Hello everyone,
I’ve finally registered and would like to ask for your advice, tips, and feedback on our floor plan.
We started looking for a plot about 4 years ago and, of course, had a dream house in mind (urban villa, basement, double garage…). Now we’re considering a semi-detached house if we can afford it at the current prices. We have basically scaled back to the minimum – it should just be a regular house for ordinary people ♀️ no frills. We currently live in a 3-room apartment of about 80 sqm (860 sq ft) and in a few years it will definitely be too small. The plot is offered by the city and not overpriced – so we hope we can manage to plan something decent on it. We have already received several offers:
The house is now planned with dimensions of about 8.5x13 m (28x43 ft) (I am not allowed to post the detailed drawing). The garage is planned on the wall between the kitchen and the study.
We’re very curious about your input!
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 529 sqm (5695 sq ft)
No slope
Plot ratio (floor area ratio): 0.4
Building coverage ratio: 0.4
Building envelope, building line and boundary approx. 12x15 m (39x49 ft) (garage must be inside the building envelope due to regulations)
Edge development: semi-detached property
Number of parking spaces: 2 if possible
Number of floors: 1
Roof type: gable roof
Style: classic
Orientation: north/west
Maximum heights/limits: 4.5 m eaves height (14.75 ft)
Other requirements: private green area in the west, street in front of house is a dead end and only 3 m wide (10 ft)
Owners’ requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: classic, gable roof, semi-detached house
Basement, floors: no basement (too expensive), 1 full floor allowed according to the development plan = 1.5 floors
Number of residents, age: currently 3 (ages 35, 33, 1), grandparents will stay with us about 4 months a year (spread out), older, grandfather has mobility issues
Room requirements ground floor / upper floor:
- Ground floor: kitchen, living/dining room, pantry, utility/technical room, home office/guest room, shower toilet
- Upper floor: 2 children’s rooms about 15 sqm (160 sq ft) each, bedroom (there should still be enough space next to the bed for a child’s cot), bathroom with bathtub and shower
Office: family use or home office? Both (actually a home office, the second children’s room is initially an office, and the home office downstairs doubles as a guest room for the grandparents so they don’t have to climb stairs. My grandfather would also sleep on the couch, but a) that’s bad for his back and b) he should have privacy and a place to retreat).
Guests per year: frequent, about 12–20
Open or closed layout: open
Conservative or modern construction: still open, but solid construction is planned
Open kitchen, island: open kitchen, if possible without direct line of sight to the living room, no kitchen island but space for a French door refrigerator
Number of dining seats: 8
Fireplace: no
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: would prefer a garage, but somehow couldn’t plan it on the plot without blocking light on the west side, so we switched to a carport ♀️♀️ the builder then added a garage again; we’re not sure yet how we feel about it
Kitchen garden, greenhouse: vegetable garden, dining table with 8 seats, play area for the kids
Other wishes/particularities/daily routine, including explanations why certain things are or are not desired:
House design
Who designed it: regional builder
What do you particularly like? Why? Utility room and stairs on a shared wall, better use of daylight
What do you dislike? Why? Bathroom arrangement (I’d prefer windows on the west side for the children’s rooms, bathroom ideally with double-wing windows); long narrow hallway; kitchen is too small/too little workspace for cooking and baking a lot; maybe pantry under the stairs or integrate storage in the kitchen? We hardly have any drink crates but currently have a well-stocked 1.5 sqm (16 sq ft) pantry
Price estimate according to architect/planner: 375k without photovoltaic, 360k if built simultaneously with the other half
Personal price limit for the house including fittings: 340k (new kitchen included; we take it with us and will rebuild)
Preferred heating technology: air-source heat pump with underfloor heating
If you had to give up, which features/expansions?
