ᐅ Single-family home with a granny flat on a 450 sqm sloped lot
Created on: 9 Feb 2022 11:44
K
Kristijan
Hello everyone,
Until now, I have only been a silent reader here, but I would like to present our own house concept for discussion. I am hoping for candid criticism, as well as your ideas and suggestions.
We are a blended family with four children (three are usually at home) and we are planning to build a single-family house with a secondary apartment in NRW. At the beginning of last year, we bought a sloped lot in a typical new development area and have since worked with an architect to develop a house concept. We designed a very simple building form (four walls and a roof) with an efficient floor plan. We sent our plans to several prefabricated house companies, asking for cost estimates, hoping that our budget might allow for potential expansion of the house. Now, faced with their offers, we have to admit that even our smallest possible floor plan exceeds our budget. The budget is about 550,000 euros for the house including additional construction costs (excluding the land). With the secondary apartment, we had hoped to double the KfW funding in the KfW 40 EE class with 67,500 euros to increase the budget. But it is what it is.
Perhaps our preliminary cost estimate was a bit naive. In any case, we are currently reconsidering the concept and are considering doing without a basement.
And now, please, fire away with your frank criticism and unvarnished truths. 🙂
Zoning Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 450 sqm (4,844 sq ft)
Slope: Yes, north-facing slope (from the street toward south-southwest) with about 1.5 m (5 feet) elevation within the building envelope (1 meter (3 feet) within the planned footprint) rising
Floor area ratio (FAR): ?
The zoning plan does not provide this information
Building area ratio (site coverage): 0.4
Building envelope, building line and boundary: 19.5 m (64 feet) wide (street side), at the rear 17 m (56 feet) wide and 14 m (46 feet) deep
Edge development: Yes
Number of parking spaces: 2 for the main unit and 1 for the secondary apartment
Number of floors: 2.5
Roof type: Gable roof
Architectural style: Traditional
Orientation: Ridge runs from west-northwest to east-southeast
Maximum heights / limits: Maximum ridge height 9.5 m (31 feet) above finished ground floor level (this may exceed the reference street level by max. 0.5 m (1.5 feet))
Other requirements: Side setbacks 3 m (10 feet), setback from the street 3.5 m (11.5 feet)
Client Requirements
Architectural style and building type: Simple, economical building form with a gable roof
Basement, floors: Basement with secondary apartment, total 2.5 floors
Number of people, ages: Household of 5-6 people: parents aged 38 and 36, four children aged 7, 4, 2x 2 years. Family planning went a bit beyond the target and is now complete 🙂 plus grandmother in the basement apartment
Space needs on ground / upper floors: About 140-150 sqm (1,500-1,615 sq ft): kitchen, living room, 1 bedroom, 3 children’s bedrooms, 1 guest/office/patchwork room, 2 bathrooms
Utility room in the basement
Office: 1 flexible room required
Guests per year: About 10
Open or closed layout: Form follows function
Conservative or modern style: Hm, what exactly is meant here?
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Open kitchen adjacent to dining area (a kitchen island is welcome here), but closed off toward the living room
Number of dining seats: 6-8
Fireplace: No
Music / stereo wall: TV in the living room
Balcony, roof terrace: Covered terrace facing the garden with pass-through window from the kitchen
Garage, carport: Carport with green roof and additional storage space would be ideal
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: Small kitchen garden along the property boundary
House Design
Designer: Independent architect working with a prefabricated house company and DIY elements
What do you particularly like? Efficient use of space. Despite compactness, all requirements regarding space needs, especially number of rooms, are met
What do you dislike? Especially the ground floor could be more generous, the basement or storage spaces could be larger
Price estimate (according to architect): Not available
Price limit including fittings: 550,000 euros plus KfW funding if still available
Preferred heating system: Air-to-water heat pump
If you have to sacrifice something, which details or extensions would you give up?
-can give up: Reluctantly on the separate parents’ area
The secondary apartment is also under discussion
The sliding doors on the ground floor are due to a coordination error and can be removed
-can not give up: Number of rooms
Why did the design turn out the way it is?
