ᐅ Floor Plan Design for Urban Villa 140-150 sqm with 2 Children – Feedback
Created on: 28 Dec 2022 21:46
D
dupsischnupsi
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size 580sqm (6250 sq ft)
Slope no
Site coverage ratio
Floor area ratio
Building envelope, building line, and boundary
Edge development
Number of parking spaces 1
Number of floors 2 full stories
Roof type hipped roof
Architectural style urban villa
Orientation south
Maximum heights/restrictions none
Other requirements none
Client Requirements
Style, roof type, building type urban villa, hipped roof
Basement, floors no basement, 2 floors
Number of occupants, ages 4 people 37, 33, 4, 1
Space requirements on ground and upper floors see floor plan
Office: family use or home office? rarely home office, mostly storage room
Overnight guests per year 0
Open or closed architecture open
Conservative or modern construction modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island
Number of dining seats 6
Fireplace no
Music/stereo wall no
Balcony, roof terrace no
Garage, carport preferably garage directly connected to utility room, possibly carport for budget reasons
Utility garden, greenhouse no
Additional wishes/special features/daily routine, including reasons why certain features are wanted or not
Children’s rooms should preferably be on the south side; bathroom and bedroom will be swapped upstairs to better use natural daylight in the bathroom
House Design
Design by:
- First draft by the architect
What do you particularly like? Why?
The size of the rooms
What do you dislike? Why?
Bathroom and bedroom will be swapped
We would like more and larger windows
Door to pantry from kitchen
Cost estimate according to architect/designer:
Personal budget limit for house including fixtures:
Preferred heating system: air-source heat pump
If You Have to Give Up Something, which details/finishes
- Can give up: garage
- Cannot give up: large windows
Why is the design the way it is now? For example:
Standard design from the planner? This is the architect’s first draft
Which wishes from you did the architect implement?
Almost all of them
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad?
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
We are interested in experienced builders' opinions on our floor plan. We already have some change requests noted but would really value this expertise for our home building process.
We are also unsure whether to build with a general contractor or manage the trades ourselves. Are there any experiences on whether this actually saves money, and if so, how much?
Thank you very much in advance for your input!
Best regards, dupsischnupsi
Plot size 580sqm (6250 sq ft)
Slope no
Site coverage ratio
Floor area ratio
Building envelope, building line, and boundary
Edge development
Number of parking spaces 1
Number of floors 2 full stories
Roof type hipped roof
Architectural style urban villa
Orientation south
Maximum heights/restrictions none
Other requirements none
Client Requirements
Style, roof type, building type urban villa, hipped roof
Basement, floors no basement, 2 floors
Number of occupants, ages 4 people 37, 33, 4, 1
Space requirements on ground and upper floors see floor plan
Office: family use or home office? rarely home office, mostly storage room
Overnight guests per year 0
Open or closed architecture open
Conservative or modern construction modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island
Number of dining seats 6
Fireplace no
Music/stereo wall no
Balcony, roof terrace no
Garage, carport preferably garage directly connected to utility room, possibly carport for budget reasons
Utility garden, greenhouse no
Additional wishes/special features/daily routine, including reasons why certain features are wanted or not
Children’s rooms should preferably be on the south side; bathroom and bedroom will be swapped upstairs to better use natural daylight in the bathroom
House Design
Design by:
- First draft by the architect
What do you particularly like? Why?
The size of the rooms
What do you dislike? Why?
Bathroom and bedroom will be swapped
We would like more and larger windows
Door to pantry from kitchen
Cost estimate according to architect/designer:
Personal budget limit for house including fixtures:
Preferred heating system: air-source heat pump
If You Have to Give Up Something, which details/finishes
- Can give up: garage
- Cannot give up: large windows
Why is the design the way it is now? For example:
Standard design from the planner? This is the architect’s first draft
Which wishes from you did the architect implement?
Almost all of them
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad?
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
We are interested in experienced builders' opinions on our floor plan. We already have some change requests noted but would really value this expertise for our home building process.
We are also unsure whether to build with a general contractor or manage the trades ourselves. Are there any experiences on whether this actually saves money, and if so, how much?
Thank you very much in advance for your input!
Best regards, dupsischnupsi
X
xMisterDx29 Dec 2022 15:15Regarding this matter:
Everyone is basically working with the same resources. If you look at the Town & Country catalog and want a house with the level of features offered by Viebrockhaus or Helma, you will end up paying Helma-level prices. Probably even more, because these “discount” builders only make sense if you take the floor plan as-is (with minor adjustments that don’t affect structural elements) and do everything yourself from the “turnkey” stage onward.