- Could give up: third children’s room (he included it because the ground floor is so large), pantry, open kitchen (although reluctantly ♀️ we have already rationalized down from our “dream house”)
- Cannot give up: guest room/office and shower toilet on the ground floor
Why is the design the way it is now? For example:
Design by the builder’s planner; we have already spoken with several companies and sometimes received standard designs that did not fit at all. Now we get to add our input. Initially, I wanted just 3 rooms plus bath upstairs (he designed the house much bigger so everything fits downstairs), but I’m confused because one company told us the technical room must be on an exterior wall and take up at least 3 m (10 ft) of wall length … ♀️
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
How can we arrange the rooms on the ground floor sensibly and large enough to get good light & enough storage? How does the garage fit on the plot?
I’ve finally registered and would like to ask for your advice, tips, and feedback on our floor plan.
We started looking for a plot about 4 years ago and, of course, had a dream house in mind (urban villa, basement, double garage…). Now we’re considering a semi-detached house if we can afford it at the current prices. We have basically scaled back to the minimum – it should just be a regular house for ordinary people ♀️ no frills. We currently live in a 3-room apartment of about 80 sqm (860 sq ft) and in a few years it will definitely be too small. The plot is offered by the city and not overpriced – so we hope we can manage to plan something decent on it. We have already received several offers:
- Architect, 290k for the house (calculated with 1300 €/sqm…)
- Nationwide prefab house supplier 390k
- Regional company, solid construction 375k
The house is now planned with dimensions of about 8.5x13 m (28x43 ft) (I am not allowed to post the detailed drawing). The garage is planned on the wall between the kitchen and the study.
We’re very curious about your input!
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 529 sqm (5695 sq ft)
No slope
Plot ratio (floor area ratio): 0.4
Building coverage ratio: 0.4
Building envelope, building line and boundary approx. 12x15 m (39x49 ft) (garage must be inside the building envelope due to regulations)
Edge development: semi-detached property
Number of parking spaces: 2 if possible
Number of floors: 1
Roof type: gable roof
Style: classic
Orientation: north/west
Maximum heights/limits: 4.5 m eaves height (14.75 ft)
Other requirements: private green area in the west, street in front of house is a dead end and only 3 m wide (10 ft)
Owners’ requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: classic, gable roof, semi-detached house
Basement, floors: no basement (too expensive), 1 full floor allowed according to the development plan = 1.5 floors
Number of residents, age: currently 3 (ages 35, 33, 1), grandparents will stay with us about 4 months a year (spread out), older, grandfather has mobility issues
Room requirements ground floor / upper floor:
- Ground floor: kitchen, living/dining room, pantry, utility/technical room, home office/guest room, shower toilet
- Upper floor: 2 children’s rooms about 15 sqm (160 sq ft) each, bedroom (there should still be enough space next to the bed for a child’s cot), bathroom with bathtub and shower
Office: family use or home office? Both (actually a home office, the second children’s room is initially an office, and the home office downstairs doubles as a guest room for the grandparents so they don’t have to climb stairs. My grandfather would also sleep on the couch, but a) that’s bad for his back and b) he should have privacy and a place to retreat).
Guests per year: frequent, about 12–20
Open or closed layout: open
Conservative or modern construction: still open, but solid construction is planned
Open kitchen, island: open kitchen, if possible without direct line of sight to the living room, no kitchen island but space for a French door refrigerator
Number of dining seats: 8
Fireplace: no
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: would prefer a garage, but somehow couldn’t plan it on the plot without blocking light on the west side, so we switched to a carport ♀️♀️ the builder then added a garage again; we’re not sure yet how we feel about it
Kitchen garden, greenhouse: vegetable garden, dining table with 8 seats, play area for the kids
Other wishes/particularities/daily routine, including explanations why certain things are or are not desired:
- We have to build to KfW40 standard, and if photovoltaic panels are installed, 40% of the roof area must be photovoltaic (city requirement)
- Need space for a deep freezer in the utility room
- Showers should be walk-in or at least have a low bathtub
- We are not allowed to build a separate apartment on the plot
House design
Who designed it: regional builder
What do you particularly like? Why? Utility room and stairs on a shared wall, better use of daylight
What do you dislike? Why? Bathroom arrangement (I’d prefer windows on the west side for the children’s rooms, bathroom ideally with double-wing windows); long narrow hallway; kitchen is too small/too little workspace for cooking and baking a lot; maybe pantry under the stairs or integrate storage in the kitchen? We hardly have any drink crates but currently have a well-stocked 1.5 sqm (16 sq ft) pantry
Price estimate according to architect/planner: 375k without photovoltaic, 360k if built simultaneously with the other half
Personal price limit for the house including fittings: 340k (new kitchen included; we take it with us and will rebuild)
Preferred heating technology: air-source heat pump with underfloor heating
If you had to give up, which features/expansions?
