ᐅ Single-family house floor plan approximately 165 m² plus basement
Created on: 30 Aug 2022 21:16
G
Gregor_K
Hello everyone,
My wife and I purchased a plot of land last year and are now ready to start the construction project. Over the past few weeks, I have spoken with four general contractors and gathered quotes. In the coming weeks, I plan to choose one general contractor; at the moment, two are in the final running. Several floor plans have been developed, and I have posted the one we like best here. The floor plan currently does not include furniture, but once we decide on a contractor, I will finalize it with the contractor/architect unless a better plan comes up.
Of the two general contractors we are considering, one offers a planning contract for service phases HOAI 1-4. The other does not provide this, so we will need to hire a separate architect (HOAI 1-3).
Having followed various discussions in this forum for a while, I would appreciate your feedback on the floor plan. This is our first build; my knowledge so far comes from seminars by the Builders’ Protection Association and this housebuilding forum.
Development Plan/Restrictions
Plot No. 194
Plot size: 680m² (7,300 sq ft)
Slope: yes, descending about 1 to 1.5m (3 to 5 feet) from the access road
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Floor area ratio: N/A
Building envelope, building line and boundary: see blue line on the development plan; approximately 12.95m x 20m (42.5 ft x 66 ft)
Setback from boundary: 3m (10 feet)
Parking spaces: 1 to 2
Maximum building height: 2 full floors
Roof style: no specification in the development plan
Homeowners’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Single-family house, gabled roof with purlins if possible
Basement, floors: 2 full floors plus basement
Number of occupants: 5 people, 2 adults and 3 children
Office: Home office room
Occasional guests: none or at most 1 to 2 per year
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Yes, open kitchen, but kitchen island not absolutely necessary
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: no
Balcony, roof terrace: not required
Garage, carport: Single garage to be located on the east side, plus at least 2 additional parking spaces on the northwest side of the property
House Design
Designer:
- Design by a prefabricated house supplier
What do you particularly like? Why?
We like the appearance of the house with the bay window; it looks stylish to us. Overall, it includes everything we need, such as a pantry, a relatively spacious dining area combined with the living room, 3 children’s rooms, and an office.
What do you dislike? Why?
The staircase could be positioned further from the entrance, but this is acceptable. The bathroom design still looks unfinished.
Price estimate according to architect/designer: €620,000 without ancillary building costs (no price negotiation)
Personal price limit for the house, including fittings: €650,000 without ancillary building costs
If you had to give up certain details/extra features,
- what you could do without: Items we can omit have already been removed, e.g., walk-in closet and storage room
- what you cannot do without: 3 children’s rooms, pantry, office, landing staircase, basement
Why is the design as it is now? For example:
Design from the planner following these specifications:
- 2 full floors or 1.5 floors with a high knee wall (e.g., 180cm (70.9 inches))
- Flexible roof type; we like a gabled roof with purlins or alternatively a hip roof or flat roof
- Ground floor plus upper floor should be between 165m² and 175m² (1,776 to 1,884 sq ft)
- open kitchen + living room + dining area
- guest bathroom with shower
- entrance area should be usable for 5 people (space for shoe cabinets)
- pantry
- office room that can later be used as a bedroom in older age
- dining area close to the kitchen
- kitchen and dining area should be near the terrace
- 3 children’s rooms (2 rooms at least 15m² (161 sq ft), 1 room at least 12m² (129 sq ft))
- master bedroom with or without walk-in closet, depending on what fits better into the floor plan
- optional laundry chute would be great but not essential
- preferably no separate children’s bathroom
- bathroom at least 10m² (108 sq ft), better if 12 to 14m² (129 to 151 sq ft), depending on the layout
- staircase should not be located in the entrance’s dirt zone. A comfortable staircase would be great; ideally a landing staircase
- space for a single garage on the plot, i.e., no double garage
- access from the garage to the pantry would be nice but not essential
- no gallery
- no conservatory/glass extension
- covered access from garage to front door is not absolutely necessary
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Can the staircase be placed further away from the entrance? What do you think about making windows in the bathroom, master bedroom, and office narrower (window sill height)? Are the basement windows well positioned, especially those near the terrace?
