ᐅ Floor plan of a 172 m² bungalow in Brandenburg, south of Berlin

ypg schrieb:

Cinema aside...

...before it even becomes realistic, I play the spoilsport 🙁

That’s intentional and actually helps us move forward. We are still at the beginning of the process and don’t have your experience, for example. Thanks for sharing it so willingly. First of all, I think we should try to get the maximum out of it and then make compromises.

ypg schrieb:

That’s also counterproductive since a bathroom should have some natural daylight through a window. Looking at a wall or door isn’t pleasant either.

The T-wall will stay. We want it like that and we also find it very nice in friends’ houses who have built similarly. The bathroom is now on the northeast wall because the bedroom also faces northeast (at least the view outside towards sunrise). We would prefer the bedroom facing east. That’s a common preference. Are there other arguments for different layout options? Of course, we are still trying to find alternatives with only one door where the toilet faces the window. Either the shower or the toilet will remain in a darker area.

ypg schrieb:
Or just move away from the gable roof with a ridge and choose a rectangular shape for the house. That way, you’d get light into every corner.

So you mean a pitched roof, right? I’m still struggling with a practical room layout for a rectangular shape. Switching to a pitched roof wouldn’t be a problem for us if it offers advantages and the roof construction becomes cheaper while allowing sensible room distribution. Gladly.

ypg schrieb:
172 sqm and then being stingy doesn’t fit. The villa will be almost unsellable if anyone notices that 😉

I don’t even have mobile working, but personally I have tons of folders at home, not only because of house building. I always recommend planning for about 3 linear meters (about 10 feet) of closet space (60 cm (24 inches) deep) in every bedroom where possible. Exceptions are rare and concern width more than depth. 50 cm (20 inches) depth can work, we have that too. But we don’t have 172 sqm... If I had 10 sqm (about 108 sq ft) more available, the walk-in closet would have been bigger.

Thanks, we will probably follow your advice regarding 60 cm (24 inches) depth.

ypg schrieb:
Oh wow, without a mechanical ventilation system?! 😱

Yes. Friends built a city villa as a solid masonry house with unfilled T10 Poroton bricks. Ground area about 80-90 sqm (860-970 sq ft). They decided against ventilation. They have great indoor air quality. Many neighbors in the new development complain about dry air with decentralized ventilation systems and would never install those again. That would be a no-go for us. Decentralized ventilation is off the table anyway. Central ventilation seems better, but we also heard of dry air and poor installation inside partition walls. I wouldn’t want to install a ventilation system here. I’d like to see a solid, very convincing argument that would convince me to install ventilation (central or decentralized), including how to properly install it and what to watch out for. Otherwise, we prefer manual ventilation as we have managed our indoor air quality well so far.

ypg schrieb:
What kind of fireplace will it be? With or without glass? Wood or gas?

It’s open and wood-burning. Please google “Gyrofocus” and “fireplace” together. It might not appeal to everyone 😉 We like it.

ypg schrieb:
So, I’m always happy when someone builds something with foolproof software and has clear ideas. But you have to keep your feet on the ground. You know exactly what you want, listing all the bells and whistles but can’t pay for it. With your desired features, you’d get 133 sqm (about 1,430 sq ft) for 400,000€. Maybe a bit closer to 140 sqm (about 1,500 sq ft). It’ll probably balance out around there. Without DIY, external works, landscaping/paving/carport. And excluding ancillary building costs. If you want your 170 sqm (about 1,830 sq ft), then expect close to 500,000 or 550,000€. Also without DIY, external works, landscaping/paving/carport. And no ancillary costs. Of course, since you don’t require renewable energy or are building in Brandenburg, you might afford 150 sqm (about 1,615 sq ft) or pay only 460,000€. Either way, a bit of reality before designing never hurt anyone.

I’m not saying otherwise. I appreciate the exchange of opinions. We are already thinking about where to save. The bedroom, walk-in closet, and toilet have already gotten smaller.

ypg schrieb:
Regarding the house itself: I see seven window widths: front 70 cm (28 inches) and 120 cm (47 inches), southwest 90 cm (35 inches), open living area 270 cm (106 inches), northeast 230 cm (91 inches) and 140 cm (55 inches). That’s what I call aesthetics 😉 How about you standardize the window size for the “smaller” ones? The appearance will thank you.

Sorry. The windows are not finished yet. I initially defined the usual minimum widths per room here. They will be made more uniform. Do you have recommendations regarding the bathroom, HVAC room, utility, and walk-in closet window sill height? We’re still considering 90 cm (35 inches) due to neighbors and privacy. What’s important to us are floor-to-ceiling windows in the living area and window heights up to 35 cm (14 inches) below the ceiling.

ypg schrieb:
Then a bungalow needs a load-bearing wall as well. With almost 15 meters (49 feet), two load-bearing walls would make the structural work more affordable.

