Hello, great forum,
we are now also starting to fulfill a small dream of owning our own home. I am very curious about your opinions and experiences.
Currently, we live in a 4-room apartment of 70 sqm (750 sq ft).
We are planning for just under 200 sqm (2,150 sq ft).
We need a room for each of our three children; the house should be functional.
From the outside, it should have a modern appearance.
We would like two full floors with a small flat or hipped roof. Unfortunately, this is not possible, and these restrictions apparently only allow what has been designed so far.
I would like the dormer at the front and the front extension to be larger purely for aesthetic reasons, but the architect says it is not necessary.
Development plan / restrictions
Attached is the third house/plot from the top.
Plot size: 700 sqm (7,535 sq ft)
- Minimum distance to the street is 7.0 m (23 feet)
- Building depth is 12.0 m (39 feet)
- Orientation MUST be ridge side facing the street according to the development plan
- The eaves and ridge heights follow §34 of the Building Code, i.e., as high as the neighbors. We can include the basement (cellar) for the floor heights of the ground and upper floors.
- However, it will not be a two-story building! I estimate the knee wall / dwarf wall currently at about 1.0 m (3 feet)! (For an exact statement, the eaves and ridge heights of the neighbors would have to be measured.)
- A plaster facade is NOT required; it can be fully clad in brick or masonry
- Roof pitch may be between 45 - 52 degrees
- No basement possible due to peat soil and groundwater issues.
Homeowners’ requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Gable roof
Basement, floors: 1 floor + attic
Number of people, ages: 5 people aged between 2 and 35
Space needed on ground and upper floors
Office: Family use or home office? Home office
Guest sleepers per year: 3
Open or closed architecture: Open, if possible
Conservative or modern construction: Modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Closed kitchen
Number of dining seats: 8, and there should be a breakfast nook in the kitchen
Fireplace: Would be nice
House design
Who created the plan: Our idea, implemented by the architect
What do you particularly like? Why?
Width of the hallway downstairs and the entrance area, the view to the living room from the entrance.
Passage from the kitchen to the utility room with pantry
What do you not like? Why?
Everything seems very tight, or maybe that is just an impression.
Price estimate according to architect/planner:
450k
Personal price limit for the house, including fittings: 550k
Preferred heating system: Heat pump or gas heating
If you have to give up something, which details/extensions
- can you give up: Currently, we can only imagine not finishing the attic first.
we are now also starting to fulfill a small dream of owning our own home. I am very curious about your opinions and experiences.
Currently, we live in a 4-room apartment of 70 sqm (750 sq ft).
We are planning for just under 200 sqm (2,150 sq ft).
We need a room for each of our three children; the house should be functional.
From the outside, it should have a modern appearance.
We would like two full floors with a small flat or hipped roof. Unfortunately, this is not possible, and these restrictions apparently only allow what has been designed so far.
I would like the dormer at the front and the front extension to be larger purely for aesthetic reasons, but the architect says it is not necessary.
Development plan / restrictions
Attached is the third house/plot from the top.
Plot size: 700 sqm (7,535 sq ft)
- Minimum distance to the street is 7.0 m (23 feet)
- Building depth is 12.0 m (39 feet)
- Orientation MUST be ridge side facing the street according to the development plan
- The eaves and ridge heights follow §34 of the Building Code, i.e., as high as the neighbors. We can include the basement (cellar) for the floor heights of the ground and upper floors.
- However, it will not be a two-story building! I estimate the knee wall / dwarf wall currently at about 1.0 m (3 feet)! (For an exact statement, the eaves and ridge heights of the neighbors would have to be measured.)
- A plaster facade is NOT required; it can be fully clad in brick or masonry
- Roof pitch may be between 45 - 52 degrees
- No basement possible due to peat soil and groundwater issues.
Homeowners’ requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Gable roof
Basement, floors: 1 floor + attic
Number of people, ages: 5 people aged between 2 and 35
Space needed on ground and upper floors
Office: Family use or home office? Home office
Guest sleepers per year: 3
Open or closed architecture: Open, if possible
Conservative or modern construction: Modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Closed kitchen
Number of dining seats: 8, and there should be a breakfast nook in the kitchen
Fireplace: Would be nice
House design
Who created the plan: Our idea, implemented by the architect
What do you particularly like? Why?
Width of the hallway downstairs and the entrance area, the view to the living room from the entrance.
Passage from the kitchen to the utility room with pantry
What do you not like? Why?
Everything seems very tight, or maybe that is just an impression.
Price estimate according to architect/planner:
450k
Personal price limit for the house, including fittings: 550k
Preferred heating system: Heat pump or gas heating
If you have to give up something, which details/extensions
- can you give up: Currently, we can only imagine not finishing the attic first.
B
Benutzername1212 Oct 2024 20:0511ant schrieb:
Why are spin-off threads about the kitchen and bathroom planning for this design being started here—are there still doubts that none of the VARs involved so far recognize the level of planning quality? The bathroom and kitchen layout will remain as is.
We will now change the utility room and enlarge the office.
The technical equipment will be moved entirely into the utility room.
Washing machine and dryer
A sink and two shelves for storage, and possibly a freezer.
Upstairs in the bedroom, we will probably reduce the storage room to make the bedroom bigger or to arrange the bed differently.
We think having a storage room upstairs on the first floor is important. Don’t you agree?
You have already been asked several times what exactly you want to use the storage spaces for. Maybe you could explain your thoughts, for example, why this particular storage room? Why do you consider it important? I think it would be useful if you plan to put the washing machine and dryer there.
And once again... slightly enlarging here, because slightly reducing doesn’t improve the overall floor plan. The office downstairs is already affected by the door being pushed into the corner of the room.
