ᐅ Floor Plan Design 161m² – Have We Overlooked Anything?

Created on: 10 May 2023 20:08
T
Thatspad
Hello everyone!

So far, I have been a silent reader and would now like to share our planning with you. I am hoping for some suggestions or improvements for our current plan!

Zoning plan/restrictions:
The building plot does not have a zoning plan; construction must comply with §34 of the Building Code. According to the municipality and the surrounding buildings, "almost anything is possible."

Plot size: 910m² (9,790 sq ft)
Slope: No
Site coverage ratio: none due to no zoning plan!
Floor area ratio: none due to no zoning plan!
Building envelope, building line and boundary: none due to no zoning plan!
Edge development: none due to no zoning plan!
Number of parking spaces: none due to no zoning plan!
Number of floors: none due to no zoning plan!
Roof shape: none due to no zoning plan!
Architectural style: none due to no zoning plan!
Orientation: none due to no zoning plan!
Maximum heights/limits: none due to no zoning plan!
Other requirements

Clients’ requirements
Architectural style: Modern single-family house
Roof shape: Gable roof (for aesthetics, photovoltaics, and storage space)
Building type: Rectangular
Basement, Floors: No basement, 2 full stories (in the plan, the upper floor has knee wall height of 2.50m (8 ft 2 in))
Number of occupants, age: 2 people: He is 30 (project manager), she is 26 (primary school teacher)
The house should have on the ground floor (GF):
- Kitchen with pantry
- Living room
- Fireplace for a wood stove
- Home office
- Utility/technical room
- Toilet
- Cloakroom

On the upper floor (UF):
- 1 bathroom
- 2 children's rooms
- Walk-in closet + bedroom
- Small storage room

Office: Family use or home office? Home office at least 3 days a week at home (he), primary school teacher (she)
Number of overnight guests per year: about 6
Open or closed architecture: preferably open
Conservative or modern construction: Modern construction
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Open kitchen with island extending the kitchen
Number of dining spaces: 6
Fireplace: Yes, a must-have for us
Music/stereo wall: –
Balcony, roof terrace: –
Garage, carport: Yes, but we will build it ourselves
Utility garden, greenhouse: Yes, we enjoy gardening as a hobby ;-) (he)
Additional wishes/special features/daily routine, including reasons why or why not:
Originally, we wanted a square townhouse, but since the plot is about 45m x 19m (148 ft x 62 ft) and slightly trapezoidal, it becomes too tight with the garage and terrace right next to the house. Therefore, we decided on a rectangular floor plan.

House design
Who designed the plan: House planner
- Planner from a construction company: Prefabricated house manufacturer Kampa

What do you particularly like? We especially like the open living/dining area facing south. The office on the ground floor was very important to us.

What do you not like? The kitchen with pantry is quite small, and the children’s rooms on the upper floor are somewhat large; in my view, 14m² (150 sq ft) each would be sufficient. Another storage room doesn’t make much sense or cannot be realized from our creativity.
Estimated price according to architect/planner:
530,000€ in almost turnkey condition (for KfW QNG premium loan):
Includes all work on the house except floor installation, filling/painting/plastering of walls (materials included)
- Viessmann invisible heating, ventilation, photovoltaics 7.2 kWp + 10 kWh battery storage
- External venetian blinds in living/dining area
- Fireplace
- House almost meets passive house standards (according to Kampa) 10 kWh/m²a
- Bus system for lighting and heating control

Total cost estimate:
Plot including ancillary costs: 130,000€
House + selection + equipment + wood stove + water softening system = 587,000€
Additional construction costs (excluding garage) = 59,000€
Landscaping = 20,000€ (we will do this ourselves and it is not a priority for now)

Total: 796,000€

(I know, very expensive. Being from Swabia, it already pains me…)
We definitely want to use the KfW loan, otherwise the financing is not feasible.

Personal price limit for the house including equipment: No more than 500,000€ for the house
Preferred heating technology: Heat pump

If you had to give up something, on which details/extensions
- Could you do without:
Lighting control via bus system
- Could you not do without:
Office on the ground floor
External venetian blinds
Possibly reduce window sizes

What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan, summarized in 130 characters?

What improvement suggestions do you have for our floor plan? We are unsure if the storage space in the house is sufficient. A small hobby workshop is planned in the garage. Where can we possibly still save space or costs?

Thanks in advance!
PS: I apologize in advance for any errors or unclear points!
Upper floor plan: Hallway, bathroom, bedroom, walk-in closet, two children's rooms, centrally located staircase.

Floor plan of a residence: Living/dining, kitchen, workroom, hallway, pantry, utility, shower/WC.

Two-story house with dark metal roof, white walls and horizontal windows

Two-story, white house with gable roof and four windows

Cross-section of a two-story house with roof, stairs, doors and dimensions

Two-story house with dark roof, white facade and multiple windows.

Two-story house with gable roof, white walls, gray front and dark entrance door.

Satellite image: Plot with house and garage, red boundary, driveway, approx. 50×45 m (164×148 ft), compass.
M
motorradsilke
11 May 2023 22:18
jrth2151 schrieb:

I currently live in a KFW55 apartment, and I actually feel too warm rather than too cold in winter. Last winter, we only had the heating on for about a month. Without a fireplace, we would have completely frozen. So, unless you are absolute cold-sensitive people, having a fireplace in a passive house is totally over the top. 21 degrees Celsius (70°F) in a well-insulated house feels comfortably warm.

Of course, that’s always subjective. For us, 21 degrees Celsius (70°F) feels too cold to sit comfortably in the evening. How you manage with heating on for only one month is unclear to me. We also have a KFW55 building, but we keep the heating on because otherwise it gets too cold early on.
M
motorradsilke
11 May 2023 22:21
chand1986 schrieb:

I always wonder what "cozy and warm" really means? When I get on at 21°C (70°F), I’m sitting there sweating. Who wants to hang out in the living room at 24°C (75°F)?

We want that. 25 degrees Celsius (77°F) in the evening is just right. 21 degrees Celsius (70°F) is too cold for sitting. I don’t want to have to sit wrapped in a blanket.
C
chand1986
11 May 2023 22:32
motorradsilke schrieb:

We want that. 25 degrees in the evening is just right. 21 degrees is too cold to sit comfortably. I don’t want to have to sit with a blanket.
At 25 degrees, I watch TV naked, get turned over, and drink mojitos!
S
sysrun80
11 May 2023 22:44
I have seen in two households during winter what a small wood stove does in a KFW40 house and in a passive house with central ventilation: One log of wood is placed, and 30 minutes later the windows are thrown open due to overheating. The end result: Both families used the stoves only 2-3 times in 5 years. However, they spent 10-15k (including chimney, etc.).

Of course, everyone has to decide for themselves.
Yaso2.012 May 2023 07:23
Regarding fireplaces... we have a gas fireplace, and even that is a bit too much for our house, which was built just to meet the energy saving ordinance requirements.. 🙄 Today, I would not install any kind of fireplace again.
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Hope2020
14 May 2023 20:56
Hello, I just wanted to share a brief comment. We also decided against having a fireplace or wood-burning stove. It simply wouldn't have made sense.

Now a quick note about the pantry. It should ideally stay cool and dry. If it is located next to the kitchen, with all the cooking fumes, it's best to keep the door closed. This is even more important if you like warmth. However, the freezer or refrigerator with its exhaust air is an absolute no-go if you want to avoid mold!