ᐅ Floor plan of a new country house in a large garden under Section 34 (including demolition)
Created on: 19 Jan 2025 18:39
M
marcoblu
Hello dear community,
Last year, we purchased a house in Brandenburg. Initially, we planned to renovate and remodel the existing building. After receiving initial quotes exceeding 500,000€ (approximately 500,000 USD), we decided to change course and are now planning a new build.
We first contacted a few prefabricated house providers, but were not satisfied with the proposed plans. So, we downloaded the app Home Design 3D and kept designing until we achieved a result we were really happy with.
We would appreciate any feedback, ideas, and criticism. Our next step is to find a suitable contractor based on the floor plan. Attached are the questionnaire and some additional thoughts behind the planning.
Zoning plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 3000 sqm (approximately 32,000 sq ft)
Further requirements: §34, details not yet known
Client requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: rather country house style, gable roof
Basement, floors: No basement, 1.5 floors
Number of people, ages: 2 adults, 1 child, possibly +1 child
Space needs on ground and upper floors: –
Office: family use or home office? Home office
Guests per year: occasional
Open or closed layout: rather closed
Conservative or modern design: rather conservative
Open kitchen, kitchen island: closed kitchen
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: yes
Music/sound wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: balcony
Garage, carport: existing garage stays, carport for camper
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: large garden
House design
Who created the plan: Self-designed using iPad app
- Planner from a construction company
- Architect
- Do-it-yourself
What do you like most? Why? Orientation of all main rooms to the south
What don’t you like? Why? Bedroom entrance from hallway
Estimated cost according to architect/planner: in progress
Personal price limit for the house including fixtures: 500,000€ (approximately 500,000 USD)
Preferred heating technology: heat pump
If you have to give up something, which details/features could you do without? Balcony
Which are essential? Terrace, easy access to the garden
Why is the design the way it is now?
For example, standard design from planner? We refined it until we really liked it.
Which of your wishes were realized by the architect?
A mixture of many examples from various magazines...
What makes this design particularly good or bad in your opinion?
Maximum space optimization
Additional notes from us:
General
Ground Floor
General
Hallway
Utility Room
Bathroom
Kitchen
Living Room
Guest Room
Upper Floor:
General
Bathroom
Bedroom
Study
Guest Room
Last year, we purchased a house in Brandenburg. Initially, we planned to renovate and remodel the existing building. After receiving initial quotes exceeding 500,000€ (approximately 500,000 USD), we decided to change course and are now planning a new build.
We first contacted a few prefabricated house providers, but were not satisfied with the proposed plans. So, we downloaded the app Home Design 3D and kept designing until we achieved a result we were really happy with.
We would appreciate any feedback, ideas, and criticism. Our next step is to find a suitable contractor based on the floor plan. Attached are the questionnaire and some additional thoughts behind the planning.
Zoning plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 3000 sqm (approximately 32,000 sq ft)
Further requirements: §34, details not yet known
Client requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: rather country house style, gable roof
Basement, floors: No basement, 1.5 floors
Number of people, ages: 2 adults, 1 child, possibly +1 child
Space needs on ground and upper floors: –
Office: family use or home office? Home office
Guests per year: occasional
Open or closed layout: rather closed
Conservative or modern design: rather conservative
Open kitchen, kitchen island: closed kitchen
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: yes
Music/sound wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: balcony
Garage, carport: existing garage stays, carport for camper
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: large garden
House design
Who created the plan: Self-designed using iPad app
- Planner from a construction company
- Architect
- Do-it-yourself
What do you like most? Why? Orientation of all main rooms to the south
What don’t you like? Why? Bedroom entrance from hallway
Estimated cost according to architect/planner: in progress
Personal price limit for the house including fixtures: 500,000€ (approximately 500,000 USD)
Preferred heating technology: heat pump
If you have to give up something, which details/features could you do without? Balcony
Which are essential? Terrace, easy access to the garden
Why is the design the way it is now?
For example, standard design from planner? We refined it until we really liked it.
Which of your wishes were realized by the architect?
A mixture of many examples from various magazines...
What makes this design particularly good or bad in your opinion?
Maximum space optimization
Additional notes from us:
General
- Gable roof with east-west solar panels
- Similar to neighboring buildings
Ground Floor
General
- Wide doors on the ground floor, at least 1 m (3.3 ft) wide
- The ground floor is wheelchair accessible
- Patio roof in front of kitchen and half of the living room
Hallway
- Entrance area offers a niche for coats and shoes
- Space under the stairs usable as storage
- Stairwell and hallway on the first floor receive natural light
Utility Room
- Large utility room planned with at least 12 m² (130 sq ft)
- Northeast orientation, so the heat pump can be placed behind the carport
Bathroom
- Adjacent to the utility room
- Outdoor water tap
Kitchen
- Short walking distances:
- Kitchen accessible from entrance and dining room
- Pantry accessible through a cupboard in the kitchen
- Patio door leading from kitchen to garden
- Sliding door to separate kitchen acoustically and for odors from living room
- Small seating area in kitchen with enough space for quick meals (possible with a window seat?)
