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
Likee68 schrieb:
which is hardly possible.Well… if the architect from the general contractor designs something, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s well thought-out or practical. Most clients sketch something, which the architect then just refines in a nicer way. For your utility room, this means it’s not wise to follow the plan just because it was drawn that way. And if some see a fundamental problem here, you should consider planning it differently. Something like "which is hardly possible" practically doesn’t exist during the planning phase!
Likee68 schrieb:
Covering transparently with a glass roof? Or is there a cheaper option?Hollow chamber profiles on beams…Likee68 schrieb:
What do you mean exactly by greened beams? Maybe you have a picture so I can imagine it better?And by crossbeams, I obviously meant instead of beams 😉Likee68 schrieb:
What do you think about a concrete staircase to save costs?A concrete staircase isn’t necessarily cheaper than a wooden staircase.W
WilderSueden5 Sep 2022 22:3811ant schrieb:
@WilderSueden: Don’t you also have a situation where the utility room is an annex to the main building?Yes, in our case the technical room (which also doubles as a laundry room with a washing machine and it seems we can even fit a freezer chest) is an extension, although it extends about one meter (3 feet) into the main house. Here, the rest of the ground floor is an open plan.I thought it was a great idea at the time, so we wouldn’t have to enlarge the whole house just to fit the technical room on the ground floor without restrictions. At the same time, I like that when approaching the house (the path is from the south, the entrance on the east), you are naturally guided to the front door. The biggest downside so far is that this makes the house very wide. Instead of 9.7 meters (32 feet) for the main house, it’s now 13 meters (43 feet). I would have preferred the width to be 2 to 3 meters (6 to 10 feet) less.
Overall, I like your floor plan. I wouldn’t change anything on the upper floor either. I would keep the bathroom there as is, so you don’t need a door for the shower.
On the ground floor, I like the open entrance area, but I don’t like the absence of a coat closet and the many projections and recesses in the walls and staircase. The wall at the top of the plan looks quite busy. I also don’t like the sofa facing away from the dining table or the window arrangement. One possible solution could be like this:
On the ground floor, I like the open entrance area, but I don’t like the absence of a coat closet and the many projections and recesses in the walls and staircase. The wall at the top of the plan looks quite busy. I also don’t like the sofa facing away from the dining table or the window arrangement. One possible solution could be like this:
Würfel* schrieb:
Overall, I like your floor plan. I wouldn’t change anything on the upper floor. I’d keep the WC there because you wouldn’t need a door for the shower.
On the ground floor, I don’t like the open entrance area, the lack of a coat closet, and the many protrusions and recesses in the walls and staircase. The wall at the top of the plan looks busy. I also don’t like the sofa facing away from the dining area or the window arrangement. One possible solution could be this:
[ATTACH alt="1662457742924.png"]74592[/ATTACH] Wow, really great ideas! Thanks a lot for that!
I also like the living room as it is. Maybe we’ll reconsider the idea of a window seat at the back of the living room and instead plan the window seat at the level of the dining table.
The short hallway also makes sense so you don’t get the feeling of sitting directly in a corridor.
Great ideas! I’ll discuss this with my wife.
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