ᐅ Floor plan optimization for a semi-detached house on a 380 sqm plot
Created on: 22 Nov 2020 23:11
Z
zeehdeeh
Hello everyone,
In just under four weeks, we will be able to purchase a typical narrow lot suitable for building a semi-detached house. The future neighbor is someone we know personally, so we think it makes sense for both halves to be designed and built by the same general contractor. There is no formal zoning plan for the lot, but there is a village preservation statute that allows quite a bit of flexibility.
The neighbor’s half will have the eaves facing the street, while we are considering orienting our half with the gable end toward the street, continuing the neighbor’s ridge line. (I hope the cross-section makes this clear.) This would give two rooms more ceiling height and it wouldn’t look like a typical semi-detached house anymore.
The neighbor’s basement is fixed. Based on previous discussions, we were advised to build a basement as well because the cost savings would be limited considering the additional expenses for the foundation and the somewhat larger house overall. Can someone evaluate this?
Due to the roof shape, we would likely have enough storage space in the attic even without a basement.
Zoning / Restrictions
Lot size: 380m² (approx. 13.5m x 28m / 44 x 92 feet)
Slope: no
Bordering buildings: semi-detached house, otherwise setback according to State Building Code BaWü
Roof style: symmetrical gable roof, (min. 48°)
Architectural style: traditional, vertical window format
Owner Requirements
1.5 floors, knee wall 1.20m (4 feet), basement (at least relatively certain)
Number of residents, ages: 4 (38, 36, 6, 2)
Space requirements:
Ground floor: living/dining area, kitchen, guest bathroom with shower,
Upper floor: 2 children’s rooms, master bedroom, bathroom
Office: combined work/guest room in the basement, estimated 1-2 days home office per week
Guest stays per year: 2 people about 5 times/year
Open or closed layout: open, as much as possible
Conservative or modern construction: exterior conservative, interior modern preferred
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open
Number of dining seats: at least 4, preferably 6 (with option for 8)
Fireplace: no
Music/sound wall: no
Balcony, rooftop terrace: no
Garage, carport: carport
Utility garden, greenhouse: possibly a small utility garden, but low priority
House Design
Designer: planner from a construction company after the second revision
What do you especially like? Why?
- Layout of living and dining area
- Rooms for children are comparable in size
- Relatively little hallway space
What do you not like? Why?
- Uncertain if the cloakroom, kitchen, and bathroom have enough space
- Relatively much unused space in the attic
- Master bedroom has only one window
- Bathroom: layout and small window
Price estimate according to architect/planner: approx. $450,000 (estimated by volume, including earthworks and excavation)
Personal price limit for house including fittings: approx. $450,000
Preferred heating system: air-to-water heat pump with underfloor heating
If you had to give up something, which details/extras would you let go?
- Could give up: maybe the pantry
- Cannot give up: second toilet, guest/work room
Why did the design evolve this way?
Adjustments made to the first two drafts by the planner based on our requests (added shower to guest WC, removed originally planned tool shed behind the carport to make room for windows on the ground floor, swapped bathroom and bedroom)
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Can kitchen, bathroom, and cloakroom be given more space without significantly increasing (and costing) the house?
Thank you very much for your suggestions and opinions, including critical ones.
In just under four weeks, we will be able to purchase a typical narrow lot suitable for building a semi-detached house. The future neighbor is someone we know personally, so we think it makes sense for both halves to be designed and built by the same general contractor. There is no formal zoning plan for the lot, but there is a village preservation statute that allows quite a bit of flexibility.
The neighbor’s half will have the eaves facing the street, while we are considering orienting our half with the gable end toward the street, continuing the neighbor’s ridge line. (I hope the cross-section makes this clear.) This would give two rooms more ceiling height and it wouldn’t look like a typical semi-detached house anymore.
The neighbor’s basement is fixed. Based on previous discussions, we were advised to build a basement as well because the cost savings would be limited considering the additional expenses for the foundation and the somewhat larger house overall. Can someone evaluate this?
Due to the roof shape, we would likely have enough storage space in the attic even without a basement.
Zoning / Restrictions
Lot size: 380m² (approx. 13.5m x 28m / 44 x 92 feet)
Slope: no
Bordering buildings: semi-detached house, otherwise setback according to State Building Code BaWü
Roof style: symmetrical gable roof, (min. 48°)
Architectural style: traditional, vertical window format
Owner Requirements
1.5 floors, knee wall 1.20m (4 feet), basement (at least relatively certain)
Number of residents, ages: 4 (38, 36, 6, 2)
Space requirements:
Ground floor: living/dining area, kitchen, guest bathroom with shower,
Upper floor: 2 children’s rooms, master bedroom, bathroom
Office: combined work/guest room in the basement, estimated 1-2 days home office per week
Guest stays per year: 2 people about 5 times/year
Open or closed layout: open, as much as possible
Conservative or modern construction: exterior conservative, interior modern preferred
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open
Number of dining seats: at least 4, preferably 6 (with option for 8)
Fireplace: no
Music/sound wall: no
Balcony, rooftop terrace: no
Garage, carport: carport
Utility garden, greenhouse: possibly a small utility garden, but low priority
House Design
Designer: planner from a construction company after the second revision
What do you especially like? Why?
- Layout of living and dining area
- Rooms for children are comparable in size
- Relatively little hallway space
What do you not like? Why?
