ᐅ Building an extremely narrow house with a width of 4.5 meters due to setback requirements

For something this special, you should hire a good architect.

Are there no alternatives where you are, or do you actually like it that way? I mean, you can find examples of this in many old town centers, very narrow half-timbered houses where people still live today. My great-grandfather had a house like that; it had multiple levels and lots of stairs. I can’t really imagine that for a new build; in an old half-timbered town, it at least has a charming, rustic appeal. In Quedlinburg, there are houses barely wider than the arm span of an adult. And there, the houses all stand in a row – whereas in your case they would apparently be detached.

WilderSueden schrieb:

a you have very limited space on two above-ground floors and certainly wouldn’t want to use any of that for a utility room.

@nrwd1231 hasn’t provided any information about the space requirements or the site conditions (site plan with north arrow). It might also be possible to place the utility room under the roof. But basically, I agree that this requires an architect.

Or perhaps the option to extend onto a neighbor’s property? Possibly for a fee? This would allow for a wider extension, and secondly, there are many standard floor plans available for semi-detached or terraced houses.

nrwd1231 schrieb:

I currently have a plot of land reserved where you can build a maximum of 4.5m (15 feet) wide and up to 14m (46 feet) long, with two floors.

Based on a rough estimate, that would be about 100 sqm (1,076 sq ft), or even less due to the unfavorable shape. But are these really confirmed facts, or was the width calculated by simple guesswork?
Even if the entrance were placed in the middle, most rooms would be through-rooms. Access from one of the narrow sides is almost impossible.

nrwd1231 schrieb:

Are there house builders who construct such narrow houses? A single house designed by an architect would probably be very expensive. If you have experience, feel free to share your floor plans as well.

Standard designs won’t work here. Such a project tends to be expensive without an architect involved. The limitation to two stories is the real problem; otherwise, you would find plenty of examples in Tokyo.

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We have been renting a similar house for about four years: it used to be a stable a long time ago, renovated and converted in the 1990s. Timber frame, interior dimensions approximately 4.20m x 14m (14 feet x 46 feet). The living area is on one level, with the kitchen and bathroom raised by two steps, underneath which is a basement room. The upstairs has two rooms on the hallway level (one is a walkthrough room) and a third room also raised by two steps. The roof pitch is around 70 degrees, with knee wall heights between 20 and 50 cm (8 and 20 inches).

The house has an extremely cozy charm that we really enjoy, but features like walkthrough rooms are practically unavoidable. It works with one child, but with more, the size leaves very few options to design it differently. All rooms are as wide as the house except for the kitchen and bathroom, which are therefore quite narrow and don’t allow space for a guest toilet or a table in the kitchen. If I imagine our house as modern as possible, based on our living experience, I would suggest roughly dividing the space into four sections:

The first quarter would be the bathroom with an additional separate toilet (having only one is not an option), the second quarter the entrance area with stairs, and the third and fourth quarters an open-plan living area. Upstairs, the first quarter would be room 1, the second quarter stairs/hallway/space for a desk, the third quarter an office/guest room (room 2). Creating a short hallway here to avoid the walkthrough room would be very challenging – especially if the room needs to be double-digit square meters in size. The fourth quarter would be room 3.

The question is whether you are willing to accept these compromises when putting down 500k for a new build on a plot of land. After years of consideration, we decided that we don’t want this and are now building newly. If a walkthrough room isn’t a problem for you, living in a house like this can be very comfortable! We find it really cozy. Of course, good planning is essential.