ᐅ Floor plan design for a single-family house including basement and double garage
Created on: 16 Mar 2026 19:52
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Minerva121
Hello everyone,
I’m new here and would like to briefly introduce myself and especially the construction project in Franconia / Bavaria: We originally planned to start in 2022, but due to unexpected changes in my family situation, I put the project on hold. The plot was / is already owned by us (with an older building still standing – it still needs to be demolished), but the timing wasn’t right.
Now we are entering the second phase, and all signals are “green.”
The current floor plan was created back then; since then, we’ve had some minor change requests and questions, which I have added below. But first, some basic data about the floor plans (including basement).
Zoning plan / restrictions
Plot size: 676m² (rectangular, approx. 26m wide and 26m long (86ft by 86ft))
Slope: none, completely flat
Site occupancy ratio (floor area ratio): 0.4
Plot ratio (floor space index): 0.8
Building envelope, building line and boundary: A front garden area of 5.00m (16ft) depth is defined that must remain free of construction; the building envelope starts from this 5-meter line and extends over the rear parts of the plot. The building envelope covers most of the plot’s width, but setback distances to the side plot boundaries (usually open construction, 3m / 10ft) must be maintained.
Edge construction: As far as I can see, permitted for trash storage shed, garage, and bike shelter
Number of parking spaces: space for 2 cars planned
Number of floors allowed: 2 full storeys allowed
Roof type: Gable roof with a pitch between 20° and 35°
Design style: no specific requirements
Orientation: no specific requirements
Maximum heights / limits: Knee wall max 0.5m (1.6ft) measured from the top edge of the structural ceiling of the attic floor to where the exterior wall meets the roof covering; eaves height max 7.5m (25ft)
Additional requirements: roof extensions are allowed
Client requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: Gable roof house with relatively shallow roof slope, planned as a prefab house.
Basement, floors: basement planned; plus ground floor (GF) and upper floor (UF)
Number and age of occupants: 4 people (two adults around 45 years old, children aged 7 and 13)
Room requirements on GF, UF: GF --> living-dining area, guest toilet including small shower – ideally barrier-free, office (frequently used), small pantry (directly connected to kitchen), UF --> bathroom, 2 children's rooms, 1 bedroom with small walk-in closet, possibly small storage room, possibly small second workspace for occasional remote working by both adults (can usually be avoided).
Guest overnight stays per year: very few --> no guest room needed or could be solved with sofa bed in the office.
Open or closed architecture: GF rather open, UF rather closed
Conservative or modern construction: likely more conservative
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen with kitchen island, accessible from both sides.
Number of dining seats: dining table for 6 people
Fireplace: no (or optional)
Music / stereo system: flat-screen TV mounted on the wall in the living area
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: garage for two cars, with trash shed and bike shelter desired at the edge of the plot (but less urgent)
Utility garden, greenhouse: not planned
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, also explanations why certain things should or should not be: The desire is for a classic single-family home for a family of four with a permanent home office. Designed pragmatically, not fancy or architecturally elaborate. The house should be built as a “climate-friendly new construction.”
About the house design
Who is the designer?
Initial design by an independent architect based on our sketch
What do you particularly like? Why?
What don’t you like? Why?
Price estimate from architect / planner: no estimate yet
Personal price limit for the house including fittings: 750,000€ (house incl. basement, ancillary costs, kitchen, garage, driveway/terrace; demolition of the existing building is calculated separately)
Preferred heating system: heat pump
If you have to compromise, on which details / expansions?
Why is the design as it is?
We thought about room use in this family setup including home office needs, but we are not professionals. It is not something extravagant, just pragmatic.
Final comments
We appreciate honest assessments, tips, and constructive criticism – if we’ve missed important information, we’ll happily provide it. We plan to have the construction supervised by a prefab house expert, since we are complete novices regarding building inspections.
A heartfelt thanks in advance for your time and valuable feedback on our floor plan.
