ᐅ Floor Plan Optimization for a Single-Family Home with Basement on a Small Plot
Created on: 16 Sep 2019 08:38
A
AnniSke
Hello everyone!
After reading here for quite some time (and checking out nearly all floor plan questions for similar lot sizes and building dimensions), we now have some questions about the preliminary design from our builder.
Our situation is similar to the forum post from Wednesday, but our main focus is on the basement J
This is the first draft based on a rough idea of what we envision and what is important to us (the design seems quickly done to me—see the projecting dormer—or is that common nowadays?), but overall all our requests have been considered. We see room for improvement especially in the basement level, the basement stairs/daylight wells, and the size of the living/dining area (probably only fixable with a larger house footprint). The upper floor works well for us.
Independently from the builder, we came up with a similar floor plan that meets our needs; it is nothing “special” but fits our ideas well.
We would appreciate it if some of you could share practical tips or suggestions for changes so that we can respond to the builder and discuss possible deviations.
Feel free to be thorough and please also point out any potentially major planning mistakes.
I have attached the following:
Development Plan / Restrictions
Lot size: approx. 360 m² (still not fully measured, as the plot is being subdivided)
Slope: no
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.4
Floor space index (FSI): 0.8
Building envelope, building line and boundary: see site plan; 3 m (approx. 10 ft) on three sides, less on street side due to protected green strip with fruit trees (not our property); open building style
Edge development: no (usually allowed for townhouses, but specifically excluded for carports and garages in the development plan); edge development allowed for uncovered parking spaces
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of stories allowed: 1-2 full stories
Roof type: gable roof (up to 38°), shed roof, flat roof (up to 25°)
Architectural style: classic-modern?
Orientation: ridge line along the street
Maximum heights / limits: eaves height max. 7.50 m (24.6 ft) above the access road (lot lies slightly below street level)
Additional requirements: none
Homeowner Requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: classic/modern detached single-family house, gable roof 38°, knee wall preferably raised to 1 m (3 ft)
Basement, number of floors: basement included, 1.5 floors
Number of people, ages: 2 (both 29), 1 child (1.5 years), at least 1 more (preferably 2) planned
Room requirements on ground floor (GF), upper floor (UF)
GF: kitchen (with sliding door, can be smaller, no separate dining area), living/dining area (currently about 32 m² (344 sq ft), our furniture is designed for this and we would like to keep it), future master bedroom, bathroom with shower (house should theoretically be usable on one level in an age-appropriate way)
UF: 3 children’s rooms, bathroom
Basement: utility room, technical room, workshop, office/guest room
Office (family use or home office?): office desired (in basement), home office at least once a week
Guests per year: about twice a month 2 people, every two weeks 1 person → guest room desired (can later be combined with office in the basement if a bedroom is needed on the ground floor)
Open or closed architecture: closed
Conservative or modern construction: rather conservative
Open kitchen, cooking island: no, smaller cooking area, separated by sliding door
Number of dining seats: permanently for 5 (current dining table has 8 seats)
Fireplace: yes, preferred
Music / stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: no
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: some vegetable garden, so we want to place the building close to the build boundary to maximize garden space
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why some things should or should not be: none
House Design
Planner: planner from a building company; the second attached version is our own adjusted “solution” with the house widened by 0.5 m (approx. 1.6 ft) and furniture drawn in the living/dining and bedroom areas which we already own.
What do you especially like?: the solution with a coat area and shower niche on the ground floor, the stairs, level, masonry showers, spacious children’s rooms, fireplace location between living and dining areas, large home office/guest room in basement, where both “uses” can be nicely combined.
Why?: we had not thought of the coat and shower concept in the floor plan ideas, find it practical and reasonably age-appropriate (though the dimensions could be slightly wider), and had no clue where best to put a fireplace.
What don’t you like? Why?: living/dining area too small, at 22 m² (237 sq ft) we cannot fit our furniture, kitchen is too large, we don’t need a separate seating area in the kitchen (we currently eat all meals in the dining area), the exterior basement stairs with the bend take up too much space, and we don’t want a carport as it would have to be inside the building zone (uncovered parking is allowed as edge development), the concrete daylight wells in the basement.
