ᐅ Floor Plan: Semi-Detached House 8x12 m – Feedback and Creative Ideas Welcome :)
Created on: 28 Apr 2020 13:37
J
Jucruzlo
Hello everyone,
I’ve also been experimenting a bit with floor plans for our plot.
Background: At the moment, we are in contact with a general contractor (GC) and a prefab home builder. It will probably end up being a combination of an independent architect and a GC (thanks for the tip @ant11). However, it is very difficult to find an architect right now – but of course, I couldn’t just sit still and had to try a little myself. I worked with the app MagicPlan. Although we have already received a floor plan from the prefab builder, it really didn’t suit us at all. So, here we go – thank you in advance to everyone who takes a look :-*
I’m also happy to take any tips on how to find an architect who doesn’t only work on projects over 1 million (dollars/pounds). :-P
A quick note on orientation: The balcony on the upper floor and the living room face southwest. It has to be that way. The rear side borders directly onto open fields.
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 410m2 (4,410 sq ft)
Slope: no
Building window: 5m (16 ft) from the street, 12m (39 ft) house length, 8.1m (27 ft) width for the house, and 3m (10 ft) width for the garage. Plot dimensions 11.1m (36 ft) × 37m (121 ft)
Number of parking spaces: -
Number of floors: Max. 2 full floors, no knee walls allowed
Roof type: pitched roof with a 25–45 degree slope
Architectural style: any
Orientation: southwest
Maximum height / limits: ridge height 9m (30 ft), wall height max. 4.70m (15 ft)
Owners’ requirements
Style, roof type, building type: nice :-P
Basement, floors: no basement, almost 2 full floors (slight slopes from 1.80m (5 ft 11 in) due to prescribed wall height)
Number of people, age: 3 people, including a toddler (2 years old) – another child planned
Space requirement ground floor, upper floor: 140–160m2 (1,500–1,720 sq ft)
Office: guest room on ground floor used as office
Guests per year: currently rarely – in older age, space for parents/in-laws desired
Open or closed layout: open floor plan
Balcony, roof terrace: balcony for drying laundry
Garage, carport: garage – carport would also be acceptable if advantages prevail
House design
Designed by: me (trained architect through various apps :-P – just kidding)
What do you like most? Why?
What don’t you like? Why?
Why did the design turn out as it is now?
We wanted an open floor plan because we have a lot of visitors, and I always find it a shame to disappear into the kitchen while everything is happening in the living area. It was also important for us to have a separate parents’ area for complete privacy and a balcony for drying laundry in summer. A guest shower on the ground floor was needed, and it is important to me to do laundry on the upper floor (where the laundry is generated).
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan, summarized in 130 characters?
Note:
The windows are just placed approximately. I also don’t know how to view the exterior – of course, we will position the windows accordingly.
I’ve also been experimenting a bit with floor plans for our plot.
Background: At the moment, we are in contact with a general contractor (GC) and a prefab home builder. It will probably end up being a combination of an independent architect and a GC (thanks for the tip @ant11). However, it is very difficult to find an architect right now – but of course, I couldn’t just sit still and had to try a little myself. I worked with the app MagicPlan. Although we have already received a floor plan from the prefab builder, it really didn’t suit us at all. So, here we go – thank you in advance to everyone who takes a look :-*
I’m also happy to take any tips on how to find an architect who doesn’t only work on projects over 1 million (dollars/pounds). :-P
A quick note on orientation: The balcony on the upper floor and the living room face southwest. It has to be that way. The rear side borders directly onto open fields.
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 410m2 (4,410 sq ft)
Slope: no
Building window: 5m (16 ft) from the street, 12m (39 ft) house length, 8.1m (27 ft) width for the house, and 3m (10 ft) width for the garage. Plot dimensions 11.1m (36 ft) × 37m (121 ft)
Number of parking spaces: -
Number of floors: Max. 2 full floors, no knee walls allowed
Roof type: pitched roof with a 25–45 degree slope
Architectural style: any
Orientation: southwest
Maximum height / limits: ridge height 9m (30 ft), wall height max. 4.70m (15 ft)
Owners’ requirements
Style, roof type, building type: nice :-P
Basement, floors: no basement, almost 2 full floors (slight slopes from 1.80m (5 ft 11 in) due to prescribed wall height)
Number of people, age: 3 people, including a toddler (2 years old) – another child planned
Space requirement ground floor, upper floor: 140–160m2 (1,500–1,720 sq ft)
Office: guest room on ground floor used as office
Guests per year: currently rarely – in older age, space for parents/in-laws desired
Open or closed layout: open floor plan
Balcony, roof terrace: balcony for drying laundry
Garage, carport: garage – carport would also be acceptable if advantages prevail
House design
Designed by: me (trained architect through various apps :-P – just kidding)
What do you like most? Why?
- Garage access through utility room
- Few hallway areas but still with a wardrobe
- Open living concept and straight staircase (platform stairs couldn’t be depicted)
- Separate bathroom for kids
- Spacious walk-in closet
- Laundry room on upper floor
- Access through bedroom/bath to walk-in closet
What don’t you like? Why?
