ᐅ Floor plan of a single-family house approximately 170 m², without a basement, featuring a carport
Created on: 6 Jun 2022 20:07
S
SandyBlack
Questionnaire about your floor plan
Development plan / Restrictions
Plot size 477 m² (5,134 ft²)
Slope No
Site coverage ratio 0.3
Floor area ratio 0.8
Building envelope, building line and boundary 14 x 14 meters (46 x 46 feet)
Setbacks South/North 5 m (16 ft); East/West 2.50 m (8 ft)
Number of parking spaces 2 (side by side)
Number of floors 2
Roof type Gable roof
Architectural style
Orientation East/West
Maximum heights / limits
Other regulations
Homeowners’ requirements
Style, roof type, building type Gable roof
Basement, floors No basement, 2 floors
Number of people, ages 3: 33, 32, and 1.5 years (4th planned)
Space requirements on ground floor, upper floor
Ground floor: kitchen, living room, guest room, guest WC/shower, utility room, storage room, pantry
Upper floor: bathroom, laundry room, work corner, bedroom, 2 children’s rooms
Office: family use or home office? Home office 3 days per week
Guests per year approx. once a month grandparents visit overnight; plus approx. 3–6 additional visits per year
Open or closed architecture open
Conservative or modern construction modern?
Open kitchen, kitchen island open, island preferred but not a must
Number of dining seats
Fireplace No
Music/home cinema wall Guest room to include “cinema”; 7.2.4 speakers + screen or TV
Balcony, roof terrace No
Garage, carport Double carport (5.50 m wide x 6 m long (18 x 20 ft) + storage room (5.5 m wide x 3 m long [18 x 10 ft])
Utility garden, greenhouse No
House design
Who designed it:
- Architect Architect of the house supplier
What do you like most? Why? Open layout; living room somewhat separated; straight staircase (not a must); guest WC not directly by the entrance but nicely connected to guest room; long corridor upstairs for window seat and extra play area for children; large children’s rooms; large bathroom; appealing corner terrace solution possible (NW)
What don’t you like? Why? Pantry too small – probably not very practical this way; guest room too small – integrating cinema difficult; living room too narrow (3.50 m / 11.5 ft); only 1 m (3.3 ft) width between staircase and wall (too narrow?); guest WC big enough?; kitchen too small? Kitchen (half) island probably hard to implement well; no dedicated home office space
Estimated price according to architect/planner: 500,000
Personal price limit for house including fixtures: 550,000
Preferred heating technology: air-to-water heat pump
If you have to give up, which details/extensions
- can you do without: straight staircase; guest WC not next to front door; kitchen island; possibly pantry accessible from kitchen; children’s rooms could be a bit smaller
- can’t you do without: guest room; open kitchen/dining area; guest WC with shower; home office space; bathroom with walk-in, level-access shower & bathtub
Why has the design turned out the way it is? E.g. standard design from planner? Developed jointly according to our wishes
What makes it especially good or bad in your view? Many of our wishes already implemented
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Are we overlooking anything fundamental? What changes should we make? Is a narrow corridor a big issue?
The carport is planned as a double carport on the south side adjoining the recess of the utility room. It is intended to be 5.5 m (18 ft) wide x 9 m (30 ft) long, including a storage room with a length of 3 m (10 ft). Is the planned width sufficient for two cars side by side assuming no SUVs? We plan to use a station wagon like a Skoda Superb and a small car such as a Mercedes A-Class or Toyota Leaf.
The carport positioning is planned as follows:
The house itself would be pushed fully to the eastern building boundary to maximize the western garden area.
The current floor plan from the architect looks like this:
We have already considered some optimizations.
Central to our considerations is adding a second recess on the north side where the living room is, measuring 1 m (3.3 ft) long and 4 m (13 ft) wide, and including a laundry room on the upper floor to house washer and dryer.
This would allow reducing the size of the utility room on the ground floor significantly. We would shorten the utility room by 0.7 m (2.3 ft), leaving about 9 m² (97 ft²). The freed-up space would benefit the guest WC, guest room, and living room.
In the kitchen, we would like to extend the pantry fully along the wall and place the kitchen before it. We have tried to mark our ideas on the floor plan:
Is the kitchen large enough for a household of 3 to 4 people? An island solution will probably be difficult to realize, right?
Upstairs, the gained space from the recess would be used for the laundry room. In the plan shown below, we placed the study next to the laundry room; however, we have reconsidered and now prefer to position the work corner where the storage space currently is. The work corner doesn’t need much space, primarily just a desk about 1.60 m (5.2 ft) wide. If there is room for a small cabinet, that’s nice but not essential. Where we marked the study, we would instead plan a walk-in closet. Unfortunately, we have not found a better location for the work corner. We also considered moving it near the children’s rooms, but then the child bedrooms would probably become rather small (about 12–13 m² / 130–140 ft²). These will definitely be adjusted to the same size regardless.
Maybe you have some ideas.
The windows on the ground and upper floor are not finalized yet; these are currently placeholders.
We welcome all comments 🙂.
P.S.: Here is the old planning thread:
https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/bebauung-Grundstück-keller-ja-oder-nein.42556/
The planning has fundamentally changed since then, and the plot has meanwhile been remeasured.