Price estimate from architect/planner: not yet available, initial rough offer before planning (130 m² (1400 sq ft) with basement) was 315,000 including standard ancillary construction costs, but with a “standard basement”; we might need a waterproof concrete shell (“white tub”), estimated extra cost about 20,000 according to the builder
Personal price limit for the house: 340,000 (furniture is already owned from current large apartment (126 m² (1356 sq ft) living space), kitchen belongs to us and only needs minor changes, cost covered separately)
Preferred heating technology: we considered a ground source heat pump, but the builder has had problems twice in the building area with insufficient supply temperature and therefore recommends an air-to-water heat pump on the south side of the house. Has anyone had experience with this?
If you have to give up something, what details/features?
Can give up: dormer, large kitchen, fully heated basement
Cannot give up: basement (due to small lot and 3 children planned), bedroom on ground floor, bathroom with shower on ground floor
Why is the layout the way it is now?
Draft from planner after a brief initial discussion about our preferences (we did not provide a detailed list of requirements)
Which wishes were implemented by the architect? bedroom on ground floor, bathroom with shower, staircase design, bathroom with shower and tub on upper floor, basement with office
What do you think works well or poorly? we like the overall distribution of floors, but are not yet convinced by the basement layout.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Any ideas to improve the basement (e.g., no bent stairs, maybe no basement hallway at stairs, maybe no daylight wells)? Any improvements for other floors (e.g., larger living/dining area)? Is there any place to add a laundry chute (nice to have but not essential)?
We look forward to your ideas and feedback J
Best regards and many thanks in advance!
After reading here for quite some time (and checking out nearly all floor plan questions for similar lot sizes and building dimensions), we now have some questions about the preliminary design from our builder.
Our situation is similar to the forum post from Wednesday, but our main focus is on the basement J
This is the first draft based on a rough idea of what we envision and what is important to us (the design seems quickly done to me—see the projecting dormer—or is that common nowadays?), but overall all our requests have been considered. We see room for improvement especially in the basement level, the basement stairs/daylight wells, and the size of the living/dining area (probably only fixable with a larger house footprint). The upper floor works well for us.
Independently from the builder, we came up with a similar floor plan that meets our needs; it is nothing “special” but fits our ideas well.
We would appreciate it if some of you could share practical tips or suggestions for changes so that we can respond to the builder and discuss possible deviations.
Feel free to be thorough and please also point out any potentially major planning mistakes.
I have attached the following:
- Site plan assumed by the builder
- Builder’s planning (floor plans, section, exterior view)
- Our modified floor plans based on the builder’s draft (larger living/dining area, smaller kitchen, different basement stairs)
Development Plan / Restrictions
Lot size: approx. 360 m² (still not fully measured, as the plot is being subdivided)
Slope: no
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.4
Floor space index (FSI): 0.8
Building envelope, building line and boundary: see site plan; 3 m (approx. 10 ft) on three sides, less on street side due to protected green strip with fruit trees (not our property); open building style
Edge development: no (usually allowed for townhouses, but specifically excluded for carports and garages in the development plan); edge development allowed for uncovered parking spaces
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of stories allowed: 1-2 full stories
Roof type: gable roof (up to 38°), shed roof, flat roof (up to 25°)
Architectural style: classic-modern?
Orientation: ridge line along the street
Maximum heights / limits: eaves height max. 7.50 m (24.6 ft) above the access road (lot lies slightly below street level)
Additional requirements: none
Homeowner Requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: classic/modern detached single-family house, gable roof 38°, knee wall preferably raised to 1 m (3 ft)
Basement, number of floors: basement included, 1.5 floors
Number of people, ages: 2 (both 29), 1 child (1.5 years), at least 1 more (preferably 2) planned
Room requirements on ground floor (GF), upper floor (UF)
GF: kitchen (with sliding door, can be smaller, no separate dining area), living/dining area (currently about 32 m² (344 sq ft), our furniture is designed for this and we would like to keep it), future master bedroom, bathroom with shower (house should theoretically be usable on one level in an age-appropriate way)
UF: 3 children’s rooms, bathroom
Basement: utility room, technical room, workshop, office/guest room
Office (family use or home office?): office desired (in basement), home office at least once a week
Guests per year: about twice a month 2 people, every two weeks 1 person → guest room desired (can later be combined with office in the basement if a bedroom is needed on the ground floor)
Open or closed architecture: closed
Conservative or modern construction: rather conservative
Open kitchen, cooking island: no, smaller cooking area, separated by sliding door
Number of dining seats: permanently for 5 (current dining table has 8 seats)
Fireplace: yes, preferred
Music / stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: no
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: some vegetable garden, so we want to place the building close to the build boundary to maximize garden space
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why some things should or should not be: none
House Design
Planner: planner from a building company; the second attached version is our own adjusted “solution” with the house widened by 0.5 m (approx. 1.6 ft) and furniture drawn in the living/dining and bedroom areas which we already own.
