ᐅ New single-family house construction, approximately 170 m², townhouse-style villa
Created on: 24 Nov 2019 13:19
F
fskscorp
Hello everyone,
We are planning to make our dream of owning a home come true next year. So far, we have visited five general contractors and received fairly comparable initial offers from them. At this point, only two remain in consideration based on quality, reputation, price, and overall feeling.
The basic floor plan has been set from the very beginning, but we have continuously modified and optimized it and have not yet finalized a version, as we also want to keep an eye on construction costs. The attached floor plans include one initial design from the architect and one optimized version by me regarding the window placements and staircase location.
I would appreciate your feedback. Are there any critical issues we might be missing? What could be solved more intelligently? Perhaps something “unusual” that could be added quickly and without significant expense.
I am looking forward to your input!
Thank you very much!
Development plan/restrictions
Plot size: 1086 m2 (11,685 sq ft); approximately 31m (102 ft) wide on the street side, 29m (95 ft) deep. Located at the end of a dead-end street, with an unobstructed view of fields and forest.
Slope: The terrain currently drops about 2.80m (9 ft 2 in) from south to north but will be leveled during self-performed earthworks to about 1m (3 ft 3 in) above street level.
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Floor area ratio: 0.8
Building setback: 3 meters (10 ft) from the street
Adjacent buildings: none
Parking spaces required: 2 per housing unit
Number of floors allowed: Max. 2
Roof pitch: Between 25° and 45°
Architectural style: Classic-modern?
Orientation: Open
Maximum heights/limitations:
Additional requirements: Roof color (although no one has really stuck to this)
Owners’ requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Classic modern, urban villa with tent or hipped roof accordingly
Basement, floors: 2 full stories plus a large double garage with flat roof
Number of residents, age: 2 adults in their early 30s
Room requirements on the ground floor: Cloakroom, guest toilet, utility room, kitchen, living and dining room
Room requirements on the upper floor: 2 children’s rooms, master bedroom, walk-in closets, bathroom, office
Office: Family use + minimal home office
Guests per year: Rarely
Open or closed architecture: Open, but living-dining area separated from the hallway
Conservative or modern construction: We see ourselves as modern but not over the top.
Open kitchen, island: Open kitchen with island and ideally a side-by-side refrigerator
Number of dining seats: Usually 4-6
Fireplace: None
Media/wall unit: Media wall for TV
Balcony, roof terrace: The adjacent double garage should be accessible from the parents’ bedroom (planned for the future, probably never realized but option should exist).
Garage, carport: Double garage with space to serve as a cellar substitute room
Utility garden, greenhouse: Possibly later
Further wishes/special features/daily routine, also reasons for or against certain choices:
- Utility room next to kitchen on the ground floor, accessible from the garage
- Spacious open living and dining area
- Smart Home is a topic everywhere, but we have decided that KNX will only be feasible as self-installation
- No external thermal insulation composite system (ETICS)
House design
Who created the plan:
- Architect, self-drawn
What do you like most?
Open and spacious, all our wishes were considered. We wanted to keep the building’s shape as simple as possible and avoid dormers, bay windows, and indentations. Lots of large windows facing the back, as the view is really great and unobstructed.
What don’t you like? Why?
Price estimate according to general contractor/general planner: about €395,000 (approx. $440,000) including additional building costs.
Preferred heating system: air-to-water heat pump with photovoltaic. However, the photovoltaic system is not included in the price.
Only the point that you don’t really get anything special for this fairly high amount. I would like to have one or two ‘gimmicks.’
If you had to give up anything, which details/features?
From our perspective, it is already minimalistic. We reduced from 190 down to these 175 m² (1882 sq ft).
Why does the design look the way it does now? For example:
We put a lot of thought into the floor plans, looked at many houses online and from friends/family. We wrote down everything we liked as well as what we didn’t want. Budget-wise, it quickly became clear that in this price range, you have to forego visual and technical highlights. We want to optimize the window work; reportedly, we are about €10,000 (approx. $11,200) above average for a house of this type.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Are there optimizations in the floor plan we have overlooked? All existing furniture except the kitchen is drawn to scale. Enough windows/light overall?
We are planning to make our dream of owning a home come true next year. So far, we have visited five general contractors and received fairly comparable initial offers from them. At this point, only two remain in consideration based on quality, reputation, price, and overall feeling.
The basic floor plan has been set from the very beginning, but we have continuously modified and optimized it and have not yet finalized a version, as we also want to keep an eye on construction costs. The attached floor plans include one initial design from the architect and one optimized version by me regarding the window placements and staircase location.
I would appreciate your feedback. Are there any critical issues we might be missing? What could be solved more intelligently? Perhaps something “unusual” that could be added quickly and without significant expense.
