ᐅ Opinions on Our Home Design

Created on: 17 Apr 2019 14:36
M
MuHaha202
Hello everyone,
we plan to start building our house within the next 2-3 years.
The location is about 20km (12 miles) west of Innsbruck in Tyrol. The plot is on a gentle slope. The house is planned for 2 adults and 2 children.

I apologize in advance. This is the very first step towards building our house. Of course, we have already researched and have some ideas, but we are not professionals. Our thoughts are still in the early stages and certainly have room for improvement, which is exactly why I’m here: I want to receive both positive and negative feedback as early as possible to design the best possible home for us.

A brief explanation of the attached image: Based on the initial information about the room layout and legal requirements, the sketch below is a first draft of the initial ideas. It was drawn with the limited tools I have available. The street side is north and the garden faces south. Due to the slope, the garage is accessed by car through the basement level, which is at the same height as the street.

The house will mainly be constructed using prefabricated steel segments. The east, south, and west walls of the basement will serve as retaining walls appropriate for the slope. The steel frame should already be in place on the north side. The entire house should be well insulated, although we are still unsure about the exact level or “class” of insulation.
A decentralized ventilation system should be installed in the basement, living/dining area, restroom, bathrooms, and bedrooms. The reason for a decentralized system is the desire to control the temperature in each room individually, as well as to accommodate different daily routines, etc.
The bathrooms will be heated with electric underfloor heating directly beneath the tiles, so the screed does not need to be heated. All other rooms will be heated with infrared heaters.
Regarding flooring: All rooms will have “warm” floor coverings, such as hardwood floors, linoleum, or cork. Naturally, the bathrooms will be tiled, which is why underfloor heating will be installed there.
Shading is planned for the living/dining area and bedrooms.
The entire building will have home automation (heating, shading, lighting, security system, etc.). Before anyone objects: I will try to do as much of this myself as possible. I have experience from my training with home automation and am a certified KNX installer. However, I plan to use Z-Wave as the standard in the house. The idea is to only heat rooms that are in occasional use minimally, for example, the multi-purpose/hobby room. Bathrooms will only be heated in the morning or evening, and only when someone is at home, etc., thereby saving energy.
Because a planned electric car and the heating system will result in significant electricity consumption, a 15kWp photovoltaic system is planned. The energy consumption will also benefit from a lighting concept using 100% LEDs. The current electricity price is about 14 cents/kWh, which is relatively low. For higher energy demands, there are alternative providers offering a higher fixed fee but a lower price per kWh. The plan is to switch providers if needed.

Please be patient with me. I’m not inventing these ideas myself; I have picked them up somewhere and they seemed logical and useful to me. In our region, these topics are quite unusual, so there is little local experience. That’s why I’m turning to the forum.

I hope you will help me develop our ideas.

Moderne Hausentwürfe: 3D-Modelle und Grundrisse mit Küche, Essbereich und Wohnzimmer.
B
Bookstar
17 Apr 2019 22:44
320,000 for the shell construction works. For the rest, just under one million excluding the land, and the project is off. I consider infrared heating to be risky and uneconomical.

Visually, though, it’s interesting!
H
hampshire
17 Apr 2019 23:12
haydee schrieb:
@hampshire
What heating system do you use?

Everything is designed to provide the sensation of radiant heat on the skin. Bringing that "sunshine feeling" into the house even during winter is very important for us in terms of health. Price and payback time are secondary to this aspect. Minimal running costs over the year—if there is any cost at all—offer peace of mind in case finances become tighter in older age. Our aesthetic preferences do not help reduce initial costs.

Our part of the house: Ortner masonry heater (Grundofen) designed by us as the main system (sustainably sourced wood from our own forest behind the house) and infrared heating as a supplementary system. Vaillant hot water heat pump with storage tank.
Apartments for the boys (2 identical units): Hase wood stove as a cozy heat source, infrared heating designed as the main system, hot water supplied by instantaneous water heaters.
9.99 kWp photovoltaic system with Autarq solar tiles, Kostal hybrid inverter, and 12 kWh high-voltage BYD battery, also connected to the hot water storage tank.
Covered terrace area: infrared heating lamps for transitional seasons.
Clay plaster assists with moisture regulation and acts as a thermal storage layer.

When the boys (17 and 19) move out, the apartments will likely be used only occasionally and not fully heated during winter. In old age, the area is planned as a ground-floor bedroom with space suitable for people with limited mobility.
H
haydee
17 Apr 2019 23:31
Wood and Photovoltaics Briefly
I’m interested in the bricks. Although our roof was just covered recently.
Do you have a picture of the stove?
H
hampshire
17 Apr 2019 23:46
The stove is still under construction. Approximately 1 m (3 feet) deep and 3.2 m (10.5 feet) wide. Here is a false-color sketch:

Modern white fireplace unit with glass front, gray stone slab, wood bench, and wooden floor in the living room.

Photo of solar tile roof:

Construction crane over a hillside building site with scaffolding; adjacent houses with solar panels.
11ant18 Apr 2019 02:41
Your budget and I agree that you should separate your admiration for the avant-garde architects of the international architectural scene around 1930 from your actual house construction project.

Furthermore, many of the dimensions are unclear to me, but the stair area is almost certainly too small.

I would advise against a habitable technical pioneer sculpture. How would this building fit in with the neighboring properties?
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
rick201818 Apr 2019 05:38
I really like the exterior design. It’s somewhat similar to our house. As others have mentioned several times, the budget is far too low. Based on our experience over the past few months, I would set it at a minimum of 1.5 million.