ᐅ New Single-Family Home Construction – Join Us on Our Journey!
Created on: 4 Aug 2022 16:13
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gregman22
Dear community,
We are finally getting a step closer to realizing our dream of building a single-family home.
The plot has been purchased, building plans have been reviewed, construction method decided, and so on. We have now commissioned the architect of the general contractor (GC) of our choice with the planning task and are currently fine-tuning the house design. I would love to take you along on this journey and incorporate your valuable feedback.
At this stage, the focus is on the house design.
Basic data:
Plot: 1062m2 (11,433 sq ft); approx. 25.5m x 41.64m (84 ft x 137 ft)
Orientation: Northwest -> The arrow in the screenshot of the 3D view points south
Desired room layout:
Ground floor:
First floor:
Attic:
Note: I am still discussing this with the architect. Due to the hipped roof shape, the actual living area has shrunk too much. Therefore, further discussion is needed to accommodate the other rooms. I had underestimated the ratio of gross floor area to usable living space.
Basement:
Additional plans:
Now to my first questions for you:
My biggest construction challenge at the moment is the layout of the attic. There are two alternatives:
- Change the roof type, which would increase costs but provide more usable living space in the attic
- Give up the playroom on the first floor, convert it into a guest room, and build only the two offices in the attic (no guest room or bathroom)
Thank you in advance for your comments.
We are finally getting a step closer to realizing our dream of building a single-family home.
The plot has been purchased, building plans have been reviewed, construction method decided, and so on. We have now commissioned the architect of the general contractor (GC) of our choice with the planning task and are currently fine-tuning the house design. I would love to take you along on this journey and incorporate your valuable feedback.
At this stage, the focus is on the house design.
Basic data:
Plot: 1062m2 (11,433 sq ft); approx. 25.5m x 41.64m (84 ft x 137 ft)
Orientation: Northwest -> The arrow in the screenshot of the 3D view points south
Desired room layout:
Ground floor:
- Large living/dining area with adjacent (but separable) kitchen at the bottom left, plus a gallery overlooking the first floor
- Utility room
- Guest toilet
- Garage
- Separate apartment at the top right with its own entrance for parents-in-law
First floor:
- Gallery overlooking the ground floor
- 2 children’s bedrooms with a shared bathroom
- 1 playroom (initially a home cinema room, later to be repurposed) above the garage
- Master wing with main bedroom, dressing room, and bathroom
Attic:
Note: I am still discussing this with the architect. Due to the hipped roof shape, the actual living area has shrunk too much. Therefore, further discussion is needed to accommodate the other rooms. I had underestimated the ratio of gross floor area to usable living space.
- 2 separate offices
- 1 guest bedroom
- 1 small guest bathroom
Basement:
- 1 technical room
- 1 laundry room
- 1 storage room
- Large fitness room
- Wellness room with sauna
Additional plans:
- Air-to-air heat pump or air-to-water heat pump
- Photovoltaic system with/without battery storage
- Possible pool (3.5/4m x 8m or 3.5/4m x 12m) with heat pump (and countercurrent system)
- Sauna in the basement room
- Air conditioning for various rooms
- Smart home system – most likely via KNX
- Garden: Currently planning 2 terraces – one to the left, slightly more to the south, and one facing the main part of the plot further north
Now to my first questions for you:
- How do the floor plans strike you? Do they make sense in terms of the dynamics of family life?
- The location of the separate apartment was chosen based on our wish. We wanted a strict, clearly defined spatial separation with a separate entrance. Do you have any comments on this?
- Do you consider the utility rooms in the basement to be adequately sized (considering KNX, heat pump, etc.)?
My biggest construction challenge at the moment is the layout of the attic. There are two alternatives:
- Change the roof type, which would increase costs but provide more usable living space in the attic
- Give up the playroom on the first floor, convert it into a guest room, and build only the two offices in the attic (no guest room or bathroom)
Thank you in advance for your comments.
ypg schrieb:
I see a single-story house plus a constructed habitable basement and attic conversion.
I didn’t express myself clearly, I meant 3 times the full living area plus a few extra square meters under the roof. I was referring to the cost. Do you think it’s possible to achieve that with 1.3–1.4 million as planned? It seems a bit optimistic to me.
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gregman2230 Oct 2022 20:10kati1337 schrieb:
I expressed myself unclearly; I meant 3 times the full living area plus a few extra square meters under the roof. I was referring to the price.
