Hello dear forum,
I would like to ask for constructive criticism on our floor plan. Please don’t hold back with your critique, everything can still be changed!
Ground Floor
Upper Floor
Site plan on the plot. The property is located at the end of a cul-de-sac next to the forest (forest to the west).
Section
Development Plan/Restrictions
Plot size: 1020 sqm (11,000 sq ft)
Slope: Gentle slope, 1 meter (3 feet) height difference over 25 meters (82 feet)
Border development: Yes, garage to the east
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of stories: 2
Roof type: Gable roof
Style: Modern?
Orientation: Living areas face south, floor plans are almost aligned to north
Maximum height/limits: 9 meters (30 feet)
Owners’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Single-family house, gable roof, KfW40 Plus standard
Basement, floors: No basement, 2 full stories
Number of occupants, age: Currently two adults, planning for two children
Space requirements ground floor and upper floor: 160 sqm (1,722 sq ft) living space
Office: Family use / home office? Wife works from home 3 out of 5 days, so an office is included
Guest stays per year: Rarely, estimated 6 times per year
Open or closed architecture: Very open on the ground floor, more closed upstairs
Open kitchen with island: Planned. The kitchen island should be larger than shown in the plans, possibly moved to the south wall to make it longer
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: Not planned
Balcony, roof terrace: Not planned
Garage, carport: Currently included in plans, but due to major cost increases, we will probably omit garage and carport for now and build later ourselves. Does that make sense?
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: No vegetable garden planned, but a garden shed for tools
House Design
Designer: Architect from the general contractor
- Open living, dining, kitchen area on ground floor was a must
- Two full stories
- Technical room built as separate extension
- Utility room upstairs
- 6000-liter (1,585 gallon) cistern
- Seating window in living area
- Wrap-around terrace from south to west (to be finished later by ourselves; contractor will only do frost protection)
Price estimate by architect/planner: With garage and carport, 550,000 euros in solid wood construction made of cross-laminated timber. Includes 10 kW photovoltaic system + 10 kW storage. Earthworks included.
Personal price limit for house including fittings: Actually 520,000 euros, so a more cost-effective alternative to garage and carport is being sought
Preferred heating technology: Heat pump
If you had to give up, which details/upgrades
- Could give up: garage (see above); aluminum front door; cistern
- Cannot give up: open kitchen; technical extension, otherwise the floor plan doesn’t work
Why does the design look the way it does?
It’s a mix of many examples from various magazines. I then sketched a design in an architectural program and took it to the builder, who implemented it as shown here.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
How should I best plan the garage/carport to later build a carport myself? Should I have the slab poured now and buy a carport kit later?
Since we’re building without a basement, I plan a garden shed. Do I also need a poured slab for the garden shed? Then it might make sense to have the builder do it now.
Is the extra cost for the aluminum front door worth it? (Plastic door 2500 euros, aluminum 5000 euros).
I’m grateful for any tips!
Thank you very much!
Best regards
I would like to ask for constructive criticism on our floor plan. Please don’t hold back with your critique, everything can still be changed!
Ground Floor
Upper Floor
Site plan on the plot. The property is located at the end of a cul-de-sac next to the forest (forest to the west).
Section
Development Plan/Restrictions
Plot size: 1020 sqm (11,000 sq ft)
Slope: Gentle slope, 1 meter (3 feet) height difference over 25 meters (82 feet)
Border development: Yes, garage to the east
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of stories: 2
Roof type: Gable roof
Style: Modern?
Orientation: Living areas face south, floor plans are almost aligned to north
Maximum height/limits: 9 meters (30 feet)
Owners’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Single-family house, gable roof, KfW40 Plus standard
Basement, floors: No basement, 2 full stories
Number of occupants, age: Currently two adults, planning for two children
Space requirements ground floor and upper floor: 160 sqm (1,722 sq ft) living space
Office: Family use / home office? Wife works from home 3 out of 5 days, so an office is included
Guest stays per year: Rarely, estimated 6 times per year
Open or closed architecture: Very open on the ground floor, more closed upstairs
Open kitchen with island: Planned. The kitchen island should be larger than shown in the plans, possibly moved to the south wall to make it longer
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: Not planned
Balcony, roof terrace: Not planned
Garage, carport: Currently included in plans, but due to major cost increases, we will probably omit garage and carport for now and build later ourselves. Does that make sense?
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: No vegetable garden planned, but a garden shed for tools
House Design
Designer: Architect from the general contractor
- Open living, dining, kitchen area on ground floor was a must
- Two full stories
- Technical room built as separate extension
- Utility room upstairs
- 6000-liter (1,585 gallon) cistern
- Seating window in living area
- Wrap-around terrace from south to west (to be finished later by ourselves; contractor will only do frost protection)
Price estimate by architect/planner: With garage and carport, 550,000 euros in solid wood construction made of cross-laminated timber. Includes 10 kW photovoltaic system + 10 kW storage. Earthworks included.
Personal price limit for house including fittings: Actually 520,000 euros, so a more cost-effective alternative to garage and carport is being sought
Preferred heating technology: Heat pump
If you had to give up, which details/upgrades
- Could give up: garage (see above); aluminum front door; cistern
- Cannot give up: open kitchen; technical extension, otherwise the floor plan doesn’t work
Why does the design look the way it does?
