ᐅ Terraced Corner House Floor Plan in Development – Any Suggestions for Changes?

K a t j a schrieb:

I can’t understand swapping the sofa and TV. Try it out. Doesn’t that interfere with the table?

Regarding the floor plan:
All technical equipment is upstairs in the utility room; the washing machine is right up against the 1m (3.3 ft) boundary – that looks problematic to me. Where is the heating system and what kind is it... and anyway, where is the completed questionnaire?
The office door swings into the path of the bedroom door. That’s almost a safety hazard. The bedroom wall will need to be shortened a bit, just enough so the door can fit and open properly. The kitchen door also opens the wrong way.

Why do you think you can get a 1m (3.3 ft) knee wall? Is there any chance of approval? Maybe your architect could argue using the height difference. Instead of raising the floor, build higher on top so the “appearance” looks right. I’d give it a try, but first test it verbally to see if the planning office laughs you off.

So I’ll draft how I want the living room... I realize it’s going to be tight with some doors, but a sliding door costs 3000 euros, which we can’t afford.

You can submit your version for the upstairs doors, showing how you think things should be moved?

The washing machine thing is really nonsense, I hadn’t thought about it at all. We’ll have a small heating system; that’s how it was in the house I visited, but I’ll check, thanks for pointing that out. The technical systems are actually in the entrance area, directly in the hallway... upstairs, in the utility room, there’s the “tower” of the heating system, whatever that’s called. We will be getting a heat pump.

I haven’t been to the selections appointment yet, so the door swing directions haven’t been finalized; changing that won’t be a problem. But why would you want to open the kitchen door the other way?

Oh, I forgot to reply about the knee wall. First of all, I have to say that I’m concerned about water issues. I think houses should be built a bit higher so that rainwater doesn’t enter. I looked around the neighborhood, and everyone has 2 or 3 more steps from street level to their entrance than we do. The appearance would be a secondary concern here. Since the two houses in the row will be built higher, it wouldn’t be a problem for our three houses to be built 1 meter (3.3 feet) higher as well. I just find our elevation too low. I don’t know if the knee wall will extend through, but the appearance alone is not a strong enough argument because my immediate neighbors, so the two houses, are in between us and the taller already-built houses. And they don’t want to have to pay for a knee wall either. However, I have often seen houses in a row with different roof heights.

That doesn’t sound very well thought out.
Take some time to read through the forum here.

For example, the kitchen door: it opens onto the staircase, which is quite inconvenient if someone is coming down at the same time. Or when you bring groceries home and have an outward-opening door. You can easily open an inward-opening kitchen door even with bags in your hands. If it opens outward, you have to pull it open, which is difficult when you’re carrying two bags in each hand.

Thank you very much for the advice. I've already done a lot of research, but somehow, with so many details, it’s hard to see the overall picture. I really appreciate the tip about the kitchen door—I will definitely change it to open inward.

Now I also noticed that the glass door in the bay window is not centered. I’m not sure if there is a specific reason for that? It should be centered; otherwise, it doesn’t look right. I guess it was aligned with the windows above, but that shouldn’t matter. The door in the bay window should be centered there, right?

I’m uploading the plan from some acquaintances who have almost the same house that we are getting, but with a roof pitch of 38°, compared to our 35°, and a knee wall height of 30cm (12 inches). Does the washing machine and sink fit in a row as I want? They have 10cm (4 inches) more, but that can’t be the reason, can it? How did they manage it then?

What I completely miss is the cloakroom.

The door situation has already been mentioned.

Is it allowed to build the bay window there, since it is outside the building boundary?

What are your plans for this roof terrace? Do you really intend to use it? Personally, the 15cm (6 inches) step would bother me.

If you want a 1m (3 feet 3 inches) knee wall and keep the roof pitch at 35 degrees Celsius (95°F), the house will become even taller. What does the zoning plan say?

How much fill do you need to add? It might be better to build a basement. What have your neighbors built? Coordinating with neighbors about building row houses with or without basements is always a good idea.

Your questions are basic issues that should be clarified before starting the design, not shortly before submitting the building permit / planning permission. In my opinion, they have a significant impact on the design.

hanse987 schrieb:

What I am completely missing is the wardrobe.

The door situation has already been mentioned.

Is the bay window allowed to be built there since it is outside the building boundary?

What are your plans for this roof terrace? Do you really intend to use it? That 15cm (6 inches) step would annoy me.

If you want a 1m (3.3 feet) knee wall and keep the roof pitch at 35 degrees, the house will be even taller. What does the zoning plan say?

How much fill do you need to add? Maybe it would be better to build a basement there. It’s always a good idea to coordinate with neighbors regarding building townhouses with or without basements.

Your questions are basic points that should be fixed before starting the planning process, not right before submitting the building permit / planning permission. In my opinion, these have a big impact on the design.

There will only be a small wardrobe space between the kitchen door and the utility room, and I still have the storage room for that. What alternative would you suggest?

We need to add a lot of fill and are paying around 10,000 Euro to bring the site up to street level for the gravel. All three houses will be built without basements; a basement would add 60,000 to 70,000 Euro or more, so filling is much cheaper.

Yes, I admit, we should have discussed the plans much better beforehand, before we gave our okay on Thursday and the architects then finalized the documents. There were personal issues at home with my husband, I am pregnant and wasn’t able to manage everything, so I started feeling uneasy... Also, I was in another forum where you can barely get any advice, and I had several experienced friends review it. I’ve also cross-checked the plans with someone from the company who built the same house, so I felt relatively confident. I’m wondering if it will cost me more if the architect has to redo all the plans—that’s really stressing me out. Yes, it’s our fault, but okay, better to have it changed now than regret it for life. Now I’m in the right forum; I can still have changes made, and you wouldn’t believe all the changes I have requested and had to explain just to even get something decent…

The bay window is outside the zoning boundary and will be specially applied for. I have 8m (26 feet) or more on that side, and the neighbor should also keep 8m (26 feet) free towards me. That shouldn’t be a problem.

I can’t even find your 15cm (6 inches) step — where is that? The roof terrace will actually be a balcony… I’ll have small garden furniture there. I couldn’t find anything about the overall height in the zoning plan. Of course, the house will be taller because of the knee wall, but worst case I could keep a 30cm (12 inches) knee wall and a 35° pitched roof. In my opinion, the house should be about 1m (3.3 feet) above street level, not just barely a single step like shown in the drawings.

I’m summarizing all changes here:
1. Change bay window door to be centered
2. Make kitchen door open inward
3. Change office and bedroom door openings, move doors—but how?
4. Roof space washing machine and sink issue—does everything fit under the sloped ceiling?

I’m very grateful to you. I will call the office directly on Monday and make an appointment to request a building permit change. I’m a little uneasy because everything was handled through emails, and we were clearly asked if it was okay as is before they completed the applications. But well, my husband was involved and quickly gave his okay without looking at the documents carefully, which annoys me a lot, but that’s another issue. I’ll have to pay more attention.

By the way, the other two houses being built with us have already submitted their building permits a long time ago. I’m meeting with them on Wednesday. There’s nothing I need to discuss with the neighbors; the essential points are settled. I just need to take a closer look at my floor plan and have it changed. For example, I can’t find that 15cm (6 inches) step on the terrace—if it exists, what would be the alternative?