ᐅ Looking for the optimal floor plan for a semi-detached house, 6.5 x 13 meters
Created on: 4 Mar 2026 11:42
S
Simon1988
Hello everyone,
We worked out the following two floor plans for the ground floor with our architect.
Semi-detached house with garage
Plot size 235 sqm (2,529 sq ft) – 10 m (33 ft) wide, 23.5 m (77 ft) long
Building envelope of 6.5 x 13 m (21 x 43 ft)
Terrace facing southwest
3-4 people (1-2 children)
We prefer design 8 with a niche directly to the right of the front door (as shown in design 9) and would plan the kitchen in a U-shape (we couldn’t fit a kitchen island visually with the 3.26 m (11 ft) wide window front).
In design 9, the U-shaped kitchen would be too elongated, so it probably wouldn’t look as nice visually.
We plan to integrate the washing machine and dryer in the bathroom on the upper floor and build without a utility room.
Do you have any tips or ideas on what we could improve, or what do you think of the floor plan in general?
Thanks and best regards,
We worked out the following two floor plans for the ground floor with our architect.
Semi-detached house with garage
Plot size 235 sqm (2,529 sq ft) – 10 m (33 ft) wide, 23.5 m (77 ft) long
Building envelope of 6.5 x 13 m (21 x 43 ft)
Terrace facing southwest
3-4 people (1-2 children)
We prefer design 8 with a niche directly to the right of the front door (as shown in design 9) and would plan the kitchen in a U-shape (we couldn’t fit a kitchen island visually with the 3.26 m (11 ft) wide window front).
In design 9, the U-shaped kitchen would be too elongated, so it probably wouldn’t look as nice visually.
We plan to integrate the washing machine and dryer in the bathroom on the upper floor and build without a utility room.
Do you have any tips or ideas on what we could improve, or what do you think of the floor plan in general?
Thanks and best regards,
S
Simon19885 Mar 2026 11:11Thanks for your feedback and tips :-)
We’re not too worried about storage options.
We will try to add a room for an office.
One parked car in the driveway is sufficient for us.
Thanks for the tip regarding the stairs. According to our research, you are right (why didn’t the architect advise against it?) and we will redesign with a quarter-turn or half-turn staircase with a tread depth of about 26 cm (10 inches) (floor height 2.88 m (9.45 ft)) – that should be enough, right?
A walk-in closet is not a must-have.
Repurposing is also due to uncertainty about having a second child.
You made us a bit concerned about the technical room behind the garage. I know many people who have built like this without any problems. Could the utility lines be routed alongside the street instead? If not, is 0.5 m (20 inches) of side clearance really insufficient (gas connection not required)?
Unfortunately, we cannot move the garage more toward the garden. Here is a variation with a utility room inside the house (the first room is usually best for short supply routes?). We worry that in this version there may be too little light in the open-plan living-dining area with kitchen from one side (we would still change the staircase).
We’re not too worried about storage options.
We will try to add a room for an office.
One parked car in the driveway is sufficient for us.
Thanks for the tip regarding the stairs. According to our research, you are right (why didn’t the architect advise against it?) and we will redesign with a quarter-turn or half-turn staircase with a tread depth of about 26 cm (10 inches) (floor height 2.88 m (9.45 ft)) – that should be enough, right?
A walk-in closet is not a must-have.
Repurposing is also due to uncertainty about having a second child.
You made us a bit concerned about the technical room behind the garage. I know many people who have built like this without any problems. Could the utility lines be routed alongside the street instead? If not, is 0.5 m (20 inches) of side clearance really insufficient (gas connection not required)?
Unfortunately, we cannot move the garage more toward the garden. Here is a variation with a utility room inside the house (the first room is usually best for short supply routes?). We worry that in this version there may be too little light in the open-plan living-dining area with kitchen from one side (we would still change the staircase).
Simon1988 schrieb:
Thanks for the tip about the staircase. According to my research, you’re right (why didn’t the architect advise against it?), and we will redesign to a quarter or half-turn staircase with a tread depth of about 26cm (10 inches) (floor height 2.88m (9 ft 5 in)) – that should be enough, right? Not about 26cm (10 inches), but exactly TWENTY-SEVEN (288:16 = 18/27). An architect who misses such essentials is incompetent (has never actually built).
Simon1988 schrieb:
You made us a bit worried about the technical room behind the garage. I know many people who built like that and have no problems. Could the utility connection not be laid on the side of the street? If not, is 0.5m (1.5 ft) of clearance on the side really not enough (gas connection not necessary)? Utility connections can only come from the street they are located on. Wireless water is not yet invented. The technical room as planned is well positioned.
Simon1988 schrieb:
A walk-in closet is not a must. This model occasionally includes a walk-in closet in the master bedroom, in the attic space, which you do not have here.