Do you think it’s possible to achieve this with 1.3-1.4 million as planned? It seems a bit optimistic to me. I have now received 5 different and independent cost estimates from general contractors, and they all roughly align with the planned and acceptable budget. Please note that the costs do not include additional construction-related expenses (such as landscaping, garages, etc.).
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Costruttrice30 Oct 2022 20:14I don’t find the accessory apartment very successful. Even if no one lives there permanently, I imagine it would be quite uncomfortable and impractical, especially during the Bavarian winter, that the front door opens directly in front of the kitchen unit. Where are you supposed to put (snow) boots and jackets?
I think the swing direction of the entrance door in the main apartment is awkward. Most likely, when you enter, you rarely walk straight ahead toward the living room; I would personally prefer a more separated layout.
In the guest restroom, I would probably omit the door to the toilet.
Other than that, I like the design! But I also have my doubts about the budget.
Edit: Just noticed that this is excluding additional construction costs.
gregman22 schrieb:So where is the shower now? Inside the storage room? I’m a bit confused right now.
The accessory apartment’s bathroom gained a storage room/pantry at the expense of the old shower
I think the swing direction of the entrance door in the main apartment is awkward. Most likely, when you enter, you rarely walk straight ahead toward the living room; I would personally prefer a more separated layout.
In the guest restroom, I would probably omit the door to the toilet.
Other than that, I like the design! But I also have my doubts about the budget.
Edit: Just noticed that this is excluding additional construction costs.
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gregman2230 Oct 2022 20:22ypg schrieb:
I really like the design.That’s great to hear—thank you. Positive feedback is always welcome!ypg schrieb:
In the attic, I would make the children's rooms more similar if two are planned.Maybe you have an idea for that. One children’s room ended up like this because of the sloping roof and the offset entrance door. How would you make them more uniform here? ypg schrieb:
consider switching the walk-in closet and bedroom againypg schrieb:
consider switching the walk-in closet and bedroomWhat makes you suggest that? In the opposite layout, we didn’t like the sloping roof in the bedroom; we would have removed the roof window anyway, and the walk-in closet wasn’t big enough (previously one cupboard side in the closet, one in the bedroom). Also, I think the current version allows you to make great use of the sloping roof with a custom-built closet.
-> Maybe you could roughly sketch your thoughts for the upper floor—of course, only if you enjoy doing that.
ypg schrieb:
I would make the living room on the ground floor a bit smaller, I’ll make a sketch.A sketch would be fantastic. I find it difficult to imagine your ground floor suggestions as a final version.ypg schrieb:
Also, I can imagine that 38 square meters (400 square feet) might feel less cozy.I think we just need to consider that we can’t move the walls between rooms freely because of the structural requirements.ypg schrieb:
I would add a patio door at the rear of the kitchen.Where would you position it? Right in front of the window is the stairwell down to the basement.ypg schrieb:
The granny flat reminds me a bit of a mobile home. They work on their own…Works on its own — I’m not sure if you meant that positively.ypg schrieb:
What about the pool? Do you have access to a shower there? I mean, from the basement?Originally, we planned a shower on the ground floor, but we don’t need it anymore. Currently, there is no direct shower access. We deliberately did without basement access (extra costs, mess, etc.). For now, we’re willing to deal with that.Many thanks!
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gregman2230 Oct 2022 20:25Costruttrice schrieb:
I don’t find the granny flat very well designed. Even if it’s not going to be occupied permanently, I imagine it would be quite uncomfortable and impractical, especially during the Bavarian winter, that the front door opens directly into the kitchen area. Where are the (snow) boots and jackets supposed to go?Thank you, @Construttrice. I understand your points. If you accept the basic structure of the granny flat as “given” for now, I lack the imagination to rearrange the floor plan to address all these issues. Someone would need to roughly sketch that out for me.
kati1337 schrieb:
Do you think it’s possible to realize this with a budget of 1.3–1.4 million (about 1.4–1.5 million) as planned? It seems a bit optimistic to me. It might be tight. No idea. If the budget doesn’t fit, you can always scale back the attic conversion.
gregman22 schrieb:
What makes you suggest that? Because as the first occupant, you disturb the other person when you switch on the light and walk past the bed. For the same reason—and also related to this—I would swap the toilet and shower. Why enclose the toilet in darkness but have it right by the door so anyone looking into the bathroom disturbs the person using it? Fundamentally, the toilet, which you use several times a day, should be positioned at the window.
gregman22 schrieb:
A sketch would be fantastic. I find it hard to imagine your ground floor proposals as a final version. Oh… I forgot earlier… it’s just a few lines…
By the way, I also didn’t find the announced study room in the granny flat.
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