Special requests with Town & Country and other discount builders can become extremely expensive. Especially if you, for example, purchase additional tiles as part of the planning process instead of ordering them directly from the tiler, who is already handling the bathrooms.
Therefore, it’s actually advisable to ask around among friends and family which general contractors (GCs) have had good experiences, or at least with whom they haven’t encountered any serious problems.
Additionally, a frequently repeated note: almost all GCs work with regional subcontractors; very few have their own civil engineers, masons, or reinforced concrete specialists on staff. You can be lucky or unlucky depending on which subcontractor is available to perform the work.
It’s best to select one, two, or three GCs within your budget, compare, and decide. I believe it’s sheer madness to approach ten or more GCs and request quotes, as some acquaintances have done. I wouldn’t have the time, because usually meaningful details only come up during the second or third meeting.
Everyone is basically working with the same resources. If you look at the Town & Country catalog and want a house with the level of features offered by Viebrockhaus or Helma, you will end up paying Helma-level prices. Probably even more, because these “discount” builders only make sense if you take the floor plan as-is (with minor adjustments that don’t affect structural elements) and do everything yourself from the “turnkey” stage onward.
Special requests with Town & Country and other discount builders can become extremely expensive. Especially if you, for example, purchase additional tiles as part of the planning process instead of ordering them directly from the tiler, who is already handling the bathrooms.
Therefore, it’s actually advisable to ask around among friends and family which general contractors (GCs) have had good experiences, or at least with whom they haven’t encountered any serious problems.
Additionally, a frequently repeated note: almost all GCs work with regional subcontractors; very few have their own civil engineers, masons, or reinforced concrete specialists on staff. You can be lucky or unlucky depending on which subcontractor is available to perform the work.
It’s best to select one, two, or three GCs within your budget, compare, and decide. I believe it’s sheer madness to approach ten or more GCs and request quotes, as some acquaintances have done. I wouldn’t have the time, because usually meaningful details only come up during the second or third meeting.
xMisterDx schrieb:
Anyone looking through the Town & Country catalog who wants a house with the features found in Viebrockhaus or Helma will end up paying Helma prices.
Probably even more, because these "discount builders" only really make sense if you accept the floor plan as is (with minor adjustments that don’t affect the structural engineering) and take care of everything yourself from the "turnkey" stage onward. Special requests with Town & Country and other discount builders can become exorbitantly expensive. Here, when you say "turnkey," you probably mean more like the "weather-tight shell" stage—that is, "turnkey" in the literal sense that the final front door including the lock cylinder is already installed 🙂 (and nothing more).
What a Renault Kangoo costs at Mercedes can be easily found out thanks to the "Citan" model ;-).
xMisterDx schrieb:
Especially if, for example, you also purchase the extra tiles during the planning phase instead of requesting them later directly from the tiler, who is going to do the bathrooms anyway. It is highly advisable not to do "samples through the general contractor (GC)" if you are arranging something with the subcontractor that conflicts with the GC’s final acceptance of the subcontractor’s work. Dear folks, please do not try this at home!
xMisterDx schrieb:
You pick one, two, or three GCs within your price range, compare them, and that’s it. I think it’s sheer madness to go to 10 or more GCs and ask for quotes, like some friends of ours did. I personally wouldn’t have the time, because usually only at the second or third meeting does the real business begin. Exactly, and only those who try to cut sums do that.
Rushing through casual offers is a waste of time for both parties and you should never "proceed" based on that. I would even argue that a reputable provider refuses such nonsense. It costs time and money, causes misunderstandings, and ultimately damages the company’s reputation (customers never blame themselves). You either compare construction proposals from the "catalogs" or the GCs’ standard offerings (don’t forget: how often has that exact model actually been built!), or you request individual planning in two stages: initially with a preliminary draft (usually before deciding on the construction method), preferably from five or six providers, and later from the top one or two in that comparison (plus possibly a third). Even a fourth GC in the semifinals, as Grandpa Willy used to say, is “as unnecessary as a boil on the neck.” I say this with decades of professional experience as a tendering specialist.
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xMisterDx29 Dec 2022 17:5911ant schrieb:
Here, when you say "turnkey," you probably mean more the stage of a "weather-tight shell," so "turnkey" in the literal sense that the final front door with lock cylinder is already installed 🙂 (and nothing beyond that).