Minerva121
I’m new here and would like to briefly introduce myself and especially the construction project in Franconia / Bavaria: We originally planned to start in 2022, but due to unexpected changes in my family situation, I put the project on hold. The plot was / is already owned by us (with an older building still standing – it still needs to be demolished), but the timing wasn’t right.
Now we are entering the second phase, and all signals are “green.”
The current floor plan was created back then; since then, we’ve had some minor change requests and questions, which I have added below. But first, some basic data about the floor plans (including basement).
Zoning plan / restrictions
Plot size: 676m² (rectangular, approx. 26m wide and 26m long (86ft by 86ft))
Slope: none, completely flat
Site occupancy ratio (floor area ratio): 0.4
Plot ratio (floor space index): 0.8
Building envelope, building line and boundary: A front garden area of 5.00m (16ft) depth is defined that must remain free of construction; the building envelope starts from this 5-meter line and extends over the rear parts of the plot. The building envelope covers most of the plot’s width, but setback distances to the side plot boundaries (usually open construction, 3m / 10ft) must be maintained.
Edge construction: As far as I can see, permitted for trash storage shed, garage, and bike shelter
Number of parking spaces: space for 2 cars planned
Number of floors allowed: 2 full storeys allowed
Roof type: Gable roof with a pitch between 20° and 35°
Design style: no specific requirements
Orientation: no specific requirements
Maximum heights / limits: Knee wall max 0.5m (1.6ft) measured from the top edge of the structural ceiling of the attic floor to where the exterior wall meets the roof covering; eaves height max 7.5m (25ft)
Additional requirements: roof extensions are allowed
Client requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: Gable roof house with relatively shallow roof slope, planned as a prefab house.
Basement, floors: basement planned; plus ground floor (GF) and upper floor (UF)
Number and age of occupants: 4 people (two adults around 45 years old, children aged 7 and 13)
Room requirements on GF, UF: GF --> living-dining area, guest toilet including small shower – ideally barrier-free, office (frequently used), small pantry (directly connected to kitchen), UF --> bathroom, 2 children's rooms, 1 bedroom with small walk-in closet, possibly small storage room, possibly small second workspace for occasional remote working by both adults (can usually be avoided).
Guest overnight stays per year: very few --> no guest room needed or could be solved with sofa bed in the office.
Open or closed architecture: GF rather open, UF rather closed
Conservative or modern construction: likely more conservative
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen with kitchen island, accessible from both sides.
Number of dining seats: dining table for 6 people
Fireplace: no (or optional)
Music / stereo system: flat-screen TV mounted on the wall in the living area
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: garage for two cars, with trash shed and bike shelter desired at the edge of the plot (but less urgent)
Utility garden, greenhouse: not planned
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, also explanations why certain things should or should not be: The desire is for a classic single-family home for a family of four with a permanent home office. Designed pragmatically, not fancy or architecturally elaborate. The house should be built as a “climate-friendly new construction.”
About the house design
Who is the designer?
Initial design by an independent architect based on our sketch
What do you particularly like? Why?
- Most of our basic concept and wishes have been implemented and, in our opinion, successfully
- Well-balanced room layout on the upper floor
What don’t you like? Why?
- For cost reasons, we might reduce to approximately 150m² (1615 sq ft) because the room sizes overall seem quite generous
- We would no longer want a granny flat; the basement should be purely utility space, not living space
- Are windows really necessary in the basement?
- The guest toilet on the ground floor should be barrier-free
- The glass façades in the living area on the ground floor are too large for us: this increases costs and limits usable space for placing the sofa – which would have to be right in front of the glass façade, not ideal from our point of view
- The section shows we originally wanted an open sloped ceiling; since this was described by many prefab house providers in early talks as a “major cost driver,” we would waive it (which would mean the roof windows would also be omitted)
Price estimate from architect / planner: no estimate yet
Personal price limit for the house including fittings: 750,000€ (house incl. basement, ancillary costs, kitchen, garage, driveway/terrace; demolition of the existing building is calculated separately)
Preferred heating system: heat pump
If you have to compromise, on which details / expansions?
