ᐅ Floor Plan for a Single-Family Home, 240 m², with Partially Built-Over Garage
Created on: 3 Dec 2023 13:51
H
Haus 42
Hello everyone,
My wife and I are currently favoring the attached design for our house project. It is our own concept, inspired by forum discussions, catalogs, and model homes, but also discussed with architects and now unrecognizable compared to the first drafts.
A first detailed drawing is in progress (which may include structural and building services adjustments), so general criticism is welcome, but especially suggestions on potential problem areas or ways to achieve essential improvements through small changes: After all, we don’t want to build an expensive house only to regret it later, but rather invest in meaningful improvements (e.g., bay windows). At the bottom, I have listed some specific concerns.
Framework conditions:
Design:
Notes on the floor plans:
Development:
We had several designs, including with a basement, without construction over the garage (which was recently confirmed as possible), with open space, guest rooms on different sides, a 180° half-landing staircase, etc. – the current approach now seems quite logical to us and despite the naturally high costs, not extravagant. I grew up in a house with a full basement and converted attic, and the plan tries to provide similar spaces over two floors.
Ground floor details:
Upper floor details:
Concerns / Questions
We look forward to your comments!
My wife and I are currently favoring the attached design for our house project. It is our own concept, inspired by forum discussions, catalogs, and model homes, but also discussed with architects and now unrecognizable compared to the first drafts.
A first detailed drawing is in progress (which may include structural and building services adjustments), so general criticism is welcome, but especially suggestions on potential problem areas or ways to achieve essential improvements through small changes: After all, we don’t want to build an expensive house only to regret it later, but rather invest in meaningful improvements (e.g., bay windows). At the bottom, I have listed some specific concerns.
Framework conditions:
- Planned residents: two adults (working days home/office: 2/3 and 3/2), two (initially small) children, two cats, guests staying several weeks per year.
- Conditions: Small-town new development area in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, site coverage ratio 0.35, maximum one full story, eaves height max. 5m (16 ft 5 in), gable or half-hipped roof with 20°–50° pitch, minimum distance to street 5m (16 ft 5 in), to neighbors 3m (10 ft).
- Plot: 938 m² (10,094 sq ft), essentially flat, with utility garden and play lawn.
- Neighboring plots: Northeast (“right”) already developed (close to road and at distance from us, since their garage is on the side facing away from us), southwest (“left”) not yet sold.
Design:
- Footprint: approx. 15.5m×11m (51 ft × 36 ft) + garage overhang 2m×8m (6 ft 7 in × 26 ft), garage-boundary distance 1m (3 ft 3 in)
- Living and utility space: ground floor approx. 115 m² (1,238 sq ft), upper floor approx. 125 m² (1,345 sq ft), garage approx. 40 m² (430 sq ft)
- Ceiling height: ground floor approx. 2.60m (8 ft 6 in), upper floor approx. 2.50m (8 ft 2 in)
- Building services: ventilation system, photovoltaic panels on southeast roof, underfloor heating powered by air-source heat pump everywhere except garage/attic.
- Location: the house should be as close to the street as possible (see plan) with the main entrance facing it (southeast), to maximize garden space.
- Gable roof: rather flat (25°) to allow for a high knee wall (>1.20m (3 ft 11 in)), attic therefore only used for storage.
- We are foregoing a basement in favor of a larger footprint, which also enables a barrier-free guest area.
- Ground floor: the living area should get both sunlight and garden views, so it must be on the west side.
- Upper floor: usability of space is the priority, so we accept the narrow corridor (approx. 1.5m×8m (4 ft 11 in × 26 ft)). Still, generous dormers, including in the stairwell, should provide enough daylight.
- Exterior walls are brick-clad, interior rather modern: white walls/kitchen fronts, tiled floors on the ground floor, PVC on the upper floor.
Notes on the floor plans:
- Area measurements do not account for sloping ceilings on the upper floor.