Anyone can easily find out what a Renault Kangoo costs at Mercedes thanks to the "Citan" model ;-) It will forever remain a mystery to me what is missing from my turnkey house. Everything is in place, the bathrooms are tiled, sanitary fixtures are installed, and there is a staircase. Okay, I still have to do the remaining floors and walls myself... but if I am able to do that and have the time?
And maybe a few extras are missing... but the alternative would have been not building at all because other houses were simply too expensive for me. That was already the case in 2019.
But comparing a Renault Kangoo to a Mercedes is really a stretch...
I used to drive an F31 320d for a long time and now a Seat Leon. The difference is not THAT huge.
That’s also why not everyone out there drives a Mercedes... better a Seat you can afford than no car at all. Right?
I strongly advise against "orders bypassing the general contractor," especially if you try to arrange something with the subcontractor that disrupts the general contractor’s acceptance of the subcontractor’s work. Dear children, please don’t try this at home! I’m the one who accepts the building in the end, not the general contractor.
Of course, if I have tiles installed, I should be aware that I can no longer complain about defects in the screed underneath.
You have to think that through, of course, that’s true. But looking at the fact that my neighbor had to buy all additional sockets through the general contractor and pay 100 EUR for it (whether gross or net, I unfortunately don’t know), I’m quite happy that I could arrange it directly with the electrician for 33 EUR net.
That can become a very expensive "security" you pay for if you really let everything run through the general contractor.
xMisterDx schrieb:
But comparing a Renault Kangoo to a Mercedes is really a stretch...It couldn’t be a bolder comparison: a Renault Kangoo is basically the “generic” same car as a Mercedes Citan – except in this case, the "generic" is actually the original.xMisterDx schrieb:
I used to drive an F31 320d for a long time, now a Seat Leon. The difference isn’t really that huge.
That’s also why not everyone out there drives a Mercedes... better to have a Seat you can afford than no car at all. Right?Attentive readers know that I use an Agila A as my daily driver (and yes, the difference to the E420 W124 is huge).xMisterDx schrieb:
uh, yes. I am the one who approves the building in the end, not the general contractor.
If I have tiles installed, I should be aware that I can no longer complain about defects in the screed underneath.I was referring to the final acceptance of the entire work by the general contractor, and it is regularly a matter of dispute whether owner-performed work simply interferes with that or even implicitly counts as such itself. Conclusion: any owner-performed work on a general contractor’s project should be carefully coordinated (including with legal advice).https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
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xMisterDx30 Dec 2022 13:3411ant schrieb:
Attentive readers know that I use an Agila A as my daily driver (and yes, the difference compared to the E420 W124 is huge). With all due respect, I’m not interested enough in the private lives of forum members to make notes about them. Sorry.
And I have to say... the suggestion that a Town & Country house is like an Opel Agila A, while Helma’s house is like an E420... that’s quite cheeky 😉
To make that comparison accurate, you’d need to look at a villa costing from 5,000 EUR/m² (465 USD/ft²) upwards in construction costs.
I was referring to the acceptance of the overall work by the general contractor, and it is regularly a point of dispute whether self-performed work merely complicates this or even implicitly counts as acceptance itself. Conclusion: self-performed work on a general contractor’s project should be coordinated (including with legal advice). Consistent behavior, yes. I’m aware of that.
However, I don’t see anything currently preventing formal acceptance, so I simply hired the tiler at a fairly reasonable rate. Anyone who prefers to go through the general contractor with a 50% markup or look for someone on the open market at “I don’t want the job” bargain prices, that’s their choice.
Please.
xMisterDx schrieb:
And I also have to say... comparing a Town & Country house to an Opel Agila A, while a house from Helma is compared to an E420... that’s quite an audacious statement. The second comparison would indeed be audacious, but overall you seem to have completely misunderstood me. A Town & Country house is a great home for any family that doesn’t need any flashy extras – equating it with my daily driver does not offend either party in the comparison. However, it was not I who made that comparison. You misunderstood my Kangoo-Citan comparison as if I were looking down on those with statutory health insurance (which I do not, as I belong to that group myself – albeit by application). You also said that the difference between a BMW 3 Series and a SEAT Leon is rather small – it is on that point (and on nothing else!) that I meant the difference between a luxury long-distance sedan and an everyday car should not be underestimated. A house from Helma addresses primarily, in its marketing, middle-income earners with company cars and at least a full 13th salary, but in substance I see it at best on par with the offers of any local builder. With this last sentence, hopefully we are now steering back to the topic raised by the thread starter 🙂
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