My wife and I purchased a plot of land last year and are now ready to start the construction project. Over the past few weeks, I have spoken with four general contractors and gathered quotes. In the coming weeks, I plan to choose one general contractor; at the moment, two are in the final running. Several floor plans have been developed, and I have posted the one we like best here. The floor plan currently does not include furniture, but once we decide on a contractor, I will finalize it with the contractor/architect unless a better plan comes up.
Of the two general contractors we are considering, one offers a planning contract for service phases HOAI 1-4. The other does not provide this, so we will need to hire a separate architect (HOAI 1-3).
Having followed various discussions in this forum for a while, I would appreciate your feedback on the floor plan. This is our first build; my knowledge so far comes from seminars by the Builders’ Protection Association and this housebuilding forum.
Development Plan/Restrictions
Plot No. 194
Plot size: 680m² (7,300 sq ft)
Slope: yes, descending about 1 to 1.5m (3 to 5 feet) from the access road
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Floor area ratio: N/A
Building envelope, building line and boundary: see blue line on the development plan; approximately 12.95m x 20m (42.5 ft x 66 ft)
Setback from boundary: 3m (10 feet)
Parking spaces: 1 to 2
Maximum building height: 2 full floors
Roof style: no specification in the development plan
Homeowners’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Single-family house, gabled roof with purlins if possible
Basement, floors: 2 full floors plus basement
Number of occupants: 5 people, 2 adults and 3 children
Office: Home office room
Occasional guests: none or at most 1 to 2 per year
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Yes, open kitchen, but kitchen island not absolutely necessary
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: no
Balcony, roof terrace: not required
Garage, carport: Single garage to be located on the east side, plus at least 2 additional parking spaces on the northwest side of the property
House Design
Designer:
- Design by a prefabricated house supplier
What do you particularly like? Why?
We like the appearance of the house with the bay window; it looks stylish to us. Overall, it includes everything we need, such as a pantry, a relatively spacious dining area combined with the living room, 3 children’s rooms, and an office.
What do you dislike? Why?
The staircase could be positioned further from the entrance, but this is acceptable. The bathroom design still looks unfinished.
Price estimate according to architect/designer: €620,000 without ancillary building costs (no price negotiation)
Personal price limit for the house, including fittings: €650,000 without ancillary building costs
If you had to give up certain details/extra features,
- what you could do without: Items we can omit have already been removed, e.g., walk-in closet and storage room
- what you cannot do without: 3 children’s rooms, pantry, office, landing staircase, basement
Why is the design as it is now? For example:
Design from the planner following these specifications:
- House with basement:
- 2 full floors or 1.5 floors with a high knee wall (e.g., 180cm (70.9 inches))
- Flexible roof type; we like a gabled roof with purlins or alternatively a hip roof or flat roof
- Ground floor plus upper floor should be between 165m² and 175m² (1,776 to 1,884 sq ft)
- Ground floor:
- open kitchen + living room + dining area
- guest bathroom with shower
- entrance area should be usable for 5 people (space for shoe cabinets)
- pantry
- office room that can later be used as a bedroom in older age
- dining area close to the kitchen
- kitchen and dining area should be near the terrace
- Upper floor:
- 3 children’s rooms (2 rooms at least 15m² (161 sq ft), 1 room at least 12m² (129 sq ft))
- master bedroom with or without walk-in closet, depending on what fits better into the floor plan
- optional laundry chute would be great but not essential
- preferably no separate children’s bathroom
- bathroom at least 10m² (108 sq ft), better if 12 to 14m² (129 to 151 sq ft), depending on the layout
- General:
- staircase should not be located in the entrance’s dirt zone. A comfortable staircase would be great; ideally a landing staircase
- space for a single garage on the plot, i.e., no double garage
- access from the garage to the pantry would be nice but not essential
- no gallery
- no conservatory/glass extension
- covered access from garage to front door is not absolutely necessary
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Can the staircase be placed further away from the entrance? What do you think about making windows in the bathroom, master bedroom, and office narrower (window sill height)? Are the basement windows well positioned, especially those near the terrace?
