ᐅ Floor plan for two semi-detached houses – wide and narrow or square-shaped
Created on: 1 Feb 2022 23:26
S
smartsurfer85
Currently, there is a single-family house on the plot, built in 1961. The long-term tenant recently passed away. Since a full renovation of the existing house seems too expensive and complex to me, I would like to have a complete semi-detached house built instead, consisting of two mirrored halves.
I plan to keep one half of the semi-detached house and rent it out. The second half I either want to rent out as well or sell—either immediately after completion if the project costs exceed my financial means, or later (for example, after 10 years).
The plot is rather long and narrow, so standard floor plans do not fit directly. The usual semi-detached house layouts tend to be “long and narrow” rather than “wide and short” or “square.” A wider layout does not necessarily seem better for usable rooms. How much larger than 8.80m x 7.80m (29 ft x 26 ft) should each half be? (Dimensions taken from the plot with some distance left for garden space toward neighbors, positioning the building volume accordingly; there is no strict need to adhere exactly to these, it's simply a starting point.)
Since I have no clear idea of the required minimum size yet, I started designing a basic floor plan.
I also want to use this draft to compare prices from different general contractors.
I generated two different variants (plans for the ground floor, upper floor, and attic are still pending).
What improvements can be made? Do you have any other ideas?
Site sketch: plot (dark blue) with planned parking spaces, pathway, and building volume
Variant 1:
Variant 2:
Plot size: 499m² (5373 sq ft)
Slope: No
Floor area ratio: §34 Baugesetzbuch (Building Code)
Plot ratio: §34 Baugesetzbuch (Building Code)
Building envelope, building line, and boundary lines
Edge construction: 2.5m (8 ft) setback from the property line
Number of parking spaces: 2 per semi-detached half = 4 total
Number of storeys: 2
Roof type: Gable roof
Style: Classic
Orientation: North
Maximum heights/restrictions
Further requirements
Client Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Solid construction
Basement, storeys: Preferably no basement for cost reasons; ground floor, upper floor, and attic
Number of occupants, age: Target group is a family with 1–3 children
Space requirements for ground floor, upper floor, attic: approx. 120–150m² (1290–1615 sq ft)
Office: For family use or home office? Home office, 1–2 offices
Guest bedrooms per year:
Open or closed architecture: Open
Conservative or modern construction: Conservative
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Yes
Number of dining seats: 6–8
Fireplace: No
Music / stereo wall: No
Balcony, roof terrace: No
Garage, carport: Possibly carport
Garden for vegetables, greenhouse: No
Other requests / special details / daily routine, including reasons why this or that should or should not be included: Simple floor plan to reduce costs, garden area preferably facing south with about 4.70m (15.5 ft) to potentially minimal 4m (13 ft) distance to neighbors to allow good use of a terrace.
House Design
Planned by:
- Do-it-yourself: Yes
What do you particularly like? Why? Variant 1: Living/dining on the ground floor allows better use of space; Variant 2: room layout on the upper floor offers better usable rooms.
What do you not like? Why? Variant 1: Utility room on the ground floor is accessible only through the guest bathroom.
Price estimate according to architect/planner: Unknown so far; floor plan serves as a basis for price inquiries.
Personal price limit for house including fixtures: –
Preferred heating technology: Air source heat pump
If you had to give up something, which details or upgrades?
- Can give up: Bay window, basement
- Cannot give up: Utility room on the ground floor
Why is the design the way it currently is?
Based on examples of semi-detached houses, which are usually “long and narrow,” while here “short and wide” / “square” is needed. An additional challenge is accommodating technical rooms without a basement.
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
Size optimization: The current exterior dimensions of 8.80m x 7.80m (29 ft x 26 ft) seem really tight. How much larger, and with which layout variant (1, 2, or completely different)?
I plan to keep one half of the semi-detached house and rent it out. The second half I either want to rent out as well or sell—either immediately after completion if the project costs exceed my financial means, or later (for example, after 10 years).
The plot is rather long and narrow, so standard floor plans do not fit directly. The usual semi-detached house layouts tend to be “long and narrow” rather than “wide and short” or “square.” A wider layout does not necessarily seem better for usable rooms. How much larger than 8.80m x 7.80m (29 ft x 26 ft) should each half be? (Dimensions taken from the plot with some distance left for garden space toward neighbors, positioning the building volume accordingly; there is no strict need to adhere exactly to these, it's simply a starting point.)
Since I have no clear idea of the required minimum size yet, I started designing a basic floor plan.
I also want to use this draft to compare prices from different general contractors.