We basically created the design ourselves. The architect later made some optimizations. Our main focus was to accommodate all room requirements within a compact floor plan on a small plot. Furthermore, as parents of four children, we wanted our own small private space.
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan, summarized in 130 characters?
Is our house concept failing due to our budget expectations? What would you do differently and why?
Until now, I have only been a silent reader here, but I would like to present our own house concept for discussion. I am hoping for candid criticism, as well as your ideas and suggestions.
We are a blended family with four children (three are usually at home) and we are planning to build a single-family house with a secondary apartment in NRW. At the beginning of last year, we bought a sloped lot in a typical new development area and have since worked with an architect to develop a house concept. We designed a very simple building form (four walls and a roof) with an efficient floor plan. We sent our plans to several prefabricated house companies, asking for cost estimates, hoping that our budget might allow for potential expansion of the house. Now, faced with their offers, we have to admit that even our smallest possible floor plan exceeds our budget. The budget is about 550,000 euros for the house including additional construction costs (excluding the land). With the secondary apartment, we had hoped to double the KfW funding in the KfW 40 EE class with 67,500 euros to increase the budget. But it is what it is.
Perhaps our preliminary cost estimate was a bit naive. In any case, we are currently reconsidering the concept and are considering doing without a basement.
And now, please, fire away with your frank criticism and unvarnished truths. 🙂
Zoning Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 450 sqm (4,844 sq ft)
Slope: Yes, north-facing slope (from the street toward south-southwest) with about 1.5 m (5 feet) elevation within the building envelope (1 meter (3 feet) within the planned footprint) rising
Floor area ratio (FAR): ?
The zoning plan does not provide this information
Building area ratio (site coverage): 0.4
Building envelope, building line and boundary: 19.5 m (64 feet) wide (street side), at the rear 17 m (56 feet) wide and 14 m (46 feet) deep
Edge development: Yes
Number of parking spaces: 2 for the main unit and 1 for the secondary apartment
Number of floors: 2.5
Roof type: Gable roof
Architectural style: Traditional
Orientation: Ridge runs from west-northwest to east-southeast
Maximum heights / limits: Maximum ridge height 9.5 m (31 feet) above finished ground floor level (this may exceed the reference street level by max. 0.5 m (1.5 feet))
Other requirements: Side setbacks 3 m (10 feet), setback from the street 3.5 m (11.5 feet)
Client Requirements
Architectural style and building type: Simple, economical building form with a gable roof
Basement, floors: Basement with secondary apartment, total 2.5 floors
Number of people, ages: Household of 5-6 people: parents aged 38 and 36, four children aged 7, 4, 2x 2 years. Family planning went a bit beyond the target and is now complete 🙂 plus grandmother in the basement apartment
Space needs on ground / upper floors: About 140-150 sqm (1,500-1,615 sq ft): kitchen, living room, 1 bedroom, 3 children’s bedrooms, 1 guest/office/patchwork room, 2 bathrooms
Utility room in the basement
Office: 1 flexible room required
Guests per year: About 10
Open or closed layout: Form follows function
Conservative or modern style: Hm, what exactly is meant here?
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Open kitchen adjacent to dining area (a kitchen island is welcome here), but closed off toward the living room
Number of dining seats: 6-8
Fireplace: No
Music / stereo wall: TV in the living room
Balcony, roof terrace: Covered terrace facing the garden with pass-through window from the kitchen
Garage, carport: Carport with green roof and additional storage space would be ideal
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: Small kitchen garden along the property boundary
House Design
Designer: Independent architect working with a prefabricated house company and DIY elements
What do you particularly like? Efficient use of space. Despite compactness, all requirements regarding space needs, especially number of rooms, are met
What do you dislike? Especially the ground floor could be more generous, the basement or storage spaces could be larger
Price estimate (according to architect): Not available
Price limit including fittings: 550,000 euros plus KfW funding if still available
Preferred heating system: Air-to-water heat pump
If you have to sacrifice something, which details or extensions would you give up?
-can give up: Reluctantly on the separate parents’ area
The secondary apartment is also under discussion
The sliding doors on the ground floor are due to a coordination error and can be removed
-can not give up: Number of rooms
Why did the design turn out the way it is?
