Hello everyone,
we are planning to start construction in June/July. Our architect is currently working on the drawings, so I wanted to join here and ask for your ideas or suggestions to improve my floor plan. At the moment, there are no dimensions included because it's purely about the room layout right now. Does anyone have an idea how to reduce the hallway from 16/17m² (172/183 sq ft) and somehow gain a bit more living space for one of the rooms? What else could or should be optimized in the floor plan? As soon as the drawings are ready, I will upload everything here and keep you updated throughout the build. A lot of the work will be done by ourselves.
Development plan/restrictions
Plot size: 1007m² (10,837 sq ft)
Slope: 0.8m (2.6 ft) drop over 22m (72 ft) width
Site coverage ratio: -
Floor area ratio: -
Building window, building line and boundary:
Edge construction: No
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 1
Roof type: Hipped roof
Style: Modern
Orientation: South
Maximum height/restrictions: None specified
Additional requirements:
Homeowners’ requirements
Style, roof type, building type: as indicated above
Basement, floors: 1 story without basement
Number of occupants, ages: 28 + 30 and 2 children aged 7 + 2
Construction location: Westerwald region, a still relatively affordable area. The plot is already owned by us.
Financial situation: I don’t think this matters much here, we have €320,000 (about $350,000) in equity, so the house will be funded entirely from own capital.
Own work: Earthworks, electrical, heating + plumbing, screed, tiling, flooring, painting will be done by ourselves. (These trades are covered by family members and me, as family companies are available, so everything is basically sorted and I have plenty of time.) The rest will be contracted out to local companies. According to the architect, savings through own work should be about €45,000 (about $50,000).
Space requirements on ground and upper floors: We currently live in a much smaller space with 5 people (100m² / 1,076 sq ft), so 137m² (1,474 sq ft) would be a big improvement for us.
Office: office combined with changing room
Guest sleepers per year: 2–3 times a year
Modern construction method
Open kitchen, cooking island: yes
Number of dining places: 8
Fireplace: yes, with external pipe
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: yes
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Additional wishes/special features/daily routine: The parents’ bedroom and the living room should have access to a covered terrace.
House design
Planned by: me
Price estimate by architect/planner: €310,000 (about $340,000)
Personal price limit for the house including fittings: €320,000 (about $350,000)
Preferred heating technology: Air source heat pump
If you had to do without, which details or add-ons
-could you do without:
-could you not do without: air source heat pump, covered terrace, fireplace, kitchen with island
Why did the design end up like this? e.g.
Standard design from planner: This is my idea after one year of planning and hundreds of changes
Which wishes were implemented by the architect: The architect is currently still working on the drawings
we are planning to start construction in June/July. Our architect is currently working on the drawings, so I wanted to join here and ask for your ideas or suggestions to improve my floor plan. At the moment, there are no dimensions included because it's purely about the room layout right now. Does anyone have an idea how to reduce the hallway from 16/17m² (172/183 sq ft) and somehow gain a bit more living space for one of the rooms? What else could or should be optimized in the floor plan? As soon as the drawings are ready, I will upload everything here and keep you updated throughout the build. A lot of the work will be done by ourselves.
Development plan/restrictions
Plot size: 1007m² (10,837 sq ft)
Slope: 0.8m (2.6 ft) drop over 22m (72 ft) width
Site coverage ratio: -
Floor area ratio: -
Building window, building line and boundary:
Edge construction: No
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 1
Roof type: Hipped roof
Style: Modern
Orientation: South
Maximum height/restrictions: None specified
Additional requirements:
Homeowners’ requirements
Style, roof type, building type: as indicated above
Basement, floors: 1 story without basement
Number of occupants, ages: 28 + 30 and 2 children aged 7 + 2
Construction location: Westerwald region, a still relatively affordable area. The plot is already owned by us.
Financial situation: I don’t think this matters much here, we have €320,000 (about $350,000) in equity, so the house will be funded entirely from own capital.
Own work: Earthworks, electrical, heating + plumbing, screed, tiling, flooring, painting will be done by ourselves. (These trades are covered by family members and me, as family companies are available, so everything is basically sorted and I have plenty of time.) The rest will be contracted out to local companies. According to the architect, savings through own work should be about €45,000 (about $50,000).
Space requirements on ground and upper floors: We currently live in a much smaller space with 5 people (100m² / 1,076 sq ft), so 137m² (1,474 sq ft) would be a big improvement for us.
Office: office combined with changing room
Guest sleepers per year: 2–3 times a year
Modern construction method
Open kitchen, cooking island: yes
Number of dining places: 8
Fireplace: yes, with external pipe
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: yes
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Additional wishes/special features/daily routine: The parents’ bedroom and the living room should have access to a covered terrace.
