ᐅ Floor Plan: Preliminary Draft from the Prefabricated House Supplier is Available
Created on: 20 Aug 2015 21:49
K
krachbummsK
krachbumms20 Aug 2015 21:49Hello dear experts!
We now have the 5th preliminary draft from our prefab house provider on the table, and the list of our correction requests is noticeably getting shorter.
It’s time to ask the true experts for their opinions.
We won’t (or can’t) change the basic floor plan concept anymore, as we want/need to submit the building permit/planning application soon. But maybe you still have tips, warnings, or new ideas regarding details.
Secretly, I hope this thing will be approved more or less favorably by you – but many here have hoped the same and were bitterly disappointed.
Important to know:
Child 2 will not have a children’s room but a combined dressing room, storage space, and guest room.
Up to this draft, we had planned a 3.75x1.50m (12.3x4.9 ft) bay window (external dimensions) in the dining area, which we wanted to furnish as a dining nook with built-in seating by a carpenter.
Since we fear the costs might spiral out of control, we wanted to see if and how this could also work without the bay window. The final decision for or against the bay will be made once we know how much savings dropping it would bring. My impression: not super spacious, but it works.
I am particularly interested in your feedback on the following details (besides anything else you might notice):
- Narrow doors for the guest toilet and utility room on the ground floor – problematic or totally okay?
- Staircase: better open for light transparency, or with risers and a front wall so you don’t have to look under the stairs every time you come from the living room? How practical or useless is the storage space under an open staircase (without a front wall) in reality?
- How and exactly where is the best way to design the access to the living room: front / middle? Single or double doors? No door at all, just a wide open passage (also to bring light into the hallway)?
- We chose an extremely wide kitchen layout, partly because with the open floor plan you can basically see from the street all the way to the living room sofa. Additionally, there is an option to install roller blinds (Raufstores) in the kitchen (the bay window or dining room window will definitely get Venetian blinds).
- We have worked a long time on the layout of the sanitary fixtures in the upstairs bathroom and were never 100% happy. What is your opinion on the current state? Any improvement suggestions?
- There are nicer things than the niche under the sloped ceiling in Child 1 - definitely. But it’s there, and we wonder how to use it more sensibly: in a children’s room (e.g., as a sleeping place, cozy corner, later maybe a desk) or in a dressing room?
- We originally did not want floor-to-ceiling windows facing the street, but we fear dark rooms even more... The alternative would be windows with a low parapet – but these have only about 2.5 sqm (27 sqft) of glass area instead of 3.3 sqm (36 sqft)...
By now, we are so blind from working on this that I can hardly judge whether this outdoor view is harmonious or not...
Many thanks for your interest and all feedback!
-------------------------------------------
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 500 sqm (5382 sqft)
Building envelope, building line and boundary: 15m (49 ft 3 in) deep (excluding extensions), setbacks 3m (9 ft 10 in) from street and sides
Other requirements: 70s style constraints
Homeowners’ requirements: 2 adults, 1 toddler. Office on the ground floor, shower on the ground floor, at least one large built-in closet, high ceilings (275cm (9 ft) on ground floor), entrance on the gable side, “sunny” (house and garden should face the sunny side)
Style, roof shape, building type: classic-modern, gable roof, single-family house
Basement, stories: no basement, 1.5 stories
Number of occupants, ages: 2 x approx. 40, 1 x under 5
Space requirements ground floor / upper floor: total 120-150 sqm (1292-1615 sqft)
Office: family use or home office? Home office
Guest sleepers per year: 1
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern construction: rather modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: yes (option should exist to convert to closed kitchen in the future if needed)
Number of dining seats: 1
Garage, carport: prefab garage 4x9m (13x30 ft)
House design
Who designed it: customized prefab house (timber frame)
What do you particularly like? The implementation of our requirements
What do you not like? The sloped ceilings due to the low knee wall (building regulation), windowless staircase, narrow entrance hall, rooms on the garden side of ground floor (office and living room) are rather small, niche in Child 1 behind the stairwell, inspection shafts directly in front of the front door
Price estimate according to architect/designer: 230-250K (technical completion excluding sanitary, painting and flooring)
Personal price limit for the house, including fittings: 350-400K including additional construction costs, interior finishing, garden, kitchen & more
Preferred heating technology: gas condensing boiler, underfloor heating, mechanical ventilation with humidity recovery
If you had to give up on some details or extensions, which ones?
- Could be given up: possibly the bay window, possibly the shower on the ground floor
- Cannot be given up: built-in closet, office on the ground floor
We now have the 5th preliminary draft from our prefab house provider on the table, and the list of our correction requests is noticeably getting shorter.
It’s time to ask the true experts for their opinions.
We won’t (or can’t) change the basic floor plan concept anymore, as we want/need to submit the building permit/planning application soon. But maybe you still have tips, warnings, or new ideas regarding details.
Secretly, I hope this thing will be approved more or less favorably by you – but many here have hoped the same and were bitterly disappointed.
Important to know:
Child 2 will not have a children’s room but a combined dressing room, storage space, and guest room.
