ᐅ Floor plan design for an urban villa with basement – any suggestions for improvement?
Created on: 8 Oct 2019 21:00
C
canerol
Hello everyone,
We are currently planning a townhouse for the plot of land we purchased. We would appreciate your feedback, improvements, or suggestions regarding the floor plans.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 448m² (5409 ft²)
Slope: South-facing slope, within the building area approximately 1.6 m (5.25 ft) descending from street level
Building type: Single-family house, townhouse style
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.3
Plot ratio / floor space index: 0.6
Building area, building line, and boundary: Maximum building depth 14 m (46 ft), building length 10.5 m (34 ft)
Number of parking spaces: 1 in front of the garage entrance
Number of floors: 2 full stories
Roof type: Gable roof, 25-45 degrees; hip roof / tent roof 15-25 degrees
Architectural style: Modern
Orientation: South
Maximum height / limitations: No restrictions
Client Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: Townhouse style, hip/tent roof 25 degrees
Basement, floors: 2 full stories plus basement rooms and a separate apartment in the basement
Number and ages of occupants: 4 people, ages: 46, 47, children 20 and 16 years
Space requirements for basement (UG), ground floor (EG), upper floor (OG):
UG:[/B] Separate apartment for one child (20 years), WC & shower, 1 cellar/storage room, utility room
EG: Kitchen/dining/living, workspace
OG: Two children’s rooms (child 16 years), bathroom, master bedroom, storage room (washing machine, dryer)
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern construction: conservative
Open kitchen with island: open kitchen
Number of dining places: 4
Fireplace: yes
Music/Stereo wall: no
Balcony: no
Terrace: yes, on the ground floor; according to the development plan, half the width of the house
Rainwater tank: no
Garage or carport: garage
House Design
Designed by:
- Structural engineer
Cost estimate according to structural engineer: 350,000€ including ancillary construction costs and utility connections
Personal budget limit for house including fittings: 370,000€
Heating system: Geothermal heating
Why does the design look like it does?
Since our children are older, we wanted to prioritize giving them large rooms. Due to the slight slope on the site, a basement with a separate apartment made sense. This is where our older son would have his own space. Our daughter would have her room on the upper floor. We wanted the living room to be large and open.
We have a family member (father-in-law) who runs a civil engineering company, so we expect to get the earthworks and landscaping done at a relatively low cost.
We are currently planning a townhouse for the plot of land we purchased. We would appreciate your feedback, improvements, or suggestions regarding the floor plans.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 448m² (5409 ft²)
Slope: South-facing slope, within the building area approximately 1.6 m (5.25 ft) descending from street level
Building type: Single-family house, townhouse style
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.3
Plot ratio / floor space index: 0.6
Building area, building line, and boundary: Maximum building depth 14 m (46 ft), building length 10.5 m (34 ft)
Number of parking spaces: 1 in front of the garage entrance
Number of floors: 2 full stories
Roof type: Gable roof, 25-45 degrees; hip roof / tent roof 15-25 degrees
Architectural style: Modern
Orientation: South
Maximum height / limitations: No restrictions
Client Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: Townhouse style, hip/tent roof 25 degrees
Basement, floors: 2 full stories plus basement rooms and a separate apartment in the basement
Number and ages of occupants: 4 people, ages: 46, 47, children 20 and 16 years
Space requirements for basement (UG), ground floor (EG), upper floor (OG):
UG:[/B] Separate apartment for one child (20 years), WC & shower, 1 cellar/storage room, utility room
EG: Kitchen/dining/living, workspace
OG: Two children’s rooms (child 16 years), bathroom, master bedroom, storage room (washing machine, dryer)
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern construction: conservative
Open kitchen with island: open kitchen
Number of dining places: 4
Fireplace: yes
Music/Stereo wall: no
Balcony: no
Terrace: yes, on the ground floor; according to the development plan, half the width of the house
Rainwater tank: no
Garage or carport: garage
House Design
Designed by:
- Structural engineer
Cost estimate according to structural engineer: 350,000€ including ancillary construction costs and utility connections
Personal budget limit for house including fittings: 370,000€
Heating system: Geothermal heating
Why does the design look like it does?
Since our children are older, we wanted to prioritize giving them large rooms. Due to the slight slope on the site, a basement with a separate apartment made sense. This is where our older son would have his own space. Our daughter would have her room on the upper floor. We wanted the living room to be large and open.
We have a family member (father-in-law) who runs a civil engineering company, so we expect to get the earthworks and landscaping done at a relatively low cost.
danixf schrieb:
The electrical work might be accurate. The standard is usually just 4 sockets per room and one light switch. In the hallway, a push-button switch with an indicator light, etc. I think for this 1950s installation, the price should be appropriate, and that’s how the architect calculated it.
