ᐅ New Single-Family Home Construction – Join Us on Our Journey!

Dear community,

We are finally getting a step closer to realizing our dream of building a single-family home.
The plot has been purchased, building plans have been reviewed, construction method decided, and so on. We have now commissioned the architect of the general contractor (GC) of our choice with the planning task and are currently fine-tuning the house design. I would love to take you along on this journey and incorporate your valuable feedback.

At this stage, the focus is on the house design.

Basic data:
Plot: 1062m2 (11,433 sq ft); approx. 25.5m x 41.64m (84 ft x 137 ft)
Orientation: Northwest -> The arrow in the screenshot of the 3D view points south

Desired room layout:
Ground floor:

• Large living/dining area with adjacent (but separable) kitchen at the bottom left, plus a gallery overlooking the first floor
• Utility room
• Guest toilet
• Garage
• Separate apartment at the top right with its own entrance for parents-in-law

First floor:

• Gallery overlooking the ground floor
• 2 children’s bedrooms with a shared bathroom
• 1 playroom (initially a home cinema room, later to be repurposed) above the garage
• Master wing with main bedroom, dressing room, and bathroom

Attic:
Note: I am still discussing this with the architect. Due to the hipped roof shape, the actual living area has shrunk too much. Therefore, further discussion is needed to accommodate the other rooms. I had underestimated the ratio of gross floor area to usable living space.

• 2 separate offices
• 1 guest bedroom
• 1 small guest bathroom

Basement:

• 1 technical room
• 1 laundry room
• 1 storage room
• Large fitness room
• Wellness room with sauna

Additional plans:

• Air-to-air heat pump or air-to-water heat pump
• Photovoltaic system with/without battery storage
• Possible pool (3.5/4m x 8m or 3.5/4m x 12m) with heat pump (and countercurrent system)
• Sauna in the basement room
• Air conditioning for various rooms
• Smart home system – most likely via KNX
• Garden: Currently planning 2 terraces – one to the left, slightly more to the south, and one facing the main part of the plot further north

Now to my first questions for you:

• How do the floor plans strike you? Do they make sense in terms of the dynamics of family life?
• The location of the separate apartment was chosen based on our wish. We wanted a strict, clearly defined spatial separation with a separate entrance. Do you have any comments on this?
• Do you consider the utility rooms in the basement to be adequately sized (considering KNX, heat pump, etc.)?

My biggest construction challenge at the moment is the layout of the attic. There are two alternatives:
- Change the roof type, which would increase costs but provide more usable living space in the attic
- Give up the playroom on the first floor, convert it into a guest room, and build only the two offices in the attic (no guest room or bathroom)

Thank you in advance for your comments.

At a quick glance, I think your wishes have been implemented quite well. However, what I really don’t like at all is the layout of the granny flat. Sleeping with your head against the garage and having the bathroom as a room divider, with the lounge area practically serving as a walk-through room – I wouldn’t want to live like that.

K a t j a schrieb:

I think your wishes have been implemented quite well at first glance. However, what I really don’t like is the layout of the granny flat. Sleeping with your head next to the garage and having the bathroom as a room divider, with the lounge area practically acting as a walkthrough room – I wouldn’t want to live like that.

Thank you, Katja. Great suggestion.
I’m a bit short on ideas for the granny flat.
For cost reasons, it was important to arrange the footprint of the granny flat so that it borders the garage and the main building. Also, we all agreed that the main living activity in the granny flat happens in the living room, so it’s nicer to access the terrace from there, instead of swapping the living room and bedroom.
I understand your point about the bathroom as a room divider.

What alternatives do you have in mind?
Any other comments on the rest?

What is your budget for the house itself (just the house)?
900k?

SoL schrieb:

What is your budget for the house itself?
900k?

I was hoping to stay under 1.15–1.3 million. However, it looks like the turnkey total construction cost will be around 1.35–1.4 million. Do you have any thoughts on that?
The region is southern Bavaria, around Munich.

gregman22 schrieb:

I had hoped we would stay under 1.15–1.3. However, it seems that the turnkey total construction cost is heading towards 1.35–1.4. Do you have any thoughts on this?
Region is southern Bavaria – around Munich

It depends on the total area. With around 250 sqm (2,690 sq ft), for example, and your requirements, that would be very realistic.

My question, though, is if you are willing to invest that much money, why save on the heating system and not choose a geothermal heat pump with deep drilling? No ugly outdoor unit and definitely more efficient. And what about controlled mechanical ventilation?