I’m afraid your thread has lost some momentum. In my opinion, this is mainly due to the somewhat unclear situation regarding the site grading. Before you continue struggling with the floor plan, it would be best to thoroughly explore the options for the landscaping and slope management. I would recommend not just casually saying, “we’ll build a basement and see how it goes.” Grab your site sketch and create an exact plan for the elevation layout. This especially concerns parking spaces, pathways, the house itself, as well as paths and stairs next to the house. You can see how much your neighbor has built up. This needs to be well planned, as a lot of material and labor can become quite expensive.
Yes, it requires some serious thinking and time investment. The best approach is to draw a cross-section of the site and place your house on it. Here is a fellow builder’s example where @Würfel* showed how to do it (This is not your slope but just an example of the process you should follow.):
With proper site planning, you’ll hopefully realize that a basement on a sloped site can be utilized much more effectively than on flat ground. You might consider placing individual rooms such as an office in the basement, since natural light is possible. However, this depends on the degree of slope on your plot, which is still not really clear.
Your oversized hobby rooms are expensive and have been little explained so far. You want to heat 35sqm (375 square feet), but why? What will go in there? Have you thought about the basement ceiling height? Should it have living quality with 2.40m (7 ft 10 in) ceilings or be just a standard basement? This makes a significant difference for the general contractor in terms of costs. Living spaces are much more expensive.
With five people in the household, I’m a bit skeptical about the office/bedroom on the ground floor. I understand the wish to possibly use it as a bedroom “later,” but you lose that space now in the living area, and five people need space. I would rather suggest planning so that a room can be separated relatively easily from the living room later by drywall partitions, but for now, you have a large living room.
We would be happy to help you with suggestions, but we’re stuck because of the lack of elevation details. Once you provide more information about your site, the “cookies” will come, as @ypg so nicely puts it.
Yes, it requires some serious thinking and time investment. The best approach is to draw a cross-section of the site and place your house on it. Here is a fellow builder’s example where @Würfel* showed how to do it (This is not your slope but just an example of the process you should follow.):
Würfel* schrieb:
[ATTACH alt="grundriss-efh-190m2-mit-keller-feedback-598680-1.png"]75348[/ATTACH]
With proper site planning, you’ll hopefully realize that a basement on a sloped site can be utilized much more effectively than on flat ground. You might consider placing individual rooms such as an office in the basement, since natural light is possible. However, this depends on the degree of slope on your plot, which is still not really clear.
Your oversized hobby rooms are expensive and have been little explained so far. You want to heat 35sqm (375 square feet), but why? What will go in there? Have you thought about the basement ceiling height? Should it have living quality with 2.40m (7 ft 10 in) ceilings or be just a standard basement? This makes a significant difference for the general contractor in terms of costs. Living spaces are much more expensive.
With five people in the household, I’m a bit skeptical about the office/bedroom on the ground floor. I understand the wish to possibly use it as a bedroom “later,” but you lose that space now in the living area, and five people need space. I would rather suggest planning so that a room can be separated relatively easily from the living room later by drywall partitions, but for now, you have a large living room.
We would be happy to help you with suggestions, but we’re stuck because of the lack of elevation details. Once you provide more information about your site, the “cookies” will come, as @ypg so nicely puts it.
Christian 65 schrieb:
form follows function is outdated.
If the appearance is more important, only this orientation works, I understand. I don’t get that impression. There is no conflict here between function and form. The function (lighting of the staircase, without any relevance to the view) is fulfilled, and there is no secondary function (to show the observer which windows serve the staircase through the form). The viewer is also not a legitimate stakeholder in defining the requirements for the façade – yet they are spared from having to imagine any Frankenstein combinations. In that sense, function and form are smoothly united, practically on equal footing, so nothing is really “following.”
