ᐅ Construction Project 200m² – Bungalow or Ground Floor plus Upper Floor?

Hello everyone,

we are planning to build a single-family house soon. We have a large plot of land (approximately 37m (121 feet) north-south by 43m (141 feet) east-west). The plot is very flat but slopes downward overall from north to south by about 0.8m (2.6 feet).

Now the question is which type of house we want to build. Ideally, we would like a ground floor and an upper floor with a knee wall of at least 2m (6.6 feet) and a gable roof with about a 20° pitch. Unfortunately, the local council is opposing this because the house must fit into the surrounding area: next to it are two houses with a ground floor and upper floor with a 0.75m (2.5 feet) knee wall and a 50° roof pitch. This is described as a "Swabian, village-style architecture."

According to the regulations, the allowed maximum wall height is 4.30m (14 feet), and the roof pitch can be between 15° and 50°.

Our living space requirements are as follows:
- large living area (kitchen, dining area, and living room combined)
- 2 offices
- 2 children’s bedrooms
- basement (including a guest room)
- total living area around 200m² (2,153 sq ft)

This leaves us with two possible house types:
1. Bungalow
One option would be a large bungalow with 200m² (2,153 sq ft) of living space. There is definitely enough space for this on the plot. However, it is important to us that the bungalow is only partially basemented. This would likely require a technical separation between the two halves of the building.

2. Ground floor + upper floor
Unfortunately, we are not fans of many sloped ceilings, so we are not yet sure how to implement this intelligently. We considered a dormer but are not really enthusiastic about it.

Our questions now are:
- How different are the construction costs for options 1 and 2 (rough estimate, especially regarding a partial basement for the bungalow)?
- What other advantages or disadvantages speak for one or the other option?

Thank you very much in advance for your answers.

Best regards,
Markus

Would the bungalow be approved? It isn’t exactly typical rural Swabian style. Otherwise, for this plot of land, it’s the ideal solution: no basement, but with a walkable attic accessed by stairs rather than a hatch. To ensure enough standing height upstairs, a roof pitch of about 35 degrees would be needed, along with studio trusses instead of traditional timber trusses. Even so, it will be cheaper than a basement and works just as well. I know this because we built this way. For the intended floor area, a wing-shaped bungalow would be perfect. A rectangular layout of that size reminds me too much of a discount supermarket. I can tell you, there is nothing better than entering your own home where everything is completely step-free inside—except for the stairs leading up to the attic, which are rarely needed.

SMarkus86 schrieb:
Unfortunately, the local council is opposing this because the house must fit in with the surrounding area: next to it are two houses with a ground floor and an attic with a knee wall height of 0.75m (2.5 feet) and a roof pitch of 50°. The style referred to here is a "Swabian, village architectural style."
According to the regulations, the maximum wall height allowed is 4.30m (14 feet), with a roof pitch between 15° and 50°.

I’m not quite sure what applies here: is it the requirement to blend in with the surroundings or a zoning/building plan?

SMarkus86 schrieb:
Ideally, we would like a ground floor and an attic with at least a 2m (6.5 feet) knee wall and a gable roof with about a 20° pitch.

A sloped ceiling doesn’t become more attractive just because it’s disliked. From the inside, it also doesn’t look good when the knee wall is too high, because then it no longer feels like an attic with comfortable ceiling heights but more like a regular story with awkward upper corners. Think this through again — it really looks quite off-putting. Where does this fear of slopes come from?

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A bungalow tends to be more expensive than a 1.5-story house.
A basement could be more costly than building the equivalent area above ground. You don’t have a slope and have to excavate and dispose of everything.

What are the drawbacks of a pitched roof?

I imagine a bungalow with 200 square meters (2,150 square feet) could be challenging – if you're not careful, it can feel dark and the layout complicated. The square meters are probably better distributed over two floors. Especially for children, I find sloping ceilings nice, for example, as they create a cozier atmosphere for a bed, reading corner, etc.

I don't find a bungalow sensible for the room layout.
If the regulation mentions 4.30 meters (14 feet), I currently see no reason to oppose it.
There are plenty of beautiful and livable houses (in fact, most are) built with a 1.30 meter (4 feet 3 inches) knee wall.
Where is the problem? The mental block should be resolved by oneself, as building an adequate residential house is possible.
If it really doesn’t fit, then please consider another plot of land.