I am looking forward to your input!
Thank you very much!
Development plan/restrictions
Plot size: 1086 m2 (11,685 sq ft); approximately 31m (102 ft) wide on the street side, 29m (95 ft) deep. Located at the end of a dead-end street, with an unobstructed view of fields and forest.
Slope: The terrain currently drops about 2.80m (9 ft 2 in) from south to north but will be leveled during self-performed earthworks to about 1m (3 ft 3 in) above street level.
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Floor area ratio: 0.8
Building setback: 3 meters (10 ft) from the street
Adjacent buildings: none
Parking spaces required: 2 per housing unit
Number of floors allowed: Max. 2
Roof pitch: Between 25° and 45°
Architectural style: Classic-modern?
Orientation: Open
Maximum heights/limitations:
Additional requirements: Roof color (although no one has really stuck to this)
Owners’ requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Classic modern, urban villa with tent or hipped roof accordingly
Basement, floors: 2 full stories plus a large double garage with flat roof
Number of residents, age: 2 adults in their early 30s
Room requirements on the ground floor: Cloakroom, guest toilet, utility room, kitchen, living and dining room
Room requirements on the upper floor: 2 children’s rooms, master bedroom, walk-in closets, bathroom, office
Office: Family use + minimal home office
Guests per year: Rarely
Open or closed architecture: Open, but living-dining area separated from the hallway
Conservative or modern construction: We see ourselves as modern but not over the top.
Open kitchen, island: Open kitchen with island and ideally a side-by-side refrigerator
Number of dining seats: Usually 4-6
Fireplace: None
Media/wall unit: Media wall for TV
Balcony, roof terrace: The adjacent double garage should be accessible from the parents’ bedroom (planned for the future, probably never realized but option should exist).
Garage, carport: Double garage with space to serve as a cellar substitute room
Utility garden, greenhouse: Possibly later
Further wishes/special features/daily routine, also reasons for or against certain choices:
- Utility room next to kitchen on the ground floor, accessible from the garage
- Spacious open living and dining area
- Smart Home is a topic everywhere, but we have decided that KNX will only be feasible as self-installation
- No external thermal insulation composite system (ETICS)
House design
Who created the plan:
- Architect, self-drawn
What do you like most?
Open and spacious, all our wishes were considered. We wanted to keep the building’s shape as simple as possible and avoid dormers, bay windows, and indentations. Lots of large windows facing the back, as the view is really great and unobstructed.
What don’t you like? Why?
Price estimate according to general contractor/general planner: about €395,000 (approx. $440,000) including additional building costs.
Preferred heating system: air-to-water heat pump with photovoltaic. However, the photovoltaic system is not included in the price.
Only the point that you don’t really get anything special for this fairly high amount. I would like to have one or two ‘gimmicks.’
If you had to give up anything, which details/features?
From our perspective, it is already minimalistic. We reduced from 190 down to these 175 m² (1882 sq ft).
Why does the design look the way it does now? For example:
We put a lot of thought into the floor plans, looked at many houses online and from friends/family. We wrote down everything we liked as well as what we didn’t want. Budget-wise, it quickly became clear that in this price range, you have to forego visual and technical highlights. We want to optimize the window work; reportedly, we are about €10,000 (approx. $11,200) above average for a house of this type.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Are there optimizations in the floor plan we have overlooked? All existing furniture except the kitchen is drawn to scale. Enough windows/light overall?
BiffBiff schrieb:
Yes. Are you actually having someone else do it?In our case, the person who does the shopping takes care of it.
My question is aimed at the fact that some people really like their home equipment because they paid for it, not because they have everyday experience with it. Laundry + shopping, a popular topic among homeowners.
ypg schrieb:
The laundry is located in the utility room?
I give up... I also don’t see any issue with the terrain slope to justify not planning it properly from the start.
Why don’t you just get rid of the hallway altogether? Yes, pointless. Typical “men’s house.” The planning starts with the garage. Then they figure out how to maintain a permanent connection to the car. One wonders why the wife doesn’t just sleep out in the garage and cuddle with the car on the sofa. Then the direct door from outside to the utility room would make a lot more sense… for the (cleaning) lady.
What I also always wonder is, when the oh-so-muddy cyclist manages to scrape dirt along the cars and through the utility room door, is the dirt just supposed to stay there? Or does it really matter for the sweaty shirt whether it takes the shortest route to the washing machine? All that, only to end up standing naked in the hallway? Next time I want to go cycling, do I have to look for the muddy shoes under the laundry pile, or are there special muddy-shoe closets in the utility room?
I think the real reason is probably that the men secretly sneak off to their car in an unobserved moment and pet it. They just don’t want to admit it!