- Can do without: granny flat, open sloped ceiling, large glass fronts on the ground floor, overall floor area can be smaller
- Cannot do without: basement, kitchen island
Why is the design as it is?
We thought about room use in this family setup including home office needs, but we are not professionals. It is not something extravagant, just pragmatic.
Final comments
We appreciate honest assessments, tips, and constructive criticism – if we’ve missed important information, we’ll happily provide it. We plan to have the construction supervised by a prefab house expert, since we are complete novices regarding building inspections.
A heartfelt thanks in advance for your time and valuable feedback on our floor plan.
Minerva121
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nordanney19 Mar 2026 14:59motorradsilke schrieb:
Then for year-round use, you have to insulate and heat the extension. No, that’s not necessarily required. A small space heater can cover the occasional need. It’s "just" a small garage extension. You can already buy these ready-made.
The exercise room is of course meant to stay inside the house – that’s why it’s an "additional" space.
The basement utility room is also uninsulated and unfinished. I actually doubt it is regularly (comfortably) usable.
The advantage of having an extension or shed is that you can add it later when the budget allows (as was mentioned here).
Hobbies like woodworking and sports usually don’t resume immediately after moving in, since there are many other tasks to complete outside, such as landscaping. If after three years you still have the desire or need, you can build (or have built) a shed.
If woodworking at a workbench is meant, I doubt this would be practical in a basement, since it’s difficult to bring materials downstairs and circular saws tend to produce a lot of dust.
Also, if you have a garden, a dedicated sports room is not necessarily required.
Hobbies like woodworking and sports usually don’t resume immediately after moving in, since there are many other tasks to complete outside, such as landscaping. If after three years you still have the desire or need, you can build (or have built) a shed.
If woodworking at a workbench is meant, I doubt this would be practical in a basement, since it’s difficult to bring materials downstairs and circular saws tend to produce a lot of dust.
Also, if you have a garden, a dedicated sports room is not necessarily required.
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motorradsilke20 Mar 2026 10:58nordanney schrieb:
No, it’s not absolutely necessary. A small space heater for the respective need. “Just” a small extension of the garage. You can already buy these ready-made. The gym room should of course stay inside the house – that’s why it’s an “additional” space.
The basement for storage is also uninsulated and unfinished. I even doubt its regular (comfortable) usability there. A basement is naturally insulated by being located underground. Even without heating, you’ll never have below-freezing temperatures there. It will warm up faster and more effectively than a garden shed.
It depends on what you want to use the space for. Sure, a space heater is enough to quickly put something together for the house. But you wouldn’t want to spend hours pursuing a hobby down there.
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nordanney20 Mar 2026 12:44motorradsilke schrieb:
It depends on what you want to do there. Sure, for quickly putting something together for the house, a portable electric heater is enough. But you won’t want to spend hours pursuing a hobby there. Nonsense. Many prefabricated garage suppliers deliver insulated garages with an extension. With windows and natural daylight. Faster and more affordable than heating a basement (also smaller area). You can try to convince yourself that a cold, dark utility basement is nice ;-)
But a 9 sqm (97 sq ft) insulated extension with power connection and windows, fully equipped for 5-8k, is and remains a very attractive alternative if the budget doesn’t allow for a basement.
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motorradsilke20 Mar 2026 17:59nordanney schrieb:
Oh, nonsense. Many prefabricated garage suppliers provide you with an insulated garage with an extension. With a window and natural light. Faster and cheaper than a heated basement (since the area is smaller). You can try to put a positive spin on the cold and dark utility basement ;-)
But a 9sqm (97 square feet) insulated extension with electrical connection and window, fully equipped for 5,000 to 8,000, is and remains a very attractive alternative when the budget for a basement isn’t enough. You wrote above (post 31) that the extension doesn’t need to be insulated. Now you’re talking about an insulated extension. Of course, that changes things.
However, in my case, the basement would also be heated and have windows.
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nordanney20 Mar 2026 19:24motorradsilke schrieb:
However, a basement in my case would also be heated and have windows. The only thing missing here is the money…
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