- Uncertain if the cloakroom, kitchen, and bathroom have enough space
- Relatively much unused space in the attic
- Master bedroom has only one window
- Bathroom: layout and small window
Price estimate according to architect/planner: approx. $450,000 (estimated by volume, including earthworks and excavation)
Personal price limit for house including fittings: approx. $450,000
Preferred heating system: air-to-water heat pump with underfloor heating
If you had to give up something, which details/extras would you let go?
- Could give up: maybe the pantry
- Cannot give up: second toilet, guest/work room
Why did the design evolve this way?
Adjustments made to the first two drafts by the planner based on our requests (added shower to guest WC, removed originally planned tool shed behind the carport to make room for windows on the ground floor, swapped bathroom and bedroom)
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Can kitchen, bathroom, and cloakroom be given more space without significantly increasing (and costing) the house?
Thank you very much for your suggestions and opinions, including critical ones.
zeehdeeh schrieb:
more the possibility to have a more organized storage area than with a 60cm (24 inches) deep cabinet, basically like a basement shelf on the ground floor. You can get very well-organized storage space in a cabinet if you can also move comfortably in front of it.
zeehdeeh schrieb:
My wife just fears that the living room won’t get enough light then. What does she want to do on the couch during the day?
You can put windows along the entire south side and half of the west side. That should be enough where it’s needed.
In the bedroom, it’s also possible to have bigger windows.
You have to accept that you will live differently than you do now. Many things will be better, some different. It doesn’t have to be worse if you are open to change.
zeehdeeh schrieb:
I find MadameP's project quite interesting, [...] With two houses having gable ends on both sides, the neighbor would have even less garden space left, which is why the side-gable orientation facing the street is fixed for him. Did I link you to the wrong thread? Because in this one: https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/doppelhaus-mit-ungleichen-haelften-verschiedene-grundrisse.29304/page-13#post-306230 there is nothing about two gable ends. I had this (now realized) project in mind because of the corner positioning.
zeehdeeh schrieb:
Could you give a suggestion on what could be improved on the upper floor to make the ground floor function better? Or would that only be possible by changing the external dimensions? In general, the design process tends to go more smoothly if you start with the more challenging floor. You need to experience this yourself to fully understand; otherwise, the insight won’t come. Whether this change in perspective also affects the external dimensions varies from case to case.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
ypg schrieb:
What exactly does she want to do on the couch during the day?
You can fill the entire south side and half of the west side with windows. Today we discussed swapping the kitchen and living room for a longer time; I might have scored a small win in terms of lighting needs. 😎
However, I hadn’t considered that we are less than 3m (10 feet) from the street. In the evening, that’s not an issue because we just darken the room, but during the day I don’t like the idea of basically anyone walking by being able to peer into the living room. To me, that’s too little distance, but tomorrow we will see what difference curtains can make.
11ant schrieb:
Did I link you to the wrong thread? Possible, the old link pointed to a post with three more links, but all of them “geoopst.” Then I tried using the search and apparently ended up in the predecessor thread.
11ant schrieb:
Generally, designing goes more smoothly if you start with the more challenging floor. Unfortunately, I actually find the ground floor much more challenging than the upper floor... 😕
zeehdeeh schrieb:
But during the day, I don’t really like the idea that just anyone walking by can peek into the living room.How many people actually walk by there? And how many are more focused on you than on their phone?zeehdeeh schrieb:
It feels like there’s not enough distance for me, but I’ll try tomorrow to see what difference curtains make.Isn’t there a hedge planned in front of it?zeehdeeh schrieb:
It’s possible the old link pointed to a post containing three more links, all of which led to “geoopst” errors. Then I tried searching and apparently ended up in the predecessor thread. One of the error-resulting links originally (also) included a typical semi-detached house, but at @MadameP it quickly turned into a driveway for a non-identical twin ;-)
By the way, the links only throw errors until you change the capital “T” in “Threads” back in the URL. I tend to forget to mention that weekly ;-)
zeehdeeh schrieb:
I just find the ground floor way trickier than the upper floor... The upper floor—more specifically: the sleeping or non-entrance level, which only partly applies as a principle for hillside houses with an entrance on the valley side—is regularly divided into more and smaller rooms, which also focus more on usable wall surface. It gets trickier especially because of the “door clustering” areas: once you have three children, each with about a closet depth behind the door swing, you could easily waste a quarter of the floor area just on the hallway. Once you have found a compromise that is at least somewhat acceptable (and the ground floor was defined beforehand), this creates many walls that do not align with those below, leading to load-bearing columns and beams on the ground floor or lightweight partition walls on the upper floor. Classic single-level, entrance, and open-plan living/dining/kitchen floors are much more tolerant to adapting wall layouts from the “partner floor.” To put it bluntly, such ground floors usually only become problematic for two reasons: having too many wishes and being fixated on “one and only” staircase designs and locations.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Can someone please explain why kitchens are planned with a rough construction width of 240cm (95 inches)?
Most people want a U-shaped layout
65cm (26 inches) dead corner
60cm (24 inches) dishwasher
60cm (24 inches) sink base cabinet
65cm (26 inches) dead corner
= 250cm (98 inches) plus plaster
Buyers end up frustrated because the kitchen can’t be arranged properly if the plumbing is planned under the window.
Most people want a U-shaped layout
65cm (26 inches) dead corner
60cm (24 inches) dishwasher
60cm (24 inches) sink base cabinet
65cm (26 inches) dead corner
= 250cm (98 inches) plus plaster
Buyers end up frustrated because the kitchen can’t be arranged properly if the plumbing is planned under the window.
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