We basically created the design ourselves. The architect later made some optimizations. Our main focus was to accommodate all room requirements within a compact floor plan on a small plot. Furthermore, as parents of four children, we wanted our own small private space.
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan, summarized in 130 characters?
Is our house concept failing due to our budget expectations? What would you do differently and why?
K
Kristijan9 Feb 2022 21:0211ant schrieb:
Still, this shows the basis on which other providers should prove themselves.The original design planned for a slightly larger footprint and was intended to be built on a slab foundation. The sales representative of the construction company suggested excavating the footprint freely and securing the soil toward the garden with retaining walls. The terrace was then planned as a bridge into the garden with additional storage space underneath.However, the landscape gardener (and not only them) strongly advised against this plan for cost reasons.
K
Kristijan9 Feb 2022 21:2111ant schrieb:
The praise, for my standards, was not just about the drawing design, but about the mature appearance compared to the usual Pinterest nonsense with failed Tetris layouts. I gladly accept the compliment.
11ant schrieb:
What do you want to do now: start the planning again from the beginning instead of in the middle as before, or downgrade the specifications? We have already requested a quote from a provider who should be positioned at least one price tier lower. They wanted an outrageous 3400 Euro for the turnkey construction of the top two floors and clearly were not enthusiastic about the project.
Option A would be to make further compromises on the quality of the providers regarding wall construction and materials used. Foregoing a KfW quality certification would also be an obvious way to reduce costs.
More challenging would be completely discarding the current concept. That would be Option B.
One idea would be:
The lowest floor as a partial basement, with functional rooms in the rear area that don’t necessarily require daylight, such as storage and technical rooms. The front area would have bedrooms.
The upper floor would then contain the kitchen, living area with access to the garden, and at least one, preferably two bedrooms.
Possibly also with an expandable attic. That way, a child’s room could initially be omitted and additional living space created later.
However, the thought of reworking the floor plan again gives me a headache. Therefore, I am still leaning towards the first alternative.
Kristijan schrieb:
... obviously didn’t feel like working on the project. Well, I’d say they’re already out then.
Kristijan schrieb:
A more challenging option would be to completely revise the concept. That would be option B.
One idea could be:
The lowest floor as a partial basement, with utility rooms in the rear area that do not necessarily require natural light, such as storage and mechanical rooms. Bedrooms in the front area.
On the upper floor, kitchen and living areas with access to the garden, and at least one, preferably two bedrooms.
Possibly also with an expandable attic. This way, you could initially do without a children’s room and add more living space later. I see this as the most practical solution.
Kristijan schrieb:
The thought of developing another floor plan gives me a headache, though. So I’m still leaning toward the first option. Not me. 😉
@11ant: Isn’t the design already exceeding the floor area ratio of 0.4 at 450 sqm (4,844 sq ft) with three floors? Is something not being counted here? I’m a bit confused. Could you please clarify?
K
Kristijan9 Feb 2022 22:13K a t j a schrieb:
Isn’t the design already exceeding the floor area ratio of 0.4 with 450m² (4844 sq ft) over 3 floors? Is something not being counted here? I’m a bit confused. Can you clarify this for me briefly? I’m not really familiar with this topic and just hope that the architect took it into account. But could it possibly work in our case because the top floor is not counted as a full storey?
Kristijan schrieb:
I’m not really familiar with this topic and just hope that the architect took it into account. But maybe it works in our case because the top floor doesn’t count as a full storey?Ah, okay. Then that’s probably it.K
Kristijan9 Feb 2022 22:36I’m afraid we’ll have to come up with a new plan. At least I will sit down and work on a floor plan, which I will then share here for discussion.
Are there any comments so far on the overall concept:
Are there any comments so far on the overall concept:
Kristijan schrieb:
Lowest floor as a partial basement, with utility rooms in the rear area that don’t necessarily need natural light, such as storage and technical rooms. Bedrooms in the front area.
On the upper floor, the kitchen and living area with access to the garden, and at least one, preferably two, bedrooms.
Possibly also with a convertible attic. That way, one could initially forgo a child’s bedroom and later create additional living space.
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