- No pantry on the ground floor
- Kids’ rooms on the north side
- Having to enter the parents’ walk-in closet first – would prefer two wall closets like houses in America
- Upper floor hallway very narrow and access to kids’ room 1 hardly feasible – on the other hand, I don’t like wasted space and enlarging the hallway would reduce kids’ room sizes. Any solutions?
- I find the garage quite practical but it takes away window area – will the ground floor be too dark, and should we rather go with a carport?
Why did the design turn out as it is now?
We wanted an open floor plan because we have a lot of visitors, and I always find it a shame to disappear into the kitchen while everything is happening in the living area. It was also important for us to have a separate parents’ area for complete privacy and a balcony for drying laundry in summer. A guest shower on the ground floor was needed, and it is important to me to do laundry on the upper floor (where the laundry is generated).
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan, summarized in 130 characters?
- General opinion on the floor plan
- See “what I don’t like” – suggestions for improvements welcome
Note:
The windows are just placed approximately. I also don’t know how to view the exterior – of course, we will position the windows accordingly.
I would definitely plan the shower upstairs for the children. Our son always walks from the bathroom to his room with a towel and wet feet, so the entire staircase would get wet and someone could slip. Also, the bathroom with clothes on the floor and a thousand personal care products doesn’t look very nice, so I didn’t want to use it as a restroom on the ground floor.
Best regards
Sabine
Best regards
Sabine
saralina87 schrieb:
I find it fascinating that none of the usually quite vocal supporters of storage space have criticized the floor plan yet – has there perhaps been a change in mindset? No, there is storage space. Maybe not a lot, but still reasonable in relation to the size of the house and above all practical.
We are looking closely and not just complaining – even if some might get that impression.
Okay, the door to the garage definitely needs to go.
I hope this helps a little. Plots 530-535 – the situation is still unclear, but it should become clear quite soon.
We plan to install as many windows as possible anyway – and we don’t mind which side, since plots here are very, very scarce and we are simply glad to get anything at all. However, if it’s on the “north side,” we would definitely skip a garage and plan a carport instead.
I will answer the rest later – my daughter needs attention right now.
We plan to install as many windows as possible anyway – and we don’t mind which side, since plots here are very, very scarce and we are simply glad to get anything at all. However, if it’s on the “north side,” we would definitely skip a garage and plan a carport instead.
I will answer the rest later – my daughter needs attention right now.
kaho674 schrieb:
I’m not really a fan of the bathroom layout. Having the toilet so prominently in the way is annoying. I would change that.
What really puts me off, though, is the garage again. It makes the kitchen as dark as night.To be honest, I just placed the bathroom roughly to see if there would even be enough space for our preferred furniture. I think a professional bathroom planner could probably get much more out of it than I ever could.
And yes, that’s true about the kitchen. I think the garage really has to go. But I quite like the idea of a garden shed for storage.
We also have an attic for extra storage, but how often will I really go up there? On the other hand, less storage means less clutter :-P
A downstairs shower for the kids doesn’t appeal to me either, for the reasons you mentioned :-/ …
And yes, the bathroom is a bit tight for full accessibility. What would you do?
Two people definitely won’t be happy there, but since they’ll be a couple, no one will visit us — we’ve already discussed that. Whether they will come at all is still uncertain — I just want to be somewhat prepared, you understand? Otherwise, the room can be used as an office. I don’t want to force my parents/in-laws to climb stairs at their age just to shower. And if they ever become fully dependent on care — God forbid — we won’t be able to manage that alone anyway.
My in-laws/parents are just under 60, and we are in our early 30s.
Würfel* schrieb:
In terms of room feeling, I can say that 8 meters (26 feet) should be enough for such a wall. Cable routing in the floor should be planned early. You could maybe also put a bench along the partition wall, which saves space at the dining table.GREAT IDEA, thanks a lot — noted!!!
I’m not really fond of having the kids’ rooms facing east either… especially since we only sleep in the bedroom, and the kids will really spend time there. We’ll have to see if there’s another way — maybe someone has an idea?
Würfel* schrieb:
Otherwise, they’ll also have to walk through the dirty area. Once the kids have left the house, a stairlift could move in along with your parents.That would definitely be worth considering. Instead of the shower, my laundry room could go there, and I’d have less cleaning to do.
A shower on a different floor also means the staircase will be a bit damp right after showering. Modern houses from the 1960s are usually far from being rickety (?)
Then go back to the land registry portal and enable the additional information overlays there. This “quality” of presentation is only enough to explain to an alien where Hesse is located.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Jucruzlo schrieb:
my daughter needs attention right now
Then go back to the land registry portal and enable the additional information overlays there. This “quality” of presentation is only enough to explain to an alien where Hesse is located.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
The bathroom does not need to be fully wheelchair accessible. It should only allow an elderly person with a walker or a caregiver to enter. A bathroom on a different floor is not suitable for this, especially since they probably wouldn’t be able to get there; otherwise, they would still be in their familiar environment.
It might be a good idea to plan a family bathroom upstairs and later have the teenager move to the bathroom downstairs. Children and teenagers can be expected to keep things tidy. Not long ago, family bathrooms were the norm, and everyone managed to keep them clean then as well.
It might be a good idea to plan a family bathroom upstairs and later have the teenager move to the bathroom downstairs. Children and teenagers can be expected to keep things tidy. Not long ago, family bathrooms were the norm, and everyone managed to keep them clean then as well.
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