ᐅ Floor Plan Optimization for New Construction, Single-Family House with Two Full Stories and No Basement on a Slope
Created on: 11 Aug 2021 15:27
S
Steiran
Dear forum community,
just newly registered after months of reading and I would already appreciate your feedback. We have signed the contract for a new single-family house in northern Hesse and have had preliminary floor plans created based on our ideas.
Development plan/restrictions
Plot size: 578m² (6,225 sq ft)
Slope: 3m (10 ft) height difference sloping from north to south
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Floor area ratio: 0.8
Building zone, building line, and boundary: all according to HBO
Number of stories: 2 full floors
Maximum average ridge height: 10.0m (33 ft)
Client requirements
Style, roof type, building type: hipped roof
Basement: no
Stories: 2 full floors
Number of occupants: 2 adults mid/late 30s, 2 children “in planning”
Space requirements on ground floor: living, dining, kitchen, study, utility room, guest toilet; upper floor: adult bedroom, child 1 + 2, bathroom, possibly hobby/storage room.
Office: used by one adult
Overnight guests per year = few
Open kitchen: yes
Number of dining seats: 6 – 8
Fireplace: no
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony: yes
Carport: yes
House design
Who designed it:
- Ideas DIY, plan by prefab house provider
What do we like most? dining table in the bay window overlooking the garden
What do we dislike? hallway on the ground floor is very long (?), little storage space
Price estimate according to architect/planner: €390,000 (KFW40+ house)
Personal budget limit for house including fittings: €450,000
Preferred heating technology: air-to-water heat pump
Why is the design like it is now?
Our ideas were:
- open living/dining area with open kitchen
- lots of light in the living/dining area with large sliding door to the garden
- guest toilet including shower
- adult bedroom with 3.30m (11 ft) wall for our wardrobe, which we would like to keep
- access to balcony from adult bedroom
- no adjoining walls between adult bedroom and children’s rooms
- shower/toilet plumbing not running in a wall adjacent to a bedroom
What is the most important/fundamental question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
We would appreciate any general suggestions/ideas/criticism to improve the floor plan.
The final architect meeting with the prefab house provider is scheduled for December. Until then, we would like to make good use of the time and contribute ideas if useful.
The idea is to position the house in the northeast corner of the plot with a 3m (10 ft) distance to the property boundary so that the garden faces southwest. Due to the slope, there is a beautiful view southwest over the village to the church. To the west is a horse farm, so not the nearest house either.
Best regards,
Steffi
just newly registered after months of reading and I would already appreciate your feedback. We have signed the contract for a new single-family house in northern Hesse and have had preliminary floor plans created based on our ideas.
Development plan/restrictions
Plot size: 578m² (6,225 sq ft)
Slope: 3m (10 ft) height difference sloping from north to south
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Floor area ratio: 0.8
Building zone, building line, and boundary: all according to HBO
Number of stories: 2 full floors
Maximum average ridge height: 10.0m (33 ft)
Client requirements
Style, roof type, building type: hipped roof
Basement: no
Stories: 2 full floors
Number of occupants: 2 adults mid/late 30s, 2 children “in planning”
Space requirements on ground floor: living, dining, kitchen, study, utility room, guest toilet; upper floor: adult bedroom, child 1 + 2, bathroom, possibly hobby/storage room.
Office: used by one adult
Overnight guests per year = few
Open kitchen: yes
Number of dining seats: 6 – 8
Fireplace: no
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony: yes
Carport: yes
House design
Who designed it:
- Ideas DIY, plan by prefab house provider
What do we like most? dining table in the bay window overlooking the garden
What do we dislike? hallway on the ground floor is very long (?), little storage space
Price estimate according to architect/planner: €390,000 (KFW40+ house)
Personal budget limit for house including fittings: €450,000
Preferred heating technology: air-to-water heat pump
Why is the design like it is now?
Our ideas were:
- open living/dining area with open kitchen
- lots of light in the living/dining area with large sliding door to the garden
- guest toilet including shower
- adult bedroom with 3.30m (11 ft) wall for our wardrobe, which we would like to keep
- access to balcony from adult bedroom
- no adjoining walls between adult bedroom and children’s rooms
- shower/toilet plumbing not running in a wall adjacent to a bedroom
What is the most important/fundamental question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
We would appreciate any general suggestions/ideas/criticism to improve the floor plan.
The final architect meeting with the prefab house provider is scheduled for December. Until then, we would like to make good use of the time and contribute ideas if useful.
The idea is to position the house in the northeast corner of the plot with a 3m (10 ft) distance to the property boundary so that the garden faces southwest. Due to the slope, there is a beautiful view southwest over the village to the church. To the west is a horse farm, so not the nearest house either.
Best regards,
Steffi
driver55 schrieb:
The client expressed a wish, and the company implements it directly? Especially a "pre-fabricated" house company can comfortably fall back on the position of "because I'm just a simpleton," claiming they "don't do basements" and, holding the construction contract, leave it up to the client to "deliver" the plot in the state of a "completed and approved foundation slab." It goes without saying that the client will obtain and review quotes from excavation contractors until any price guarantee becomes obsolete. In this respect, I believe the answer to
driver55 schrieb:
Who finally planted that expensive idea in your head? is probably quite simple: "someone who benefits from the fact that the client is dreaming of a basement that could be eliminated."
