Hello, I have been following this forum for a long time and find it always interesting. I thought I might share our planning here. We started planning at the end of 2018, began construction in 03/2019, and moved in by 12/2019.
We planned the floor plans, dimensions, materials, etc., ourselves and then hired a retired architect to create the construction drawings and structural engineering, as well as to submit the building permit / planning permission application. He also handled the approvals and insurance.
Since we live in a historic preservation area with classical architecture, we wanted to reflect this style in our house and I did a lot of research. I know nothing is perfect and it is a series of compromises (size, budget, historic style). We wanted about 120sqm (1292 sqft) of living space, aimed not to exceed a certain budget, and wanted to choose and plan all the trades ourselves (this really saves a lot of money!). I have almost no craftsmanship skills, yet we still did or helped with many tasks ourselves (preparations for the electrician, applying window and facade plaster molding ourselves, ceiling molding, wooden baseboards, cladding the carport, assembling the garden shed, distributing 55t (60 US tons) of soil, planting, manually drilling a garden well, etc.). Ok, my father-in-law helped a lot because he is handy.
We wanted to keep as much symmetry as possible and had a rough idea inspired by a Georgian house. Wooden sash windows and front door made by the local carpenter, facade plaster molding, ceiling height of 2.75m (9 ft) on the ground floor, and a hipped roof with clay tiles.
The staircase was a bit challenging because the hallway is central and the dimensions we set (somewhat arbitrarily) limited a straight staircase. The stair builder managed it nevertheless using some tricks (a bit steeper and with a longer tread or something like that).
Since I talked a lot with energy consultants and wanted a reasonable price-performance/use balance, we made the following decisions:
* Energy standard just enough to meet requirements (saves construction costs)
* Therefore, deliberately only double-glazed windows
* Gas condensing boiler with underfloor heating and gas fireplace
* Solar thermal system for hot water (I would have preferred to skip this as a cost driver; in summer you don’t need 270l (71 gallons) of hot water and in winter the sun usually isn’t sufficient despite the south-facing side)
* No electric window openers (but conduits were installed)
* 36.5cm (14.4 inches) aerated concrete walls on the outside and 17.5/11.5cm (6.9/4.5 inches) limestone interior walls
* Interior walls plastered with cement plaster to Q3 level (relatively smooth)
* Plumbing and heating company installed everything. Toilets, sinks, faucets were bought by us (all Villeroy & Boch and GROHE, mostly via eBay)
* Floor tiles and parquet also bought by us and then installed by professionals
The total cost excluding the land was €297,000 (about USD 320,000) including connections and exterior works, garden planting (partly €500 (about USD 540) per tree), double carport, 12sqm (129 sqft) garden shed, 150sqm (1615 sqft) paving, 24sqm (258 sqft) travertine terrace, insurance, surveying, 55t (60 US tons) of topsoil (we added about 20-30cm (8-12 inches) of soil), kitchen and appliances, electric garden gate, and masonry gate pillars (including historically accurate pillar caps) etc.
Land size: 680sqm (7320 sqft)
Living space: 122sqm (1313 sqft)
* 29sqm (312 sqft) living room
* 11.5sqm (124 sqft) kitchen
* 7.5sqm (81 sqft) utility room (laundry hangs from the ceiling with Foxydry)
* approx. 9.5sqm (102 sqft) hallway downstairs
* 11.5sqm (124 sqft) children’s room
* 9sqm (97 sqft) guest room/library/study
* approx. 9.3sqm (100 sqft) bathroom with shower, freestanding bathtub, toilet, bidet, washbasin
* approx. 20sqm (215 sqft) bedroom with walk-in closet/wardrobe
* The attic is currently an unheated storage room but could still be developed.
The space is sufficient, sometimes missing 0.5-1m (1.6-3.3 ft) here and there, but more space would have come at significantly higher construction costs.
What do you think of the floor plan? Any questions?
I’ve attached some pictures to give you a rough idea.
We planned the floor plans, dimensions, materials, etc., ourselves and then hired a retired architect to create the construction drawings and structural engineering, as well as to submit the building permit / planning permission application. He also handled the approvals and insurance.
Since we live in a historic preservation area with classical architecture, we wanted to reflect this style in our house and I did a lot of research. I know nothing is perfect and it is a series of compromises (size, budget, historic style). We wanted about 120sqm (1292 sqft) of living space, aimed not to exceed a certain budget, and wanted to choose and plan all the trades ourselves (this really saves a lot of money!). I have almost no craftsmanship skills, yet we still did or helped with many tasks ourselves (preparations for the electrician, applying window and facade plaster molding ourselves, ceiling molding, wooden baseboards, cladding the carport, assembling the garden shed, distributing 55t (60 US tons) of soil, planting, manually drilling a garden well, etc.). Ok, my father-in-law helped a lot because he is handy.