House design
Planned by: me
Price estimate by architect/planner: €310,000 (about $340,000)
Personal price limit for the house including fittings: €320,000 (about $350,000)
Preferred heating technology: Air source heat pump
If you had to do without, which details or add-ons
-could you do without:
-could you not do without: air source heat pump, covered terrace, fireplace, kitchen with island
Why did the design end up like this? e.g.
Standard design from planner: This is my idea after one year of planning and hundreds of changes
Which wishes were implemented by the architect: The architect is currently still working on the drawings
H
hampshire11 Feb 2021 14:50The design is compact and well suited for a family with two children who are disciplined about not bringing unnecessary items into the house. The children's rooms are rather small, which is not an issue if vertical space can still be utilized. There is no regulation requiring all rooms to be accessed from a corridor. You can shorten the hallway, and the entrance to the "walk-in work closet" can open directly from the living area. This adds a sense of spaciousness and helps with kitchen planning. Simply build two terraces—one as planned, and another sunny one somewhere else on the property.
The "walk-in work closet" is a matter of personal preference and will likely be problematic for many people. Only you can know if your family will feel comfortable with it. I personally don’t have a separate home office and manage quite well working from home one or two days a week. My wife finds it a bit annoying because I’m in her way and she’s uncertain how much consideration to expect. When it’s not as cold as it is now, I like to work from the camper van—I only need a laptop, paper, pen, phone, and internet.
The "walk-in work closet" is a matter of personal preference and will likely be problematic for many people. Only you can know if your family will feel comfortable with it. I personally don’t have a separate home office and manage quite well working from home one or two days a week. My wife finds it a bit annoying because I’m in her way and she’s uncertain how much consideration to expect. When it’s not as cold as it is now, I like to work from the camper van—I only need a laptop, paper, pen, phone, and internet.
erwin93 schrieb:We also took out a loan even though we didn’t have to; it’s worth it just because of the low interest rates, which are below the return on investments. At first, I wanted to do everything without a bank, but I was soon convinced otherwise.
We can take out a loan, but we would prefer not to. But well, if it comes down to it, then so be it, and it wouldn’t be that bad.
icandoit schrieb:
Have you looked at it? Scanhaus Marlow Marlow 147 B
I’ll check it out right away.
On the west side, a carport is directly next to the street, and on the north side, the building boundary allows space for 2 cars (5 x 5 m (16 x 16 ft) plus an additional parking area 4 x 5 m (13 x 16 ft)), so that the 9 meters (30 ft) allowed are fully used.
Which federal state are you building in? I’ll check it out right away. We are building in Rhineland-Palatinate in the Westerwald region, where construction costs are generally not as “high” as in other parts of the country.
hampshire schrieb:
The design is compact and well suited for a family with 2 children, provided there is strong discipline to avoid bringing unnecessary items into the house. The children’s rooms are rather small, which is not a problem if the height can still be utilized. There is no regulation requiring rooms to open only from a hallway. Shorten the corridor and the entrance to the “work dressing room” can open directly from the living area. This adds a sense of spaciousness and helps with kitchen planning. Just build 2 terraces—one as planned and another sunny one somewhere else on the property.
The “work dressing room” is a personal preference and might be problematic for many people. Only you can know if your family will feel comfortable with it. Personally, I don’t have a separate office and manage well to work from home one or two days a week. My wife finds it a bit annoying because I’m in her way and she’s unsure how much consideration she needs to show. When it’s not as cold as now, I like to use the camper for work—I only need a laptop, paper, pen, phone, and internet.
We also took out a loan even though it wasn’t necessary, and it’s worthwhile just because of the low interest rates that are below the capital yield. At first, I wanted to do everything without a bank, but I was proven wrong. We wanted to take out a loan anyway, just not for the house construction, but rather for the kitchen, garage, and landscaping. However, I think it might be wiser to take out the loan for the house construction due to the low interest rates and then use part of our equity for the kitchen, garage, and landscaping.
T
thoughtless8611 Feb 2021 15:45Unfortunately, I also think there is a lack of plenty of storage space and surface area... I also believe the utility room is definitely too small for a family of four, especially since a buffer tank or something similar will probably need to fit in there as well?! And why combine the office with the walk-in closet? Considering your financial situation, I think it would be better to plan more generously for four people, although I can absolutely understand the barrier-free design option myself...
erwin93 schrieb:
I’ll take a look shortly. We are building in Rhineland-Palatinate in the Westerwald region, where construction costs are generally not as "high" as in other parts of the country.
Then the setback for the garage boundary is even 12 m (39 feet).
T
thoughtless8611 Feb 2021 15:58Maybe the Scanhaus Marlow Marlow 160 could be an option for you... just as an idea.
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