Gregor_K schrieb:
Drainage should be directed exclusively into the sewer system in the street area. Also concerning surface water – is the mayor who hopefully was run out of the city at @goalkeeper’s place now working at your town hall as the officer responsible for road construction and wastewater? – If so, I am increasingly in favor of reintroducing the “shame violin” for incompetent city officials.
K a t j a schrieb:
That depends on the slope gradient on the construction site, which still isn’t really clear. Because (as a fellow discussant here; hopefully the original poster is less left in the dark) we don’t know what the municipality expects. I maintain: the site does not actually have a “slope,” but merely a difference in elevation between the street and the plot. That must be dealt with and coordinated with the neighbors. The municipality must also state this clearly. You need to know what is planned and allowed, and from where the heights are measured. Otherwise, the basement might count as a full floor after all, and all planning would be for nothing.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
C
Christian 6514 Oct 2022 16:5311ant schrieb:
I don’t get that impression. There is no conflict here between function and form. The function (lighting the stairwell without any importance placed on the view) is fulfilled, and there is no secondary function (to show the observer through the design which windows serve the stairwell). The observer also would not be a legitimate stakeholder when setting the requirements for the facade – yet they are spared from having to deal with any awkward, artificial shapes here. In this respect, function and form are smoothly combined, on equal footing, with nothing superfluous.
Regarding surface water – has the mayor who hopefully was driven out of the city by @goalkeeper now ended up as the officer responsible for roads and drainage in your town hall? – I am increasingly in favor of reintroducing public shaming for incompetent city leaders.
Because, as a participant in this discussion (hopefully the original poster is less left in the dark), we simply don’t know what the municipality intends. I maintain: the site does not have a “slope,” but only a level difference between street and property. This has to be managed and coordinated with the neighbors. The municipality must clearly communicate its position on this. We need to know what is planned and allowed, and from where the heights are measured. Otherwise, the basement might end up being counted as a full floor and the entire planning would be pointless. Then let me put it this way: “I” would have the following expectations for a stairwell window:
“I” want to be able to look outside.
“I” would like natural light to enter where it makes sense to “me.”
“My” wife wants windows that are easy to clean.
Since it’s not my house, “my” expectations are irrelevant.
I am still in the decision-making phase regarding which general contractor to choose, so progress is currently slow. So far, I have had a soil survey done and worked on many lists, sketches, brainstorming, visited model houses, and more.
I have made a sketch of the plot showing where the parking spaces and garage will be located, but the paths and how I envision managing the slope are still missing. I think I will have to do some filling in the front area. On the side, it depends on what is desired, and the neighboring buildings also play a role. My neighbor to the west is filling in, so I will probably do the same on my side. The property to the east is still available. We do not want a living basement but only utility rooms or possibly hobby rooms. The fact that the heating system was planned for the basement was because the two rooms are connected to the air-to-air heat pump. A basement height of around 2.25m (7 ft 5 in) is sufficient for me. It doesn’t bother me if the basement is "buried" and lighting options are lost.
I also considered putting the office in the basement. However, I would only do that if we move one of the children’s bedrooms to the ground floor, which would make the overall house smaller (cost-saving). We don’t actually need a larger living room. On the other hand, I could imagine a bigger kitchen with a separate dining table as a second option. Overall, I am quite satisfied with the floor plan but hope that my future general contractor or members of this forum might come up with some improvements. If the office is placed in the basement, one has to consider “burying” it and the loss of lighting options.
I meant the roof drainage should be connected to the sewer system in the street area.
I have made a sketch of the plot showing where the parking spaces and garage will be located, but the paths and how I envision managing the slope are still missing. I think I will have to do some filling in the front area. On the side, it depends on what is desired, and the neighboring buildings also play a role. My neighbor to the west is filling in, so I will probably do the same on my side. The property to the east is still available. We do not want a living basement but only utility rooms or possibly hobby rooms. The fact that the heating system was planned for the basement was because the two rooms are connected to the air-to-air heat pump. A basement height of around 2.25m (7 ft 5 in) is sufficient for me. It doesn’t bother me if the basement is "buried" and lighting options are lost.