We wanted to keep as much symmetry as possible and had a rough idea inspired by a Georgian house. Wooden sash windows and front door made by the local carpenter, facade plaster molding, ceiling height of 2.75m (9 ft) on the ground floor, and a hipped roof with clay tiles.
The staircase was a bit challenging because the hallway is central and the dimensions we set (somewhat arbitrarily) limited a straight staircase. The stair builder managed it nevertheless using some tricks (a bit steeper and with a longer tread or something like that).
Since I talked a lot with energy consultants and wanted a reasonable price-performance/use balance, we made the following decisions:
* Energy standard just enough to meet requirements (saves construction costs)
* Therefore, deliberately only double-glazed windows
* Gas condensing boiler with underfloor heating and gas fireplace
* Solar thermal system for hot water (I would have preferred to skip this as a cost driver; in summer you don’t need 270l (71 gallons) of hot water and in winter the sun usually isn’t sufficient despite the south-facing side)
* No electric window openers (but conduits were installed)
* 36.5cm (14.4 inches) aerated concrete walls on the outside and 17.5/11.5cm (6.9/4.5 inches) limestone interior walls
* Interior walls plastered with cement plaster to Q3 level (relatively smooth)
* Plumbing and heating company installed everything. Toilets, sinks, faucets were bought by us (all Villeroy & Boch and GROHE, mostly via eBay)
* Floor tiles and parquet also bought by us and then installed by professionals
The total cost excluding the land was €297,000 (about USD 320,000) including connections and exterior works, garden planting (partly €500 (about USD 540) per tree), double carport, 12sqm (129 sqft) garden shed, 150sqm (1615 sqft) paving, 24sqm (258 sqft) travertine terrace, insurance, surveying, 55t (60 US tons) of topsoil (we added about 20-30cm (8-12 inches) of soil), kitchen and appliances, electric garden gate, and masonry gate pillars (including historically accurate pillar caps) etc.
Land size: 680sqm (7320 sqft)
Living space: 122sqm (1313 sqft)
* 29sqm (312 sqft) living room
* 11.5sqm (124 sqft) kitchen
* 7.5sqm (81 sqft) utility room (laundry hangs from the ceiling with Foxydry)
* approx. 9.5sqm (102 sqft) hallway downstairs
* 11.5sqm (124 sqft) children’s room
* 9sqm (97 sqft) guest room/library/study
* approx. 9.3sqm (100 sqft) bathroom with shower, freestanding bathtub, toilet, bidet, washbasin
* approx. 20sqm (215 sqft) bedroom with walk-in closet/wardrobe
* The attic is currently an unheated storage room but could still be developed.
The space is sufficient, sometimes missing 0.5-1m (1.6-3.3 ft) here and there, but more space would have come at significantly higher construction costs.
What do you think of the floor plan? Any questions?
I’ve attached some pictures to give you a rough idea.
Finally, a garden that truly deserves to be called a garden 🙂
But the gate... the enclosure... 😳 ... that looks a bit over the top.
Overall, though, it’s a house that simply looks nice because it is quite simple and doesn’t show off with elaborate details. In my opinion, it also benefits from the contrast between the plain gray render and the simple structure. Not many manage to achieve this.
But the gate... the enclosure... 😳 ... that looks a bit over the top.
Overall, though, it’s a house that simply looks nice because it is quite simple and doesn’t show off with elaborate details. In my opinion, it also benefits from the contrast between the plain gray render and the simple structure. Not many manage to achieve this.
Georgian2019 schrieb:
And here are a few more impressions from the outside.Nice! Yes, “that’s how it should be” 🙂 This is a perfect example of the relationship between the plot and the building, and there was even a budget left for a stylish gate.
What a relief compared to all those miserable pseudo-villas, where the house leaves only a tiny, dirty corner of the plot for anything other than the terrace after the building was just slapped onto the land.
This, however, can truly be called an estate—Higgins would be proud of you.
That front door opening outward, though, might be just a touch too much understatement for my taste.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
T
Traumfaenger23 Sep 2021 21:53Although we built quite differently (Bauhaus style, but not a box house), I still think your house and the exterior design are well done and coherent. I like it; everyone here would have done some details differently, but as a whole, it looks very nice to me! Congratulations on your house.
G
Georgian201923 Sep 2021 22:59haydee schrieb:
The house looks plain and simple compared to the driveway.
The carport doesn't fit.
No wonder it is mistaken for a renovation. It hardly looks like a new build (not meant negatively).
Is the garden shed yours? Yes, it is our garden shed. It is more like a summer house with a summer kitchen.
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