What do you especially like?: the solution with a coat area and shower niche on the ground floor, the stairs, level, masonry showers, spacious children’s rooms, fireplace location between living and dining areas, large home office/guest room in basement, where both “uses” can be nicely combined.
Why?: we had not thought of the coat and shower concept in the floor plan ideas, find it practical and reasonably age-appropriate (though the dimensions could be slightly wider), and had no clue where best to put a fireplace.
What don’t you like? Why?: living/dining area too small, at 22 m² (237 sq ft) we cannot fit our furniture, kitchen is too large, we don’t need a separate seating area in the kitchen (we currently eat all meals in the dining area), the exterior basement stairs with the bend take up too much space, and we don’t want a carport as it would have to be inside the building zone (uncovered parking is allowed as edge development), the concrete daylight wells in the basement.
- Regarding the basement daylight wells: my father (landscape architect) suggests a landscaped slope on that side of the house instead of concrete daylight wells (I roughly marked some slope lines on our design) with stairs integrated into the slope at the rear of the house. What do you think of this option? We are unsure about stair drainage for rain, but this should be manageable with proper drainage (could be routed by pipe to the cistern we must install per development plan). Any other ideas?
Price estimate from architect/planner: not yet available, initial rough offer before planning (130 m² (1400 sq ft) with basement) was 315,000 including standard ancillary construction costs, but with a “standard basement”; we might need a waterproof concrete shell (“white tub”), estimated extra cost about 20,000 according to the builder
Personal price limit for the house: 340,000 (furniture is already owned from current large apartment (126 m² (1356 sq ft) living space), kitchen belongs to us and only needs minor changes, cost covered separately)
Preferred heating technology: we considered a ground source heat pump, but the builder has had problems twice in the building area with insufficient supply temperature and therefore recommends an air-to-water heat pump on the south side of the house. Has anyone had experience with this?
If you have to give up something, what details/features?
Can give up: dormer, large kitchen, fully heated basement
Cannot give up: basement (due to small lot and 3 children planned), bedroom on ground floor, bathroom with shower on ground floor
Why is the layout the way it is now?
Draft from planner after a brief initial discussion about our preferences (we did not provide a detailed list of requirements)
Which wishes were implemented by the architect? bedroom on ground floor, bathroom with shower, staircase design, bathroom with shower and tub on upper floor, basement with office
What do you think works well or poorly? we like the overall distribution of floors, but are not yet convinced by the basement layout.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Any ideas to improve the basement (e.g., no bent stairs, maybe no basement hallway at stairs, maybe no daylight wells)? Any improvements for other floors (e.g., larger living/dining area)? Is there any place to add a laundry chute (nice to have but not essential)?
We look forward to your ideas and feedback J
Best regards and many thanks in advance!
11ant schrieb:
Gifhorn is located in Lower Saxony – is this supposed to serve as an example for Thuringia? I know where Gifhorn is (I still have a residence there) and where Thuringia is.
If Escorda is correct, the ground below the ground floor needs to be filled and leveled to street level. So why wouldn’t it be possible to partially embed a basement in Thuringia?
I don’t know if or where there are examples of this in Thuringia. Shame on me for not paying attention on Sunday.
haydee schrieb:
I don’t know if there are any examples in Thuringia or where they might be. My comment referred to the fact that, in my impression, the local municipality is following the approach of developing the land-use plan to be established based essentially on the current situation according to Section 34, meaning they use the neighboring area’s actual condition as the standard. In this sense, examples from elsewhere—even if considered best practices—are always somewhat compromised by the lack of local context.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
On Tuesday, there is a meeting with the seller. Then it will be clarified whether the drainage ditch can or must be purchased, or if the neighboring property owners automatically become co-owners. It will also be discussed whether the area can be added to the building plot to improve the floor area ratio, ensure infrastructure access, and comply with setback requirements without building obligations.
Shortly after, the city council decides to make the development plan available for public inspection. The public inspection usually starts two weeks later. After another month, planning permission according to Section 33 of the Federal Building Code is granted, and the building application can be submitted. By then, the city also knows whether any objections will still be considered and if the plan will be revised. This is rarely the case. If, in the meantime, someone has measured elevations on the property or documented the measurements, there will be a basis for making decisions.
Crystal ball prediction:
The development plan will become legally binding as it currently stands, meaning the ground floor level will be at least 80cm (32 inches) above the current ground level.
