Hello everyone,
At our developer, a customer who had reserved a plot of land dropped out. Since the other plot faces south / southwest, we didn’t hesitate long and switched to that plot. The new plot is smaller, so we gave up on our bungalow dream. The plot number is 5.
To remind you: The plot is tied to the developer.
I have been thinking over the past few days about the arrangement and design of the rooms and the plot, and I would first like to know if the concept is okay. I am not concerned with details inside the rooms such as windows, doors, or bathroom design. That’s not possible anyway since I created the floor plan myself based on Gussek Haus floor plans. However, I tried to design it as well as possible. For this reason, I want to share the floor plan here for discussion. I’m mainly looking for feedback on the layout and room arrangement, as well as ideas, suggestions, or tips. Maybe you’ll also spot things that “just don’t work” or are not practical for everyday living.
I created the floor plan with RoomSketcher, but only used the free version, so many features are limited. Please ignore the room dimensions on the upper floor. There is a dormer in the area of the home office.
A few more details about the house.
Roof pitch 38°
Knee wall (Drempel) 100cm (39 inches)
External dimensions 12.85 x 9.60 m (42.2 x 31.5 feet) (enlarged, original dimensions of Gussek Haus models are smaller)
Unfortunately, I cannot show internal room dimensions because RoomSketcher does not allow it.
Attached again is the completed questionnaire.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 676m²
Slope: NO
Site coverage ratio: 0.4 (allowed exceedance 25 out of 100)
Floor area ratio: 0.6
Building envelope, building line, and boundaries: On the north side / south side approx. 20.5 m (67 feet) wide, west and east sides approx. 33 m (108 feet) wide, 3 m (10 feet) building setback on each side, rectangular plot, clearly visible in the pictures
Edge construction setback: 3 m (10 feet)
Number of parking spaces: no requirement
Number of stories: maximum 2 full stories
Roof style: Gable roof, hipped roof
Other requirements: Garage must be 5 m (16 feet) from the property boundary. Garage on the west side because the curb is lowered there.
Homeowners’ Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: Doesn’t matter, initially considered a house with a gable roof, there is a dormer in the home office area
Basement, number of floors: No basement due to high groundwater level
Number of occupants, ages: 4 people aged 36 (female), 37 (male), 3 (child), 1 (child)
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor:
Ground floor: Living/dining/kitchen area, utility room, guest WC with shower, hallway with coat area and stairs to upper floor, guest room / playroom
Upper floor: Master bedroom, 2 children’s rooms, bathroom, storage room, office
Office use: Family use or home office? Home office combined with family use
Guests per year: 1–2 times
Open or closed architecture: Closed architecture?
Conservative or modern style: A mix of both
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Closed kitchen with island would be nice but not a must; open kitchen is also an option
Number of dining seats: 4, with the option for 6
Fireplace: No
Music / stereo wall: Sound system in the living room
Balcony, roof terrace: No
Garage, carport: Space for 2 cars is required, preferably 3 to 4. Currently considering a garage (3 x 6 m / 9.8 x 19.7 feet) with a carport (3.6 m / 12 feet) in front, not sure if that works. Plus 2 parking spaces in front of the house.
Utility garden, greenhouse: No
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons why certain things should or shouldn’t be:
House Design
Who created the design:
- DIY - copy and combination of Gussek Haus models Lindenallee, Kiefernallee variant 1, and Buchenallee variant 2
What do you especially like? Why?
- Large closed kitchen with island and direct / short access to the terrace
- Living room close to the terrace
- Guest / playroom on the ground floor
- Storage room on the upper floor with washing machine and dryer
- Utility room with washing machine and dryer (yes, twice)
- 6 rooms
- Layout of rooms on the upper floor
What do you not like? Why?
- Location of the home office on the upper floor is not ideal in my view, but I could live with it
Price estimate from architect/planner: No new estimate so far
Personal price limit for house including features: 400,000
Preferred heating system: Heat pump
Why does the design look like it does now? For example:
Copy-paste of Gussek Haus models Lindenallee, Kiefernallee variant 1, and Buchenallee variant 2
What is the most important fundamental question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
Is the room layout okay?
At our developer, a customer who had reserved a plot of land dropped out. Since the other plot faces south / southwest, we didn’t hesitate long and switched to that plot. The new plot is smaller, so we gave up on our bungalow dream. The plot number is 5.
To remind you: The plot is tied to the developer.
