ᐅ Single-family house floor plan, slight hillside location, northwest orientation
Created on: 23 May 2025 18:30
K
kronos215
Hello everyone,
We have almost finalized our planning with the architect and would appreciate you taking a critical look at the floor plan. Afterwards, we plan to proceed with the tendering process.
We generally like the ground floor (GF) very much. However, we are considering flipping the house and making some changes to the upper floor (UF). The garage, utility room, and technical room would move to the right, and the entire house would be shifted closer to the neighbor’s hedge on the left side (3m (10 feet) distance). The living room would then be on the left. It’s unclear whether the view of the neighbor’s hedge at a 3m (10 feet) distance will be nicer. On the positive side, the house would be better oriented towards the south and would let in more sunlight. The kitchen would then be on the right, providing wind protection from the open field while still allowing sunlight to reach the terrace.
Corner plot, one neighbor on the left, fields to the back and right
Ground floor area: 99m2 (without terrace), garage 30m2
Upper floor area: 78m2 (from 1.5m (5 feet))
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size
approx. 750m2
Slope
Yes, uphill on the mountain side. There is a manhole cover on the street in front of the plot and one behind it. The elevation difference between the covers is about 3m. The plot initially rises about 1m (3 feet) above the sidewalk and
Edge development
Yes, it’s a corner plot. There is a neighbor on the left side. Behind the house and to the right is a field path and fields.
Number of parking spaces
The adjacent street should provide sufficient parking spaces. A garage is also planned.
Number of stories
According to the development plan, 1.5-story houses are permitted.
Roof type
According to the development plan, only gable roofs are allowed.
Orientation
Northwest
Maximum heights / limits
According to the development plan, the house must be built exactly in this alignment
Requirements of the homeowners
Style, roof shape, building type
Country house style, gable roof (eaves facing the street), single-family home
Basement, number of floors
A basement was initially planned but was dropped due to budget. 1.5 floors are allowed and planned as per the development plan.
Number of occupants, age
Two adults, early 30s, no children yet but a child’s room is planned
Space requirements on GF, UF
GF: Garage, entrance hall, office 1, kitchen, living room, dining room, pantry, technical room, utility room, guest bathroom with shower
UF: Bedroom, child’s room, office 2, bathroom, storage room (planned due to no basement)
Office: family use or home office?
Both offices are currently needed for work.
Overnight guests per year
Very rarely or none
According to the development plan, 1.5-story houses are allowed
Somewhat open
Conservative or modern construction
Modern (?)
Open kitchen, cooking island
Open kitchen planned, cooking island desired but dropped due to space constraints
Number of dining seats
6, preferably expandable to 10
Fireplace
Desired and planned as a partition between dining and living room
Music / stereo wall
Desired; a niche in the living room works well for this
Balcony, roof terrace
Desired but dropped for budget reasons
Garage, carport
Planned; it is questionable whether the garage should instead be located on the right to avoid blocking the south side.
House design
Who is responsible for the design?
Architect
What do you particularly like? Why?
The open living and dining area. The open view of the fields.
The dormer on the upper floor.
What do you dislike? Why?
The corridor on the upper floor feels dark. Many skylights are planned (knee wall 80cm (31 inches) per development plan, gable roof with eaves facing the street).
The ground floor might also be dark. The garage is located on the south side. The windows facing the fields are towards the northeast.
Skylights block the option for photovoltaic panels and the attic space.
The storage room feels out of place.
Since a basement was initially planned, a hobby room was also considered, but this has been dropped.
The master bed is directly adjacent to the child’s room, but the bedroom must remain there.
Price estimate according to architect:
€540,000 (we find this optimistic; we expect higher costs and would thus like to make the floor plan more compact)
Personal price limit for house including fixtures and fittings:
€550,000 (all-in)
Preferred heating technology:
Heat pump
If you had to give up something, which details / expansions
-you could give up: a two-story open space was planned but removed, storage room on the upper floor (is it really necessary?), the GF could generally be smaller to save costs
-you cannot give up: large windows on the GF, open living-dining area, access to the house via garage and utility room, fireplace, pantry
Why has the design turned out this way?E.g.
Which wishes were implemented by the architect? The architect implemented the room concept well and incorporated many of his own ideas that we mostly find coherent.
What do you consider particularly good or bad about it? We like the ground floor very much; there is still potential for changes on the upper floor. We would also like another dormer above the entrance door, but this does not seem possible due to the development plan (the upper floor would become a full story if too much area is covered by dormers). The study could then be where the storage room currently is. The storage room could become a combined storage and hobby room.
We are grateful for any input and suggestions. We are particularly concerned about the south orientation. We do not want the rooms to become too dark.
We have almost finalized our planning with the architect and would appreciate you taking a critical look at the floor plan. Afterwards, we plan to proceed with the tendering process.
