ᐅ Floor Plan of Semi-Detached House – Bathroom and Laundry Room Layout Planning
Created on: 12 Dec 2023 22:36
K
Klinkerhof86
Hello,
we have a plot of land adjoining a neighboring house, where we plan to build a semi-detached house.
I am currently focusing on the bathrooms and would appreciate any feedback. I have explained the specific questions further below. In the attached floor plans, the latest changes are shown in red, which is why there is a gap in the upper floor where the old bathtub used to be.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: approx. 450sqm (4844 sq ft)
Slope: no
Site coverage ratio
Floor area ratio
Building envelope, building line and boundary
Edge development: carport/garage
Number of parking spaces
Number of floors: 2.5
Roof style: gable roof, 45 degrees
Design style
Orientation
Maximum heights / limits
Additional requirements: extension attached to an existing semi-detached house; total plot width: 11m (36 ft); therefore maximum house width 8m (26 ft) & building depth 10m (33 ft)
Client Requirements
Design style, roof shape, building type: roof form and size follow the neighbor’s
Basement, floors: no basement, 2 full floors, 1 attic floor
Number of occupants, ages: 4 (37, 36, 3, 0 years)
Space requirements on ground floor: dining/living/kitchen, utility room, guest bathroom, cloakroom
Upper floor (1st floor): 2 children’s bedrooms, office 1, bathroom plus laundry room
Attic floor: master bedroom, bathroom, office 2/guest room/second living area
Office: family use or home office? Both, 2x home offices needed
Number of overnight guests annually: various, 8–10
Open or closed architecture: mixed
Traditional or modern construction
Open kitchen, kitchen island: preferably a semi-detached island, even if the kitchen space is a bit tight
Number of dining seats: 6–8
Fireplace: no
Music/sound system wall
Balcony, roof terrace: terrace
Garage, carport: yes, also serving as basement substitute
Kitchen garden, greenhouse: no
Other wishes/special features/daily routine, including reasons for preferences or restrictions
House Design
Who designed it:
- Planner from a construction company: yes
What do you particularly like? Why?
Implementation of the ground floor, equally sized children’s rooms, the attic floor is also okay. -> Comments still welcome.
What don’t you like? Why?
The bathrooms on the upper and attic floors are still a work in progress.
Laundry should be done on the upper floor, so a laundry area with privacy connected to the main bathroom is desired. Washer/dryer should be elevated, so preferably not placed under a window.
Several drafts have been made with passages at top and bottom of the plan. Current idea: move the bathtub to the attic floor, and use the gained space to widen the laundry room to 1.6m (5.2 ft) to allow some storage.
A separate DIY sketch from me is attached (without technical elements/pipes etc.).
In the attic floor the bathtub is planned under the sloped ceiling. Does this work from a spatial design perspective? Any other ideas for arranging the sanitary fixtures? Would you build the shower as drywall with a glass door or fully as a glass enclosure (more light but more cleaning)?
Another topic: What do you think about the kitchen and possible layout of furniture/semi-island?
If you had to give up, which details/features
- Could you give up:
- Could you not give up: completely omitting a bathtub is not preferred
Why did the design end up as it is now?
Our wishes were implemented by the planner over several iterations.
What do you think makes it especially good or bad:
For the relatively narrow plot and semi-detached house format, many fixed constraints leave little room to maneuver, but I still hope for creative solutions.
we have a plot of land adjoining a neighboring house, where we plan to build a semi-detached house.
I am currently focusing on the bathrooms and would appreciate any feedback. I have explained the specific questions further below. In the attached floor plans, the latest changes are shown in red, which is why there is a gap in the upper floor where the old bathtub used to be.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: approx. 450sqm (4844 sq ft)
Slope: no
Site coverage ratio
Floor area ratio
Building envelope, building line and boundary
Edge development: carport/garage
Number of parking spaces
Number of floors: 2.5
Roof style: gable roof, 45 degrees
Design style
Orientation
Maximum heights / limits
Additional requirements: extension attached to an existing semi-detached house; total plot width: 11m (36 ft); therefore maximum house width 8m (26 ft) & building depth 10m (33 ft)
Client Requirements
Design style, roof shape, building type: roof form and size follow the neighbor’s
Basement, floors: no basement, 2 full floors, 1 attic floor
Number of occupants, ages: 4 (37, 36, 3, 0 years)
Space requirements on ground floor: dining/living/kitchen, utility room, guest bathroom, cloakroom
Upper floor (1st floor): 2 children’s bedrooms, office 1, bathroom plus laundry room
Attic floor: master bedroom, bathroom, office 2/guest room/second living area
Office: family use or home office? Both, 2x home offices needed
Number of overnight guests annually: various, 8–10
Open or closed architecture: mixed
Traditional or modern construction
Open kitchen, kitchen island: preferably a semi-detached island, even if the kitchen space is a bit tight
Number of dining seats: 6–8
Fireplace: no
Music/sound system wall
Balcony, roof terrace: terrace
Garage, carport: yes, also serving as basement substitute
Kitchen garden, greenhouse: no
Other wishes/special features/daily routine, including reasons for preferences or restrictions
House Design
Who designed it:
- Planner from a construction company: yes
What do you particularly like? Why?
Implementation of the ground floor, equally sized children’s rooms, the attic floor is also okay. -> Comments still welcome.
What don’t you like? Why?
The bathrooms on the upper and attic floors are still a work in progress.
Laundry should be done on the upper floor, so a laundry area with privacy connected to the main bathroom is desired. Washer/dryer should be elevated, so preferably not placed under a window.
