ᐅ Floor plan for a narrow semi-detached house – basement plus two full floors, attic without knee wall
Created on: 26 May 2021 11:30
M
mrtnsbr
Hello everyone, I’ve been reading here for a long time, and we have been searching for a suitable house/plot in the Stuttgart area for years. Now, it’s about to happen.
- It will be a semi-detached house, and the external shape and the exterior wall thickness are practically fixed. Inside, I can change almost anything.
- The furniture shown in the plans is mainly for layout purposes (but corresponds to our current furniture).
- The kitchen was quickly planned in about 5 minutes – it might be completely different later.
- The attic (parents’ bedroom and bathroom) is a work in progress. If anyone has tips on how to nicely fit the bathroom there, I’d appreciate it. I’m currently struggling especially with the planning of the soil pipes.
- In the attic -> The walls are exactly at 1m (3 feet 3 inches) height. The wall in the bathroom, which stands oddly next to the shower, is at the 2m (6 feet 7 inches) line.
- We plan to install glass doors in several places – otherwise, the stairwell would be very dark.
- Photovoltaic panels are planned on the south side -> only a few roof windows are desired.
A few questions:
- The stairs from the ground floor to the first floor -> quarter turn. Otherwise, half-turn stairs. Has anyone used this and would advise against it, or is this fine?
- I just had the idea to build the staircase with masonry on both sides. The niche in the stairwell (U-shaped) would then be used as a service shaft (e.g., for underfloor heating). Is this possible? Does anyone do this? Basically, a drywall tunnel from the basement to the attic (with suitable fastening at each floor slab – of course, I can’t stack drywall over 4 floors without support).
Building Regulations / Restrictions
Plot size: 320 sqm (3445 sqft)
Slope: no
Plot ratio / floor area ratio / building envelope, building line and boundary: exactly specified. The house is positioned exactly within the building envelope according to the zoning plan. The external dimensions cannot be adjusted.
Adjacent buildings: west - semi-detached neighbor, south - access road, north - cul-de-sac, east - municipal green area
Parking spaces: we have one car and about 8 bicycles – a double garage is possible and planned, mainly to be used as a bike workshop.
Number of floors – attic without knee walls, dormers not possible
Roof type – gable, 35 degrees (no alternatives allowed)
Style – rather modern / standard
Orientation – fixed
Maximum height/limits – fixed due to semi-detached design
Owners’ Requirements
Number of people, ages – 4 (2 adults, 2 elementary school children)
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floors – large living area on one floor, then children’s floor, then parents’ floor
Office: family use or home office? Mainly home office, both of us work at least 50% from home (even outside of the pandemic)
Guests per year – grandparents regularly stay up to a week
Open or closed architecture – living area should be clearly separated from children’s floor
Traditional or modern construction – good question, I think we are rather traditional
Open kitchen, kitchen island – open to closed; currently open in the plan
Number of dining seats – 6
Fireplace – would be nice but absolutely a nice-to-have. Space will likely be too tight.
Balcony, roof terrace – no
Garage, carport – planned
Utility garden, greenhouse – no
House Design
Who designed the plan:
- Do-it-Yourself
What do you like most? Why?
- Separation from living room to stairs: we currently find the open design annoying every evening – because of the kids.
- The pantry (as small as it is).
- The stairs to the basement: we all cycle a lot, including in muddy conditions. Access via the basement and an extra shower there is great.
- Parents' bedroom in the attic is on the north side (a bit cooler and away from the street).
What do you dislike? Why?
- The side with the basement stairs and light wells is useful, but it’s not very nice with the railing and so on.
Price estimate according to the architect/planner: 850,000
Personal price limit for the house, including equipment: not quite sure yet.
Preferred heating system: heat pump. We would possibly like a ventilation system, but the general contractor is reluctant, and I don’t trust their planning. I lack enough knowledge myself.
If you have to give up something, on which details/additions?
- can give up: open kitchen
- cannot give up: closed living room
Why has the design ended up like it is now? For example:
There is a standard semi-detached house plan for narrow houses, with half-turn stairs on every floor, narrow kitchen next to the main entrance.
This is what I planned with a tool. We already live in a similar floor plan (terraced house) but with one floor less. So at least I knew what I don’t want anymore (everything open via the stairwell).
What is the most important/fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Is there any obvious nonsense that should not be done like this?
- It will be a semi-detached house, and the external shape and the exterior wall thickness are practically fixed. Inside, I can change almost anything.
- The furniture shown in the plans is mainly for layout purposes (but corresponds to our current furniture).
- The kitchen was quickly planned in about 5 minutes – it might be completely different later.
- The attic (parents’ bedroom and bathroom) is a work in progress. If anyone has tips on how to nicely fit the bathroom there, I’d appreciate it. I’m currently struggling especially with the planning of the soil pipes.
- In the attic -> The walls are exactly at 1m (3 feet 3 inches) height. The wall in the bathroom, which stands oddly next to the shower, is at the 2m (6 feet 7 inches) line.
- We plan to install glass doors in several places – otherwise, the stairwell would be very dark.
- Photovoltaic panels are planned on the south side -> only a few roof windows are desired.
A few questions:
- The stairs from the ground floor to the first floor -> quarter turn. Otherwise, half-turn stairs. Has anyone used this and would advise against it, or is this fine?
- I just had the idea to build the staircase with masonry on both sides. The niche in the stairwell (U-shaped) would then be used as a service shaft (e.g., for underfloor heating). Is this possible? Does anyone do this? Basically, a drywall tunnel from the basement to the attic (with suitable fastening at each floor slab – of course, I can’t stack drywall over 4 floors without support).
