Dear house building forum members,
I am new here and would appreciate creative ideas, opinions, and suggestions regarding our building plot:
Our plans:
Our goal is to build a spacious single-family house (220-240 sqm (2,370-2,580 sq ft)) with a separate apartment (about 60-70 sqm (650-750 sq ft)) for two adults and two small children.
It would be ideal to have a wide/long double garage plus two additional parking spaces in front.
One full floor (plus basement and attic) according to the development plan.
Style: open, modern, minimalist but without extravagant or unnecessary luxury.
Of course, good privacy from neighbors is very important.
Plot size: approx. 920 m² (approx. 7,860 sq ft) = approx. 730 m² (7,860 sq ft) plus approx. 190 m² (2,045 sq ft) driveway.
Development plan:
Site coverage ratio (floor area ratio): 0.3
Gross floor area ratio: 0.5
Open building style
1 full floor
Gable roof 28-38°
Knee wall max. 0.8 m (2.5 ft)
(see attached images)
Additional information / my thoughts:
– Nice plot in Baden-Württemberg with private access road (see photos attached)
– West edge: adjacent to open fields
– Not entirely flat: about 1 to 2 m (3-6 ft) height difference from west to east; sloping downwards to the east
– Plot width (north-south) is 20 m (66 ft).
My questions:
1. Do my plans for the size of our desired house fit within the development plan? Can I build about 300 m² (3,230 sq ft) (house plus separate apartment) there?
(Sorry for asking so simply for reassurance. Based on my calculations and my understanding of site coverage and floor area ratios, it should be possible.)
2. How do you assess the situation? Will it feel relatively “tight” in relation to the two neighboring houses (north and south)?
Theoretically, quite large houses can also be built there according to the development plan (see photos attached).
I know this is a high-level concern, but at this early planning stage, I would like to get your valued and experienced opinions.
For example, where to best position our house within the building zone to be as “safe” as possible, regardless of where and how neighbors may build.
The goal of this discussion at this point is not to develop detailed floor plans, but rather to collect initial assessments and ideas about the best way to build on this plot.
Thank you very much in advance!
If further information is needed, I’m happy to provide it!
Thanks in advance and best regards!
I am new here and would appreciate creative ideas, opinions, and suggestions regarding our building plot:
Our plans:
Our goal is to build a spacious single-family house (220-240 sqm (2,370-2,580 sq ft)) with a separate apartment (about 60-70 sqm (650-750 sq ft)) for two adults and two small children.
It would be ideal to have a wide/long double garage plus two additional parking spaces in front.
One full floor (plus basement and attic) according to the development plan.
Style: open, modern, minimalist but without extravagant or unnecessary luxury.
Of course, good privacy from neighbors is very important.
Plot size: approx. 920 m² (approx. 7,860 sq ft) = approx. 730 m² (7,860 sq ft) plus approx. 190 m² (2,045 sq ft) driveway.
Development plan:
Site coverage ratio (floor area ratio): 0.3
Gross floor area ratio: 0.5
Open building style
1 full floor
Gable roof 28-38°
Knee wall max. 0.8 m (2.5 ft)
(see attached images)
Additional information / my thoughts:
– Nice plot in Baden-Württemberg with private access road (see photos attached)
– West edge: adjacent to open fields
– Not entirely flat: about 1 to 2 m (3-6 ft) height difference from west to east; sloping downwards to the east
– Plot width (north-south) is 20 m (66 ft).
My questions:
1. Do my plans for the size of our desired house fit within the development plan? Can I build about 300 m² (3,230 sq ft) (house plus separate apartment) there?
(Sorry for asking so simply for reassurance. Based on my calculations and my understanding of site coverage and floor area ratios, it should be possible.)
2. How do you assess the situation? Will it feel relatively “tight” in relation to the two neighboring houses (north and south)?
Theoretically, quite large houses can also be built there according to the development plan (see photos attached).
I know this is a high-level concern, but at this early planning stage, I would like to get your valued and experienced opinions.
For example, where to best position our house within the building zone to be as “safe” as possible, regardless of where and how neighbors may build.
The goal of this discussion at this point is not to develop detailed floor plans, but rather to collect initial assessments and ideas about the best way to build on this plot.
Thank you very much in advance!
If further information is needed, I’m happy to provide it!
Thanks in advance and best regards!
If I were to build a new house, it shouldn’t look like a 1950s house that has just been redecorated to follow current architectural trends.
I’ve never been great at telling jokes, but I’ll try this one once more: “What do you call the stepbrother of the buttocks with ears? – A granny flat with ‘light wells’!”
Seriously though: the granny flat is a top contender in the category “poor planning, so there is no market for it,” and the house comes across like a typical example of a “secondhand suburban house renovated by a senior doctor.” The money spent on surface finishes could be better invested in a tasteful design.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
I’ve never been great at telling jokes, but I’ll try this one once more: “What do you call the stepbrother of the buttocks with ears? – A granny flat with ‘light wells’!”
Seriously though: the granny flat is a top contender in the category “poor planning, so there is no market for it,” and the house comes across like a typical example of a “secondhand suburban house renovated by a senior doctor.” The money spent on surface finishes could be better invested in a tasteful design.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Yes, everyone – the granny flat is not a dream property – that’s clear to me. But the alternative (huge basement, impossible to rent out) didn’t seem much more sensible to me either.
11 ant: I actually don’t think your wit is bad at all! … but I also don’t find it necessarily constructive.
…thanks anyway for your opinion!
A big THANK YOU to ypg!
And best wishes to all!
11 ant: I actually don’t think your wit is bad at all! … but I also don’t find it necessarily constructive.
…thanks anyway for your opinion!
A big THANK YOU to ypg!
And best wishes to all!
sanftmut schrieb:
I don’t find it necessarily constructive either.Sometimes being destructive is better: nothing beats advising against something before the problem actually happens.sanftmut schrieb:
The granny flat isn’t a dream property – that’s clear to me. But the alternative (a huge basement that can’t be rented out) didn’t seem much more sensible either.Unfortunately, the one-eyed man is king only among the blind. Of course, a large empty basement without a meaningful use seems even less sensible – but since we’re already on the topic of “not necessarily constructive,” the same applies to simply calling that empty basement a granny flat. A more reasonable conclusion would be to reduce the total floor area once such a significant oversize is discovered; and after reallocating the realistically usable spaces, to enthusiastically get to work arranging them more cleverly.https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
sanftmut schrieb:
The ground floor just ended up this big because the development plan (one full storey and knee wall 0.8 m (31.5 inches)) only allowed for a "nice attic" like this...From my previous experience in local government, I know the old saying from Reinhard Mey: "the culprit is always necessity."https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
sanftmut schrieb:
The ground floor ended up this large because the development plan only allowed for one full story plus an attic knee wall of 0.8 m (0.8 yards), so this was the best possible attic space... Wouldn't it make more sense to skip the basement entirely and include the utility room on the ground floor instead, organizing the rooms more compactly? That way, you'd even have a small storage room left over.
Similar topics