We generally like the ground floor (GF) very much. However, we are considering flipping the house and making some changes to the upper floor (UF). The garage, utility room, and technical room would move to the right, and the entire house would be shifted closer to the neighbor’s hedge on the left side (3m (10 feet) distance). The living room would then be on the left. It’s unclear whether the view of the neighbor’s hedge at a 3m (10 feet) distance will be nicer. On the positive side, the house would be better oriented towards the south and would let in more sunlight. The kitchen would then be on the right, providing wind protection from the open field while still allowing sunlight to reach the terrace.
Corner plot, one neighbor on the left, fields to the back and right
Ground floor area: 99m2 (without terrace), garage 30m2
Upper floor area: 78m2 (from 1.5m (5 feet))
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size
approx. 750m2
Slope
Yes, uphill on the mountain side. There is a manhole cover on the street in front of the plot and one behind it. The elevation difference between the covers is about 3m. The plot initially rises about 1m (3 feet) above the sidewalk and
Edge development
Yes, it’s a corner plot. There is a neighbor on the left side. Behind the house and to the right is a field path and fields.
Number of parking spaces
The adjacent street should provide sufficient parking spaces. A garage is also planned.
Number of stories
According to the development plan, 1.5-story houses are permitted.
Roof type
According to the development plan, only gable roofs are allowed.
Orientation
Northwest
Maximum heights / limits
According to the development plan, the house must be built exactly in this alignment
Requirements of the homeowners
Style, roof shape, building type
Country house style, gable roof (eaves facing the street), single-family home
Basement, number of floors
A basement was initially planned but was dropped due to budget. 1.5 floors are allowed and planned as per the development plan.
Number of occupants, age
Two adults, early 30s, no children yet but a child’s room is planned
Space requirements on GF, UF
GF: Garage, entrance hall, office 1, kitchen, living room, dining room, pantry, technical room, utility room, guest bathroom with shower
UF: Bedroom, child’s room, office 2, bathroom, storage room (planned due to no basement)
Office: family use or home office?
Both offices are currently needed for work.
Overnight guests per year
Very rarely or none
According to the development plan, 1.5-story houses are allowed
Somewhat open
Conservative or modern construction
Modern (?)
Open kitchen, cooking island
Open kitchen planned, cooking island desired but dropped due to space constraints
Number of dining seats
6, preferably expandable to 10
Fireplace
Desired and planned as a partition between dining and living room
Music / stereo wall
Desired; a niche in the living room works well for this
Balcony, roof terrace
Desired but dropped for budget reasons
Garage, carport
Planned; it is questionable whether the garage should instead be located on the right to avoid blocking the south side.
House design
Who is responsible for the design?
Architect
What do you particularly like? Why?
The open living and dining area. The open view of the fields.
The dormer on the upper floor.
What do you dislike? Why?
The corridor on the upper floor feels dark. Many skylights are planned (knee wall 80cm (31 inches) per development plan, gable roof with eaves facing the street).
The ground floor might also be dark. The garage is located on the south side. The windows facing the fields are towards the northeast.
Skylights block the option for photovoltaic panels and the attic space.
The storage room feels out of place.
Since a basement was initially planned, a hobby room was also considered, but this has been dropped.
The master bed is directly adjacent to the child’s room, but the bedroom must remain there.
Price estimate according to architect:
€540,000 (we find this optimistic; we expect higher costs and would thus like to make the floor plan more compact)
Personal price limit for house including fixtures and fittings:
€550,000 (all-in)
Preferred heating technology:
Heat pump
If you had to give up something, which details / expansions
-you could give up: a two-story open space was planned but removed, storage room on the upper floor (is it really necessary?), the GF could generally be smaller to save costs
-you cannot give up: large windows on the GF, open living-dining area, access to the house via garage and utility room, fireplace, pantry
Why has the design turned out this way?E.g.
Which wishes were implemented by the architect? The architect implemented the room concept well and incorporated many of his own ideas that we mostly find coherent.
What do you consider particularly good or bad about it? We like the ground floor very much; there is still potential for changes on the upper floor. We would also like another dormer above the entrance door, but this does not seem possible due to the development plan (the upper floor would become a full story if too much area is covered by dormers). The study could then be where the storage room currently is. The storage room could become a combined storage and hobby room.
We are grateful for any input and suggestions. We are particularly concerned about the south orientation. We do not want the rooms to become too dark.
kronos215 schrieb:
Number of Parking Spaces
The adjacent street should provide enough parking spaces. A garage is also planned.How many parking spaces does your development plan require per housing unit? You have planned one parking space since the area in front of the garage is usually not considered a separate parking space. Many development plans require 1.5 or 2 parking spaces per housing unit.K
kronos21524 May 2025 08:5011ant schrieb:
so far, the original poster has not explained where the unusual value comes from: 24 cm (9.5 inches) masonry plus 10 cm (4 inches) insulation? – the planner must have had some reason for this It has not yet been decided whether to use wood or masonry. However, we are strongly leaning towards a timber house. We are not professionals and have accepted the wall thicknesses as reasonable.