- Could give up: third children’s room (he included it because the ground floor is so large), pantry, open kitchen (although reluctantly ♀️ we have already rationalized down from our “dream house”)
- Cannot give up: guest room/office and shower toilet on the ground floor
Why is the design the way it is now? For example:
Design by the builder’s planner; we have already spoken with several companies and sometimes received standard designs that did not fit at all. Now we get to add our input. Initially, I wanted just 3 rooms plus bath upstairs (he designed the house much bigger so everything fits downstairs), but I’m confused because one company told us the technical room must be on an exterior wall and take up at least 3 m (10 ft) of wall length … ♀️
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
How can we arrange the rooms on the ground floor sensibly and large enough to get good light & enough storage? How does the garage fit on the plot?
hausbau23inHE schrieb:
We have already received several offers:
- Architect, $290,000 for the house (calculated at €1,300 per sqm (14 per sq ft)...)
- National prefabricated house supplier $390,000
- Local company, solid construction $375,000
The house is now planned with dimensions of approx. 8.5 x 13 m (measurement drawing cannot be shared), $290,000 : €1,300 per sqm (14 per sq ft) = 223 sqm (2,400 sq ft) ???
You posted a drawing with measurements, but unfortunately without floor plans. If, for example, copyright reasons prevent publication, those would not usually apply to the house dimensions (???)
hausbau23inHE schrieb:
We therefore switched to a carport ♀♀ The builder ended up adding one after all, What do you mean by "garage female female"? *don’t understand*
hausbau23inHE schrieb:
Price estimate according to architect/planner: $375,000 without photovoltaic system, $360,000 if built at the same time as the other half The cost difference largely depends on whether one part has a basement and the other doesn’t; if both halves either have or don’t have a basement, I don’t see much "synergy effect" from coordinating the construction schedule.
hausbau23inHE schrieb:
How does the garage fit practically on the plot? Based on your drawing, not at all, since the driveway is effectively blocked by the house. This would actually also apply to a parking space outdoors in this case.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
H
hausbau23inHE29 Apr 2022 07:51dab_dab schrieb:
Please ask the architect when his last tender was. Why do we keep seeing such completely unrealistic price quotes? I just don’t get it...
Doubling the amount is still barely enough I asked him exactly that, especially because he told us in the conversation that we should expect around 2000-2500. The answer was that this price comes from the construction cost index for semi-detached houses... but to be honest, even that seems a bit too risky for us.
H
hausbau23inHE29 Apr 2022 08:04SoL schrieb:
Is your maximum budget smaller than the initial price before selecting finishes and starting construction? Then please reconsider and don’t rush into a project that might become a disaster...
The floor plan isn’t well thought out, with many corners just to fit enough rooms.
Skip the pantry; it would only be annoying having to walk from the kitchen through the open living area into the hallway, then into the pantry, and back again.
You can use that square footage more effectively.
On the upper floor, please remove the “walk-in closet” and instead create a normal, straightforward bedroom that fits a double bed, a wardrobe, and a crib.
Move the bathroom to the bottom right of the plan and then plan the upper floor according to your needs. Then you can adjust the ground floor based on that.
You will probably end up with a smaller—and therefore more affordable—floor plan that better meets your wishes and requirements.