Several drafts have been made with passages at top and bottom of the plan. Current idea: move the bathtub to the attic floor, and use the gained space to widen the laundry room to 1.6m (5.2 ft) to allow some storage.
A separate DIY sketch from me is attached (without technical elements/pipes etc.).
In the attic floor the bathtub is planned under the sloped ceiling. Does this work from a spatial design perspective? Any other ideas for arranging the sanitary fixtures? Would you build the shower as drywall with a glass door or fully as a glass enclosure (more light but more cleaning)?
Another topic: What do you think about the kitchen and possible layout of furniture/semi-island?
If you had to give up, which details/features
- Could you give up:
- Could you not give up: completely omitting a bathtub is not preferred
Why did the design end up as it is now?
Our wishes were implemented by the planner over several iterations.
What do you think makes it especially good or bad:
For the relatively narrow plot and semi-detached house format, many fixed constraints leave little room to maneuver, but I still hope for creative solutions.
HeimatBauer schrieb:
Neither option, and your private message only made it more intrusive. I don’t have to put up with that. This actually doesn’t belong here at all.
But you are turning this question into something entirely different.
ypg schrieb:
What is the likelihood that you will eventually need a wheelchair? This question is not intrusive, nor am I asking if you planned to have a disability.
ypg schrieb:
And what about your wife? Does she still have space in the ground floor apartment? Will she have to become an informal carer? This is somewhat understandable, considering that we don’t know your design at all, while numerous designs are shared here where one partner no longer has space at all and far too many barriers (doors, walls) after renovation would cause problems. However, based on your considerations, I find that unlikely.
But here you plan 8 x 10 meters (26 x 33 feet). Two people would constantly have to avoid each other in everyday life and living in this limited space.
It may be that some of your reactions were triggered by certain comments. However, in a forum, you should expect follow-up questions from users who don’t know the background. By the way, you don’t know ours either.
@ypg ... @HeimatBauer is not the original poster who created the floor plan on the homepage and wants to access the small ground-floor bathroom through the kitchen. HeimatBauer only pointed this out and clearly explained what needs to be considered when planning a new house to be divided into two separate living units.
https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/grundriss-doppelhaushaelfte-planung-baeder-und-waschraum.46524/page-3#post-648871
https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/grundriss-doppelhaushaelfte-planung-baeder-und-waschraum.46524/page-3#post-648871
kbt09 schrieb:
@ypg ... @HeimatBauer is not the original poster who created the floor plan on the homepage and wants to access his small ground-floor bathroom through the kitchen. HeimatBauer only pointed this out with his post and vividly described everything that should be considered when planning a new house to be divisible into two living units.Yes, I know! I have followed the thread here and also mentioned that I am against hijacking threads. That he discusses his house construction along with his considerations here is one thing, which the OP dealing with a 8x10 layout really cannot relate to, as his considerations go back much further, for example the reason behind splitting the house into two living units. The OP has not even explained why he wants this separation or who is imposing these requirements on him.But Heimatbauer takes my questions (see quotes) very personally and finds them intrusive. An explanation from me in his private message seemed to upset him even more, and he took his frustration out on me here again.
I’ll say this, and regular readers here may have already noticed: I am not at all in favor of designing a house that is not immediately planned to be age-appropriate. This can also mean having stairs over two levels. Age-appropriate living also means accommodating disabilities regardless of age. This includes being able to rest comfortably on the sofa, accessing necessary sanitary facilities without restrictive doors or narrow traffic areas in case of bowel issues, managing mobility impairments by, for example, having the possibility to sleep on the ground floor where most daily life happens, preparing meals without having to go to a separate pantry for every ingredient (no, I am not against well-planned pantries). All of this should be achievable, whether within a family, a couple, or alone.
I don’t support separating an upper floor designed for four people from the ground floor. Because even if, due to age, one mostly uses only one level, visiting family from upstairs can still benefit. Without these spaces, some situations wouldn’t be manageable. That would be a shame. And if children or grandchildren rarely visit, the upper floor can still offer a room for a caregiver and leave space for a hobby or senior fitness.
Rarely does a home office on the ground floor suitably serve as an accessible bedroom for two. Of course, “exceptions prove the rule” also applies here. Still, I am convinced that most couples break apart due to dementia rather than other age-related frailties, and then they tend to prefer the more traditional way of living—namely, a well-equipped unit in assisted living.
We once discussed a plot located near a newly built care home. There had been a lot of negative comments about such institutions. But first, I would have checked what type of living arrangement the institution planned before rejecting the plot.
In my experience and around my elderly parents (over 80 years old), I don’t know anyone who has taken in a stranger as a tenant in their house. The general attitude is towards mobility and being glad to still be able to use stairs. And when that truly becomes impossible, it is no longer the wish to sit inside by the window looking at the garden that one planted and tended 50 years ago. Rather, at that point, the desire for 24/7 care and attention arises more than wanting to burden the partner.
However, it is usually a personal and situational decision how and what to build and how one wants to live. But questions regarding this should be possible without being seen as intrusive.
ypg schrieb:
I have been following this thread and have already mentioned that I am against hijacking threads. It is one thing that he presents his house construction with his considerations here, but the original poster (OP) on 8x10 can’t really make use of this, since these considerations date back much further, for example the _reason_ for separating the building into two residential units. The OP hasn’t even explained why they want a separation, or who is imposing these requirements. @HeimatBauer has by no means hijacked the thread, but rather enriched the discussion here by sharing the planning history of his long-completed house construction. Ceterum censeo, the feasibility of dividing a small residential tower will be a puzzle that would make even the most determined effort envious.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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