ᐅ Floor Plan for a Single-Family Home, 240 m², with Partially Built-Over Garage
Created on: 3 Dec 2023 13:51
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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!
Thank you for the feedback!
hanghaus2023 schrieb:Yes, but only with a view from the street, and the rest then feels a bit 'disjointed.' Neither is a disaster, but so far enough to prefer the alternative.
That way you have the best southwest-facing garden.
hanghaus2023 schrieb:True, that seems like a good option for this version at first glance.
Swap the stairs and technical room, then you have the workspace in the corner upstairs.
hanghaus2023 schrieb:If both the living room and children's rooms are to face southwest, then the children's bathroom will inevitably be at least nearby. There might be a better plumbing solution, but we’ve already made a few changes. What I don’t understand is the question about skylights – what does the lighting of the upper-floor bathroom have to do with what’s below on the ground floor? Currently, the upper-floor bathrooms are only planned with side windows.
Somehow, your bathrooms are always above the living and dining area. Can't that be improved? Do the bathrooms have skylights?
hanghaus2023 schrieb:The budget will feel the pinch from inflation over recent years, but thanks to the low land price, it should still be sufficient.
The fitness and guest area will cost you at least 150k. What does the budget say about that?
11ant schrieb:Thanks! While the “dough is resting,” I’m working through the rest of the list of almost 100 topics from entrance canopy to terrace size...
Glop, glop. Good, I vote to log in V2. Dough rest, setting the course, keep going!
Haus 42 schrieb:
Thanks! While the dough is resting, I’m moving on to the rest of the list of nearly 100 topics from the entrance canopy to terrace size... For heaven’s sake, no! There is no more misunderstood use of dough resting time.
Only the preliminary decisions and the building permit application / planning permission request make sense at this stage.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
H
hanghaus202321 Jan 2024 12:14If you want a southwest-facing garden, this is the only option. In my opinion, the bathrooms on the upper floor don’t have windows according to the plan.
Hopefully, the floor plans are not finalized yet.
Hopefully, the floor plans are not finalized yet.
I’m glad that finally an architect has “stepped in.”
In my view, V3 is a very good approach. At first glance, everything also looks neat and logical—except for the very poorly zoned open living area.
V2, in my opinion, is not exactly the preliminary work you would want to finalize—although the architect did try to reconcile technical requirements with your wishes.
I’ll throw in a few objections regarding V3—whether they are improved, changed, understood, or taken into account is another matter. But I think there is still room for improvement.
Here they are:
- Poorly zoned yet very large open living area → the missing office could be added to the northwest (see sketch)
- I remember that the “granny flat” is for visiting parents? I would plan a smaller kitchenette there; holiday apartments usually have smaller ones with a portable cooking plate (electric hotplate). That should be sufficient.
- Also, I would consider the option of connecting the toilet and the granny flat bathroom with a transparent sliding partition. This would bring light and save space. I don’t understand the “barrier-reduced” circle in the guest bathroom, since you can’t even enter the granny flat bedroom without bumping into something.
- Personally, I don’t like the side entrance. It wastes living space and brings street dirt right to the stairs.
- Upstairs, I would avoid south-facing windows in the bedroom and place the bed under the sloped ceiling. The dressing room is too narrow—overall, there is too little closet space in a 230sqm (2475 sqft) house.
- This brings us to storage space, which is completely missing. Nothing downstairs, and the walk-in closet can’t hold a wardrobe for clothes. There is no office where another wardrobe could stand. Laundry is to be done in the small upstairs bathroom, but there is no drying area. Where to put suitcases and decorative items? There are no options except filling up the fitness room. I think the house is big and expensive enough that this should be solved.
- One might object that the children’s room is next to the bedroom, but I don’t find that problematic.
- Generally, the bathrooms are really tiny. They might be enough for morning and evening routines, but not more. I would merge the areas properly.
- I like the work nook as an alternative workspace (for sewing machine, letter writing, sorting bills), but I don’t think it’s suitable as a main office with a printer.
I tried repositioning the staircase but didn’t make much headway with the upstairs layout...
One tip for the upstairs: build a custom closet under the sloped ceiling in the bedroom with a depth of 80 or 100cm (32 or 39 inches) to make efficient use of the sloped space.
Overall, to me this is not enough house for such a large footprint (230sqm). The open living area is the only really generous space—besides the fitness room. But everyone has to set their own priorities.
And I question the single-story design. With dormers and this knee wall height, it should be a two-story house (without calculation, just an estimate).
In my view, V3 is a very good approach. At first glance, everything also looks neat and logical—except for the very poorly zoned open living area.
V2, in my opinion, is not exactly the preliminary work you would want to finalize—although the architect did try to reconcile technical requirements with your wishes.
I’ll throw in a few objections regarding V3—whether they are improved, changed, understood, or taken into account is another matter. But I think there is still room for improvement.
Here they are:
- Poorly zoned yet very large open living area → the missing office could be added to the northwest (see sketch)
- I remember that the “granny flat” is for visiting parents? I would plan a smaller kitchenette there; holiday apartments usually have smaller ones with a portable cooking plate (electric hotplate). That should be sufficient.
- Also, I would consider the option of connecting the toilet and the granny flat bathroom with a transparent sliding partition. This would bring light and save space. I don’t understand the “barrier-reduced” circle in the guest bathroom, since you can’t even enter the granny flat bedroom without bumping into something.
- Personally, I don’t like the side entrance. It wastes living space and brings street dirt right to the stairs.
- Upstairs, I would avoid south-facing windows in the bedroom and place the bed under the sloped ceiling. The dressing room is too narrow—overall, there is too little closet space in a 230sqm (2475 sqft) house.
- This brings us to storage space, which is completely missing. Nothing downstairs, and the walk-in closet can’t hold a wardrobe for clothes. There is no office where another wardrobe could stand. Laundry is to be done in the small upstairs bathroom, but there is no drying area. Where to put suitcases and decorative items? There are no options except filling up the fitness room. I think the house is big and expensive enough that this should be solved.
- One might object that the children’s room is next to the bedroom, but I don’t find that problematic.
- Generally, the bathrooms are really tiny. They might be enough for morning and evening routines, but not more. I would merge the areas properly.
- I like the work nook as an alternative workspace (for sewing machine, letter writing, sorting bills), but I don’t think it’s suitable as a main office with a printer.
I tried repositioning the staircase but didn’t make much headway with the upstairs layout...
One tip for the upstairs: build a custom closet under the sloped ceiling in the bedroom with a depth of 80 or 100cm (32 or 39 inches) to make efficient use of the sloped space.
Overall, to me this is not enough house for such a large footprint (230sqm). The open living area is the only really generous space—besides the fitness room. But everyone has to set their own priorities.
And I question the single-story design. With dormers and this knee wall height, it should be a two-story house (without calculation, just an estimate).
11ant schrieb:
For heaven’s sake, no! There is no more misunderstood way to use dough resting.
The only meaningful steps are setting the initial direction and the preliminary building inquiry. Avoiding other topics is supposed to help take a more detached view of the design? On the other hand, insights for the floor plan could still arise from related topics.
hanghaus2023 schrieb:
In my opinion, the bathrooms on the upper floor have no windows according to the plan?
Hopefully the floor plans are not finalized yet. Nothing is finalized. As for the bathrooms: The architect was against windows in them, which is why there are none in his (elongated) designs, as those have not been further developed yet. However, in the design we prefer, there are windows.
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