ᐅ 160 m² single-family house with timber frame construction on a north-facing slope, including a basement

Created on: 26 Aug 2018 17:03
L
Lbx
Hello,

below you will find our (almost) final floor plan. Only a few adjustments and changes to the windows are still being made. We would appreciate your feedback.

Development Plan / Restrictions
Construction according to Paragraph 34 of the Building Code. Neighboring buildings are 1.5 to 2 stories with pitched roofs.

Plot Size
3000m2 (approximately 0.74 acres), building area around 600m2 (0.15 acres) along the street

Slope
Approximately 2m (6.6 feet) diagonal incline where the house will be located, rising from southwest to northeast

Orientation
South (uphill side)

Client Requirements: Style, Roof Type, Building Type
Single-family house, pitched roof (most cost-effective), rather open design

Basement, Floors
Full basement + 2 floors

Number of Occupants, Age
2 adults + 2 children (planned)

Room Requirements on Ground Floor and Upper Floor
Open kitchen + dining area + living room, pantry, study, guest WC, parents’ area (bedroom, walk-in closet, bathroom), children’s area (2 bedrooms + bathroom), garage, utility room, storage room

Office: Family use or home office?
Family use + emergency children’s bedroom

Overnight Guests per Year
1-2

Open or Closed Architecture
Rather open

Conservative or Modern Building Style
Rather modern

Open Kitchen, Kitchen Island
Open kitchen, island not necessary

Number of Dining Seats
6

Fireplace
No

Music / Stereo Wall
5.1 surround, approx. 3 meters (10 feet) for TV, etc.

Balcony, Roof Terrace
No

Garage, Carport
In the basement

House Design
Who Created the Plan:

Floor plan from a construction company, modified according to our wishes by the planner of a prefab house company (structural engineer)

What Do You Like Especially? Why?

- Separate parents’ area

- Open design with living room accessible from two sides

- Staircase on the north side, where the street is

- Garage inside the house

- Large windows facing south

- Living room + kitchen + dining areas facing south

- Open ridge ceiling on the upper floor

What Do You Dislike? Why?

- Low, small windows on the upper floor due to the 1.8m (5.9 feet) knee wall height – we will probably raise this to 2.10m (6.9 feet)

- Boring exterior appearance

- Small study room, but currently the best compromise for us

- Kitchen windows not floor-to-ceiling, will be changed

- Possibly too few windows

Cost Estimate from Architect / Planner:

Approximately 400,000 Euro turnkey, including photovoltaic system and natural fiber insulation (ecological) fixed-price offer including basement, electric garage door, etc.

Laminate flooring

External roller blinds in living/kitchen/dining areas

No controlled mechanical ventilation.

No waterproof concrete basement (no “white tank” system).

Personal Price Limit for the House, Including Equipment:
House including all ancillary costs 470,000 Euro

Preferred Heating Technology:
Air-to-water heat pump + photovoltaic system

If You Had to Cut Back, Which Details / Extensions Could You Forgo:
Basement, but due to the slope it does not make much economic sense. Otherwise, we have already cut back as much as we can imagine.

Why Does the Design Look Like It Does Now?
We liked the design from the start, especially the south orientation of all main rooms suits the plot very well.

What Is the Most Important / Basic Question About the Floor Plan in 130 Characters or Less?
1. From what knee wall height do windows including rolling shutters below the knee wall really make sense? At 1.8m (5.9 feet) knee wall, windows would be at hip height, which is not a solution for us. For example, in the children’s room, a desk should fit underneath.

2. According to the soil report, we have about 1m (3.3 feet) of soil class 4 and below that soil class 5-6. What costs could be expected for earthworks on a sloped site?

3. Do you think a mechanical ventilation system is essential in a timber frame house? According to two reputable prefab house providers, it is mostly unnecessary and mainly important only for allergy sufferers.

A small note on the attached files: in the Google Maps image, south is at the top and the plot is where the two yellow markers are. In the views, I sketched around a bit unfortunately.

Topographic site plan of a plot with terrain contours and survey lines


Aerial view of a residential area with plots, trees and streets, markers visible


Floor plan of a house with garage, car, utility room, basement and entrance.


Upper floor plan with bedroom, walk-in closet, 2 bathrooms, hallway, 2 children’s rooms


Floor plan of a house: hallway, study, pantry, kitchen, dining, living room.


Modern white single-family home with garage on lower floor, many windows and green slope.


Modern white house with dark pitched roof, large glass fronts and wooden terrace.
11ant28 Aug 2018 00:41
Traumfaenger schrieb:
The prefab house supplier delivers starting from the top edge of the foundation slab (or in your case with a finished basement).

Is the basement included in the scope of the house manufacturer’s offer here? (Just asking out of curiosity; personally, I would consider revising the main elements, in addition to the floor plans).
Lbx schrieb:
It is a high-quality “turnkey” project.

How does that fit with an admittedly tight budget—wouldn’t it be more effective to consider an alternative approach?

During the selection phase, choices are practically set in stone, but the option to say no is still open.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
K
Kekse
28 Aug 2018 06:33
hanse987 schrieb:
In general, a prefabricated house is more expensive than a traditional build.

Also, banks usually apply a higher discount on the construction cost for their loan-to-value ratio compared to a solid (or conventional) house. This might be something to consider, especially when financing already exceeds 110%.

*I always thought the loan-to-value ratio was fixed. But it isn’t. Each bank calculates its own. Depending on the exact calculation method, ours ranges between 88% and 106%.
T
Traumfaenger
28 Aug 2018 07:14
Kekse schrieb:
And: Banks usually* apply a higher discount on the construction cost for their loan-to-value ratio than for a solid masonry house.

Is this an old wives' tale or confirmed information? I know from two different banks that they do not differentiate between construction methods in their calculations.
B
Bookstar
28 Aug 2018 07:26
Since resale values of prefabricated houses are regularly significantly lower than those of solid, traditionally built houses, banks should actually take this into account in their calculations.
montessalet28 Aug 2018 08:25
Bookstar schrieb:
Since resale values of prefabricated houses have regularly been significantly lower than those of solid constructions, banks should actually take this into account in their calculations.

That was true in the past and still mainly applies to older prefabricated houses. Modern timber frame constructions are comparable to solid buildings.
K
Kekse
28 Aug 2018 09:26
In our financing discussions, the banks were definitely very interested in the construction method. However, we did not conduct any what-if calculations. At least once, the statement "solid" was met with a "ah, that’s good" from the advisor.