you dislike? Why?
- planned without basement; if including basement, the stairs are located between kitchen and dining area (going all the way through the house); with basement, utility room could be omitted
- staircase too much “in the middle” — I would prefer it shifted slightly to the right side of the plan to gain more living space
- 4 to 4.5m (13–15 feet) window front with sliding door to the garden desired instead of regular doors to better open living space to the garden
- semi-detached units are not offset in height relative to each other (this was a request to avoid an overly massive-looking building and to reduce the need for extensive land grading in the southern half—the natural slope should easily allow a staggered design)
- maximum width of 8.50m (28 feet) per semi-detached unit is not fully utilized (only 7.75m (25 feet))
- upper floor bathroom too small / poor layout
Estimated price according to architect/planner: to come (currently company holiday)
Personal price limit for the house, including fixtures: 700k
Preferred heating system: preferably geothermal, if budget allows
If you had to give up something, which details/expansions could you forgo?
- can give up: straight staircase, geothermal, attic expansion reserve (in that case, the upper floor layout would need to change significantly as guest room and one staircase would no longer be needed), T-bathroom
- cannot give up: basement
Why was the design created as it is now? For example:
Standard design from planner? We still need to discuss that; we received the plans shortly before the construction company’s holiday started.
Which requests from you were implemented by the architect? Straight staircase, maximum privacy from neighbors, not a standard cookie-cutter floor plan.
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad? As a layperson, I don’t feel qualified to call it “good” or “bad.” I can only say what I like or dislike, which I have mostly summarized above. We basically like the draft and think it could work with the proper modifications.
What is the most important fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Would changing the staircase but keeping the entrance arrangement significantly gain living space, and would basement and attic alter the layout?
kaho674 schrieb:
I also find that desirable, but at some point, with a 10 by 9-meter (33 by 30-foot) footprint, you just have to start cutting back. The washing machine upstairs always needs water supply and drainage, so it’s hard to just plan it somewhere over the living room. So where do you put it? I feel the same way. If we had a lot more space, we wouldn’t need to build a semi-detached house (this is due to the ridiculous land prices here in the area — either we sell one half after building or rent it out and eventually it will belong to us... that’s the plan. Unfortunately, a single-family house on the lot is not feasible for that reason). So I have to stay realistic and keep the budget tight. The only way would be to take away the sleeping nook you drew for the child, then there would be a laundry cupboard. But that would be a luxury for me, and if we’re sweating over creating a basement, it should definitely save significant space on both the ground and upper floors. I’d rather have fewer, larger rooms than a lot of fiddly small ones...
MadameP schrieb:
...and if we’re going to build a basement, it had better save me a significant amount of space on the ground floor and upper floor. Exactly.
kaho674 schrieb:
Where I don’t understand: Why do you think that selling a semi-detached house is cheaper than a small detached single-family home? I thought the zoning or planning permission requires you to build a semi-detached house. Because when selling a semi-detached house, we naturally also sell shares of the land, likely with some profit given how overheated the market is and how desirable the location is. For us, this means: half the land price plus the house price = affordable. Full land price plus house price = unaffordable. If renting out the second half, combined with the tax savings, covers the loan repayment and interest for the other half (according to our calculations it does), then it works, and we also save a) the capital gains tax on the profit and b) end up owning both semi-detached houses at the end of the loan term. (Why do it simply when it can be complicated…)480 sqm (about 5,167 sq ft) leaves hardly any space for the garden anyway – we have a semi-detached house on 460 sqm (about 4,951 sq ft), 12 x 7 meters (39 x 23 feet), 1.5 stories with a converted attic. No basement.
The space is plenty for us – what exactly do you want to put in the basement? I mean, things that wouldn’t fit in the attic? Wouldn’t it be an alternative to store those items upstairs instead of investing hard-earned money in a basement? You could spend that money on other nice extras.
And if you want to use the basement, as you wrote above, as a guest room, hobby room, etc., why only have a pull-down staircase?
The space is plenty for us – what exactly do you want to put in the basement? I mean, things that wouldn’t fit in the attic? Wouldn’t it be an alternative to store those items upstairs instead of investing hard-earned money in a basement? You could spend that money on other nice extras.
And if you want to use the basement, as you wrote above, as a guest room, hobby room, etc., why only have a pull-down staircase?
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