I also considered putting the office in the basement. However, I would only do that if we move one of the children’s bedrooms to the ground floor, which would make the overall house smaller (cost-saving). We don’t actually need a larger living room. On the other hand, I could imagine a bigger kitchen with a separate dining table as a second option. Overall, I am quite satisfied with the floor plan but hope that my future general contractor or members of this forum might come up with some improvements. If the office is placed in the basement, one has to consider “burying” it and the loss of lighting options.
11ant schrieb:
Regarding surface water as well – hopefully, the mayor, who @goalkeeper was hopefully driven out of the city, has now been assigned as head of road construction and wastewater management in your town hall? – I am increasingly in favor of reintroducing the “barrel organ” punishment for incompetent city officials.
I meant the roof drainage should be connected to the sewer system in the street area.
Gregor_K schrieb:
I am still in the decision phase regarding which general contractor (GC) to choose, [...] Basically, I am quite satisfied with the floor plan but hope that my future GC or perhaps members here in the forum can find an even better one.Then why don’t you share the floor plans of the building proposals from the GCs you are considering?[/QUOTE]
Gregor_K schrieb:
I meant that the roof drainage should be connected to the sewer system located in the street area.The lawyer in Spain mainly deals with flat terrain, but rainfall in Germany doesn’t just fall onto the roof. Surface water always flows downhill; I don’t expect your municipality to have a smarter approach than “not my problem” regarding this matter.https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Hello everyone,
we have made some progress.
1. We have mentally decided on a home construction company. This means I have informed the companies involved and given either confirmation or a rejection. On Thursday, we will sign a planning contract with one company, and then things will really get started.
2. The surveyor’s documents have arrived. The small blue numbers are probably elevation levels, right? According to these, the basement would be in an approximately 1.5m (5 feet) deep excavation pit, and I plan to have embankments built up at the front and sides. Behind the terrace, there would then be a small slope plus stairs to access the rest of the plot. See also the pictures.
3. One of the general contractors has further developed the floor plan with the bay window and fixed a few weak points. For example, it is slightly larger at about 170m² (1,830 sq ft). As I mentioned before, I am quite satisfied with this floor plan, but I hope that either my future general contractor or you here in the forum can find something even better.
4. I have made a basic site plan. However, it still needs to be adapted to the specific house.
Regarding the use of the basement, I can say the following:
- a room for my wife so she has a small corner in the house
- a larger room for various purposes, e.g., foosball, table tennis, playroom for the kids, or even a party room
- small storage room / utility space
- laundry room
I would be very grateful if you could help me with the floor plan.
we have made some progress.
1. We have mentally decided on a home construction company. This means I have informed the companies involved and given either confirmation or a rejection. On Thursday, we will sign a planning contract with one company, and then things will really get started.
2. The surveyor’s documents have arrived. The small blue numbers are probably elevation levels, right? According to these, the basement would be in an approximately 1.5m (5 feet) deep excavation pit, and I plan to have embankments built up at the front and sides. Behind the terrace, there would then be a small slope plus stairs to access the rest of the plot. See also the pictures.
3. One of the general contractors has further developed the floor plan with the bay window and fixed a few weak points. For example, it is slightly larger at about 170m² (1,830 sq ft). As I mentioned before, I am quite satisfied with this floor plan, but I hope that either my future general contractor or you here in the forum can find something even better.
4. I have made a basic site plan. However, it still needs to be adapted to the specific house.
Regarding the use of the basement, I can say the following:
- a room for my wife so she has a small corner in the house
- a larger room for various purposes, e.g., foosball, table tennis, playroom for the kids, or even a party room
- small storage room / utility space
- laundry room
I would be very grateful if you could help me with the floor plan.
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