Why don’t you at least take a look now at the proven standard model, which you can find from all the usual suspects (Weisenburger, Wengerter, Werner, Brale, etc.), and @mayglow has also shown their (Tecklenburg) house here.
I still don’t understand how you can overlook a solution that the entire industry agrees on regarding how this works. In the GDB, member mineral water companies developed a common bottle (theoretically allowing one to refill another’s deposit bottles). With the "usual suspects" it’s different: each has developed an optimal standard townhouse, and the evolution of the results has yielded practically the same model today. You have to be quite foolish to want to create your own “unique” design within an almost identical framework. Your footprint is half a meter (1.5 feet) wider and half a meter longer than this standard (which costs no height with a flat roof), but you don’t have attic space. Sensible variations would be a more comfortable staircase (not the opposite!), more space in the wardrobe area, and a larger technical room. Now compare that to the shoddy work your "architect" has produced :-(
In the standard model, you’ll also find the duct shaft next to the dining table, which is missing in your design (wireless sewage, ROTFL).
Your "architect" has clearly never experienced structural engineering in real life, I’m sure of it. The simple CAD “house painting” programs lack a loud warning buzzer for missing installation planning. Add a general contractor who outsources everything that’s not nailed down, and you have a complete disaster. Only the client may be a layman when building; for everything else, you absolutely need professionals!
Simon1988 schrieb:
We will try to add a room for an office. I have to quote Albert Borland again: “I DON’T believe that, Tim!” :-)
You’ll have an office as long as K2 doesn’t want their own room. There’s no space in the attic or basement, nor anywhere else. No chance, really, I swear!
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Simon1988 schrieb:
We are not too concerned about storage options. Why not? You seem to be just starting your family life. Many here write from experience.
Simon1988 schrieb:
A car in the driveway is enough for us. It’s not just about what is “enough”...
Simon1988 schrieb:
Repurposing the space also relates to not knowing if we will have a second child Ah, so you are planning an extra room that might have to serve as a child’s room. Is the chance of a second child about 50:50?
Simon1988 schrieb:
I know many who built like this and have no problems. Why admit problems compared to others? Or why should you still be aware of the issues and worries of construction companies after the build is finished?
Check for yourself what kind of technical installations are included, whether there are still utility connections inside the house, and so on.
Also, reflect on whether you might be convincing yourself of something you actually don’t know.
Simon1988 schrieb:
Unfortunately, we cannot move the garage closer to the garden. Why not?
S
Simon19885 Mar 2026 22:10Next to the garage runs a street with house connections (semi-detached house on the corner).
With the option of having the utility room inside the house, we get very little natural light from one side (according to the building authority, we are not allowed to move the garage further back). Apart from longer supply lines and additional insulation, no one has been able to clearly explain to me the disadvantages of having the utility room behind the garage.
I have looked at several floor plans, and many are quite similar to ours.
With a different staircase, there are certainly more possibilities, especially since we like the rough sketch of the upper floor without wasted hallway space.
With the option of having the utility room inside the house, we get very little natural light from one side (according to the building authority, we are not allowed to move the garage further back). Apart from longer supply lines and additional insulation, no one has been able to clearly explain to me the disadvantages of having the utility room behind the garage.
I have looked at several floor plans, and many are quite similar to ours.
With a different staircase, there are certainly more possibilities, especially since we like the rough sketch of the upper floor without wasted hallway space.
Simon1988 schrieb:
I have looked at several floor plans, and many are actually quite similar to ours. I already hinted more than just a little that on this topic they all resemble each other like identical half-siblings ;-)
(and yet you still managed to take a wrong turn within the narrow range of possible variations).
Simon1988 schrieb:
Next to the garage runs a road with utility connections (semi-detached house on the corner). [...] Apart from longer service lines and additional insulation, unfortunately no one has been able to explain the specific disadvantages of having the utility room behind the garage. “Saying ‘apart from’ is easy, but in practice it’s no small matter. If the utility provider is willing to access it from the side, that’s good. You should insist that the architect plans the utility room and all service distribution inside the house in full detail – this was already suggested here, that she should clearly lay out all the technical equipment.
No one is trying to scare you here for no reason.
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ypg schrieb:
And check yourself to see whether you might be fooling yourself about something you actually don’t know. I can only repeat that once more.Simon1988 schrieb:
According to the building authority, we are not allowed to move the garage further back. Apart from longer utility lines and additional insulation, unfortunately no one has been able to clearly explain the disadvantages if the utility room is located behind the garage. I find that contradictory.Simon1988 schrieb:
dissimilar Dissimilar… all floor plans, except for custom architect-designed houses in the high-end segment, are quite similar. Similar means on a small area, moving a wall is almost equivalent to creating a dysfunctional layout. It is already a disaster to watch TV comfortably over a distance of more than 5 meters (16 feet), no matter how large the TV could be.Similar topics