11ant schrieb:
So the request for proposals does not actually refer to anything like that, but rather to a price inquiry involving only general contractors delivering a turnkey building? And is an Excel formula supposed to determine the winner of the selection process? A price inquiry is meant. We do not want to commission individual trades because we want to avoid coordinating them ourselves and prefer to have everything from a single source (also regarding the warranty).
hanse987 schrieb:
How many parking spaces does your development plan require per residential unit? This is not defined; there is no paragraph regarding this. The plan dates back to the 1960s.
The property is the only one on a short side street. Apart from legal building regulations, parking spaces should not pose practical or everyday problems here.
I want to mention that the cost estimate of €540,000 is based on a price of €2,300 per square meter (approximately 214 per square foot) plus additional costs. This seems clearly too low to me.
I am increasingly inclined to go with a standard floor plan. The budget is "only" €550,000, and confidence in a new and successful architectural design is relatively low.
Isn’t the main weakness of the design the placement of the staircase? It seems to me that by running from left to right, the entire house is divided into "north" and "south" sections. The rooms are arranged above and below the staircase. However, on the upper floor, there is the sloping roof and the challenge of a low knee wall. The result is a very large dormer on the north side and four skylights on the south side.
K
kronos21524 May 2025 09:07Rotated 90 degrees to the left, this ground floor plan at first glance seems to better meet our desire for more natural light.
The garage could likely be connected to the utility room on the right. Protrusions could be reduced and/or relocated.
Unfortunately, this means losing the larger window front on the right facing the fields. However, achieving both is hardly feasible (open to the south on the left for sunlight, open to the right for the view, and at the same time connecting a garage with a 5m (16 feet) distance to the street).
The garage could likely be connected to the utility room on the right. Protrusions could be reduced and/or relocated.
Unfortunately, this means losing the larger window front on the right facing the fields. However, achieving both is hardly feasible (open to the south on the left for sunlight, open to the right for the view, and at the same time connecting a garage with a 5m (16 feet) distance to the street).
kronos215 schrieb:
this is not defined; there is no paragraph addressing this.Then the parking space regulation of your country applies.kronos215 schrieb:
tilted 90 degrees to the left Since south is at the bottom left around 7 o’clock and you have fields to the north and east, but road noise in the east, I would choose this orientation.
The garage would then be placed in the angled east side, about 3 meters (10 feet) deep at the front, getting wider towards the back.
It needs to be clarified whether the garage has to align with the building line or if it can be set back.
The position of the entrance will depend on this. Then the side rooms should be arranged differently... the staircase would also need to be relocated and adjusted to the roof slope. At least here it has the correct orientation (eaves/ridge).
If the garage and entrance are close together, you can do without a secondary corridor through the utility room (to keep it tidy). Combine the utility room and pantry. That works. Or locate the utility room in the additional square meters gained in the attic level. Ultimately, some square meters should be saved as well. The living room is too large. Well, that can be trimmed down. The increased depth of the house can be better utilized under the roof. But some areas will have to be compacted.
K
kronos21524 May 2025 11:21ypg schrieb:
Since south is basically at 7 o’clock on the floor plan and you have fields to the north and east, but road noise to the east, I would go with this orientation
[ATTACH alt="IMG_0742.jpeg"]91535[/ATTACH]
The garage would then be positioned in the angled east side, about three meters (10 feet) deep at the front and wider towards the back.
It needs to be clarified whether the garage must align with the building line or if it can be set back.
The entrance location will depend on that. Then the ancillary rooms would have to be arranged differently, and the staircase would also need to move and conform to the roof slope. At least here, it already follows the correct direction (eaves/ridge).
If the garage and entrance are close together, avoid a second hallway through the utility room to keep it clean. Combine utility room and pantry. That works. Or locate the utility room in the extra square meters in the attic. Ultimately, some square meters should be saved. The living room is too large. Well, that can be adjusted. The increased depth of the house can be better utilized under the roof. But some areas probably need to be compressed. Thank you for the suggestion. However, I have the impression that the terrace might feel a bit cramped between the neighbor’s hedge—which starts exactly at the property line—and our own house wall. Also, unless it is midsummer with the sun high in the sky, I imagine that the shadow cast by the neighbor’s building and the hedge would leave only a few meters of sunlight. The hedge is about 1.50 meters (5 feet) tall and would be approximately 3 meters (10 feet) away from the house if the house width remains unchanged.
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