It’s a mix of many examples from various magazines. I then sketched a design in an architectural program and took it to the builder, who implemented it as shown here.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
How should I best plan the garage/carport to later build a carport myself? Should I have the slab poured now and buy a carport kit later?
Since we’re building without a basement, I plan a garden shed. Do I also need a poured slab for the garden shed? Then it might make sense to have the builder do it now.
Is the extra cost for the aluminum front door worth it? (Plastic door 2500 euros, aluminum 5000 euros).
I’m grateful for any tips!
Thank you very much!
Best regards
Oh, I just noticed that a proper wardrobe, a 2-meter (6.5 feet) closet plus a chest of drawers are missing. No one wants their clothes left out in the open, visible from the dining table.
Because a person a) is naturally a cave-dweller who usually likes to feel protected while sleeping, and b) doesn’t want to perform acrobatics when cleaning.
Yes, that’s possible. I would cover the carport with a transparent roof or just use (greened) supports.
Likee68 schrieb:
Why would that bother you? There are two full floors, so the windows would be quite high.
Because a person a) is naturally a cave-dweller who usually likes to feel protected while sleeping, and b) doesn’t want to perform acrobatics when cleaning.
Likee68 schrieb:
Do you think it will then be too dark in the entrance area beneath the carport?
Yes, that’s possible. I would cover the carport with a transparent roof or just use (greened) supports.
M
Myrna_Loy5 Sep 2022 13:33Office space really depends on how much area you need. My boss has a home office of 40 sqm (430 sq ft), since he needs room for plans and such. My home office space consists of just a desk and a small shelf, in case I need to bring files home. In the office, I don’t have much more space either.
ypg schrieb:
Yes, that’s possible. I would cover the carport with a transparent roof or only with (green) supports.Do you mean covering it with a glass roof? Or is there a more cost-effective option? What exactly do you mean by green supports? Maybe you have a picture to help me visualize it?
If the transparent carport is also cheaper than a solid wooden ceiling, I could kill two birds with one stone. ;-)
Regarding objective complaints, nothing stands out to me here. However, I would question the concept of having the utility room in the connecting corridor (but I wouldn’t consider it a deal-breaker). I don’t quite follow your response regarding access to the utility room from a linguistic standpoint. I would probably reduce the thickness of some interior walls to 15 cm (6 inches) using sand-lime brick.
Both prices are borderline low. Wood is only worthwhile if you can spend a bit more than you would for aluminum; with wooden doors, choosing the right supplier alone requires experience. For all materials, the building components perform well within a system only if they are properly installed. I would never use plastic for a stress-bearing element—so congratulations on avoiding sliding doors!
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Likee68 schrieb:
Is the extra cost of the aluminum front door worth it? (Plastic 2500 euros, aluminum 5000 euros).
Both prices are borderline low. Wood is only worthwhile if you can spend a bit more than you would for aluminum; with wooden doors, choosing the right supplier alone requires experience. For all materials, the building components perform well within a system only if they are properly installed. I would never use plastic for a stress-bearing element—so congratulations on avoiding sliding doors!
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Good design.
The property boundaries are hardly visible on the site plan; maybe you should trace them again.
- I would close the hallway between the entrance and the kitchen with double doors. The idea is to better separate the guest toilet from the living area and also to make the office quieter for work. Additionally, in my opinion, the open hallway creates an uncomfortable feeling—almost like standing permanently on a train platform.
- A surrounding terrace is certainly nice but expensive. Is it really necessary?
- I would build the garage and carport now if your budget allows. The reason is the shared roof with the utility room, which you can hardly omit. Also, such things tend to never get built later.
- The windows and patio doors seem somewhat randomly distributed to me. I would spend more time refining the elevations. (It would be interesting to see these as well.)
- I would swap the shower and toilet in the bathroom.
- Regarding the hallway width, I would not change anything. It is sufficient for a closet in my opinion—rather, I would consider shifting the glazing element at the door.
- I personally find plastic doors unattractive. We have aluminum and are very happy with it. I would also have chosen wood.
The property boundaries are hardly visible on the site plan; maybe you should trace them again.
- I would close the hallway between the entrance and the kitchen with double doors. The idea is to better separate the guest toilet from the living area and also to make the office quieter for work. Additionally, in my opinion, the open hallway creates an uncomfortable feeling—almost like standing permanently on a train platform.
- A surrounding terrace is certainly nice but expensive. Is it really necessary?
- I would build the garage and carport now if your budget allows. The reason is the shared roof with the utility room, which you can hardly omit. Also, such things tend to never get built later.
- The windows and patio doors seem somewhat randomly distributed to me. I would spend more time refining the elevations. (It would be interesting to see these as well.)
- I would swap the shower and toilet in the bathroom.
- Regarding the hallway width, I would not change anything. It is sufficient for a closet in my opinion—rather, I would consider shifting the glazing element at the door.
- I personally find plastic doors unattractive. We have aluminum and are very happy with it. I would also have chosen wood.
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