I generated two different variants (plans for the ground floor, upper floor, and attic are still pending).
What improvements can be made? Do you have any other ideas?
Site sketch: plot (dark blue) with planned parking spaces, pathway, and building volume
Variant 1:
Variant 2:
Plot size: 499m² (5373 sq ft)
Slope: No
Floor area ratio: §34 Baugesetzbuch (Building Code)
Plot ratio: §34 Baugesetzbuch (Building Code)
Building envelope, building line, and boundary lines
Edge construction: 2.5m (8 ft) setback from the property line
Number of parking spaces: 2 per semi-detached half = 4 total
Number of storeys: 2
Roof type: Gable roof
Style: Classic
Orientation: North
Maximum heights/restrictions
Further requirements
Client Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Solid construction
Basement, storeys: Preferably no basement for cost reasons; ground floor, upper floor, and attic
Number of occupants, age: Target group is a family with 1–3 children
Space requirements for ground floor, upper floor, attic: approx. 120–150m² (1290–1615 sq ft)
Office: For family use or home office? Home office, 1–2 offices
Guest bedrooms per year:
Open or closed architecture: Open
Conservative or modern construction: Conservative
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Yes
Number of dining seats: 6–8
Fireplace: No
Music / stereo wall: No
Balcony, roof terrace: No
Garage, carport: Possibly carport
Garden for vegetables, greenhouse: No
Other requests / special details / daily routine, including reasons why this or that should or should not be included: Simple floor plan to reduce costs, garden area preferably facing south with about 4.70m (15.5 ft) to potentially minimal 4m (13 ft) distance to neighbors to allow good use of a terrace.
House Design
Planned by:
- Do-it-yourself: Yes
What do you particularly like? Why? Variant 1: Living/dining on the ground floor allows better use of space; Variant 2: room layout on the upper floor offers better usable rooms.
What do you not like? Why? Variant 1: Utility room on the ground floor is accessible only through the guest bathroom.
Price estimate according to architect/planner: Unknown so far; floor plan serves as a basis for price inquiries.
Personal price limit for house including fixtures: –
Preferred heating technology: Air source heat pump
If you had to give up something, which details or upgrades?
- Can give up: Bay window, basement
- Cannot give up: Utility room on the ground floor
Why is the design the way it currently is?
Based on examples of semi-detached houses, which are usually “long and narrow,” while here “short and wide” / “square” is needed. An additional challenge is accommodating technical rooms without a basement.
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
Size optimization: The current exterior dimensions of 8.80m x 7.80m (29 ft x 26 ft) seem really tight. How much larger, and with which layout variant (1, 2, or completely different)?
S
smartsurfer8529 Sep 2022 23:42Due to personal circumstances, my project was put on hold, and now I want to resume it.
In the meantime, I have also come up with a new floor plan: two separate, self-contained apartments within a semi-detached house.
This means the “granny flat” moves to the attic, living spaces are on the ground floor and first floor, and there is still no basement.
That also explains the two staircases: one enclosed stairwell for the main house entrance and access to the attic apartment, and a second staircase connecting the ground and first floors into one living unit.
The external dimensions are now larger, but the previous floor plans didn’t really work out anyway. Still, with 8.35m (27 feet 5 inches), it remains within the lot width.
Here is the ground floor (GF)
The kitchen is shown as an example with cabinets as placeholders. Due to space considerations, the two doors for the WC and storage room open outwards (better usable space).
The first floor (FF) with the rooms:
Here I optimized it to have as much closet space (= storage) as possible.
And the attic floor (AF) with the separate apartment:
For the attic floor, it is still difficult for me to estimate how high the knee wall can be and where the roof slope will be, which will affect the need for dormers. I hope the neighboring buildings are tall enough to allow a knee wall of about 1.20m (4 feet).
The kitchen is again shown with cabinets as placeholders.
What do you think about the individual levels?
Do you have any suggestions for improvement?
In the meantime, I have also come up with a new floor plan: two separate, self-contained apartments within a semi-detached house.
This means the “granny flat” moves to the attic, living spaces are on the ground floor and first floor, and there is still no basement.
That also explains the two staircases: one enclosed stairwell for the main house entrance and access to the attic apartment, and a second staircase connecting the ground and first floors into one living unit.
The external dimensions are now larger, but the previous floor plans didn’t really work out anyway. Still, with 8.35m (27 feet 5 inches), it remains within the lot width.
Here is the ground floor (GF)
The kitchen is shown as an example with cabinets as placeholders. Due to space considerations, the two doors for the WC and storage room open outwards (better usable space).