Owners of the drainage ditch will automatically be the neighboring property owners, resulting in a free expansion of the building plot.
A parking space at the northeast boundary is permitted, and access between the protected trees via a culvert crossing is possible for construction vehicles.
The area towards the street and for the parking space will be filled up by 80cm (32 inches) using the basement excavation material (170cm / 67 inches).
The ground floor level will be raised further by three steps, totaling 51cm (20 inches).
On the garden side, standard-level windows (1000mm x 1000mm (39 inches x 39 inches)) will be installed for the office and guest room.
The terrace will be elevated on supports with a small staircase (1.50cm (0.6 inches)) leading to the garden.
P.S.: @goalkeeper decided not to build a basement for cost reasons in less favorable plot conditions (1.50m (59 inches) of fill, smaller plot, and no need for a watertight basement).
Shortly after, the city council decides to make the development plan available for public inspection. The public inspection usually starts two weeks later. After another month, planning permission according to Section 33 of the Federal Building Code is granted, and the building application can be submitted. By then, the city also knows whether any objections will still be considered and if the plan will be revised. This is rarely the case. If, in the meantime, someone has measured elevations on the property or documented the measurements, there will be a basis for making decisions.
Crystal ball prediction:
The development plan will become legally binding as it currently stands, meaning the ground floor level will be at least 80cm (32 inches) above the current ground level.
Owners of the drainage ditch will automatically be the neighboring property owners, resulting in a free expansion of the building plot.
A parking space at the northeast boundary is permitted, and access between the protected trees via a culvert crossing is possible for construction vehicles.
The area towards the street and for the parking space will be filled up by 80cm (32 inches) using the basement excavation material (170cm / 67 inches).
The ground floor level will be raised further by three steps, totaling 51cm (20 inches).
On the garden side, standard-level windows (1000mm x 1000mm (39 inches x 39 inches)) will be installed for the office and guest room.
The terrace will be elevated on supports with a small staircase (1.50cm (0.6 inches)) leading to the garden.
P.S.: @goalkeeper decided not to build a basement for cost reasons in less favorable plot conditions (1.50m (59 inches) of fill, smaller plot, and no need for a watertight basement).
Hello everyone,
I have now registered as well. As my name probably reveals, I am the better half.
First of all, many thanks for your constructive criticism, the many suggestions, and the effort! I have followed everything as well as I could, and after more than two eventful weeks full of appointments, I finally have time to join the discussion.
Before I share further insights, here are my brief thoughts on a few topics that were mentioned.
* The much-discussed home office * - my professional experience with workspaces so far:
- directly facing a white wall → this was the worst, it actually caused headaches
- beside a small window, looking into the room (6-person office) → this worked best for me
- currently sitting at a desk’s distance from a window, looking outside (with plenty of sunlight) → it’s okay but causes glare, so the blinds are always down.
From my experience regarding eye comfort at the workspace, besides regular breaks with far-distance focus, it is better to have dimmer surroundings combined with reduced monitor brightness and blue light; this significantly protects the eyes.
* Guests sleep in the basement *
They have no problems with this, neither young nor old, whether friends or family.
* Proposal from @kaho674 *
I like the suggestion from @ypg about modifying the roof, such as extending it or adding a staggered shed roof. I would make the roof overhang a bit larger to avoid a tower-like appearance.
One concern I have is the utility room in the attic. Firstly, because of the load if you add buffer tanks etc. for a solar system, and secondly, if anything ever leaks there, it would affect all floors below.
For the version with a basement, we have been considering a small bay window; the builder has planned something similar independently – I will attach that later. Otherwise, the versions without a basement would be somewhat like the Lichthaus 152 from Town & Country, with a developed attic, guest rooms in the attic, and access through the home office, or something similar to the proposal from @kaho674. I can also imagine a slightly modified version of the builder’s basement as an attic floor.
My question is whether it always needs to be two full floors to have stairs to the attic, or if a high knee wall with a dormer would also work?
Now to the facts:
- The soil survey is not finished yet.
- We now have the development plan, which has been approved and is currently on public display. (The preliminary version already went through early public participation). I’m attaching a screenshot below.
Brief summary of the key points:
- The strip of land between us and the road, including a small ditch, belongs to the municipality and will remain so. There is no known function as a real ditch, and according to the infrastructure provider, it can be filled.
- The building boundary on the road side starts 5m (16 feet) from the road (so not 3m (10 feet) from the property boundary).
