ᐅ Single-family house 180-190 sqm on a 10x20 m building plot, first draft general contractor proposal

Created on: 28 Oct 2019 12:32
B
Builderbob
Hello everyone,

My wife and I are planning to become homeowners soon and have had a preliminary floor plan created by our (prospective) prefab home provider based on our first meeting.

We have a specific plot in mind, but the new development area is still being surveyed, and the parcels are being reorganized. Therefore, there is no official site plan yet, only the attached zoning plan excerpt (dashed lines = property boundaries).

We find the floor plan draft interesting at first glance, especially since it doesn’t seem like a standard template from the provider, at least from our perspective. I’ve listed a few points below that I think could be improved – I’m sure you’ll notice more...

Thanks in advance for your assessments!

Thomas

Zoning Plan / Restrictions

Plot Size – 47 sqm (505 sq ft)

Slope – none

Site Coverage Ratio – 0.4

Floor Area Ratio – 0.8

Building Envelope, Building Line, and Setbacks – Building envelope 10 x 20 m (33 x 66 ft), setback 3 m (10 ft) from street/neighboring property, perimeter development possible but not planned

Number of Parking Spaces – 2

Number of Stories – 2 full stories

Roof Type – gable, hip, shed, flat

Architectural Style – modern

Orientation

Maximum Heights / Limits – 9.80 m (32 ft) from road surface to top of building

Additional Requirements


Homeowners’ Requirements

Style, Roof Type, Building Type – not fixed (except: no flat roof)

Basement, Number of Floors – 2 full stories, no basement

Number of Occupants, Ages – 3 persons (36, 35, 1), potentially second child in future

Space Requirements on Ground and Upper Floors
Ground floor: open living/dining/kitchen area, pantry, office/guest room, utility room
Upper floor: bedroom/bathroom/walk-in closet, 2 children’s rooms, kids’ bathroom

Office: Family Use or Home Office? – occasional home office, room shared with guest room

Number of Sleep Guests Per Year – 5–10

Open or Closed Architecture – open

Conservative or Modern Construction – modern

Open Kitchen, Kitchen Island – yes

Number of Dining Seats – 6–10

Fireplace – yes

Music / Stereo Wall – no

Balcony, Roof Terrace – nice to have, not essential

Garage, Carport – carport

Utility Garden, Greenhouse – no


House Design

Designer – general contractor

What Do You Like Especially? Why?
Ground floor: open living/dining area but no direct line of sight from sofa to kitchen, short route from front door to pantry, separated utility room
Upper floor: separation of children’s and master areas, no “trapped” walk-in closet, roof terrace, “sleeping platform” in children’s room

What Do You Dislike? Why?
Overall: floor plan looks very elongated
Ground floor: entrance vestibule (in my opinion unnecessary), coat storage far from front door (alternative under stairs?), WC possibly too narrow, no direct access from kitchen to terrace (planned at SE/SW corner – around the corner), seating nook in kitchen (planned to be removed/replaced with window seat), distance between kitchen island and wall, narrow passage living/dining area if fireplace and piano (175 x 60 cm) are placed as planned
Upper floor: children’s rooms facing north, bedroom facing south, “space” at roof terrace exit, overall space usage (large hallway 20 sqm plus 10 sqm “leftover” as “sauna room” (sauna for 2 persons should be integrated in bathroom), bathroom rather small and walk-in closet quite narrow)

Price Estimate According to Architect/Planner: $465,000 (excluding land and additional construction costs)

Personal Price Limit for the House, Including Equipment: $500,000

Preferred Heating Technology: air-to-water heat pump, possibly with photovoltaic system


If You Have to Give Up Anything, which Details/Features

- Could You Do Without: sauna, kitchen island, roof terrace

-Could Not Do Without: fireplace, office/guest room, separate walk-in closet/dressing room, 2 bathrooms upstairs

Why Is the Design Like It Is? e.g.

Standard Design from Planner? – no

Which Wishes from the Architect Have Been Implemented? – design based on our room program and “wish list” (e.g., fireplace, “window seat” in kitchen, spatial separation of living room and kitchen, no trapped walk-in closet)

What Do You Think Makes It Especially Good or Bad? – bad: space use upstairs (20 sqm hallway + 10 sqm sauna/leftover space), good: separation of “technical area” on ground floor and children’s/master areas upstairs

What Is the Most Important/Basic Question About the Floor Plan in 130 Characters?
Can this initial draft be developed further, or is it better to start from scratch? If the latter, how to improve (classic rectangle?)?