Up to this draft, we had planned a 3.75x1.50m (12.3x4.9 ft) bay window (external dimensions) in the dining area, which we wanted to furnish as a dining nook with built-in seating by a carpenter.
Since we fear the costs might spiral out of control, we wanted to see if and how this could also work without the bay window. The final decision for or against the bay will be made once we know how much savings dropping it would bring. My impression: not super spacious, but it works.
I am particularly interested in your feedback on the following details (besides anything else you might notice):
- Narrow doors for the guest toilet and utility room on the ground floor – problematic or totally okay?
- Staircase: better open for light transparency, or with risers and a front wall so you don’t have to look under the stairs every time you come from the living room? How practical or useless is the storage space under an open staircase (without a front wall) in reality?
- How and exactly where is the best way to design the access to the living room: front / middle? Single or double doors? No door at all, just a wide open passage (also to bring light into the hallway)?
- We chose an extremely wide kitchen layout, partly because with the open floor plan you can basically see from the street all the way to the living room sofa. Additionally, there is an option to install roller blinds (Raufstores) in the kitchen (the bay window or dining room window will definitely get Venetian blinds).
- We have worked a long time on the layout of the sanitary fixtures in the upstairs bathroom and were never 100% happy. What is your opinion on the current state? Any improvement suggestions?
- There are nicer things than the niche under the sloped ceiling in Child 1 - definitely. But it’s there, and we wonder how to use it more sensibly: in a children’s room (e.g., as a sleeping place, cozy corner, later maybe a desk) or in a dressing room?
- We originally did not want floor-to-ceiling windows facing the street, but we fear dark rooms even more... The alternative would be windows with a low parapet – but these have only about 2.5 sqm (27 sqft) of glass area instead of 3.3 sqm (36 sqft)...
By now, we are so blind from working on this that I can hardly judge whether this outdoor view is harmonious or not...
Many thanks for your interest and all feedback!
-------------------------------------------
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 500 sqm (5382 sqft)
Building envelope, building line and boundary: 15m (49 ft 3 in) deep (excluding extensions), setbacks 3m (9 ft 10 in) from street and sides
Other requirements: 70s style constraints
Homeowners’ requirements: 2 adults, 1 toddler. Office on the ground floor, shower on the ground floor, at least one large built-in closet, high ceilings (275cm (9 ft) on ground floor), entrance on the gable side, “sunny” (house and garden should face the sunny side)
Style, roof shape, building type: classic-modern, gable roof, single-family house
Basement, stories: no basement, 1.5 stories
Number of occupants, ages: 2 x approx. 40, 1 x under 5
Space requirements ground floor / upper floor: total 120-150 sqm (1292-1615 sqft)
Office: family use or home office? Home office
Guest sleepers per year: 1
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern construction: rather modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: yes (option should exist to convert to closed kitchen in the future if needed)
Number of dining seats: 1
Garage, carport: prefab garage 4x9m (13x30 ft)
House design
Who designed it: customized prefab house (timber frame)
What do you particularly like? The implementation of our requirements
What do you not like? The sloped ceilings due to the low knee wall (building regulation), windowless staircase, narrow entrance hall, rooms on the garden side of ground floor (office and living room) are rather small, niche in Child 1 behind the stairwell, inspection shafts directly in front of the front door
Price estimate according to architect/designer: 230-250K (technical completion excluding sanitary, painting and flooring)
Personal price limit for the house, including fittings: 350-400K including additional construction costs, interior finishing, garden, kitchen & more
Preferred heating technology: gas condensing boiler, underfloor heating, mechanical ventilation with humidity recovery
If you had to give up on some details or extensions, which ones?
- Could be given up: possibly the bay window, possibly the shower on the ground floor
- Cannot be given up: built-in closet, office on the ground floor
- A 25 cm (10 inch) tread width is rather narrow.
- The hallway will feel somewhat like a cave—especially since the staircase is located there.
- Do you have at least 65 cm (25.5 inches) behind the door in the upstairs bedroom for the wardrobe row? Prepare for a more expensive wardrobe—at least if it should be longer than 2 m (6.6 ft).
- When your child grows, they won’t have a comfortable time waking up in that niche.
- The hallway upstairs continues the cave-like atmosphere nicely.
- Child 1’s room might be a bit dark at the back of the space.
- Does the heating circuit distributor interrupt the wall between the children’s room and the parents’ bedroom?
- The elevations are unspectacular... but well.
- The area in front of the dining table is not floor-to-ceiling glass? Is there a garden there? The open-plan living and dining area seems too dark for me.
- It’s unclear if the shower on the ground floor is really necessary.
- Is the staircase correct? 17 steps at 18.7 cm (7.4 inch) rise each would be 3.14 m (10.3 ft) total—do you have 3-meter (9.8 ft) high ceilings? It looks quite large somehow.
Conclusion: It’s not a disaster, but it feels somewhat cramped and plain. Some ideas might follow shortly.
- The hallway will feel somewhat like a cave—especially since the staircase is located there.
