ᐅ Urban villa or classic pitched roof house? Advantages? Costs?
Created on: 24 Sep 2014 12:07
P
Panama17
Hello everyone,
I’m currently going around in circles with my thoughts.
My dream has always been a classic gable roof house with 1.5 floors. However, I also find a townhouse with two full floors quite attractive. We already have a plot of land, and according to the development plan / planning permission, both options are possible, as the regulations are very generous.
As I said, my dream has always been a classic house with a gable roof. I simply find it visually very beautiful, and it feels cozy and comforting to me. The drawbacks for me would be that I don’t want too many sloping ceilings and I’d like plenty of natural light on the upper floor. So we would definitely install many or large dormers. I once lived in an attic apartment with only one vertical window; everything else was roof windows, which I found awful! Apart from the fact that you couldn’t really look outside properly anywhere, I also didn’t like the noise level during rain.
I also like the townhouse style; they are very trendy right now and usually stylish and elegant. The advantage here is that the upper floor would be a full story with straight walls and regular windows. But somehow, I find that a bit cold and less cozy. We wouldn’t convert the roof but would put a hipped roof on top. A townhouse would probably fit better into the neighborhood since there are two 2.5-story apartment buildings on either side of the plot.
Somehow, a townhouse makes more sense, right? But my dream and my gut feeling still remain...
Could someone maybe share some insights about cost differences between the two house types with roughly the same living area (as I said, the gable roof house would definitely include many and large dormers)?
I hope you could follow me and I look forward to some thoughts, tips, and experiences that might help me.
I’m currently going around in circles with my thoughts.
My dream has always been a classic gable roof house with 1.5 floors. However, I also find a townhouse with two full floors quite attractive. We already have a plot of land, and according to the development plan / planning permission, both options are possible, as the regulations are very generous.
As I said, my dream has always been a classic house with a gable roof. I simply find it visually very beautiful, and it feels cozy and comforting to me. The drawbacks for me would be that I don’t want too many sloping ceilings and I’d like plenty of natural light on the upper floor. So we would definitely install many or large dormers. I once lived in an attic apartment with only one vertical window; everything else was roof windows, which I found awful! Apart from the fact that you couldn’t really look outside properly anywhere, I also didn’t like the noise level during rain.
I also like the townhouse style; they are very trendy right now and usually stylish and elegant. The advantage here is that the upper floor would be a full story with straight walls and regular windows. But somehow, I find that a bit cold and less cozy. We wouldn’t convert the roof but would put a hipped roof on top. A townhouse would probably fit better into the neighborhood since there are two 2.5-story apartment buildings on either side of the plot.
Somehow, a townhouse makes more sense, right? But my dream and my gut feeling still remain...
Could someone maybe share some insights about cost differences between the two house types with roughly the same living area (as I said, the gable roof house would definitely include many and large dormers)?
I hope you could follow me and I look forward to some thoughts, tips, and experiences that might help me.
Yes, we also have a gable roof, but no sloping ceilings on the upper floor. Instead, we have an attic, although it is very small. Our roof pitch is only 20°.
We didn’t want sloping ceilings either, as we have lived with them for years and find them bothersome; we constantly have to duck or end up bumping our heads.
Currently, there are two skylights in our bedroom. When it rains, we cannot ventilate the bedroom... To be honest, that’s not ideal either.
We didn’t want sloping ceilings either, as we have lived with them for years and find them bothersome; we constantly have to duck or end up bumping our heads.
Currently, there are two skylights in our bedroom. When it rains, we cannot ventilate the bedroom... To be honest, that’s not ideal either.
B
baumann201325 Sep 2014 15:04We associate the feeling of “coziness” on the upper floor with sloped ceilings, meaning a 1.5-story gable roof house. However, as mentioned several times before, this is subjective. We are having a gable roof house built with an interior knee wall height of 1.43 meters (4 ft 8 in) and a roof pitch of 42 degrees. This doesn’t give you an additional full-height wall where you can place tall furniture, but the 2-meter (6 ft 7 in) height line is quite close to the edge, so you can still put a lot of things underneath. This results in better usable space on the upper floor. Of course, the placement of furniture becomes more limited if you choose a very low knee wall height (around 50 centimeters (20 inches), for example). We have seen such designs in various show homes and wondered how one could properly arrange furniture in those rooms.
Our home salesperson mentioned during the planning phase that we might also consider a townhouse or city villa, stating it would “not cost much more.” While we do find some city villas very attractive, they wouldn’t have worked at all with our floor plans (room layouts, alignment of windows and doors, etc.). So we decided to stay with the 1.5-story design and hope we will be happy with it.
Our home salesperson mentioned during the planning phase that we might also consider a townhouse or city villa, stating it would “not cost much more.” While we do find some city villas very attractive, they wouldn’t have worked at all with our floor plans (room layouts, alignment of windows and doors, etc.). So we decided to stay with the 1.5-story design and hope we will be happy with it.
Panama17 schrieb:
The plot is approximately 20 x 30 m (66 x 98 ft). My idea is to build significantly wider than deep, for example 13 x 8 m (43 x 26 ft), plus an oversized garage of at least 3.5 m (11.5 ft) on each side, so we have more space for the garden. 2! x perimeter development? Is that allowed?
Usually, you need at least one shaded corner for trash, compost, and storage space, so one side of perimeter development is enough, and the other side can be used for similar purposes.
I would choose a nice knee wall of at least 150 cm (59 in). That gives you usable floor space and a cozy feeling. I understand the charm of sloped ceilings and agree with @baumann2013.
Build according to your intuition, not because something is trendy right now. Two-story buildings existed even before the term "urban villa" was coined; nonetheless, I would never want to have my terrace in front of a two-story wall. Low-pitched roofs are cozy, but you can also create a pleasant corner with a single-story extension or a covered terrace.
It's simply a matter of personal preference!
When I was a teenager and moved into the new house, I got to choose between a room with or without a sloped ceiling. I chose the one with the sloped ceiling. Knee wall about 140cm (55 inches). Until I moved out, I found that to be the best decision. Even today, I still like sloped ceilings. Of course, within reasonable limits! I also love skylights and the sound of rain pouring down.
In the end, everyone has to decide for themselves.
milkie
When I was a teenager and moved into the new house, I got to choose between a room with or without a sloped ceiling. I chose the one with the sloped ceiling. Knee wall about 140cm (55 inches). Until I moved out, I found that to be the best decision. Even today, I still like sloped ceilings. Of course, within reasonable limits! I also love skylights and the sound of rain pouring down.
In the end, everyone has to decide for themselves.
milkie
Similar topics