ᐅ Planning a single-family house (basement + ground floor + upper floor) on a 480 m² plot
Created on: 19 Jan 2022 17:37
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Elias_dee
Hello! In another thread, I was advised to present my project here. First of all, we are still at the very beginning of the planning process, have luckily secured a plot of land, and now need to study everything carefully. Tips, criticism, suggestions, etc., are always welcome.
Here are "our" key data:
- We are 2 adults, no children, and none planned for the time being
- Electricity consumption: about 3,000 - 3,500 kWh
- Hot water consumption: I don’t have exact data right now, but it’s rather high because we shower with warm water every day
- Fairly handy, so we would like to do at least the painting ourselves (interior + exterior), lay floor coverings (except tiles), and do the garden completely ourselves (we already have experience in all these areas)
Here are the key data for the plot:
- Plot size 480 m² (5,167 ft²)
- New development area
- 2 parking spaces required
- 2 full floors mandatory according to the development plan / zoning plan (building permit / planning permission)
- Ridge direction East-West, renewable energy preferred according to the development plan, photovoltaic as an independent roofing layer is possible
And here is what we want for the house:
- Ground floor with living room, kitchen, guest room, and bathroom with shower
- Upper floor with bedroom, walk-in closet, bathroom with shower, office 1, office 2
- Basement with technical room, utility room, possibly sauna and fitness area, but this might shift to just fitness + sauna in the garden
- Central long straight staircase as a design element
- About 80 m² (860 ft²) living space per floor
- Garage: We want an attached (prefabricated?) garage with direct access to the house plus a carport on the opposite side of the house (unfortunately required by the development/zoning plan)
According to the current plan (but I am still very uncertain here, so criticism is always welcome):
- Build according to KfW55 standard, even if there is no subsidy, or at least close to it—KfW40 does not seem worthwhile to me
- Natural gas connection is already laid to the plot, so my current preference is natural gas heating combined with solar thermal energy (for hot water and heating)
- Photovoltaics are currently not planned, as I don’t see the advantage given the low feed-in tariff
- A ventilation system, although I’m not sure yet if it should be central or decentralized
I can’t think of anything else at the moment—comments on anything are always welcome.
Thanks and best regards!
Elias_dee
Here are "our" key data:
- We are 2 adults, no children, and none planned for the time being
- Electricity consumption: about 3,000 - 3,500 kWh
- Hot water consumption: I don’t have exact data right now, but it’s rather high because we shower with warm water every day
- Fairly handy, so we would like to do at least the painting ourselves (interior + exterior), lay floor coverings (except tiles), and do the garden completely ourselves (we already have experience in all these areas)
Here are the key data for the plot:
- Plot size 480 m² (5,167 ft²)
- New development area
- 2 parking spaces required
- 2 full floors mandatory according to the development plan / zoning plan (building permit / planning permission)
- Ridge direction East-West, renewable energy preferred according to the development plan, photovoltaic as an independent roofing layer is possible
And here is what we want for the house:
- Ground floor with living room, kitchen, guest room, and bathroom with shower
- Upper floor with bedroom, walk-in closet, bathroom with shower, office 1, office 2
- Basement with technical room, utility room, possibly sauna and fitness area, but this might shift to just fitness + sauna in the garden
- Central long straight staircase as a design element
- About 80 m² (860 ft²) living space per floor
- Garage: We want an attached (prefabricated?) garage with direct access to the house plus a carport on the opposite side of the house (unfortunately required by the development/zoning plan)
According to the current plan (but I am still very uncertain here, so criticism is always welcome):
- Build according to KfW55 standard, even if there is no subsidy, or at least close to it—KfW40 does not seem worthwhile to me
- Natural gas connection is already laid to the plot, so my current preference is natural gas heating combined with solar thermal energy (for hot water and heating)
- Photovoltaics are currently not planned, as I don’t see the advantage given the low feed-in tariff
- A ventilation system, although I’m not sure yet if it should be central or decentralized
I can’t think of anything else at the moment—comments on anything are always welcome.
Thanks and best regards!
Elias_dee
When visiting model homes, pay close attention to the furniture. Often, the bedroom features a narrow bed, which will become wider over time, or the kitchen only has space for a microwave, dishwasher, and coffee machine.
Walk up all the stairs, go into every house, and discuss the fittings. Wow, the tiles are great. No way, I wouldn’t live here, that’s unacceptable. If you like something, bring it to the architect.
Always categorize your requirements as must-have, nice-to-have, or unacceptable. Nice-to-have items and everything not listed are your negotiation room.
Do not bring any preliminary drafts to the architect.
Walk up all the stairs, go into every house, and discuss the fittings. Wow, the tiles are great. No way, I wouldn’t live here, that’s unacceptable. If you like something, bring it to the architect.
Always categorize your requirements as must-have, nice-to-have, or unacceptable. Nice-to-have items and everything not listed are your negotiation room.
Do not bring any preliminary drafts to the architect.
I tried out Homebyme over the weekend (with mild booster side effects, it was the perfect weekend activity :p). Thanks for the tip @ypg, it’s really fun and super easy!
I don’t want to keep the result of my little experiment from you, since I used your floor plan. The result is a house 9.40 meters (31 feet) wide and 11.30 meters (37 feet) long, facing south. This example shows that your requirements can also fit into a more compact house. And of course, the straight staircase is included as well 😉 I haven’t figured out how to put a roof on it yet. That’s why it currently looks like a flat-roof house. It actually looks better than a townhouse anyway 😉


I don’t want to keep the result of my little experiment from you, since I used your floor plan. The result is a house 9.40 meters (31 feet) wide and 11.30 meters (37 feet) long, facing south. This example shows that your requirements can also fit into a more compact house. And of course, the straight staircase is included as well 😉 I haven’t figured out how to put a roof on it yet. That’s why it currently looks like a flat-roof house. It actually looks better than a townhouse anyway 😉
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Elias_dee25 Jan 2022 16:14Würfel* schrieb:
I spent the weekend ...Wow, that looks really great! A huge thank you to you 🙂 Very kind of you! I’ll take a closer look at it this evening, but I think it can be used very well! By the way, this annoying showcase staircase is still important to my wife at the moment, but I’m already trying to talk her out of it – we’re now considering that a landing staircase might also be acceptable :-p
Thanks again!
PS: Good idea to plan a separate staircase for the basement!
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soneva201225 Jan 2022 18:29A feature staircase doesn’t have to be straight. Our neighbors have a quarter-turn oak staircase with open stringers. It is completely open, without railings, and looks great – since you’re not planning to have children, something like that could be an option for you as well.
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Bertram10025 Jan 2022 19:03soneva2012 schrieb:
A show staircase doesn’t have to be straight.On the contrary, in every proper castle you will find a quarter-turn staircase (wide enough, with an elegant handrail). The stairs leading to the hayloft, however, are never spiral but always straight.E
Elias_dee6 Feb 2022 22:47So, good evening to all readers 😉 We have gone through several rounds with the architect, revising and discarding floor plans. Now it is quite final, and we are moving forward with the application. Small details will, of course, still be adjusted here and there.
Attached are the floor plans for the basement, ground floor, and upper floor. What does the community think?



Attached are the floor plans for the basement, ground floor, and upper floor. What does the community think?
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