Site plan: two blue building outlines, red access areas, yellow border area, row of trees, north arrow.


Floor plan and site plan with color zones; inset apartment floor plan in center.


Ground floor plan with living/dining/kitchen, hall and utility rooms of a house.


Upper floor plan: sleeping, two children’s rooms, bathroom, shower, hall, walk-in closet, sauna extension.


Attic floor plan: two rooms, stairs, flat roof, measurements, entrance doors.


North elevation of a two-story house with gable roof, windows, and person in front.


East elevation of a modern house, gray facade, dark roof, tree left, person in front.


Two-story house with gray front, large windows; person left, bush right; south elevation.


West elevation of a modern two-story house with gray facade, dark roof, tree right.
kaho67428 Oct 2019 20:24
haydee schrieb:

If corner walls can be omitted, perhaps kaho674 will create a convincing floor plan

ops:
H
haydee
28 Oct 2019 20:36
Not?
Your chance
Y
ypg
28 Oct 2019 20:39
Builderbob schrieb:

The carport is planned to the north of the front door (according to the development plan, it is allowed to be within the setback area to the neighbor), with a second parking space in front of it facing the street.

I’m not sure if the house shape is ideal for the plot.
The carport should also be included in the plans, as having the carport “next to” the front entrance could become very tight. A parking space in front of a carport might also only be practical on weekends.
Builderbob schrieb:

I find the door there very practical because otherwise, we’d have to give our groceries a tour before they end up in the fridge or pantry.


But then there are too many doors to go through to reach the kitchen. It would be better to plan with a direct door.
The corridor between the utility rooms is useless. There are currently three storage units next to each other connected by a hallway.
Upstairs, a storage room is missing.
The layout is much too complicated.
Builderbob schrieb:

I’m afraid there was just some extra space left during planning... That’s one of my “what don’t I like” points.


You could easily remove about 20sqm (215 sq ft) by feel.
Builderbob schrieb:

I also find the look unusual, but my wife likes it...


Yes, of course it’s not as boring and plain as other designs that are planned just for efficiency.

My warning: people often debate recesses and bay windows that get wet. These always involve a lot of money and warranty issues. I wouldn’t want to deal with that, and I would avoid at least three out of four unnecessary corners.
Otherwise, everything is very complicated, and complicated layouts rarely make people happy.

What is going in the wrong direction here?
Children’s rooms location — they should be on the south or west side if possible.
Too many corridors and too much circulation space.
Walk-in closet is inconvenient.
Roof terrace is unnecessary.
Home office position is bad — there is virtually no contact with the family (home office is work time, not child time, but what about private use and childcare?)
The zoning of the plot is questionable.
Y
ypg
28 Oct 2019 20:56
ypg schrieb:

Arranging the Location of Children's Rooms

Annoying word recognition... Children's rooms should not be located on the north side.
A
Altai
29 Oct 2019 09:08
Unbelievable, the "external dimensions" are 16.6 x 9.6 m² (54.5 x 31.5 ft²)? That equals 160 m² (1,722 ft²)... from which, of course, all the many corners are subtracted. Honestly, if you aim for 180 m² (1,938 ft²) of living space, a more compact house should be possible.
RomeoZwo29 Oct 2019 10:22
Hello,
I created a sketch using your room planning software and the roughly desired layout...
House size 9.12 m x 13.20 m (24 cm (9.5 inches) grid) plus the small front extension

Two-story floor plan with living area, kitchen, dining area, office, bedroom, sauna.


A small front extension/bay window has been left for the wife, and upstairs there is even a balcony for the sauna. However, these are all options that could still be optimized or removed.
I wasn’t able to include the separate utility room on the ground floor anymore. That could be an option upstairs instead of the balcony (and then separated from the bedrooms as well).
Personally, I’m not very satisfied with the location of the kitchen/pantry on the ground floor. I would prefer a glass door opposite the stairs leading to the dining area to create a more open feeling around the stairwell. But at the moment, I don’t have a good idea how to achieve that...
Will customers or guests be coming to the office? Otherwise, a more central location in the house could be considered, and there might be more possibilities to arrange living – dining – kitchen – office.

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