ᐅ Floor Plan Optimization (Single-Family Home, 1.5 Stories)

Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 561m2 (6039 ft2)
Slope: yes, from street (south) to end of property (north) approximately 4 meters (13 feet) elevation difference
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.4
Gross floor area ratio (GFAR): 0.8
Building setback line / building line / boundary: 15 meters (49 feet)
Edge development

Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of storeys: 2
Roof type: SD, KWD, WD, VPD (17 - 45°)
Architectural style: open
Orientation: north
Maximum height / limits: eaves height max. 5.10 meters (17 feet), ridge height max. 10.60 meters (35 feet)

Owners’ Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: open, SD, single-family house
Basement, storeys: no basement, 1.5 storeys
Number of occupants, age: 2 (26, 28)
Room requirements on ground floor / upper floor: large kitchen / living / dining area, 2 offices, technical room / utility room / pantry, guest bathroom, wardrobe, bedroom including dressing room, bathroom, 2 children’s rooms
Office use: family use or home office? Home office
Guest overnight stays per year: 2
Open or closed architecture: closed
Conservative or modern construction: modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen with island
Number of dining seats: 8
Fireplace: no
Music / stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: yes, on the left side of the house (property boundary) – garage and house to be connected
Utility garden, greenhouse: no

House Design
Design by:
- Architect
- Do-it-yourself and consultations with consultant from the prefab house company
What do you particularly like? Why?
- Large dining-living area. We have a big family, and many people gather for celebrations etc. Two separate offices are also very helpful as you can work undisturbed.
- Kitchen located on the left so groceries can be put away directly through the door to the carport.
What do you not like? Why?
- We generally like the floor plan. We just want your opinions and to identify potential areas for improvement. Maybe also points we have completely overlooked.
Price estimate according to architect/planner: $460,000 including $100,000 for the plot, excluding $80,000 of own work (electrical, heating, drywall, doors)
Personal price limit for the house, including fixtures: There is no real limit. Financing is already secured. We are currently in the planning phase.
Preferred heating technology: heat pump (WP)

If you have to give things up, which details / additions
- can you give up: stair shape, guest bathroom size, utility room size
- cannot give up: two offices, two children’s rooms, large kitchen / living / dining area

Why is the design the way it is now? Standard draft from the architect, including our adjustments after consultations with the prefab house company’s consultant

Roof pitch: 38°
Knee wall height: 1.50m (upper edge of finished floor: ~1.33m) (5 feet, 4.3 inches (4 feet, 4.7 inches))

dorjan schrieb:
No basement,

???? You have a slope of about 14%. How do you plan to level the height?

dorjan schrieb:
460,000 including 100k for the lot

That means 360k for the house. Despite a lot of personal work, this might get really tight. You mentioned 1 basement about 100k?

dorjan schrieb:
Lot boundary garage,

At the boundary, it will be difficult to maintain the average height of 3 m (this is required in many building regulations/planning permissions – which one applies to you?). Apart from that, is there a budget for it?

Now that’s what I call exemplary.

A terrain model showing the problems.

Does your planner also have solutions for this? Or are they letting you fall into a cost trap? Building on a slope is expensive.

Is this a bundled deal with the lot and the house?

Is there a zoning plan/building development plan? Please share it with us.

hanghaus2023 schrieb:
A terrain model that illustrates the issues.

but it’s still somewhat idealized. Have NO display it for you. The house is probably hovering about 2 meters (6.5 feet) above ground level.

What is this supposed to mean?
A floor-to-ceiling height of 2.91 m (9.5 feet) is quite normal.

Here are additional perspectives of the elevation model.

According to the architect and earthworks contractor, the terrace will be placed behind the house, followed by 1.50 m (5 feet) L-shaped retaining walls. The garden will then be enclosed again with 1.50 m (5 feet) L-shaped retaining walls. From our side, the preference was for the house to be as level as possible with the street. If we were to position the house into the slope, the driveway to the garage would become very steep. The budget for the garage is secured.

Regarding the reduced floor-to-ceiling height: Since the eaves height relative to the street must not exceed 5 meters (16 feet 5 inches), the architect advised us to reduce the ground floor ceiling height (clear height) from 2.75 m (9 feet) to 2.55 m (8 feet 4 inches). For this, we would then have a knee wall height of 1.50 m (5 feet).

Our plot is located in section WA3B.

Thank you very much for your comments!

Wa3b shows the solution. Why doesn’t the architect plan it that way?

Leveling the plot costs more than a basement. As you can clearly see, my estimated 2m (6.5 ft) of cantilevering was spot on. Therefore, the budget is far from sufficient. This project is not really suitable for prefabricated house companies. The only option is to plan according to the slope—meaning a living basement and ground floor with an unfinished attic.

The design cannot be fixed within the budget.
That’s why I have no suggestions for improvement.