Hello everyone,
I’m new to this forum and have a question about our building project. We have the opportunity to purchase a discounted building plot (approx. 350m2 (3750 sq ft)) for a semi-detached house in the outskirts of Munich. The contract for this is already available to us.
The plot for the other half of the house was sold four months ago. Last week, I was able to get in touch with our future building partners, who already have approval for the following semi-detached house:
- Model Danwood 116w
- Gable roof
- No basement
- 2 full floors, no option for attic space
- Dimensions 10.2 x 7 m (33.5 x 23 ft)
- Wall height 6.2 m (20.3 ft)
- Roof pitch 25°
- Total living area 116 m2 (1248 sq ft)
And here lies the catch: we are a family with soon two children and a need for a large home office. Therefore, 116m2 (1248 sq ft) is definitely too little space for us. After consulting with the local building authority, it would be possible to keep the length of 10.2m (33.5 ft) that borders the neighbor but build our half wider (up to 9 m (29.5 ft)). Also, building without a basement is not an option for us. Then we would have:
- Basement
- Ground floor plus attic with external dimensions 10.2 x 9 m (33.5 x 29.5 ft)
So, I think we could realize about 135–140 m2 (1453–1507 sq ft) of living space.
Now my question to the forum: would you build such an asymmetrical semi-detached house?
Of course, it’s frustrating to have to adapt to the shallow roof pitch and limited length. At the same time, it might also be nice to have two relatively spacious floors. There would of course be the option to decline the plot altogether – but given its location and price, that is not our preferred choice.
Maybe someone has experience or tips for a rather unconventional semi-detached house! We appreciate any feedback.
I’m new to this forum and have a question about our building project. We have the opportunity to purchase a discounted building plot (approx. 350m2 (3750 sq ft)) for a semi-detached house in the outskirts of Munich. The contract for this is already available to us.
The plot for the other half of the house was sold four months ago. Last week, I was able to get in touch with our future building partners, who already have approval for the following semi-detached house:
- Model Danwood 116w
- Gable roof
- No basement
- 2 full floors, no option for attic space
- Dimensions 10.2 x 7 m (33.5 x 23 ft)
- Wall height 6.2 m (20.3 ft)
- Roof pitch 25°
- Total living area 116 m2 (1248 sq ft)
And here lies the catch: we are a family with soon two children and a need for a large home office. Therefore, 116m2 (1248 sq ft) is definitely too little space for us. After consulting with the local building authority, it would be possible to keep the length of 10.2m (33.5 ft) that borders the neighbor but build our half wider (up to 9 m (29.5 ft)). Also, building without a basement is not an option for us. Then we would have:
- Basement
- Ground floor plus attic with external dimensions 10.2 x 9 m (33.5 x 29.5 ft)
So, I think we could realize about 135–140 m2 (1453–1507 sq ft) of living space.
Now my question to the forum: would you build such an asymmetrical semi-detached house?
Of course, it’s frustrating to have to adapt to the shallow roof pitch and limited length. At the same time, it might also be nice to have two relatively spacious floors. There would of course be the option to decline the plot altogether – but given its location and price, that is not our preferred choice.
Maybe someone has experience or tips for a rather unconventional semi-detached house! We appreciate any feedback.
Fraumaunz schrieb:
I have attached the site plan with the plot dimensions. The left one is ours. Including the garage (6m (20 feet)) or carport (5m (16 feet)), there are still 8 or 9 meters (26 or 30 feet) of width left. Is this actually zoned? And where is the street? What is that angular protrusion at the top left of the plot?
So, I sketched out the plot using some basic parameters. Although I generally oppose underground floors, I would still support having a basement if there is a desire or necessity for one. After all, what use is a newly built house if it doesn’t meet your needs?
However, with dimensions of 10.2 x 9 meters (33.5 x 29.5 feet) and 40 cm (16 inches) exterior walls (Danwood apparently plans with 38 cm (15 inches) walls?), I arrive at just under 150/155 square meters (1615/1668 square feet).
That should actually be enough for a household of four people plus a large home office (large is relative), right? And if it’s not enough, you can always consider a single-story extension or even a two-story bay window. Overhangs on the upper floor are also attractive.
Personally, I would always want to avoid a basement. It only adds storage space after all. For me, it’s not worth it.
The question also is:
Are you actually planning to build with Danwood? You also have to be blunt sometimes—if the basement is non-negotiable, can you even afford it?
155 square meters (1668 square feet) of living space costs €465,000, plus additional building costs of €40,000–50,000. A basement comes on top of that at €80,000. Then a carport, parking space for the children’s vehicles, and landscaping would also cost around €30,000–40,000. For me, I would prefer to put that €80,000 for the basement into a nice above-ground feature and invest in the kitchen or other areas instead.
However, with dimensions of 10.2 x 9 meters (33.5 x 29.5 feet) and 40 cm (16 inches) exterior walls (Danwood apparently plans with 38 cm (15 inches) walls?), I arrive at just under 150/155 square meters (1615/1668 square feet).