The first floor (FF) with the rooms:
Here I optimized it to have as much closet space (= storage) as possible.
And the attic floor (AF) with the separate apartment:
For the attic floor, it is still difficult for me to estimate how high the knee wall can be and where the roof slope will be, which will affect the need for dormers. I hope the neighboring buildings are tall enough to allow a knee wall of about 1.20m (4 feet).
The kitchen is again shown with cabinets as placeholders.
What do you think about the individual levels?
Do you have any suggestions for improvement?
I consider a common room just under 3 meters wide (3.10) with a staircase measuring 3.10 meters in length and 80 centimeters (31.5 inches) in width hardly worth discussing. A staircase in the plan, assuming a standard ceiling height, should have at least 3.70 meters (12.1 feet) in length and 90 centimeters (35.4 inches) in width. For amateur designs, even more. (This criticism also includes other narrow spots in this plan)
As long as it remains unclear what the building authority requires from you, the discussion is, in my opinion, pointless. Section 34 does not mean you can build whatever you want. First, clarify how much area you are allowed to build on your 500 m² (5,382 ft²) plot and how many housing units are permitted. Also, be sure to check the required number of parking spaces. After that, I would recommend verifying whether the utility providers can supply the necessary services and which other conditions must be met (e.g., fire protection, fire department requirements).
Only then can you start thinking about floor plans.
Only then can you start thinking about floor plans.
The plot is 15 m (49 feet) wide, and your house is 8.35 m (27.4 feet) wide, so there is exactly 3 m (9.8 feet) distance to the neighboring property on both the north and south sides.
And now there are supposed to be 4 residential units?
The building depth of your two semi-detached houses is now just over 20 m (65.6 feet). Additionally, there is at least a 3 m (9.8 feet) setback to the east boundary and about 6 m (19.7 feet) depth for parking space to the west. This leaves only about 4 m (13.1 feet) of garden between the parking area and the house on the west side.
The floor plans themselves don’t work. Yvonne has already mentioned the internal staircase. But the staircase in the stairwell with a floor area of approximately 180 x 225 cm (5.9 x 7.4 feet) also doesn’t function properly. It will become steep and narrow, and furniture needs to be moved to the top floor through it.
Your drawn-in furniture highlights the tight spots in the rooms.
Bedroom beds on the top floor with head clearance below 2 m (6.6 feet)… that’s not feasible.
After subtracting the stairwell, walls, and areas with ceiling height under 2 m (6.6 feet), the top-floor apartment will have, at best, just under 60 sqm (645 sq ft) of usable living space.
And now there are supposed to be 4 residential units?
The building depth of your two semi-detached houses is now just over 20 m (65.6 feet). Additionally, there is at least a 3 m (9.8 feet) setback to the east boundary and about 6 m (19.7 feet) depth for parking space to the west. This leaves only about 4 m (13.1 feet) of garden between the parking area and the house on the west side.
The floor plans themselves don’t work. Yvonne has already mentioned the internal staircase. But the staircase in the stairwell with a floor area of approximately 180 x 225 cm (5.9 x 7.4 feet) also doesn’t function properly. It will become steep and narrow, and furniture needs to be moved to the top floor through it.
Your drawn-in furniture highlights the tight spots in the rooms.
Bedroom beds on the top floor with head clearance below 2 m (6.6 feet)… that’s not feasible.
After subtracting the stairwell, walls, and areas with ceiling height under 2 m (6.6 feet), the top-floor apartment will have, at best, just under 60 sqm (645 sq ft) of usable living space.
Are you only reading your own thread? Otherwise, you shouldn’t have missed the example from @MarlenP. You’re currently trying to replicate this discouraging example (simplified just for the brother). If you want to stick with your current concept, I recommend a solution with only one staircase (the trick would be the granny flat on the ground floor and the maisonette then on the first and attic floors). If you decide to switch back to the previous concept, you can find suitable inspiration with @MadameP, even though your plot is not a corner lot.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
P.S.: I just realized that the floor plans shown are only for one half, and you want to squeeze four residential units onto the small plot. However, that won’t work. Only the currency was changed from DEM to EUR, but the square meter still counts as 10,000 rather than 5,113 square centimeters. I don’t see your desired calculation working out in this respect. As much as you want to benefit from the market level in your area, you won’t become a real estate tycoon with this small plot of land. The original builder back in 1961 had realized this. Increasing density beyond a single-family home might be possible, but the plan for a double multi-family building is definitely too ambitious.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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