ᐅ Floor Plan Design for a Single-Family Home without a Basement / 4-Person Household
Created on: 21 Dec 2020 20:23
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Mr.Graves138
Hello dear forum,
what do the experts say about the following floor plan (especially regarding the questions described below)? Does anything stand out to you as something that should definitely be avoided?
Thank you in advance
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 447m² (5400 sq ft)
Slope: no, but the plot slopes down about 80cm (31 inches) from the street and needs to be filled
Site coverage ratio 0.4
Floor area ratio 0.4
Building envelope, building line, building boundary
Border development: see attachment
Number of parking spaces: single garage + 2 outdoor parking spaces
Number of floors: 1.5 (only 1 full floor = ground floor)
Roof type: gable roof
Orientation: north/south
Maximum heights / limits: ridge height 5.30m (17 ft 5 in); wall height 5.60m (18 ft 5 in); full height 10.80m (35 ft 5 in); storey height 7.70m (25 ft 3 in)
Homeowners’ Requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: solid house, gable roof approx. 37° pitch, knee wall approx. 95cm (37 inches)
Basement, floors: no basement, 1.5 floors
Number of occupants, ages: 4 (parents 32 and 29, children 5 and 1)
Room requirements ground floor / upper floor: ground floor 90m² (970 sq ft), upper floor 80m² (860 sq ft)
Office: family use or home office? both
Guests per year: 6
Open or closed architecture: closed? see floor plan
Conservative or modern construction: modern
Open kitchen, cooking island: open, with seating (bar)
Number of dining seats: 6-8
Fireplace: no
Music / stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no balcony, terrace on ground floor
Garage, carport: single garage, possibly carport for 2 spaces
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Further wishes / special features: photovoltaic system, half-turned narrow-wing staircase with landing, alternatively solid stair
House Design
Planning by: general contractor and DIY
What do you especially like? Large living/dining area, open kitchen, many storage rooms, large walk-in shower
What do you not like? Why? A lot of space is lost through the hallway/corridor. Perhaps the rooms could be arranged more space-efficiently?
Price estimate according to architect/planner: 400,000 without ancillary construction costs
Personal price limit for the house, incl. equipment: 430,000 without ancillary construction costs
Preferred heating system: air-to-water heat pump with cooling function and underfloor heating
If you had to compromise, on which details / extra features
-can you do without: walk-in closet in the master bedroom, glass sliding door in living/dining room, possibly smaller utility room, cooling function of the air-to-water heat pump
-can’t do without: large living/dining room with open kitchen, spacious shower, storage rooms and attic storage
Why was the design developed like this?
The general contractor planned the house at 10.5m x 8.50m (34 ft 5 in x 28 ft) with basement (waterproof concrete). Because of the groundwater level, the house would be about 80cm (31 inches) higher than the street, knee wall 1.20m (47 inches), attic height only 1.20m (47 inches). A staircase to the house entrance would be necessary. Due to the small rooms and expensive basement, I designed a floor plan without a basement myself. I increased the living room width from 3.85m to 4.50m (from 12 ft 7 in to 14 ft 9 in).
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
How can I make the room layout and arrangement more efficient? How and where can I save space? The hallway on the ground floor takes up a lot of square meters, even though it is only 1.25m (49 inches) wide. One reason is the large staircase, but also the long corridor consumes space and feels somewhat narrow. Is it possible to cleverly reduce the living space from currently about 170m² (1,830 sq ft) to 160m² (1,720 sq ft) or less? Different staircase? Move the entrance door? Is there an effective alternative to the cooling function of the underfloor heating? The goal is to save costs through optimization.
I appreciate every opinion, suggestion, and sketch!
what do the experts say about the following floor plan (especially regarding the questions described below)? Does anything stand out to you as something that should definitely be avoided?
Thank you in advance
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 447m² (5400 sq ft)
Slope: no, but the plot slopes down about 80cm (31 inches) from the street and needs to be filled
Site coverage ratio 0.4
Floor area ratio 0.4
Building envelope, building line, building boundary
Border development: see attachment
Number of parking spaces: single garage + 2 outdoor parking spaces
Number of floors: 1.5 (only 1 full floor = ground floor)
Roof type: gable roof
Orientation: north/south
Maximum heights / limits: ridge height 5.30m (17 ft 5 in); wall height 5.60m (18 ft 5 in); full height 10.80m (35 ft 5 in); storey height 7.70m (25 ft 3 in)
Homeowners’ Requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: solid house, gable roof approx. 37° pitch, knee wall approx. 95cm (37 inches)
Basement, floors: no basement, 1.5 floors
Number of occupants, ages: 4 (parents 32 and 29, children 5 and 1)
Room requirements ground floor / upper floor: ground floor 90m² (970 sq ft), upper floor 80m² (860 sq ft)
Office: family use or home office? both
Guests per year: 6
Open or closed architecture: closed? see floor plan
Conservative or modern construction: modern
Open kitchen, cooking island: open, with seating (bar)
Number of dining seats: 6-8
Fireplace: no
Music / stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no balcony, terrace on ground floor
Garage, carport: single garage, possibly carport for 2 spaces
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Further wishes / special features: photovoltaic system, half-turned narrow-wing staircase with landing, alternatively solid stair
House Design
Planning by: general contractor and DIY
What do you especially like? Large living/dining area, open kitchen, many storage rooms, large walk-in shower
What do you not like? Why? A lot of space is lost through the hallway/corridor. Perhaps the rooms could be arranged more space-efficiently?