- ⚡ means high-voltage electricity, W (waste) water
Development:
We had several designs, including with a basement, without construction over the garage (which was recently confirmed as possible), with open space, guest rooms on different sides, a 180° half-landing staircase, etc. – the current approach now seems quite logical to us and despite the naturally high costs, not extravagant. I grew up in a house with a full basement and converted attic, and the plan tries to provide similar spaces over two floors.
- What we like: the bright living room, purely functional generous sizing everywhere, especially for guests and thanks to the large room upstairs, the access from the garage.
- What we don’t like: see also the “Concerns” listed at the bottom. Otherwise, the “very generous” house (architect’s comment) might have few ‘eye-catchers’ for its price, e.g., no gallery or two bathrooms upstairs instead of one large. Therefore, general suggestions are welcome on how to enhance the design beyond the floor plan, for instance through lighting, mirrors, windows, external design.
Ground floor details:
- Living room with window fronts each with a door leading to terraces in the southwest (for sunlight) and northwest (toward the garden).
- Kitchen open to the living area; appliances located in a central niche—therefore, to minimize noise, the oven/microwave are there instead of the refrigerator.
- Room behind kitchen (separated by a slightly hidden door) serves as storage and a place for some kitchen appliances and an additional worktop.
- From the hallway, a doorless passage to the living room, doors to guest room, guest toilet, and utility room, also from there access to the garage.
- Large guest room with barrier-free bathroom and external access, potentially a one-room separate apartment.
- Garage for one car, e-scooter/bicycles and as a workshop/storage room, for example for garden tools.
Upper floor details:
- Children’s rooms on the sunnier gable side.
- Children’s bathroom with bathtub, master bathroom with washing machine/dryer (but space in utility room to allow for changes).
- Long dormers above bathrooms/stairwell and fitness/hobby room; no other roof windows.
- Access to attic via fitness/hobby room.
Concerns / Questions
- The (currently half-landing) staircase may need to be spiral to allow doors to fit under its end. Is preserving the half-landing for climbing safety worth a bay window?
- Prefabricated houses often have bay windows, although they might be energetically disadvantageous. Are they mainly for aesthetics, or have we missed practical opportunities by not including any?
- Is the staircase too close to the entrance, e.g., regarding dirt distribution?
- We would like remote/central control for roller shutters on all burglary-relevant windows. Would narrow windows be acceptable in the utility room, guest bathroom, and ground floor toilet, to prevent break-ins? Does anyone have experience with this?
- With a 25° pitch and 1.20m (3 ft 11 in) knee wall, is an overhanging roof suitable as a cover for the entrance and/or terrace without causing too much shading? What other canopy options would make sense, especially since the terrace is on the exposure-prone side?
- To prevent bicycles from scratching the car in the garage, should it be widened? This would reduce the remaining strip on the southwest side, where the tightest boundary distance (at the west corner, “top left”) is currently about 5m (16 ft 5 in).
- Is a TV placed directly next to the window front a problem due to the northwest orientation?
- Should the pantry behind the kitchen have a second sink?
- Would it be better to fill the garden-facing dormer entirely with windows rather than leaving corners open as planned?
- Which windows should be included in the bathroom dormer considering there are houses on the opposite side of the street?
We look forward to your comments!
HeimatBauer schrieb:
Besides the learning experience, my previously stated resolution was reinforced once again: to take my ideas and wishes to a professional and have a house designed by them. Just as it is outlined in the phase model. It is generally advisable to approach an architect with your ideas and wishes. But in which phase model is this stated?
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ypg schrieb:
We already know that one design, right?! It has been discussed here before. Unfortunately, you disabled the traceability of your posts, so one cannot look back at them. That’s why I assumed you had logged out.