Building Regulations / Restrictions
Plot size: 320 sqm (3445 sqft)
Slope: no
Plot ratio / floor area ratio / building envelope, building line and boundary: exactly specified. The house is positioned exactly within the building envelope according to the zoning plan. The external dimensions cannot be adjusted.
Adjacent buildings: west - semi-detached neighbor, south - access road, north - cul-de-sac, east - municipal green area
Parking spaces: we have one car and about 8 bicycles – a double garage is possible and planned, mainly to be used as a bike workshop.
Number of floors – attic without knee walls, dormers not possible
Roof type – gable, 35 degrees (no alternatives allowed)
Style – rather modern / standard
Orientation – fixed
Maximum height/limits – fixed due to semi-detached design
Owners’ Requirements
Number of people, ages – 4 (2 adults, 2 elementary school children)
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floors – large living area on one floor, then children’s floor, then parents’ floor
Office: family use or home office? Mainly home office, both of us work at least 50% from home (even outside of the pandemic)
Guests per year – grandparents regularly stay up to a week
Open or closed architecture – living area should be clearly separated from children’s floor
Traditional or modern construction – good question, I think we are rather traditional
Open kitchen, kitchen island – open to closed; currently open in the plan
Number of dining seats – 6
Fireplace – would be nice but absolutely a nice-to-have. Space will likely be too tight.
Balcony, roof terrace – no
Garage, carport – planned
Utility garden, greenhouse – no
House Design
Who designed the plan:
- Do-it-Yourself
What do you like most? Why?
- Separation from living room to stairs: we currently find the open design annoying every evening – because of the kids.
- The pantry (as small as it is).
- The stairs to the basement: we all cycle a lot, including in muddy conditions. Access via the basement and an extra shower there is great.
- Parents' bedroom in the attic is on the north side (a bit cooler and away from the street).
What do you dislike? Why?
- The side with the basement stairs and light wells is useful, but it’s not very nice with the railing and so on.
Price estimate according to the architect/planner: 850,000
Personal price limit for the house, including equipment: not quite sure yet.
Preferred heating system: heat pump. We would possibly like a ventilation system, but the general contractor is reluctant, and I don’t trust their planning. I lack enough knowledge myself.
If you have to give up something, on which details/additions?
- can give up: open kitchen
- cannot give up: closed living room
Why has the design ended up like it is now? For example:
There is a standard semi-detached house plan for narrow houses, with half-turn stairs on every floor, narrow kitchen next to the main entrance.
This is what I planned with a tool. We already live in a similar floor plan (terraced house) but with one floor less. So at least I knew what I don’t want anymore (everything open via the stairwell).
What is the most important/fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Is there any obvious nonsense that should not be done like this?
H
Hausbautraum2026 May 2021 12:07Myrna_Loy schrieb:
I am a bit surprised by the incredible number of cabinets in the kitchen area – is a pantry really still necessary???I would convert it into a guest restroom immediately. Especially since you have a basement for storage!
Myrna_Loy schrieb:
I’m a bit surprised by the incredible number of cabinets in the kitchen area – is a pantry really still necessary???Hmm... good question. At the moment, we have a relatively large kitchen with a much bigger pantry. The pantry is basically our “favorite room” 😉 You can easily put things in there, close the door, and: tidy. That’s also where we keep the bread slicer, the handheld vacuum, and other items.I expect we’ll have fewer cabinets in the kitchen. The plan was more like: how much can I fit in there at most.
H
Hausbautraum2026 May 2021 12:10mrtnsbr schrieb:
Yes, the price includes the plot of land and the demolition of the existing building. The house itself is around 450k. Is this thread only about the house? Then I’ll adjust my post accordingly. Including the land makes the figure less meaningful.
Here, land costs more than 1000€ per square meter (about $110 per sq ft), but apparently there are areas where it’s available for less than 100€ per square meter (about $11 per sq ft).
House prices also vary regionally, but not to such an extreme extent.
450k is not expensive for three floors with a basement, three bathrooms, a light well, and basement access.
M
Myrna_Loy26 May 2021 12:11mrtnsbr schrieb:
Hmm... good question. Currently, we have a fairly large kitchen with a much bigger pantry. The pantry is basically our "favorite room" 😉 You can easily store things there, close the door, and: tidy. That’s also where the bread slicer is, the handheld vacuum hangs there, and other stuff.
I guess we will have fewer cabinets in the kitchen. The planning was more like: how much can I fit in there at most. With that number of cabinets, you could easily place an appliance cabinet by the stairs. That would also gain you a cabinet since you wouldn’t need a door to the pantry anymore.
Hausbautraum20 schrieb:
Including the land makes the figure meaningless.
Where we are, the price per square meter of land is over 1000€ (about $1100), but apparently there are still areas where you can get it for less than 100€ (about $110).
House prices also vary regionally, but not to that extreme degree.
450k is not expensive for three stories plus a basement and three bathrooms, a light well, and basement access. Yes, that makes sense! But I can’t edit anymore, right? The price discussion isn’t really that important to me here anyway. We’ve built with the same provider before, so I think we have a fairly realistic idea of what additional costs might arise. It’s clear that it won’t stay at 450k.
Myrna_Loy schrieb:
With the number of cabinets, you could easily place an appliance cabinet by the stairs. And you would gain one cabinet since you wouldn’t need a door for the pantry anymore. The topic of pantry / guest toilet is a recurring issue for us. I will create a new plan including a guest toilet, and then we will reconsider everything. All the arguments make sense.