ᐅ Single-Family Home on a South-Facing Slope – Floor Plan Design and Tips?

Hello everyone,

Things are getting serious for us: we're moving into the detailed planning of our building project. I would really appreciate your feedback on our amateur floor plan design. We are building in the Ore Mountains, in Germany’s highest-altitude town, Oberwiesenthal. Here, prices are still similar to those in former East Germany (I have compared and there is a significant price difference). So, here we go...

Development Plan / Restrictions

• Plot size: 1,200 sqm (0.3 acres)
• Slope: facing south
• Site coverage ratio: unknown
• Floor area ratio: unknown
• Building zone, building line, and boundary:
• 3 m (10 ft) from the property boundary
• The properties to the south and west belong to my parents
• Edge development: unknown
• Number of parking spaces: 2 (carport on the east side of the house)
• Number of floors: basement, ground floor, first floor, attic
• Roof type: gable roof, pitch 35-38°
• Architectural style: Bavarian farmhouse
• Orientation: east-west, meaning roof slopes facing north-south
• Maximum heights / limits: must adapt to the surrounding buildings
• Other requirements: unknown

Homeowners' Requirements

• Style, roof, building type:
• Country/wood house (basement and ground floor with white plaster exterior; upper floor and roof structure with wooden planks in Tyrolean castle look)
• Gable roof
• Basement and floors
• Basement partly used commercially (my wife’s naturopathy practice and my office, with separate access from outside/south)
• Ground and first floors as living areas
• Attic: half storage, half sleeping/chill area for our children with friends or guests
• Number and age of residents
• Kati (40) & Philipp (39)
• Helene (10), Benedikt (8), and Valerie (6)
• Space requirements on ground and first floors
• see floor plans (approx. 150 sqm (1,615 sq ft))
• Office: commercial use
• Guest nights per year: 20–30
• Open or closed architecture: closed (mountains, cold winters, constant wind)
• Conservative or modern construction method: conservative
• Open kitchen: yes; kitchen island: no
• Number of dining seats
• Standard: 5
• Expandable to 10
• Fireplace: masonry stove with viewing window (water-heated)
• Music/sound wall: no
• Balcony: ground floor facing south; roof terrace: no
• Garage: no; carport for 2 vehicles
• Utility garden: no; greenhouse: yes
• Other wishes/special features/daily routine
• We still have real winters in Oberwiesenthal
• The children usually ski daily
• They come home with wet clothes and ski boots, carrying their ski equipment
• Therefore, a second entrance in the basement on the west side is planned, including a simple cloakroom and storage room for skis or mountain bikes in summer and work clothes after gardening
• Important: currently, Oberwiesenthal has a lot of snow (approx. 150 cm (59 inches))
• Paths and driveways must be cleared in winter
• Snow must be cleverly “stored” (i.e., the snow storage must be carved so that after two months of snow clearing, the snow blower can still throw snow over the snow wall)
• Considerations regarding roof slopes and sliding snow
• In the basement there is a prep kitchen for the Prijut12, which I will operate starting May 2020 (a rustic wooden hut with a modest menu and great location for drinks)
• In the prep kitchen, before the main winter season, we want to a) prepare and freeze food, or b) cook fresh meals in larger quantities and sell them right opposite at Prijut12 (about 80 m (260 ft) away)
• The kitchen in Prijut12 is very small