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
It’s great to see that several people have joined the thread by now. Thank you for your interest and willingness to help.
I will have to provide some additional information about the plot of land. I initially thought the discussion would focus more on the floor plans and didn’t want to overload with details. But now, these details are necessary.
The area is a very small new development with only a few plots available. These are being sold by the prefab home manufacturer, so we are purchasing both the house and the land from one company. Why are we doing this? Firstly, we trust the company; it is not a “cheap” prefab home builder. Secondly, in the region where we want to build (as close to Kassel as possible), there are hardly any other plots available for purchase. So we consider this plot a lucky coincidence—we were simply in the right place at the right time. By now, all plots have been sold, and we are still glad—although we had concerns about the sloped location and costs—that we bought one of them.
About the plot/house:
One issue is that the road (purple line in the attachment—green line: existing terrain) is about 1 meter (3 feet) higher than the current ground level. We discussed the possibility of a basement with the company. The cost was about 80,000 (eighty thousand) higher compared to the current offer. Another option was to enter the house through the upper floor and build the lower floor into the slope, but we dismissed this for several reasons. 1. About half of the rooms on the lower floor would have no natural daylight because they would be built into the slope. 2. You would have to go up a staircase to the main floor after entering the house to reach the kitchen and living areas. 3. The main floor could not then be built using timber frame construction. The exterior walls would have been 17 centimeters (7 inches) thicker each, which would have reduced living space and increased costs.
You are, of course, right in saying that additional construction costs will be high. We are budgeting around 60,000 (sixty thousand) just for the earthworks by the civil engineering contractor.
I hope this clarifies the situation a bit, and I’m curious to hear if you see better options for building the house based on the information about the road.
I will have to provide some additional information about the plot of land. I initially thought the discussion would focus more on the floor plans and didn’t want to overload with details. But now, these details are necessary.
The area is a very small new development with only a few plots available. These are being sold by the prefab home manufacturer, so we are purchasing both the house and the land from one company. Why are we doing this? Firstly, we trust the company; it is not a “cheap” prefab home builder. Secondly, in the region where we want to build (as close to Kassel as possible), there are hardly any other plots available for purchase. So we consider this plot a lucky coincidence—we were simply in the right place at the right time. By now, all plots have been sold, and we are still glad—although we had concerns about the sloped location and costs—that we bought one of them.
About the plot/house:
One issue is that the road (purple line in the attachment—green line: existing terrain) is about 1 meter (3 feet) higher than the current ground level. We discussed the possibility of a basement with the company. The cost was about 80,000 (eighty thousand) higher compared to the current offer. Another option was to enter the house through the upper floor and build the lower floor into the slope, but we dismissed this for several reasons. 1. About half of the rooms on the lower floor would have no natural daylight because they would be built into the slope. 2. You would have to go up a staircase to the main floor after entering the house to reach the kitchen and living areas. 3. The main floor could not then be built using timber frame construction. The exterior walls would have been 17 centimeters (7 inches) thicker each, which would have reduced living space and increased costs.
You are, of course, right in saying that additional construction costs will be high. We are budgeting around 60,000 (sixty thousand) just for the earthworks by the civil engineering contractor.
I hope this clarifies the situation a bit, and I’m curious to hear if you see better options for building the house based on the information about the road.
Steiran schrieb:
The costs were about 80,000 higher compared to the current offer.Steiran schrieb:
Another option is to access the house through the upper floor and build the basement into the slope,Steiran schrieb:
We are budgeting only about 60,000 for the excavation work by the civil engineer.Ultimately, these are three options where the costs affect the benefits and comfort. ……
Exactly where does the slope run now? Only from north to south?
ypg schrieb:
Where exactly is the slope? Is it only from north to south?Exactly. It is basically an inclined plane that drops 3m (10 feet) from north to south. There is no slope from east to west.
Steiran schrieb:
Cost estimate according to architect/planner: €390,000 (KFW40+ house)
Personal budget limit for the house, including fittings: €450,000
Your budget limit does not include additional construction costs, right? If you estimate the earthworks at €60,000, plus other additional costs of about €30,000, you would then be at €480,000. On top of that, there are property transfer taxes on both the land AND the house, furniture, kitchen, and landscaping. I estimate you will end up around €560,000 – €600,000.
Acof1978 schrieb:
Your budget limit doesn’t include additional construction-related costs, right? If you estimate the earthworks at €60,000 (about $65,000), plus other incidental costs of around €30,000 (about $33,000), you’re already at €480,000 (about $520,000). On top of that comes the property transfer tax on both the land and the house, furniture, kitchen, landscaping. I estimate you’ll end up around €560,000 - €600,000 (about $605,000 - $650,000). Yes, that’s correct. Our calculations actually come out even higher, more around €650,000 - €700,000 (about $700,000 - $755,000).
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