Regarding the garage/carport: if money is tight, leave the cars outside for now; that’s fine. You can definitely spend the money more wisely elsewhere. Thank you for your constructive feedback. Exactly, we want to make it a bit smaller to reduce costs. Your company has now planned just under 165m² (1,776 sq ft), but 140m² (1,507 sq ft) is sufficient for us. We just need to make sure we can represent that well in the floor plan. We’ll remove the walk-in closet and probably the pantry too to save space. But currently, our pantry is about 10m (33 ft) from the kitchen, so having to walk there doesn’t bother us—that’s better than always going to the basement, which I had to do before.
We would do the garage/carport much later anyway, but we still need to take the space into account now, because the house can’t be moved in 10 years.
Regarding the budget: we initially gave the planner free rein, and he told us in conversation that it would be about 320k if we build with him directly. That it’s now 360k is obviously not feasible, so we have to reduce the house size. However, he offers a fixed price upon signing the contract. We are aware that additional costs may still arise; we have included relatively high ancillary construction costs (80k) to hopefully cover any extra expenses.
H
hausbau23inHE29 Apr 2022 08:1011ant schrieb:
290k : 1300€/sqm = 223 sqm ???
You posted a drawing with dimensions, but unfortunately not the floor plans. If, for example, there were copyright reasons for not publishing them, those would not apply to the house dimensions (???)
What is a "garage female female"? *don’t understand*
The cost difference mainly depends on whether the building includes a basement or not; with both halves having basements or both without, I don’t see much "synergy effect" to gain from coordinating construction times.
In your drawing, not really, since the driveway is basically blocked by the house. This would actually also apply to an outdoor parking space in this case.I didn’t understand the part about the driveway to the garage; if the garage is on the left side of the house and within the building boundary, then you can drive in, right? There’s 5m (16.5 ft) of free space in front of it? I’d appreciate if you could explain it again; I’m here to learn :-)
I don’t know why he priced it that way then :/ we are both building without a basement.
And yes, the architect seriously calculated 223 sqm. He said if it’s smaller, it would be even cheaper :‘) that would be nice.
The female symbols somehow appeared here instead of emojis – I wrote this via the phone keyboard and it was converted; sorry for that. But “the” garage is feminine after all :-D
N
Neubau202229 Apr 2022 08:27hausbau23inHE schrieb:
I didn’t quite understand the access to the garage; if the garage is on the left side of the house and within the building plot, you should be able to drive in, right? There is 5m (16 feet) of free space in front of it? I’d appreciate it if you could explain it again; I’m here to learn 🙂
I don’t know why he priced it that way then :/ we’re both building without a basement
And yes, the architect seriously planned 223 sqm (2,400 sq ft). He said if it’s smaller, it’ll be cheaper :‘) I wish that were true
The female symbols somehow appeared here instead of emojis – I was typing on my phone keyboard and it got converted; sorry about that. But the garage is feminine, after all :-D Just do a rough calculation:
3,000 € per sqm (square meter). For 160 sqm (1,722 sq ft) that’s 480,000 €
Additional construction costs: 50,000 €
Garage: 25,000 €
Outdoor areas: xxx
That brings you to around 555,000 € plus outdoor areas and the land.
If that number works for you, you can continue planning 😎
W
WilderSueden29 Apr 2022 08:30hausbau23inHE schrieb:
I asked him exactly that, especially because he told us in conversation that we should expect around 2000-2500. The answer was that this is the price from the construction cost index for a semi-detached house… but honestly, it seems a bit too risky for us. I can’t think of a good reason why a semi-detached house should cost only half as much, especially if both halves are built independently. I’m also not clear where the 230 sqm (2475 sq ft) come from — roughly estimating, I don’t see how to reach that figure at all.
I don’t want to go into every detail of the floor plan, others can do that better, but where are the grandparents supposed to sleep for those 4 months if the grandfather is no longer very mobile? Hopefully not upstairs?
For evaluation, it would also be helpful if you could roughly mark where paths are supposed to lead, where parking will be, and where a possible garden shed might go.
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