Price estimate according to architect/planner: 400,000 without ancillary construction costs
Personal price limit for the house, incl. equipment: 430,000 without ancillary construction costs
Preferred heating system: air-to-water heat pump with cooling function and underfloor heating
If you had to compromise, on which details / extra features
-can you do without: walk-in closet in the master bedroom, glass sliding door in living/dining room, possibly smaller utility room, cooling function of the air-to-water heat pump
-can’t do without: large living/dining room with open kitchen, spacious shower, storage rooms and attic storage
Why was the design developed like this?
The general contractor planned the house at 10.5m x 8.50m (34 ft 5 in x 28 ft) with basement (waterproof concrete). Because of the groundwater level, the house would be about 80cm (31 inches) higher than the street, knee wall 1.20m (47 inches), attic height only 1.20m (47 inches). A staircase to the house entrance would be necessary. Due to the small rooms and expensive basement, I designed a floor plan without a basement myself. I increased the living room width from 3.85m to 4.50m (from 12 ft 7 in to 14 ft 9 in).
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
How can I make the room layout and arrangement more efficient? How and where can I save space? The hallway on the ground floor takes up a lot of square meters, even though it is only 1.25m (49 inches) wide. One reason is the large staircase, but also the long corridor consumes space and feels somewhat narrow. Is it possible to cleverly reduce the living space from currently about 170m² (1,830 sq ft) to 160m² (1,720 sq ft) or less? Different staircase? Move the entrance door? Is there an effective alternative to the cooling function of the underfloor heating? The goal is to save costs through optimization.
I appreciate every opinion, suggestion, and sketch!
I would also place the staircase on the utility room side. The utility room has a good size if you want to store more items, but it could also be larger. We have 40 sqm (430 sq ft) for cooking, eating, and living, and that suits us well. However, I would definitely do the kitchen planning and compare the cabinet capacity with your current kitchen. Regarding the pantry: it’s always a matter of personal preference, but every door also means less usable wall space. Maybe you can use the area differently or have the access from the hallway if it should be a separate room.
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Nice-Nofret23 Dec 2020 08:53The planning is still unfinished; just a brief example with the kitchen/pantry. In your case, the pantry is about 4/5 made up of walkways and offers hardly any real storage space; the door from the kitchen should be placed centrally to the pantry; the door from the hallway should be removed. In the kitchen, you should install a simple two-row layout – this is not only more cost-effective but also, as a bonus, more practical and provides more storage. The distance between the rows should not be less than 1 meter (3.3 feet). The distance between the island and the dining table should also be about 1 meter (3.3 feet).
I agree with the criticism from others as well.
I agree with the criticism from others as well.
Basically, I’m thinking about a future possibility of dividing the house, although I wouldn’t pursue that right now.
You have to rotate the staircase; this will make everything look much better. It will also function properly—right now, you wouldn’t even be able to reach the top floor without bumping your head or squeezing through due to the low knee wall.
The load-bearing wall is removed on the ground floor (which doesn’t matter), and on the upper floor, it’s positioned differently.
But honestly? This could be done much better... there’s a functional standard floor plan hidden here if you just straighten everything out. That way, there won’t be any excessively long or wasteful angled hallways, but rather a harmonious overall design.
At the moment, the converted attic definitely doesn’t work: cabinets under the too-low knee wall are impossible, and beds need to be positioned partially beyond the knee wall... it will work out, but the general contractor should pull a single-family house without a basement from his portfolio. He will surely be happy to do that.
You have to rotate the staircase; this will make everything look much better. It will also function properly—right now, you wouldn’t even be able to reach the top floor without bumping your head or squeezing through due to the low knee wall.
The load-bearing wall is removed on the ground floor (which doesn’t matter), and on the upper floor, it’s positioned differently.