Aside from that, I really don’t like the design at all. The main rooms (dining and kitchen) are narrow, corridor-like, and uninviting. The chill-out area feels hardly welcoming.
And what’s the point of the cut-off corner at the entrance now? Originality at all costs?
2D and 3D do not show the same house. The cantilever of the upper floor extending to the left in the plan is an extremely expensive nonsense, and the bay window on the ground floor is a useless, space-wasting design error. I would definitely not set the garage back but have it protrude instead. The bathroom should be swapped with the storage room, since its current location would get morning sun. The wardrobe here only has the support of my minority opinion and otherwise receives heavy criticism for being "too small."
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
kaho674 schrieb:
Yes, pointless. A typical “man’s house.” The planning starts with the garage. Then they figure out how to create a permanent connection to the car. You wonder why the wife doesn’t just sleep out there in the garage and cuddle the car on the couch. Then having a direct door from outside to the utility room would make much more sense... for the (cleaning) woman.
What I always wonder is, when the oh-so-muddy cyclist manages to scrape dirt along the cars and through the utility room door, does the dirt just stay there? Or does it really matter for the sweaty T-shirt whether it takes the shortest way to the washing machine? All this just to end up standing naked in the hallway? When I want to go cycling next time, do I look for the muddy shoes under the laundry pile, or are there special muddy-shoe cupboards in the utility room?
I think the real reason is that men secretly sneak to their car when no one’s watching and pet it. They just don’t want to admit it! Well, I just found the idea practical. In our current house (a newly built four-unit building) we have an underground garage. Here, I ride my bike through the garage door and start removing the top layers of clothing right there. That already brings quite a bit of dirt inside. Then I stash the dirtiest clothes in the basement and walk into the apartment on the ground floor in my underwear. With a 7m (23 feet) wide garage, you should be able to easily pass two cars or use the rear door of the cellar since that is where the bikes are stored anyway. So from the perspective of shopping (which I actually do) as well as my hobby, it seems practical to me.
kaho674 schrieb:
Aside from that, I don’t like the design at all. The main rooms (dining and kitchen) are narrow, corridor-like, and uncomfortable. The chill area feels uninviting.
What’s the point of the clipped corner at the entrance? Forced originality at all costs? Hmm, this was a draft from another company without many specifications from me. To be honest, I had hoped for more constructive feedback. No offense, but saying “I don’t like the design” doesn’t help me/us much. I am definitely open to concrete suggestions for improvement or even a completely different floor plan. But I haven’t found anything like that here so far.
11ant schrieb:
2D and 3D don’t show the same house. That’s true, it was more about showing the elevation with the new embankments. Unfortunately, our CAD program isn’t really focused on residential design, so I had to use a simple rectangular form.
11ant schrieb:
The cantilever on the upper floor to the left is ridiculously expensive rubbish, and the bay window on the ground floor is a useless space-wasting bad design. I agree with you there. I originally planned to skip the bay window since the costs are nearly the same if I simply enlarge the upper floor instead of creating a flat roof.
11ant schrieb:
The bathroom should be swapped with the storage room, because where it is now, it would get morning sun. I agree as well; that was how it was intended in my original floor plan.
11ant schrieb:
The cloakroom here only has the support of my minority opinion and otherwise gets strong criticism for being “too small.” Since my jackets mostly hang in the car or the closet anyway, the cloakroom is not really important. We currently don’t have one at all, but I wanted to plan a small one if the number of residents increases.
fskscorp schrieb:
To be honest, I was expecting somewhat more constructive feedback. No offense, but comments like "I don’t like the design" don’t help me/us much. I’m definitely open to specific improvement suggestions or even a completely different floor plan. But so far I haven’t seen anything like that here. Now you’re acting strange.
After we all expressed doubts about your earthworks here and mentioned them, you strongly defended the location of the house.
fskscorp schrieb:
OK, good point. The door to the garage should stay because the utility room is planned to be slightly larger to also serve as a pantry. It should be accessible from the garage. This sentence (on page 1) is where those who might want to try other approaches by drawing no longer start.*
On page 2 or 3:
fskscorp schrieb:
Placing the front door where you placed it was also my first thought. But that wasn’t possible because we want the kitchen and dining room facing the terrace and want to connect the garage and utility room. Here you defend what we question. @kaho674 brought new ideas, while you were still focused on your earthworks and your problematic garage/utility room door.
*I don’t know how long Katja works on her designs. She produces quite a bit, maybe also because of the program she uses. But Kerstin and I struggle quite a bit with our software, and that alongside our jobs. That’s why we don’t contribute much.
If someone is as resistant as you are, they might reconsider investing even just 1–2 hours. When you get into the details, an evening can pass quickly.
In the end, this isn’t about a simple sketch of the interior layout but still about the placement of the house… and most opinions agree on that.
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