House Design

• Planner:
• Do-it-yourself
• What do you especially like? Why?
• Large windows / sliding door facing south and west
• The sunlight comes in (solar energy enters the house)
• The view to the southwest is simply breathtaking (ski slope, night skiing, Klínovec mountain as the highest peak of the Ore Mountains)
• The view is unobstructed and without trees
• Open living and kitchen area
• Interaction with children and friends while cooking, for example
• Cozy “shell-pu-pu” corner including TV
• My father implemented this in his holiday home
• It is very cozy
• Large lounging area
• Curtains cover the TV (it disappears from daily view)
• Second small bathroom on the first floor
• When our two daughters enter puberty, they will have their own hygiene area
• Cost estimate according to architect/planner: €480,000
• Personal price limit for the house, including equipment: €500,000
• Preferred heating technology: I’m quite uncertain and undecided...
• Option 1:
• Solar thermal for hot water preparation
• Gas condensing boiler
• Water-heated masonry stove (I have 2 ha of land, so wood supply, and definitely want a fire stove inside)
• Option 2:
• Water-heated masonry stove
• Ground-source heat pump
• Supplied by a photovoltaic system
• If you had to give up something, what details/extensions would you omit?
• Reduce size of guest/workroom on ground floor
• Guest bathroom on ground floor without shower (purely guest toilet)
• What can you not do without?
• Living rooms
• 2 bathrooms
• Prep kitchen
• Practice room
• Office
• Why is the design like it is now?
• Because we want lots of light in the living area
• Because we can enjoy a great view in a fantastic location
• Because I personally want to use as much solar energy as possible
• Because in summer we want to open the large sliding door to step directly into the garden where the greenhouse will be and where I will tend to my bees (I want to start beekeeping)
• Because we have no technical know-how for the requirements
• Standard design from planner: none yet
• What is the most important fundamental question about the floor plan, summarized in 130 characters?
• Does this floor plan make sense regarding building technology/piping routes, and can the forum identify flaws for daily use?

Attached are the floor plans and an example house from Bavaria, which serves as a reference for the exterior cladding look.

A site plan with elevation levels would be helpful.
A north arrow on the floor plans is needed.

Due to winter and keeping paths clear:
You have 3 entrances, each on different sides of the house. For me, that’s a no-go. I love winter, but not snow shoveling.

Hallways: you have an excessive amount of hallway space, partly due to 3 house entrances and 2 staircases.

What is that corner in the dining area supposed to be?
Are you sure you don’t want a proper living room? The kids won’t stay small forever. That corner might be better suited for the attic.

The bedroom definitely needs a wardrobe or direct access to a closet area.

What immediately stands out to me:

I would definitely include a passage between the practice area and the living spaces inside the house; otherwise, your wife will always have to go around the outside. Especially during snowy winters, that would be very frustrating.

I find the staircase positioned awkwardly, squeezed into the corner, which is one reason for the large hallway area. You are wasting a lot of space there. It doesn’t really suit such a large house.

I don’t understand the missing living room and the shell-shaped little seating area...

The masonry heater in the middle of the room is a major obstacle between the kitchen and dining table. Besides that, the chimney needs to run through all floors. Right now, it ends up right in the middle of the basement hallway, or am I misunderstanding?

The bedroom without a wardrobe or direct access to the walk-in closet is not practical for everyday use.

Where do you do the laundry? And where is the storage space for the vacuum cleaner, mop, Christmas decorations, etc.? (Okay, I see a long wall with a closet area in the basement hallway.)

The mudroom entrance in the basement is probably a good idea, but there should also be a nearby space to store skis or bicycles. Or are those kept in the garage?

I don’t have a great alternative suggestion right now, but I think you should reconsider the overall layout. It all feels very unstructured, with rooms lined up one after the other and large hallways in between. It’s a shame to waste all that space.

It’s a great project, and an architect could really make something amazing out of it.

You are losing about 25% of the living area to corridors, especially in the basement and the upper floor, which is not ideal (to put it mildly).

Where is the TV supposed to go?

Why isn’t there a door from the practice area into the main part of the house?

Why have two small bathrooms next to each other? It would be better to have a separate toilet and a larger bathroom with a double vanity and, for example, two shower fixtures in one large shower.

The practice toilet should not open directly into the treatment room.

What regulations need to be followed for the practice to obtain approval? Minimum room height, emergency exits, enhanced soundproofing, fire extinguishing system, ventilation, minimum window area relative to floor space, required number of parking spaces, accessibility, and so on? Has all of this been clarified? Also legally: (for example, does the zoning allow use beyond private residential purposes?)

The staircase does not work.

I don’t understand the plan. Are the floors really aligned vertically? Where does the basement staircase lead to on the ground floor? And where is the landing staircase to the upper floor?