- Outdoor water tap
Living Room
- Floor-to-ceiling windows in living and dining area
- Fireplace planned
- Space for TV in a niche
- Area for cabinets
- One lift-and-slide door
Guest Room
- Option to use as bedroom
- At least 12 m² (130 sq ft)
Upper Floor:
General
- Balcony on the first floor facing south
- Accessible from two rooms
Bathroom
- Separate toilet and bathroom
- Bathroom has a bathtub
- Built-in cabinet behind the sink
Bedroom
- Floor-to-ceiling windows in living and sleeping areas, i.e., all south-facing rooms
- Does not border directly on the toilet or bathroom
Study
- Two almost equally sized rooms on the first floor serve as studies
Guest Room
- Another room on the upper floor can be used as a guest or hobby room
marcoblu schrieb:
- Gable roof with east-west solar panel system
- In line with the neighboring buildings
I don’t understand why you have to build similarly if you mentioned Paragraph 34 earlier. The roof orientation should not be a factor. Especially considering photovoltaic systems, I would suggest having the ridge parallel to the street.marcoblu schrieb:
But these were not taken into account by the suppliers, or we were not convinced by the ideas offered.That’s because they don’t provide architectural services without a contract in advance. Custom designs are expensive and often have to be paid for separately, even if you’ve signed a construction contract. On the other hand, modifications to existing designs are feasible. Save your design in a subfolder that you can look at later when the house is built.
An architect from your region can tell you everything that is feasible and buildable. They can also create a nice and functional design for you.
marcoblu schrieb:
We had sent a list of things that are important to us.
However, these were not taken into account by the providers, or we were not convinced by the ideas they offered.Especially when all other road users are coming towards you, you should look for the wrong-way driver within yourself. I suspect two main reasons for your perception that the offers were not convincing:
1. They are closer to reality than your (budget-exceeding) expectations;
2. You have not convinced them that you are worthwhile clients (e.g., quite simply because it was not clear that you asked a reasonable number and selection of providers).
I do this professionally. The providers I invite can (already in the initial contact and its preparation, as well as in the subsequent dialogue) clearly see that their efforts will not be wasted shots in the dark. For example, I make it clear that 1. the number of those invited is appropriate, 2. they are not compared to competitors beyond their level, and 3. the homebuilders have been pre-advised, "aligned" with reality, and checked for their creditworthiness. I don’t ask a Lamborghini dealer when the client only has the budget for a used Seat.
marcoblu schrieb:
We then did a first round with prefabricated house providers, but were not satisfied with the planning we received.
We then got the app Home Design 3D and planned with it until we achieved a truly convincing result.
We would now be very happy to receive any feedback, ideas, and criticism.
Next, we would like to use the floor plan to find a suitable provider. Request offers with this exact design again from those providers you assume misunderstood your wishes, and discuss b) whether they suspected that you expected this as a result, and a) what they think are the reasons for the large gap compared to their proposals. Then feel free to shortlist according to how they respond to this dialogue (i.e., select the most constructive responders, not primarily those with the most appealing next proposals).https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
11ant schrieb:
Ask with exactly this design the supposed misunderstanders again and discuss b) whether they suspected that you hoped for this outcome and a) what they see as the reasons for the large difference compared to their proposals. What is the point of that? Do you want to drive the companies crazy? They won’t dissuade the client from this mess as long as no contract exists. Just the gap between the budget and the house size or additional extras would probably require a multi-day training. For that, the original poster is much better off here in the forum for self-study.
Hello everyone,
first of all, thank you for the quick responses.
We seem to have developed quite a tunnel vision when creating the floor plan.
General
Roof shape and building envelope
Accessibility
To clarify again:
first of all, thank you for the quick responses.
We seem to have developed quite a tunnel vision when creating the floor plan.
General
- I’m happy to add a few more measurements. What exactly is missing?
Roof shape and building envelope
- We initially considered a different roof shape but understood that it significantly affects the cost, so we tried to simplify it to a gable roof.
- We would like to keep the outbuildings. These limit the building envelope to 10 x 14 m (33 x 46 ft).
- The carport next to the house is intended for a camper and will be built "eventually." However, we want to maintain the required distance to the neighbor so that this will be possible. The barn already stands 6 m (20 ft) from the property boundary.
- East-west orientation is actually quite good for solar panels.
Accessibility
- Very good point about the bathroom. Thanks!
- For the bedroom, we were not primarily thinking of a double bed plus wheelchair accessibility, but rather one or the other.
- We don’t have an immediate need for full accessibility, but would like to plan ahead as far as it makes sense.
To clarify again:
- The offers we received were for larger floor areas and included dormers/complex roof shapes but had lower knee walls. We thought that by choosing a simpler basic shape, building costs would be lower.
- If I interpret your feedback correctly, our numerous interior walls are driving up the cost?
- Does anyone have a rough idea how large the house needs to be to include a separate kitchen and a guest room on the ground floor? One of our main issues was that the ground floor always seemed too small and the upper floor too large.
marcoblu schrieb:
If I understand your feedback correctly, are our numerous interior walls driving up the price? No, the many interior walls and corners only result in an awkward floor plan. The floor area of 10 x 13 meters (33 x 43 feet) is what increases the square meter figures and thus the price.
marcoblu schrieb:
We don’t have an immediate need for accessibility features, but we would like to plan ahead where it makes sense. It doesn’t make sense to build expensive features or extra space that you might not actually need.
marcoblu schrieb:
If I understand your feedback correctly, are our numerous interior walls driving up the cost? No, the cost is driven by expensive features. That was mentioned before.
However, your major space waste due to this model home layout is also a factor.
marcoblu schrieb:
One of our core problems was, Your core problem is that you lack professional knowledge in planning and costing.
Similar topics