Hello House Building Forum
I am new here, and we are currently planning our house with an architect. There are currently 4 of us, but we plan to have a 5th. Therefore, the house will include 3 children's bedrooms.
Here is the questionnaire:
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 1250 sqm (13455 sq ft) on 25m x 50m (82 ft x 164 ft)
Slope: no
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Floor area ratio: not sure at the moment
Edge development: allowed but I want to avoid it
Number of parking spaces: double carport + 2 cars in front
Roof style: gable roof
Architectural style: classic single-family home
Orientation: see drawing
Owners’ Requirements
Open floor plan on the ground floor, 4 bedrooms on the upper floor, attic with enough space for storage and a hobby area
House Design
Who created the design:
- Architect
What do you like most? Why?
Ground floor: open kitchen and living room. Office accessible from the living room. Direct access to the terrace.
Upper floor: accommodate 3 children’s bedrooms, bedroom with walk-in closet area. The large dormer. The stairs to the attic, where the hobby room will be located.
What do you dislike? Why?
Basically only the staircase to the upper floor. I am a bit bothered by having to walk “around the corner” when coming up. I am looking for ideas to improve this. Or is this concern unfounded?
Cost estimate according to architect/planner:
Not determined yet.
Personal budget limit for the house, including fittings:
350,000 Euro
Preferred heating system:
Gas boiler, solar thermal, and underfloor heating
If you have to give up something, which details or extensions can you do without:
We have already eliminated everything we could possibly do without.
Why is the design the way it is? For example:
We went to the architect with our preferred design. He used our floor plan as a basis and created a floor plan that we like even better. Only the staircase layout is not yet 100% satisfactory for me.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan, summarized in 130 characters?
As mentioned, the staircase to the upper floor is my biggest concern. I hope to get some ideas on how to improve it and maybe some feedback on the rest.
South is “up” on the drawings
If more information is needed, I am happy to provide it.
Best regards
I am new here, and we are currently planning our house with an architect. There are currently 4 of us, but we plan to have a 5th. Therefore, the house will include 3 children's bedrooms.
Here is the questionnaire:
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 1250 sqm (13455 sq ft) on 25m x 50m (82 ft x 164 ft)
Slope: no
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Floor area ratio: not sure at the moment
Edge development: allowed but I want to avoid it
Number of parking spaces: double carport + 2 cars in front
Roof style: gable roof
Architectural style: classic single-family home
Orientation: see drawing
Owners’ Requirements
Open floor plan on the ground floor, 4 bedrooms on the upper floor, attic with enough space for storage and a hobby area
House Design
Who created the design:
- Architect
What do you like most? Why?
Ground floor: open kitchen and living room. Office accessible from the living room. Direct access to the terrace.
Upper floor: accommodate 3 children’s bedrooms, bedroom with walk-in closet area. The large dormer. The stairs to the attic, where the hobby room will be located.
What do you dislike? Why?
Basically only the staircase to the upper floor. I am a bit bothered by having to walk “around the corner” when coming up. I am looking for ideas to improve this. Or is this concern unfounded?
Cost estimate according to architect/planner:
Not determined yet.
Personal budget limit for the house, including fittings:
350,000 Euro
Preferred heating system:
Gas boiler, solar thermal, and underfloor heating
If you have to give up something, which details or extensions can you do without:
We have already eliminated everything we could possibly do without.
Why is the design the way it is? For example:
We went to the architect with our preferred design. He used our floor plan as a basis and created a floor plan that we like even better. Only the staircase layout is not yet 100% satisfactory for me.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan, summarized in 130 characters?
As mentioned, the staircase to the upper floor is my biggest concern. I hope to get some ideas on how to improve it and maybe some feedback on the rest.
South is “up” on the drawings
If more information is needed, I am happy to provide it.
Best regards
Sparfuchs_ schrieb:
Hmm, but a higher knee wall can’t really be combined with the dormers, right? Yes, the space upstairs is really limited. That’s a 45° pitch, isn’t it? What ceiling heights are you working with? Would a section drawing be helpful for you? For sketches, I usually assume the following:
2.90 m (9 ft 6 in) floor-to-floor height
2.60 m (8 ft 6 in) ceiling height
0.30 m (12 in) ceiling plus floor structure
My software is quite old. Maybe it can’t represent everything properly, and in reality it might be less problematic. Or maybe I miscalculated. But I would discuss the roof peak with the architect again. Maybe he can provide you with a 3D view. Or at least mark the 2 m (6 ft 7 in) height line on the third floor plan!
Sparfuchs_ schrieb:
I don’t only have to convince myself here, but also my wife... and most know that “more practical” as an argument doesn’t always work ^^ We know that here. It’s hard to let go of a design.
To me, the initial design simply doesn’t work upstairs. The bedroom only functions if you remove the pseudo walk-in closet wall. Then the storage room needs to become the wardrobe. I don’t see another way.
The staircase exit against the wall should stay as is, in my opinion. I don’t see how a curve would improve anything there.
The narrow kids’ room without a dormer almost feels like a storage room. If you subtract the sloped areas, are we down to 10 m² (108 sq ft) or so according to standards?
Personally, I don’t like the long way to the kitchen on the ground floor. It has been mentioned that it passes through the lounge area.
But the openness on the ground floor is nice — that has to be acknowledged. Then the question is whether that outweighs the flaws upstairs. Especially considering the children’s room sizes.
For me, it’s always important first that all rooms work well. Then I look for extras. You can also just pick the best parts everywhere and tell the architect: “Go for it!” He’ll be happy about that.
You can clearly see here that if the bed only extends about 20 to 30 cm (8 to 12 inches) to the left into the space between a room height of 2 m (6 ft 7 in) and 110 cm (3 ft 7 in), even a person who is 170 cm (5 ft 7 in) tall will experience head discomfort.
I would seriously reconsider Kahos's layout.
S
Sparfuchs7723 Jul 2019 09:55kaho674 schrieb:
We all know this. It’s hard to let go of a design. Yes, my wife loves the design, but the criticism points are valid, and I will definitely start a discussion about them.
kaho674 schrieb:
You can also just pick the best bits everywhere and then tell the architect, "Go for it!" He’ll be happy. Good one.
kbt09 schrieb:
I would seriously reconsider Kaho’s layout. Absolutely.
Again about the dormers. If I raise the knee wall, I either have the option to mount the dormer windows on the roof, which would result in smaller windows, or I can recess the windows into the roof, which would create longer window sills. I imagine it like in the picture:
Is there any objection to building the dormers this way?
That way I would be independent of the knee wall, right? Hmm, but then the front extension with the dining nook wouldn’t work anymore...
Sparfuchs_ schrieb:
Is there any reason not to build the dormers like this:
[ATTACH alt="efh-150qm-für-5-koepfe-336200-2.jpg"]36693[/ATTACH]
No, but that is the gable option, which is supposedly much more expensive.Sparfuchs_ schrieb:
Yes, my wife loves the design, but the criticism is valid and I will definitely initiate a discussion about it. You have just gotten used to it. Nothing more. Everything familiar is somehow liked... everything else is new and unfamiliar.
Sparfuchs_ schrieb:
That’s good No, that’s really good! That’s what an architect is for.
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