- Do you have at least 65 cm (25.5 inches) behind the door in the upstairs bedroom for the wardrobe row? Prepare for a more expensive wardrobe—at least if it should be longer than 2 m (6.6 ft).
- When your child grows, they won’t have a comfortable time waking up in that niche.
- The hallway upstairs continues the cave-like atmosphere nicely.
- Child 1’s room might be a bit dark at the back of the space.
- Does the heating circuit distributor interrupt the wall between the children’s room and the parents’ bedroom?
- The elevations are unspectacular... but well.
- The area in front of the dining table is not floor-to-ceiling glass? Is there a garden there? The open-plan living and dining area seems too dark for me.
- It’s unclear if the shower on the ground floor is really necessary.
- Is the staircase correct? 17 steps at 18.7 cm (7.4 inch) rise each would be 3.14 m (10.3 ft) total—do you have 3-meter (9.8 ft) high ceilings? It looks quite large somehow.
Conclusion: It’s not a disaster, but it feels somewhat cramped and plain. Some ideas might follow shortly.
Child 1 will have a dark corner in the room. I would consider adding a skylight there.
The space under the stairs should always be used for storage. You can still place a cupboard or dresser in front of it. If the dresser is placed directly under the stairs, it can often cause head injuries. Also, the lowest steps tend to become an unattractive storage spot for clutter and shoes.
The dining/living area seems definitely too small to me. The combined kitchen/dining/living space reminds me more of a terraced house than a detached house. If the budget allows, I would consider adding a bay window here. It doesn’t have to extend across the entire house; you can simply extend the roof over this section. Overall, though, the space should still work.
To bring light into the hallway on the upper floor, you can use skylights in the bathroom, for example. We did that ourselves, and the difference is remarkable. Another option is a daylight spotlight.
The space under the stairs should always be used for storage. You can still place a cupboard or dresser in front of it. If the dresser is placed directly under the stairs, it can often cause head injuries. Also, the lowest steps tend to become an unattractive storage spot for clutter and shoes.
The dining/living area seems definitely too small to me. The combined kitchen/dining/living space reminds me more of a terraced house than a detached house. If the budget allows, I would consider adding a bay window here. It doesn’t have to extend across the entire house; you can simply extend the roof over this section. Overall, though, the space should still work.
To bring light into the hallway on the upper floor, you can use skylights in the bathroom, for example. We did that ourselves, and the difference is remarkable. Another option is a daylight spotlight.
Maybe an idea: door from living room to hallway – double glass door, floor-to-ceiling window in front of the dining table about 3m (10 feet) tall, without a bay window it should fit space-wise.
I would possibly design the kitchen without the peninsula – more like a U-shape – stove facing the garden (southeast direction) and without a door.
I would possibly design the kitchen without the peninsula – more like a U-shape – stove facing the garden (southeast direction) and without a door.
K
krachbumms20 Aug 2015 23:11BeHaElJa schrieb:
- 25 cm (10 inches) tread width is rather narrow
- Do you have at least 65 cm (25½ inches) space in the upstairs bedroom behind the door for the wardrobe row? Be prepared for a more expensive wardrobe – at least if it should be longer than 2 m (6 ft 7 inches) There is enough space. However, we are more likely to place a chest of drawers in the bedroom than a wardrobe. What do you mean by the wardrobe being expensive? I don’t see anything that would prevent a regular wardrobe (like a Pax or similar).
BeHaElJa schrieb:
- When your child 1 grows up, the niche won’t be a very pleasant spot to get up I was thinking more of a lounge corner there, where you can listen to music or read a book.
BeHaElJa schrieb:
- The upstairs hallway continues the cave-like atmosphere nicely The question is how to best brighten up the hallway. Light comes in at the front door, and somehow we need to incorporate glass from the office or living area. Upstairs, we are thinking of a frosted glass door or transom for the bathroom...
BeHaElJa schrieb:
- Child 1 might end up a bit gloomy at the back of the room
- Does the heating manifold interrupt the wall between the child’s room and the parents’ bedroom!? Hopefully not!!!
- Views are unspectacular… but oh well
BeHaElJa schrieb:
- Not floor-to-ceiling glass in front of the dining table? Is there a garden there? The combined living and dining area would feel too dark for me
- Unclear if the shower on the ground floor is necessary We also asked ourselves whether to have floor-to-ceiling glass in the dining area—but does it make sense if the table is placed right in front of it, possibly even pushed directly against the window (we are just three people on a daily basis). And yes, there is about 6 m (20 feet) of garden there.
BeHaElJa schrieb:
- Does the staircase add up? 17 risers at 18.7 cm (7.4 inches) would be 3.14 m (10 ft 4 inches) – do you have 3 m (9 ft 10 inches) high ceilings? It also looks quite large somehow. The ground floor ceiling height is 275 cm (9 ft). I really hope the staircase calculation is correct :O
BeHaElJa schrieb:
Conclusion: It’s not a disaster, but somehow feels cramped and plain. Maybe some ideas will follow. Phew, those are harsh words. We actually enlarged the house recently – but somewhere I resist generating even more space for just 3 people and even more expenses.
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