But honestly? This could be done much better... there’s a functional standard floor plan hidden here if you just straighten everything out. That way, there won’t be any excessively long or wasteful angled hallways, but rather a harmonious overall design.
At the moment, the converted attic definitely doesn’t work: cabinets under the too-low knee wall are impossible, and beds need to be positioned partially beyond the knee wall... it will work out, but the general contractor should pull a single-family house without a basement from his portfolio. He will surely be happy to do that.
M
Mr.Graves13823 Dec 2020 12:01Hello everyone,
Thank you all for the initial helpful opinions and suggestions. I have now revised several things (see attachments):
- The "storage room on the ground floor" is intended, for example, for two bicycles/sleds or similar items. I have integrated this room into the utility room.
- Replaced the narrow stringer staircase with landing by a quarter-turn staircase and moved it closer to the utility room.
- Removed the door from the hallway to the pantry; now access is only possible through the kitchen.
- I have not yet finalized the kitchen design. It is planned as either a galley or U-shaped kitchen. Would you recommend removing the west or south window? Or keeping both? The kitchen dimensions are spacious at 4.50m x 2.74m (15 feet x 9 feet). Our current kitchen is U-shaped and measures 3.23m x 2.23m (11 feet x 7 feet). A 45cm (18 inch) wide granite countertop is planned to serve as a bar on the wall (about 130cm (51 inch) high).
- What do you think about the walkway to the front door? I have tried to avoid SW + RW for aesthetic reasons. Can grass be allowed to grow over it, or would you recommend integrating these materials into the walkway?
- The issue with the cabinets under the limited-height sand-lime bricks unfortunately cannot be solved differently due to regulations. I am thinking of cabinets designed for sloping ceilings.
- A shower on the ground floor is not desired @Schimi1791.
Thank you all for the initial helpful opinions and suggestions. I have now revised several things (see attachments):
- The "storage room on the ground floor" is intended, for example, for two bicycles/sleds or similar items. I have integrated this room into the utility room.
- Replaced the narrow stringer staircase with landing by a quarter-turn staircase and moved it closer to the utility room.
- Removed the door from the hallway to the pantry; now access is only possible through the kitchen.
- I have not yet finalized the kitchen design. It is planned as either a galley or U-shaped kitchen. Would you recommend removing the west or south window? Or keeping both? The kitchen dimensions are spacious at 4.50m x 2.74m (15 feet x 9 feet). Our current kitchen is U-shaped and measures 3.23m x 2.23m (11 feet x 7 feet). A 45cm (18 inch) wide granite countertop is planned to serve as a bar on the wall (about 130cm (51 inch) high).
- What do you think about the walkway to the front door? I have tried to avoid SW + RW for aesthetic reasons. Can grass be allowed to grow over it, or would you recommend integrating these materials into the walkway?
- The issue with the cabinets under the limited-height sand-lime bricks unfortunately cannot be solved differently due to regulations. I am thinking of cabinets designed for sloping ceilings.
- A shower on the ground floor is not desired @Schimi1791.
I estimate the house to be approximately 11.30 x 9.90 meters (37.1 x 32.5 feet) in external dimensions, which means it is 1.40 meters (4.6 feet) shallower than proposed. Does this explain, in relation to the height restrictions (what exactly is GH, and is the dormer height limited separately?), the reduction of the knee wall from 1.20 meters to 0.95 meters (3.9 to 3.1 feet)? (With a 37° roof pitch, I would expect more like a 53 cm (21 inches) rather than a 25 cm (10 inches) reduction in knee wall height for a 70 cm (28 inches) decrease in half the house depth.) Your attic floor feels more like an upper floor, meaning you seem to have drawn the floor plan inspiration from a single-family villa.
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https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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Mr.Graves13823 Dec 2020 16:4011ant schrieb:
I estimate the house to be about 11.30 x 9.90 m (37.1 x 32.5 ft) externally, so 1.40 m (4.6 ft) less deep than suggested. Does this explain, in relation to the height restrictions (what does GH mean, is the dormer height limited separately?), the reduction of the knee wall from 1.20 to 0.95 m (3.9 to 3.1 ft)? (With a 37° roof pitch, I would expect a difference closer to 53 cm (21 inches) rather than 25 cm (10 inches) less knee wall for 70 cm (28 inches) less of half the house depth). Your attic floor feels to me like a full upper floor, meaning you based the floor plan more on a townhouse-type villa. The current external dimensions are 11.30 x 10.20 m (37.1 x 33.5 ft).
GH = maximum permitted building height for flat roofs.
I designed the attic floor plan as I found suitable, without any specific inspirations.
Attached are the cross-section and floor plan from the general contractor (for external dimensions of 12.0 x 9.80 m (39.4 x 32.2 ft)).
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