For a minimal setup, that might be acceptable, but hardly for a practical and modern installation (and I’m not even talking about KNX).
And I would also like to get proper hardwood flooring for 1600 EUR.
haydee schrieb:
@hampshire is building with children of a similar ageBut only the age fits here – it’s not really transferable to a standard plot.haydee schrieb:
Exactly, @hampshire has a suitable concept. It’s also not a big deal if the children are still living there in 10 years.Yes, more or less a granny flat, and therefore not significantly different from the mother-in-law extension at @KingSong – only for [USER=46205]@hampshire it’s aligned with the main house axis; neither of these can be replicated on a typical plot.https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
canerol schrieb:
On the upper floor, we planned the large children’s room so that it can be divided into two rooms later, which could be used as a guest room or dressing room. However, due to the position of the doors and windows, it’s not that simple to separate. For me, some window and door placements seem thoughtless, for example in the storage room on the upper floor: a 60cm (24 inches) deep built-in wardrobe behind the door would be ideal, but the window prevents that.
canerol schrieb:
The idea later is that one of the children might take over the house, and my wife and I would downsize accordingly. Why should only one of them inherit the house and not the other? That will only cause bad feelings. Also, inheriting doesn’t justify a separate apartment.
canerol schrieb:
However, the two rooms would not be large enough… I have to mention that children need more play space on the floor, whereas teenagers and young adults generally need more storage space. Over 30 square meters (about 320 square feet) is really too much. A room’s useful space reaches a limit and can just become uncomfortable. Also, a long, narrow shape is not ideal.
I consider these rooms poorly planned: a large area was just arbitrarily divided. Not even the wardrobe is integrated. The result are rooms that stretch across the entire length of the house, the child at a difficult age sleeps next to the parents, the staircase is located in the entrance/mudroom area, and the kitchen is impractical and cannot be separated if needed.
Basically, it’s an inflated standard townhouse with a basement. Not that townhouses are bad, but here there is absolutely no planning that I would expect from a 200-square-meter (2150-square-foot) house.
haydee schrieb:
We were in a B&B in Canada that was planned so that the three children’s rooms were used as guest rooms. That can work if it’s well planned. However, guests usually have to eat in the main kitchen, which can disturb the marital peace.
Unfortunately, I can’t see the basement plan because I wasn’t given access. But for me, it’s not that important anyway, because it’s basically superfluous. A nice two-story house with two children’s rooms of 15–18 square meters (160–195 square feet) each, combined with the utility rooms in the basement, which could later become a separate apartment if needed, would make much more sense.
Thank you for your tips and constructive criticism regarding our construction project. I would like to briefly address the issues of budget and cost estimation for our build. We spoke in advance with many prefabricated house companies (solid construction) that tend to be in the higher price range. All of these companies offered a fixed price of approximately €325,000 - €350,000 (about $350,000 - $375,000) for a comparable house. It should be noted, however, that this price did not include flooring, utility connections, garage, or earthworks. We deliberately chose not to go with prefabricated house companies because all of them wanted to sign a construction contract first before discussing architectural planning. Therefore, in my opinion, the pure house price of around €350,000 (about $375,000) is achievable.
I also believe that some trades in our current cost estimate are set a bit too low, and we will see if this actually holds true.
However, in my opinion, it is much more flexible to contract the trades individually. This way, you can negotiate prices and manage the trades more effectively.
I also believe that some trades in our current cost estimate are set a bit too low, and we will see if this actually holds true.
However, in my opinion, it is much more flexible to contract the trades individually. This way, you can negotiate prices and manage the trades more effectively.
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Grantlhaua11 Oct 2019 08:52canerol schrieb:
In my opinion, you are much more flexible if you contract the trades individually yourself.
This way, you can negotiate prices and manage the trades more effectively. I like that! However, I have to agree with the previous comments that some of your price estimates seem too low. What exactly do you plan to do yourself (apart from the earthworks)? Do you live close to the construction site? Do you have someone who can regularly check on the progress?
I assume the offers from the prefab house companies don’t include sanitary fixtures, etc.? I don’t think you’ll stay under 400,000 with the current plan.
What I really don’t like about the floor plan is that narrow, corridor-like kitchen. Do you perhaps already have an updated plan from your side?
Grantlhaua schrieb:
The offers from the prefab house companies probably don’t include sanitary fixtures,... right? I think with the current plan you won’t get below 400,000.
In the offers from the prefab house companies, apart from the planned toilet and shower in the basement, everything was included like that.
What I don’t like at all about the floor plan is this narrow, corridor-style kitchen. Do you perhaps already have an updated plan from your side? Unfortunately, we have very little room to redesign the kitchen here, since these are load-bearing walls (yellow).
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