The question is, why do you do that? It’s not _us_ who benefit from this discussion, but only you.As far as I know, I registered here for the first time on Sunday. Logging out is not my style either, and I might only have secondary accounts with utility providers that require new accounts for new contracts – you’re probably confusing something.By the way, since I am probably new here, I am not aware of any option to make posts “traceable”: what exactly should I change?
ypg schrieb:
It should also be in your interest to influence the quality of the answers through engagement. It helps to be present. We are. It doesn’t have to be constantly, but at certain times you should be.I do read quite often (for example, on my phone) even if I don’t always respond immediately. And I believe I do fall into the category of “at certain times” with my answers. Also, everyone can have an accident, bereavement, water damage, illness, heartbreak or something else, so judging response times in an asynchronous medium is quite tricky.ypg schrieb:
Users want — at least speaking for myself and knowing some layout experts here — not to have to dig through every piece of information in posts. A clear yes or no in a questionnaire is easier to recognize than embedding the requested answer within a sentence.The idea was that all known and relevant information would already be included in the first post, albeit in a different format. Leaving gaps is definitely an oversight. I acknowledge that some would have preferred the questionnaire verbatim, and I take note of that for the future.ypg schrieb:
A landing is separate from the flights and cannot be integrated within them.Sure, that’s why the stair with landing probably won’t result in a comfortable incline and will thus be more likely curved. I apparently misinterpreted kbt09’s post – sorry!ypg schrieb:
Why do you sketch something where changes have to be made that would make the design obsolete?It helps me to consider options when I can see the flaw along with its context right in front of me.ypg schrieb:
Is the orientation specified in the site development plan?
Is there no fixed building envelope?
Is the access route mandated like this?I have not read anything about a mandatory orientation, access, or building envelope. The existing design should fit regarding these points because neighboring buildings are similar and the ‘informed’ building planner did not raise objections. Clearly, this says nothing about the feasibility of a different orientation.ypg schrieb:
Is the drawn line not at 5 m???
Is that a railway line at the bottom of the aerial photo?
Will the southeast street side be developed too?The line is at about 4.30 m (14 feet). Yes, that is the railway line; I had originally mentioned it as part of the motivation behind the orientation. And yes, there are also building plots across the street. I just considered the orientation settled and therefore did not describe the surroundings in more detail from the start – I should have done that.11ant schrieb:
How many designs were there in total, and how many evolutionary stages were there between the “medium-old” and the initial post design?Maybe about half a dozen – hard to say, especially because not every idea for the ground floor was translated into an appropriate upper floor when it didn’t fit downstairs.11ant schrieb:
I also make sketches with zero-width walls “when things need to go quickly,” but keep in mind (like in 3rd-grade math class) to allocate 1.20 m (4 feet) each from the overall building width and depth budgets to the “walls” special account.I did something similar, just hoping that narrowing the rooms from the inside would balance that account. The external dimensions of the “very old” design were supposed to be 10 m × 15 m (33 ft × 49 ft).11ant schrieb:
Estimating areas wouldn’t just be “quantifying” the room program anymore, but would amount to pre-qualifying. With quantifying, each room initially only receives a name according to its purpose, such as “living-dining room” and “kitchen,” “living room” and “eat-in kitchen,” or “combined living and kitchen.” When qualifying, these three would, for example, all end up in the garden level, and then as nurse, ward doctor, or chief physician you assign a size reflecting the respective salary.I wouldn’t strictly follow that order, partly because function is more important than the room itself: currently (in a 3-room rental flat) I have my desk in the living room, my partner in the guest room, and with children the workplaces might rather be in the bedroom. In a pinch, I could work on my laptop at the dining table (with a different chair), so the initially desired office room might not only shrink but disappear altogether.11ant schrieb:
What do you mean: roof insulation instead of the upper floor ceiling on the one hand and open roof soffits are two different things (?)I wanted to clarify that but the 4-minute time window for replying had already passed. I meant “open roof soffits.”11ant schrieb:
This is the crucial question for you: whether your own fatherhood of the design matters, or whether you (which I consider wiser) are willing to entrust the serious house design to professionals. The latter would give your own draft the freedom not to have to be taken seriously.It’s less about fatherhood and more about the fact that I would probably constantly ask “Why not like this?” with a third-party design. That’s why I had in mind a joint iterative design process with the building planner. If that doesn’t work properly or nonsense is accepted without comment, then expertise will probably need to be bought in. I will sound out the building planner a bit.11ant schrieb:
I didn’t claim that. The contradiction referred to “similar areas on two floors” and “single-story.” If the ground floor and upper floor are supposed to be roughly equal in size, this leads to a full upper floor, but here only an attic will be possible. A basement/cellar wasn’t involved in this context at all.Then that was a misunderstanding: by “similar areas on two floors” I meant that functions usually in the basement, when no basement exists, have to be distributed across the two remaining floors.H
hanghaus20237 Dec 2023 16:28Since my questions are being ignored, I'm out of here. 😡
hanghaus2023 schrieb:
Since my questions are being ignored, I’m out of here. 😡If you mean the questions about orientation and the south-east side: I did address them, but I got mixed up with quoting and mistakenly attributed them to ypg. I apologize!Haus 42 schrieb:
As far as I know, I registered here for the first time on Sunday. Then everything is fine. Yvonne’s "recognition" of your design had slightly "worried" me, wondering if my 11ant-memory was failing. Most likely, another amateur planner happened to discuss a lookalike of your design.