Your budget is stretched because you are financing about 37 square meters (400 square feet) of living room out of a total 194 square meters (2,088 square feet), where the dining area is only intended for guests. The hallways including the staircase add up to around 26 square meters (280 square feet), and with
And why are you undecided between a heat pump and gas heating? What about photovoltaic panels?
And once again... slightly enlarging here, because slightly reducing doesn’t improve the overall floor plan. The office downstairs is already affected by the door being pushed into the corner of the room.
Your budget is stretched because you are financing about 37 square meters (400 square feet) of living room out of a total 194 square meters (2,088 square feet), where the dining area is only intended for guests. The hallways including the staircase add up to around 26 square meters (280 square feet), and with
Benutzername12 schrieb:550k divided by 194 square meters (2,088 square feet) = 2,835 Euro including fittings... that just doesn’t add up at all.
Price estimate according to architect/planner:
450k
Personal price limit for the house, incl. fittings: 550k
Preferred heating system: heat pump or gas heating
And why are you undecided between a heat pump and gas heating? What about photovoltaic panels?
B
Benutzername1212 Oct 2024 20:19kbt09 schrieb:
You’ve already been asked several times what you plan to use your storage spaces for. Maybe you could explain your thoughts, for example, why this particular storage room? Why do you find it important? I would find it useful if the washer and dryer were placed there.
And again... making one area slightly larger and another smaller won’t automatically improve the floor plan. The office downstairs is already impacted by the door being pushed into the corner of the room.
Your budget suffers because you are financing about 37 sqm (398 sq ft) of living room out of 194 sqm (2,088 sq ft), with the dining area intended only for guests. Hallways including the stairwell are roughly 26 sqm (280 sq ft) in total, and with
550 k divided by 194 sqm = 2,835 euros (including fixtures and fittings)... that simply doesn’t add up.
And why are you still considering both a heat pump and a gas heating system?
What about photovoltaics? Yes, it would be good to have the washer or dryer in the storage room upstairs, but that doesn’t fit well, so we will make the storage room upstairs smaller to have a slightly larger bedroom.
The ironing board, decorations, and small items are planned for the upstairs storage room. Otherwise, we don’t come up with much else.
The utility room downstairs is important to us; the washer and dryer will be there, and there should be space for two drying racks.
The door in the office will be removed in the back. A window will be installed there instead.
To be honest, we haven’t given the budget much thought. We have inherited a lot and are flexible here.
It is important for us to get the most out of this plot of land, and since we only want to build once, we want to think of everything now.
Benutzername12 schrieb:
Yes, we have now decided to create a small coat closet for guests, enlarge the office, and move the technical equipment to the utility room where it belongs.
The kitchen has a passage to the utility room, serving as a sort of pantry.
A closed kitchen with seating options is important to us. Benutzername12 schrieb:
The layout of the bathroom and kitchen will remain the same.
We will now modify the technical room or rather enlarge the office.
The utility room will now house all the technical equipment, including
the washing machine and dryer.
There will be a sink and two shelves for storage and possibly a freezer.
Upstairs in the bedroom, we are likely to reduce the storage room to create a larger bedroom or to rearrange the bed placement. No, that doesn’t make sense. You remodel a house that already exists, not one that currently exists only as drawings. You fix that by starting over. Your architects have already taken the wrong direction at the preliminary design stage. Considering the change from 70 to over 190 square meters, this is hardly surprising. With clients like you, someone needs to work with you very thoroughly (not me, unless a meeting in summer 2025 would be okay for you). Maybe Ms. Forster? (@roteweste_2 is handling remote planning with her quite well.) You will probably have to pay the architects currently involved, but either you get them back on track, or they will cost you—whether more money or more stress, I’m not sure yet. Trying to modify a trout meunière into something like a hunter’s schnitzel in nearly every respect is simply nonsense.
This design is not a basis for what you need. Plan with someone who can listen and has the courage to wake you up.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
B
Benutzername1212 Oct 2024 20:5711ant schrieb:
No, that’s nonsense. You renovate a house that already exists, but not one that is still “only on paper.” The solution here is to “start over.” Your architects have already taken the wrong direction at the preliminary design stage. Considering the change from 70 to over 190 square meters (750 to over 2045 square feet), this is hardly surprising. Clients like you require someone to engage with them very thoroughly (not me, unless a meeting in summer 2025 would be acceptable for you). Perhaps Ms. Forster? (@roteweste_2 is currently managing well with remote planning with her). You will probably have to pay your current architects, but either you get them back on track, or they will cost you—I’m not sure whether more money or nerves. Trying to turn a trout meunière into a hunter’s schnitzel by changing almost every parameter is, in any case, total nonsense.
This design is no basis for what you need. Work with someone who can listen and has the courage to wake you up.I don’t understand. You’re implying that we or the architect have no idea what we’re doing. We had our reasons.
Look, this is what the neighboring house looks like.
We deliberately placed the kitchen at the front for the evening sun (southwest-facing terrace) and the living room at the back for the east/south-facing terrace.
The very first draft from the architect looked like this... see hand sketch.
We didn’t like the open kitchen…
Then I sent you a design where the entrance was different… that idea also came from the architect.
Benutzername12 schrieb:
I don’t understand. You present it as if we or the architect have no idea. I didn’t say that; rather, the comparison between the design and its shortcomings strongly suggests a lack of listening. I am not the one saying “no idea,” although most of the points raised by other participants unfortunately point clearly in that direction. The fact is that structural dissatisfaction with the outcome of design phase 3 cannot be resolved in the time between design phase 3 and design phase 4, but only by going back to the period between design phase 2 and design phase 3. Any attempt to address this in a different way will be disproportionately more expensive. You have also subtly hinted more than once that choosing another architect might be under consideration. I would be lying if I denied that this could be worth considering.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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