- The average elevation of the building plot must be at least at road level (currently 60-80cm (2-2.5 feet) below) and at most 60cm (2 feet) above.
- A driveway is allowed with a maximum width of 5m (16 feet) and up to 2 parking spaces.
- The drawn fruit trees (which are dead anyway) can be replaced by new planting if they have died (so we could probably use the full 5m driveway if necessary).
- Eave height remains at 7.5m (25 feet), maximum roof pitch remains 38 degrees.
- Garden and tool sheds with a maximum base area of 10m² (108 square feet) are allowed outside the buildable area.
- The property has still not been surveyed. This will be ordered when we sign the purchase contract (but we will not do so before the final survey). Our new neighbors have already done this, so in my view, it should already be surveyed. They plan two full floors with a southwest-facing terrace towards the road, parking spaces on our property boundary, and the house placed as far as possible in the northeast corner.
- The neighbors have one parent living locally; the husband grew up here. They said he used to skate on the property in winter because a thin ice layer formed on the standing water :/
- That and the statement of another local resident make us seriously consider a house without a basement.
I look forward to the continued discussion!
Best regards
I have now registered as well. As my name probably reveals, I am the better half.
First of all, many thanks for your constructive criticism, the many suggestions, and the effort! I have followed everything as well as I could, and after more than two eventful weeks full of appointments, I finally have time to join the discussion.
Before I share further insights, here are my brief thoughts on a few topics that were mentioned.
* The much-discussed home office * - my professional experience with workspaces so far:
- directly facing a white wall → this was the worst, it actually caused headaches
- beside a small window, looking into the room (6-person office) → this worked best for me
- currently sitting at a desk’s distance from a window, looking outside (with plenty of sunlight) → it’s okay but causes glare, so the blinds are always down.
From my experience regarding eye comfort at the workspace, besides regular breaks with far-distance focus, it is better to have dimmer surroundings combined with reduced monitor brightness and blue light; this significantly protects the eyes.
* Guests sleep in the basement *
They have no problems with this, neither young nor old, whether friends or family.
* Proposal from @kaho674 *
I like the suggestion from @ypg about modifying the roof, such as extending it or adding a staggered shed roof. I would make the roof overhang a bit larger to avoid a tower-like appearance.
One concern I have is the utility room in the attic. Firstly, because of the load if you add buffer tanks etc. for a solar system, and secondly, if anything ever leaks there, it would affect all floors below.
For the version with a basement, we have been considering a small bay window; the builder has planned something similar independently – I will attach that later. Otherwise, the versions without a basement would be somewhat like the Lichthaus 152 from Town & Country, with a developed attic, guest rooms in the attic, and access through the home office, or something similar to the proposal from @kaho674. I can also imagine a slightly modified version of the builder’s basement as an attic floor.
My question is whether it always needs to be two full floors to have stairs to the attic, or if a high knee wall with a dormer would also work?
Now to the facts:
- The soil survey is not finished yet.
- We now have the development plan, which has been approved and is currently on public display. (The preliminary version already went through early public participation). I’m attaching a screenshot below.
Brief summary of the key points:
- The strip of land between us and the road, including a small ditch, belongs to the municipality and will remain so. There is no known function as a real ditch, and according to the infrastructure provider, it can be filled.
- The building boundary on the road side starts 5m (16 feet) from the road (so not 3m (10 feet) from the property boundary).
- The average elevation of the building plot must be at least at road level (currently 60-80cm (2-2.5 feet) below) and at most 60cm (2 feet) above.
- A driveway is allowed with a maximum width of 5m (16 feet) and up to 2 parking spaces.
- The drawn fruit trees (which are dead anyway) can be replaced by new planting if they have died (so we could probably use the full 5m driveway if necessary).
- Eave height remains at 7.5m (25 feet), maximum roof pitch remains 38 degrees.
- Garden and tool sheds with a maximum base area of 10m² (108 square feet) are allowed outside the buildable area.
- The property has still not been surveyed. This will be ordered when we sign the purchase contract (but we will not do so before the final survey). Our new neighbors have already done this, so in my view, it should already be surveyed. They plan two full floors with a southwest-facing terrace towards the road, parking spaces on our property boundary, and the house placed as far as possible in the northeast corner.
- The neighbors have one parent living locally; the husband grew up here. They said he used to skate on the property in winter because a thin ice layer formed on the standing water :/
- That and the statement of another local resident make us seriously consider a house without a basement.
I look forward to the continued discussion!
Best regards
Similar topics