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
Simon198815 Mar 2026 11:10Here are the new drafts from our architect.
We are leaning towards draft 15b, but we have concerns about the comfort and safety of the staircase. We are also unsure whether it is better to plan the washing machine and dryer in a small room with a mini-ventilation system (upper floor 15c) or in the bathroom (upper floor 15b).
We would appreciate any further tips or suggestions :-)
Ground floor 15b
Upper floor 15b & 15c
Ground floor 16
Upper floor 16
Ground floor 17
Upper floor 17
We are leaning towards draft 15b, but we have concerns about the comfort and safety of the staircase. We are also unsure whether it is better to plan the washing machine and dryer in a small room with a mini-ventilation system (upper floor 15c) or in the bathroom (upper floor 15b).
We would appreciate any further tips or suggestions :-)
Ground floor 15b
Upper floor 15b & 15c
Ground floor 16
Upper floor 16
Ground floor 17
Upper floor 17
Simon1988 schrieb:
however, have concerns about the comfort / safety risks of the staircase Could you please elaborate on your concerns?
A distance of 6.50 meters (21 feet 4 inches) in the living room is too large as shown with the furniture layout.
Simon1988 schrieb:
Here are the new drafts from our architect. ... who doesn’t seem to be learning anything—or maybe you’re not passing on my tips to her? You all come across as extremely resistant to learning!
Leaving windows out except in special cases—fine. As for the stairs, you can’t say much since she still hasn’t learned to indicate the rise measurement :-(
I’ve already said it about a hundred times: the service duct is missing! (and it’s well documented among the “usual suspects” where it’s best to place it. If you leave it to chance or only address it at the last minute, then all the pipes and ducts for utilities end up in the most inconvenient spots and get hideously boxed in with drywall. This results in a ghost train-style living space with duct enclosures “in Bauhaus style”!
Do you really need the support of a forum community to realize that a clothes dryer is much more conveniently accessible from the hallway than in a Siberian location behind the toilet?
It seems to me the architect still lives at her parents’ place, completely lacking any sense of practical household workflows or similar, and leaves spatial planning entirely to the CAD software.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
S
Simon198815 Mar 2026 14:54We have concerns about the two tight turns. With a step depth of 25 cm (10 inches) for the concrete stairs, including the nosing, that should be sufficient. I need to check the height again. I count 15 steps; with a total height of 2.88 m (9 ft 5 in), that would be a rise of 19.2 cm (7.6 inches) per step.
The width is just under 5.94 m (19 ft 6 in), excluding the walls, which is acceptable for us.
We will focus on the windows, etc., in the next step.
Regarding the dryer in the hallway, we are only worried about heat and humidity (we are building without a mechanical ventilation system) in such a small space – would the bathroom possibly be a better location, or would a small extractor fan in that small room be sufficient?
The width is just under 5.94 m (19 ft 6 in), excluding the walls, which is acceptable for us.
We will focus on the windows, etc., in the next step.
Regarding the dryer in the hallway, we are only worried about heat and humidity (we are building without a mechanical ventilation system) in such a small space – would the bathroom possibly be a better location, or would a small extractor fan in that small room be sufficient?
Simon1988 schrieb:
We are concerned about the two tight turns. With a 25 cm (10 inch) tread depth concrete staircase, including the overhang, that should be sufficient. I need to confirm the riser height. I count 15 steps; with a total rise of 2.88 m (9 ft 5 in), that would be 19.2 cm (7.6 inch) riser height. I wouldn’t worry about two standard stair landings—you’re certainly not the first with turns in the staircase. However, I wouldn’t go for anything less comfortable than a 19 cm (7.5 inch) rise and 26 cm (10.2 inch) run. A 2 mm difference doesn’t matter, but 25 cm (10 inch) tread depth could actually be a bit tight.
Simon1988 schrieb:
In terms of width, we have just under 5.94 m (19 ft 6 in) (excluding walls), which is fine for us. I didn’t look closely enough here. For me, anything over 5 meters (16 ft 5 in) is borderline. Personally, a hallway width of 1.35 m (4 ft 5 in) felt too narrow (I had it and it didn’t work for me). At the same time, the kitchen is slightly too wide to be ergonomic. I would recommend having the layout planned a bit more functionally.
Don’t have a tape measure, and no stairs at home or work? – high steps at least save a gym visit, but depending on weight and muscle strength, especially going downhill, they can put significant strain on the knee joints. Upstairs there is no longer a garage next to it, so the room can have generous ventilation openings to the outside. Especially for a house of this size – which is a typical mid-terrace house (usually sold within 15 years) – I wouldn’t build today without a mechanical ventilation system. At the moment, I’m temporarily using a car with manual crank windows again. It was inexpensive, but nowadays that really affects its marketability.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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