ᐅ Floor plans for a two-family house with a basement apartment (garden-level unit)

Looking for floor plan suggestions for a two-family house with a basement apartment. The ground floor and first floor should each have about 90 to 100 square meters (970 to 1,080 square feet) of living space.

On the ground floor, there should be 3 rooms, a bathroom, and a guest toilet. The first floor should have 4 rooms, a bathroom, a guest toilet, and a balcony. The roof might be suitable for expansion. The basement or basement apartment should have as much natural light as possible, featuring a nice apartment of 40 to 50 square meters (430 to 540 square feet), with the rest used as utility cellar or heating room.

The maximum building size allowed is 12 x 12 meters (39 x 39 feet) with an eave height of 7 meters (23 feet), meaning two full floors, and a roof pitch of up to 40 degrees — although this doesn’t have to be fully used, as it might be too expensive.

Thank you for your many suggestions. I’m also happy to receive recommendations or links to sources online where I might find inspiration or proposals.

Finally, I still need a reliable builder in the Cologne area.

Hello,

charlyuspoll schrieb:

I am looking for floor plan suggestions for a two-family house with a basement apartment. The ground floor and first floor should each have about 90 to 100 sqm (970 to 1,075 sq ft) of living space. The ground floor should include 3 rooms, a bathroom, and a guest toilet. The first floor should have 4 rooms, a bathroom, a guest toilet, and a balcony. The roof might be expandable. The basement or lower ground floor should have as much natural light as possible and a nice apartment of about 40-50 sqm (430 to 540 sq ft), with the rest used as utility cellar and heating. The maximum footprint can be up to 12x12 m (39x39 ft) with an eaves height of 7 m (23 ft), allowing for 2 full floors, and a roof pitch up to 40 degrees. Of course, I don’t have to use the entire space since it might be too expensive. Thanks for your many suggestions. I am also interested in any sources or ideas you might find online. Finally, I still need a reliable builder in the Cologne area.

You will hardly get any concrete information here, because firstly, no one will share their floor plans due to copyright. Secondly, you have very specific requirements that should first be discussed in a detailed consultation. Lastly, information about the maximum allowable floor area ratio is missing — it must be certain that you will receive permission for the number of rooms you want (including any roof expansion) and an estimate of your budget. Building the house alone is not the whole story; there are additional costs beyond construction.

So far, I would guess that the figure at the bottom right will more likely be a generous “4” rather than a modest “3.”

We planned something similar as an investment property; the process to finalize the plans took a lot of time, and the figure at the bottom right was not exactly low.

Best regards, Bauexperte

Hello Martina,

wouldn't the basement then also be considered a full storey?

Hello Yvonne,

ypg schrieb:

Wouldn’t the basement then also count as a full storey?

No.

The definition of a full storey is:

According to the building regulations of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), a full storey is a level that extends more than 1.60 m (5 feet 3 inches) above the average surrounding ground level and measures at least 2.30 m (7 feet 7 inches) in height from the top of the floor to the top of the floor of the level above, or to the top of the roof covering if it is the uppermost floor.

The following are not considered full storeys:

• Levels used exclusively for housing building services equipment and heating installations
• Topmost levels where the required 2.30 m (7 feet 7 inches) height is present over less than three quarters of the area of the floor below

Excluded from consideration are:

• Voids between the top ceiling and the roof with a clear height less than what is required for habitable rooms according to the building regulations (2.20 m (7 feet 3 inches) over at least half the floor area, excluding parts of the room with a clear height up to 1.50 m (4 feet 11 inches))
• Mezzanines up to a floor area of 20 m² (215 square feet)

The specific measurements vary slightly in building codes of different federal states; however, the general explanation remains the same.

Best regards, Bauexperte