Until now, I understood that bungalows are usually advantageous because they don’t need load-bearing walls. Is that not the case with our total area? Please clarify why that is often stated online. Feel free to explain why it would be cheaper. I lack experience there.

ypg schrieb:
Basically, the house is very dark. Where there is daylight, there are small windows; where there isn’t, there are large ones. But the large ones don’t illuminate the center. The kitchen is the darkest place in the entire house. The brightest spot is the computer workstation in the office (though you don’t really need light there).

Do yourselves a favor and build with the orientation: the cinema in the northeast, the kitchen facing the light with at least 2 sqm (about 22 sq ft) of window area. If you have to save on 20 sqm (about 215 sq ft) due to cost, move the cinema upstairs. A pitched roof allows many possibilities.

A one-and-a-half-story house is our exit strategy if the bungalow absolutely doesn't work, even with compromises. But that would be a half-hearted house. Our first decision is that we want a bungalow. We want one level. If that’s not possible, we would build something we actually don’t want.

Now regarding the floor plan and lighting. Do I understand you correctly that you would put the cinema (assuming you wanted one) on the northeast side? More toward the lower corner near the HVAC room, or upper corner by the bedroom, or centrally by the bathroom/kitchen? I’m then not clear where you’d plan bedroom/bathroom/walk-in/technical room. To the bottom toward southeast or the northwest wall? Then presumably you’d place dining area, fireplace, and kitchen as an open living area in the entire southwest corner with ample window frontage. Wouldn’t this then create a long, narrow layout that feels cramped? The study and utility room would also be questionable. Isn’t it advantageous to have those close to the kitchen, bathroom, and utility, preferably near the front?

Would you make the house narrower but extend it lengthwise and add a pitched roof?

Regarding the neighbouring plots: they don’t appear here. Our left neighbour builds with a 3-meter (10 feet) setback from the boundary. His house starts at 4 meters (13 feet) and extends about 9 meters (30 feet) deep. That means the southwest corner faces the neighbour’s house front or the fence. I don’t find it very pleasing to place a carport on the right side and only have 3 meters (10 feet) to the left neighbour, so when sitting at the dining table, near the fireplace, and cooking, I look at the neighbour’s house and the fence or hedge. Then on the terrace, there’s no lawn in front because the neighbour’s fence goes up to the garden border. I don’t mind that I don’t get direct southern sun on the terrace. It’s too hot in the summer anyway. Our lot is almost 33 meters (108 feet) long. There is definitely a spot on the lawn to escape the now not-so-large shadow of the bungalow. I prefer enjoying the west sun on the upper left and looking in that direction while dining.

Swapping the cinema room with the kitchen and having a rectangular layout, I’m willing to be convinced, especially since the cinema currently blocks valuable daylight from the living area. But in the corner near the study—even if it’s the brightest corner—there is either the neighbour’s boundary to the southwest or the street towards the southeast in front of me. I could imagine nicer views for my eyes there. I’d rather keep the brightness in the study/hobby room, since I’m less bothered by the view of the neighbour’s house there.

11ant schrieb:

??? – The answer to the price question should inform the participants, not provoke them.

I agree with you, but I just wanted to calculate closely here. 450,000 euros (about 490,000 USD) is still possible. For more, we will need to consult with the bank again.

Also for the PVC window frames, yes. In other areas, conditionally, depending on shading.

11ant schrieb:
What is the purpose of the second living room that is not optimized for a home theater?

I'm not following. Which area do you mean?

Ibdk14 schrieb:

You don’t have to be ill to appreciate a second bathroom. Showering or bathing is simply more comfortable when no one else is sitting on the toilet right next to you. You come home together, leave the house at the same time – both need to use the bathroom quickly. Phew, I can think of several situations where, in our household of five people, all four toilets were actually occupied. But of course, that’s up to you. Maybe not necessary for guests, but for yourselves?

Not for us. We have been living together for almost six years and are married. So far, no problems. The toilet is supposed to be tucked away right in the T-junction, basically not visible from anywhere. In an emergency, it would be manageable.
It does happen that we need to use the bathroom at the same time after a long trip, but as a gentleman, I’ve never had an issue waiting 2 minutes longer. That might have happened maybe once a year or less.

Sorrow87 schrieb:

I’m confused. Which area do you mean?

You mean the living room area called the "fireplace."

Sorrow87 schrieb:

450,000 € is still available. For more, we’ll need to renegotiate with the bank.

That means one of the two living rooms (or equivalent other spaces) is no longer possible. However, the overall budget still needs to be reduced by about ten percent instead of the previous more than fifteen.

Sorrow87 schrieb:

but I just wanted to calculate tightly here.

You actually stop doing that the moment you spend all the money on space, meaning you calculate with zero contingency. Homeowners who calculate without a buffer regularly end up building less than planned — like a garage, covered terrace, or similar. Of course, you can also watch gardening shows in the home theater and leave a rough construction site with a pallet entrance platform outside. After all, you’re not building for the guests ;-)

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Wouldn't it make sense to design the house with a basement, then move the home theater to the basement, and plan the house a bit smaller, which might save some costs?

I would at least have the connections for a potential toilet installed in the utility room. This is especially important considering the resale value.