ᐅ Floor plan of a semi-detached house, 2.5 stories plus usable basement

Created on: 28 Mar 2022 11:37

Hello everyone,

we are planning to build a semi-detached house with 2.5 stories plus a basement. We have received a first draft from the general contractor and would like to discuss it with you.

The floors are divided as follows:
Basement = utility cellar
Ground floor = living/dining + kitchen + WC + storage
Upper floor = 2 large children's rooms + family bathroom
Attic = bedroom + office + WC/bathroom

Development plan/restrictions
Plot size: 420 sqm (4521 sq ft)
Slope: no
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Floor area ratio: not specified
Parking spaces: carport + 1 parking space
Number of floors: 2.5
Roof type: gable roof, 35 degrees
Style: semi-detached house
Orientation: southeast
Maximum heights/limits: ridge height = 6.5 m (21 ft 4 in), overall height = 10 m (32 ft 10 in), max width = 9 m (29 ft 6 in). Due to the overall height limit and the 35-degree roof pitch, the max depth = 10 m (32 ft 10 in).

Homeowners’ requirements
Style, roof type, building type
Utility basement, 2.5 stories
Number of occupants: 2 adults + 2 children (5 and 7 years old)
Guests per year: negligible
Large kitchen, open but can be closed off with sliding doors; kitchen island for prep work (cooktop not planned on island for now)
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: ethanol fireplace integrated into the living room wall
Carport
Separate floor for the children with large bedrooms
Sauna in the attic
Dormer on the north side
Ceiling height on ground and upper floors: 2.50 m (8 ft 2 in) each
Office/guest room in the attic

House design
Design by: general contractor (redrawn by me in Sweet Home 3D with furniture added)
What do we like most and why?: large living room with big windows, spacious kitchen, large children’s rooms
Preferred heating system: air-source heat pump

What is the main/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
- Living room: are the windows chosen too large?
- Children’s rooms: how do you find the layout, especially child 2’s room?
- Family bathroom: is the passage to the toilet and shower too narrow?
- Office: 2 m (6 ft 7 in) depth is reached quickly after the entrance; the dormer exists but I’m unsure how the room will feel. What do you think?

2D floor plan of a house with sauna, shower/WC, bedroom, staircase, and living area

Floor plan of a house with carport, terrace, garden, kitchen, living/dining, shed, storage, foyer.

Floor plan: technical room 11.5 m² (124 sq ft), storage room 18.5 m² (199 sq ft), hobby room 32.0 m² (345 sq ft), corridor 5.0 m² (54 sq ft), staircase

Floor plan: bathroom, corridor, stairs, two children’s bedrooms with beds, living room with sofa and desk.

corby_816 Apr 2022 07:52

#55

Hello everyone, I have revised the floor plan using @K a t j a’s suggestion as a starting point. I plan to visit the planner next week to discuss the layout with him.

Ground Floor:

I have moved the staircase as far north as possible to create larger children’s rooms on the upper floor. I still need to discuss the exact dimensions of the staircase with the planner.
Is the width of the WC too narrow?
I’m not entirely happy with the bend in the kitchen within the living room, but I’m not sure how else to resolve it.
We do not want to give up the carport.

Upper Floor:

The open area north of the staircase will be filled with plants or something similar.

Attic Floor:

The dormer has been moved to the north side.
The bedroom and office have been combined into one large room. The reason is that we want the dormer to be positioned in the middle. Otherwise, it looks very odd from the outside. Initially, we separated the rooms with a wall in the middle of the dormer: the office on the left and the bedroom on the right. However, the bedroom seemed strange because it only had a window in the left corner (the dormer window). We don’t want a roof window in the bedroom, as it would be noisy when it rains and affect sleep. Therefore, we combined the two rooms into one large space, which we actually like. You can relax there nicely after using the sauna. In our case, having the office within the bedroom is not a problem; it’s currently set up like this and works fine. But of course, I am open to ideas on how to arrange the rooms separately.

Your feedback/criticism/ideas are very welcome as always 🙂.

bortel6 Apr 2022 08:14

#56

Combining a bedroom and an office usually doesn’t work well in practice. Bedrooms are often kept cooler, so do you really want to work at around 18-19°C (64-66°F)? A roof window is definitely not a problem—I have one myself—and if the sound of rain bothers you, you can simply lower the external blind, which further reduces the noise.

gutentag6 Apr 2022 08:16

#57

How high are the ceilings? Aren’t 15 steps a bit few?

Otherwise, much better than your first draft.

corby_816 Apr 2022 10:16

#58

bortel schrieb:

Combining the bedroom and office usually doesn’t work well in practice. Bedrooms tend to be on the cooler side, would you really want to work at around 18-19°C (64-66°F)?
A roof window is absolutely no problem—I have one myself, and if the rain bothers you, you can simply lower the external shutter, which helps reduce the noise even further.

OK, I will evaluate that.

gutentag schrieb:

How high are the ceilings? Are 15 stairs a bit too few?

Otherwise, this is much better than your first draft.

The clear ceiling height should be 2.50m (8 ft 2 in). If I’m correct, the floor-to-floor height including the floor structure should be 2.90m (9 ft 6 in). Someone posted a picture in this thread with standard stair dimensions, which I simply adopted, but I will clarify this in detail with the planner. I’m also uncertain about the floor-to-floor height. I will share the planner’s suggestion once I receive it.
Ideally, I would like a half-landing staircase. But that probably wouldn’t fit, as it requires more depth, right?

corby_816 Apr 2022 18:03

#59

corby_81 schrieb:

Hello everyone, I’ve revised the floor plan and used @K a t j a’s suggestion as a starting point.
I want to meet with the planner next week to discuss the layout with them.

Ground floor:

I’ve moved the staircase as far north as possible to maximize the size of the children’s rooms on the upper floor. I still need to clarify the exact dimensions of the stairs with the planner.
Is the width of the WC too narrow?
I’m not entirely happy with the bend in the kitchen in the living room, but I’m not sure how to solve it otherwise.
We don’t want to give up the carport.

Upper floor:

The open area north of the stairs will be filled with flowers or something similar.

Attic:

The dormer has been moved to the north.
The bedroom and office have been combined into one large room. The reason is that we want the dormer to be located in the center. Otherwise, it looks very odd from the outside. Initially, the rooms were separated by a wall in the middle of the dormer, with the office on the left and the bedroom on the right. The bedroom looked strange because it only had one window (the dormer window) in the left corner. We don’t want a roof window in the bedroom, as it would be difficult to sleep when it’s raining. Therefore, we decided on one large room, which we actually like. It’s a nice place to relax after using the sauna. In our case, it’s not a problem to have the office in the bedroom—it’s currently like that and hasn’t caused any issues. Of course, I’m open to ideas on how to arrange the rooms separately.

Your comments, criticism, and ideas are very much appreciated. 🙂

Does no one else have any opinion on this?

ypg6 Apr 2022 22:21

#60

… before everything gets rehashed again in the green section: has it been stated anywhere how close the garage is allowed to be to the road?

ᐅ Floor plan of a semi-detached house, 2.5 stories plus usable basement

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