I have been thinking over the past few days about the arrangement and design of the rooms and the plot, and I would first like to know if the concept is okay. I am not concerned with details inside the rooms such as windows, doors, or bathroom design. That’s not possible anyway since I created the floor plan myself based on Gussek Haus floor plans. However, I tried to design it as well as possible. For this reason, I want to share the floor plan here for discussion. I’m mainly looking for feedback on the layout and room arrangement, as well as ideas, suggestions, or tips. Maybe you’ll also spot things that “just don’t work” or are not practical for everyday living.
I created the floor plan with RoomSketcher, but only used the free version, so many features are limited. Please ignore the room dimensions on the upper floor. There is a dormer in the area of the home office.
A few more details about the house.
Roof pitch 38°
Knee wall (Drempel) 100cm (39 inches)
External dimensions 12.85 x 9.60 m (42.2 x 31.5 feet) (enlarged, original dimensions of Gussek Haus models are smaller)
Unfortunately, I cannot show internal room dimensions because RoomSketcher does not allow it.
Attached again is the completed questionnaire.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 676m²
Slope: NO
Site coverage ratio: 0.4 (allowed exceedance 25 out of 100)
Floor area ratio: 0.6
Building envelope, building line, and boundaries: On the north side / south side approx. 20.5 m (67 feet) wide, west and east sides approx. 33 m (108 feet) wide, 3 m (10 feet) building setback on each side, rectangular plot, clearly visible in the pictures
Edge construction setback: 3 m (10 feet)
Number of parking spaces: no requirement
Number of stories: maximum 2 full stories
Roof style: Gable roof, hipped roof
Other requirements: Garage must be 5 m (16 feet) from the property boundary. Garage on the west side because the curb is lowered there.
Homeowners’ Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: Doesn’t matter, initially considered a house with a gable roof, there is a dormer in the home office area
Basement, number of floors: No basement due to high groundwater level
Number of occupants, ages: 4 people aged 36 (female), 37 (male), 3 (child), 1 (child)
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor:
Ground floor: Living/dining/kitchen area, utility room, guest WC with shower, hallway with coat area and stairs to upper floor, guest room / playroom
Upper floor: Master bedroom, 2 children’s rooms, bathroom, storage room, office
Office use: Family use or home office? Home office combined with family use
Guests per year: 1–2 times
Open or closed architecture: Closed architecture?
Conservative or modern style: A mix of both
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Closed kitchen with island would be nice but not a must; open kitchen is also an option
Number of dining seats: 4, with the option for 6
Fireplace: No
Music / stereo wall: Sound system in the living room
Balcony, roof terrace: No
Garage, carport: Space for 2 cars is required, preferably 3 to 4. Currently considering a garage (3 x 6 m / 9.8 x 19.7 feet) with a carport (3.6 m / 12 feet) in front, not sure if that works. Plus 2 parking spaces in front of the house.
Utility garden, greenhouse: No
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons why certain things should or shouldn’t be:
House Design
Who created the design:
- DIY - copy and combination of Gussek Haus models Lindenallee, Kiefernallee variant 1, and Buchenallee variant 2
What do you especially like? Why?
- Large closed kitchen with island and direct / short access to the terrace
- Living room close to the terrace
- Guest / playroom on the ground floor
- Storage room on the upper floor with washing machine and dryer
- Utility room with washing machine and dryer (yes, twice)
- 6 rooms
- Layout of rooms on the upper floor
What do you not like? Why?
- Location of the home office on the upper floor is not ideal in my view, but I could live with it
Price estimate from architect/planner: No new estimate so far
Personal price limit for house including features: 400,000
Preferred heating system: Heat pump
Why does the design look like it does now? For example:
Copy-paste of Gussek Haus models Lindenallee, Kiefernallee variant 1, and Buchenallee variant 2
What is the most important fundamental question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
Is the room layout okay?
C
Chrisi190611 May 2020 18:12chrisw81 schrieb:
It never hurts and really brightens up a sloping roof area, in my opinion. I agree that a double casement window can brighten up a sloping roof, but...
The rooms tend to heat up, which makes installing blinds or shades advisable (additional cost). Precipitation of any kind (snow, ice, rain) falls directly on the windows, causing more wear and potential weak spots that can lead to heat loss or moisture penetration. This applies to all types of windows, but roof windows are directly integrated into the roof structure.
Chrisi1906 schrieb:
Where exactly is the whole house dark? The children have enough window space. Have you even looked at the children's bedroom windows?Well, there is no light coming from the west and east in the living room—only two south-facing terrace doors. The sofa is in front of one, the table in front of the other. The window width in the children's rooms is only 1.50 meters (5 feet). The frames take up some of that, so there’s basically just a narrow strip on the west side. It’s nicer when the windows are floor-to-ceiling, but the amount of light doesn’t change much because of that. The upstairs hallway is completely dark—there’s not even a double casement window. The bedroom only has a narrow door on the east side. If you only slept there, that’d be fine. But if your wife is picking out an outfit, she probably can’t tell if the shoe color really matches. The nicest room upstairs will probably be the office.