Haus 42 schrieb:
By the way – probably precisely because I’m new here – I am not aware of any option for "traceability" of posts: What should I change? I have no idea where to adjust that. Some things don’t appear even for me that I enabled at registration. But from you, I can currently see that you have written four posts at least.
Haus 42 schrieb:
Maybe about half a dozen – already hard to say because not every idea on the ground floor was transferred to a suitable upper floor plan, especially if it didn’t work downstairs. Half a dozen overall or between "middle-aged" and the "opening post"?
If it’s supposed to fit, the start on the ground floor is already "wrong". Non-professionals regularly start drawing too early.
Haus 42 schrieb:
I wouldn’t strictly follow this sequence anyway because function is more important than the room: Currently (3-room rental apartment), I have my desk in the living room, my wife works in the guest room, and with children the workspaces might rather be in the bedroom. If needed, I could work with a laptop at the dining table (with a different chair), meaning the initially desired study could not only shrink but also disappear. The link between systematic and successful planning is clearly causal, and an existing apartment can only serve as an example collection of pain points. The laptop workplaces only become relevant for the Wi-Fi access points, i.e., in design phase 5. You can give rooms different names, but "study" is simply a handy working title for a room rather than calling it "storage room for the laptop that bothers on the dining table (while ironing?)". I would accept a desk in the bedroom as a reason for divorce ;-) and as evidence of a failure to create a requirements specification before designing the set of floor plans.
Haus 42 schrieb:
This is less about authorship and more that I would constantly ask "Why not like this?" when working with someone else’s design. That’s why I had a joint design iteration with the builder in mind. If that doesn’t happen sensibly or nonsense is silently accepted, then expertise probably needs to be bought in. I will have to 'sound out' the builder a bit. You don’t need to sound them out individually. A general contractor’s draftsman is fundamentally instructed only to remove any approval obstacles from the client’s self-made plans – whether creative efforts or tinkering with inspirations borrowed from the internet. They are not paid for design discussion coffee sessions. Have a look at my house-building roadmap (on "Bauen jetzt") for a guideline. At the start of design phase 2, you only show the architect your requirements specification – absolutely NO planning drafts yet. Once the architect has produced a preliminary draft, you discuss it privately with your wife, then compare it with your own sketches. Only with the resulting questions do you return to the architect for explanations of the whys. An architect doesn’t need tutoring from you, and a draftsman should not accept it either. Actually, architects should receive a fee increase because nowadays clients want to be involved from the very start.
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11ant schrieb:
Yvonne’s comment about “recognizing” your design had me a bit worried, wondering if my 11ant-memory was failing. That doesn’t mean the design hasn’t been posted somewhere here before (possibly under a different topic). I’ll admit you might have made a mistake; or maybe your partner, or in another forum...
11ant schrieb:
Probably. Yes, probably someone had exactly the same idea to design the access to the bedroom through the home office, at the top floor in the dining area with a living room niche, so the circulation runs around “the pudding” in the house.
11ant schrieb:
I have no clue where to change that setting. I do. Just adjust the privacy settings in the account.
11ant schrieb:
But from you, at least I see that you have written four posts recently. Look. I don’t see that. It was three or four days ago already. Because I check whether a user remains active after asking a question.
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