That should actually be enough for a household of four people plus a large home office (large is relative), right? And if it’s not enough, you can always consider a single-story extension or even a two-story bay window. Overhangs on the upper floor are also attractive.
Fraumaunz schrieb:
We would like to persuade the two of them to be smart and simply build with a basement as well.
Personally, I would always want to avoid a basement. It only adds storage space after all. For me, it’s not worth it.
The question also is:
Fraumaunz schrieb:
The basement is non-negotiable for us.
Are you actually planning to build with Danwood? You also have to be blunt sometimes—if the basement is non-negotiable, can you even afford it?
155 square meters (1668 square feet) of living space costs €465,000, plus additional building costs of €40,000–50,000. A basement comes on top of that at €80,000. Then a carport, parking space for the children’s vehicles, and landscaping would also cost around €30,000–40,000. For me, I would prefer to put that €80,000 for the basement into a nice above-ground feature and invest in the kitchen or other areas instead.
F
Fraumaunz9 Apr 2025 20:18ypg schrieb:
Is it actually oriented north? And where is the street? What is that rectangular protrusion at the top left of the property? Yes, the property is oriented to true north. So the north shown on the image is accurate north. 😀 In case that was the question. The street runs along the northern edge of the property. It is a very quiet residential access road. The rectangular area at the top left is part of the extension for the cistern, which measures 6 x 6 meters (20 x 20 feet).
F
Fraumaunz9 Apr 2025 20:2211ant schrieb:
Absolutely. "If the lottery doesn’t pick my numbers, I’ll die immediately" – such a fatalistic attitude is unhealthy and will never have the strength to force supposed luck. By the way, you haven’t commented on the slope of the land yet.
I intentionally only mentioned the core idea briefly without a long explanation, because a partial basement is possible but uneconomical. The clearance must also consider the slope of the excavation pit, so 2 meters (6.5 feet) would roughly be the minimum (meaning your staircase would be fixed on the side facing away from the neighbor, although it would actually be much more cost-effective along the “shared” wall). This Pyrrhic victory doesn't have to be necessary. Rent space in a self-storage facility if you still need time to sort out flea market items and recycling materials. A basement just for clutter storage is far from the only option.
If a longer house footprint is allowed, that would be easier, as then the uniform profile could be abandoned in the extra length. But I don’t really see that as necessary here. Honestly, I don’t find this comment helpful at all... The plot is level ground, so there is no slope. The basement is important to us, and we are trying to find practical options for it. The current plan is either a) to discuss with the other party that as part of their earthworks they build a wall extending down to the end of our basement, or b) quickly reach an agreement with a builder and planner so that we can at least construct the basement before pouring the slab.
If you’re interested, you could copy and paste the text section of the development plan here or attach it (no links, as they are not allowed). Then we could take a look at what is possible. If you have the budget, I would always recommend building with a basement. The plot is small, so every square meter counts. And yes, it would be smart to build before the neighbor does. But for that, everything needs to go very smoothly.
F
Fraumaunz9 Apr 2025 20:26ypg schrieb:
So, I sketched the plot with some parameters. Although I’m usually against underground floors, I’m willing to support having a basement if there is a real need or desire for one. Because what use is a newly built house if it doesn’t offer enough space.
However, with dimensions of 10.2 x 9 meters (33.5 x 29.5 feet) and 40cm (16 inches) exterior walls (Danwood seems to plan with 38cm (15 inches) walls?), I come to just under 150/155 m² (1,615/1,667 sq ft).
That should actually be enough for a family of four plus a large home office (large is relative), right? And if that’s not enough, you could still plan for a single-story extension or even a two-story bay window. Overhangs on the upper floor are also attractive.
Personally, I would always want to avoid a basement. It only creates storage space, which isn’t worth it to me.
The question is also:
Do you actually want to build with Danwood?
You also have to be realistic—if a basement is non-negotiable, can you actually afford it?
155 m² (1,667 sq ft) of living space costs €465,000, plus additional construction costs of €40,000–50,000. The basement adds another €80,000 on top. Then a carport, parking spaces for the kids’ vehicles, and landscaping will also cost between €30,000 and 40,000. I would rather spend those €80,000 basement costs on above-ground improvements and invest in the kitchen and other areas. The living area would definitely not be 150 m² (1,615 sq ft), but rather around 135 m² (1,452 sq ft) including walls and staircases. Part of it is also that this is a really big project for us, and we don’t want to deviate too far from our expectations and wishes when building a house. We do need the space in the basement. It has to fit 2 children's rooms and 1.5 workspaces.
We don’t actually want to build with Danwood, but probably with a local builder. We already have a rough cost estimate of about €530,000 for the project including the basement, but we plan to get several offers in the coming days. Another prefab home manufacturer (not Danwood), with whom we were already in contact before the detailed planning, has proposed around €580,000 today. Around €550,000 would be our maximum budget.
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