Chrisi1906 schrieb:
I wonder what house builders who don’t have floor-to-ceiling windows do? Total darkness?They install wide windows and use almost the entire gable width. When the rooms are larger (like here), they also install double casement windows. I find your concerns about wear or thermal bridging of those to be strange. I don’t have double casement windows because the house has two stories. In the holiday home, we have several, and I can say I noticed none of that, but I’m only there two weeks a year. Maybe someone else can comment on that. In my opinion, those concerns are largely unfounded, and any wear isn’t different from that with other windows.
Chrisi1906 schrieb:
Try to be more specific instead of making comments like that. When a so-called “new” plan is so similar to its predecessors that you can only spot differences with a magnifying glass, it clearly means that most of the comments have not been incorporated – how many of those were mine is irrelevant. Nevertheless, presenting it as if I have not made any concrete comments yet is quite bold.
Chrisi1906 schrieb:
Regarding the dance floor, I wrote that we will first schedule an appointment with the bathroom planner. Basically, I like a bathroom that is spacious. The relationship between the locations of sanitary fixtures and soil pipes has apparently not yet been fully understood by many. Unfortunately, this is not a matter of fine-tuning but essentially prejudges the rooms beneath. Assuming that making the work easier for a bathroom planner by providing a large area is beneficial is a serious misconception. Although this is not always the case, it definitely does not apply in most cases.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
hausnrplus2511 May 2020 19:0211ant schrieb:
The connection between the locations of sanitary fixtures and soil stacks is still not clear to many people.Are there any tips on this, the maximum possibilities, or what is simply not feasible?
hausnrplus25 schrieb:
Any tips on that,Well, first of all, don’t spread the sanitary fixtures around the perimeter walls as if around a large piazza. This not only creates unnecessary multiple soil pipe stacks but also results in excessively long fresh water pipe runs, which can become a breeding ground for Legionella.https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
C
Chrisi190611 May 2020 19:1611ant schrieb:
When a so-called "new" plan resembles its predecessors so closely that you need a magnifying glass to spot any differences, it seems most of the comments haven’t been addressed—how many of those were mine is irrelevant. Nevertheless, presenting it as if I hadn’t made any specific comments yet is quite bold. I never claimed that you hadn’t made any specific comments yet. I was only referring to that particular comment.
kaho674 schrieb:
Well, no natural light from the west or east in the living room—just two south-facing terrace doors—one blocked by the sofa, the other by the table.
The window width in the children’s rooms is only 1.50m (5 feet). That’s minus the frame, leaving just a narrow strip on the west side. Sure, floor-to-ceiling windows look nicer, but the amount of light barely changes. Upstairs hallway is completely dark—no double casement window at all. The bedroom only has a narrow door facing east. If it’s only for sleeping, okay. But when the wife puts on a dress, she can’t really tell if the shoe color matches. Probably the nicest room upstairs will be the office.
They install wide windows and use almost the entire gable width. When rooms are larger (like here), they add double casement windows. Your concerns about wear or thermal bridging with those windows seem odd to me. I don’t have double casement windows because it’s a two-story house. In the vacation home, we have several, and I can’t confirm those concerns, but I’m there only two weeks a year. Maybe someone else can comment. In my opinion, those worries are largely unfounded, and wear isn’t different than with other windows. I find the statement "The whole house will be quite dark overall" simply wrong. I also welcome clear suggestions for improvement, like yours.
Regarding your criticisms:
1. With this floor plan, I have to choose between a shed or windows on the west side. I’m choosing the shed—also because there is an apartment block (“Plattenbau”) to the west. I can’t put the garage on the east side due to street narrowing.
2. About the windows spanning the gable width: I can’t make the gable windows wider than 2 meters (6.5 feet). So you mean that two 1m (3.3 feet) wide windows on the gables provide more light than one 1.5m x 2m (5 feet x 6.5 feet) floor-to-ceiling window? Purely mathematically, the latter has more window area. So I don’t understand your argument.
3. We only sleep in the bedroom. Installing a roof window there would likely cause noise that you don’t want while sleeping.
I agree with you about the upstairs hallway. Maybe recess the bathroom/storage room a bit and create a narrow strip next to the staircase where a double casement window could be installed? That way you can access the double casement window and bring light into the hallway.
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