Development plan / Restrictions
Plot size 477 m² (5,134 ft²)
Slope No
Site coverage ratio 0.3
Floor area ratio 0.8
Building envelope, building line and boundary 14 x 14 meters (46 x 46 feet)
Setbacks South/North 5 m (16 ft); East/West 2.50 m (8 ft)
Number of parking spaces 2 (side by side)
Number of floors 2
Roof type Gable roof
Architectural style
Orientation East/West
Maximum heights / limits
Other regulations
Homeowners’ requirements
Style, roof type, building type Gable roof
Basement, floors No basement, 2 floors
Number of people, ages 3: 33, 32, and 1.5 years (4th planned)
Space requirements on ground floor, upper floor
Ground floor: kitchen, living room, guest room, guest WC/shower, utility room, storage room, pantry
Upper floor: bathroom, laundry room, work corner, bedroom, 2 children’s rooms
Office: family use or home office? Home office 3 days per week
Guests per year approx. once a month grandparents visit overnight; plus approx. 3–6 additional visits per year
Open or closed architecture open
Conservative or modern construction modern?
Open kitchen, kitchen island open, island preferred but not a must
Number of dining seats
Fireplace No
Music/home cinema wall Guest room to include “cinema”; 7.2.4 speakers + screen or TV
Balcony, roof terrace No
Garage, carport Double carport (5.50 m wide x 6 m long (18 x 20 ft) + storage room (5.5 m wide x 3 m long [18 x 10 ft])
Utility garden, greenhouse No
House design
Who designed it:
- Architect Architect of the house supplier
What do you like most? Why? Open layout; living room somewhat separated; straight staircase (not a must); guest WC not directly by the entrance but nicely connected to guest room; long corridor upstairs for window seat and extra play area for children; large children’s rooms; large bathroom; appealing corner terrace solution possible (NW)
What don’t you like? Why? Pantry too small – probably not very practical this way; guest room too small – integrating cinema difficult; living room too narrow (3.50 m / 11.5 ft); only 1 m (3.3 ft) width between staircase and wall (too narrow?); guest WC big enough?; kitchen too small? Kitchen (half) island probably hard to implement well; no dedicated home office space
Estimated price according to architect/planner: 500,000
Personal price limit for house including fixtures: 550,000
Preferred heating technology: air-to-water heat pump
If you have to give up, which details/extensions
- can you do without: straight staircase; guest WC not next to front door; kitchen island; possibly pantry accessible from kitchen; children’s rooms could be a bit smaller
- can’t you do without: guest room; open kitchen/dining area; guest WC with shower; home office space; bathroom with walk-in, level-access shower & bathtub
Why has the design turned out the way it is? E.g. standard design from planner? Developed jointly according to our wishes
What makes it especially good or bad in your view? Many of our wishes already implemented
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Are we overlooking anything fundamental? What changes should we make? Is a narrow corridor a big issue?
The carport is planned as a double carport on the south side adjoining the recess of the utility room. It is intended to be 5.5 m (18 ft) wide x 9 m (30 ft) long, including a storage room with a length of 3 m (10 ft). Is the planned width sufficient for two cars side by side assuming no SUVs? We plan to use a station wagon like a Skoda Superb and a small car such as a Mercedes A-Class or Toyota Leaf.
The carport positioning is planned as follows:
The house itself would be pushed fully to the eastern building boundary to maximize the western garden area.
The current floor plan from the architect looks like this:
We have already considered some optimizations.
Central to our considerations is adding a second recess on the north side where the living room is, measuring 1 m (3.3 ft) long and 4 m (13 ft) wide, and including a laundry room on the upper floor to house washer and dryer.
This would allow reducing the size of the utility room on the ground floor significantly. We would shorten the utility room by 0.7 m (2.3 ft), leaving about 9 m² (97 ft²). The freed-up space would benefit the guest WC, guest room, and living room.
In the kitchen, we would like to extend the pantry fully along the wall and place the kitchen before it. We have tried to mark our ideas on the floor plan:
Is the kitchen large enough for a household of 3 to 4 people? An island solution will probably be difficult to realize, right?
Upstairs, the gained space from the recess would be used for the laundry room. In the plan shown below, we placed the study next to the laundry room; however, we have reconsidered and now prefer to position the work corner where the storage space currently is. The work corner doesn’t need much space, primarily just a desk about 1.60 m (5.2 ft) wide. If there is room for a small cabinet, that’s nice but not essential. Where we marked the study, we would instead plan a walk-in closet. Unfortunately, we have not found a better location for the work corner. We also considered moving it near the children’s rooms, but then the child bedrooms would probably become rather small (about 12–13 m² / 130–140 ft²). These will definitely be adjusted to the same size regardless.
Maybe you have some ideas.
The windows on the ground and upper floor are not finalized yet; these are currently placeholders.
We welcome all comments 🙂.
P.S.: Here is the old planning thread:
https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/bebauung-Grundstück-keller-ja-oder-nein.42556/
The planning has fundamentally changed since then, and the plot has meanwhile been remeasured.
SandyBlack schrieb:
We find it quite promising. We could imagine making the storage room next to the garage narrower at the front and move the guest room, WC, and utility room forward, so they align with the front door. Would that make sense? That’s the question! If you skip the storage room (just a small space to fit about 4 bicycles), the options become much better. Then you would need a new plan, which would probably be much better and especially cheaper. But the question is, can you do without that room? Our garage is full, and we don’t even have a car in it—we also have a shed just for garden tools. 😱
SandyBlack schrieb:
Also, we wonder if it would be possible to make the passage to the kitchen, dining, and living room narrower so there’s a bit more space for the kitchen cabinets. I think a passage would be enough for us. I can’t imagine a situation where we would need to close a door there. Or do you think the passage would be too narrow then? Not too narrow, but you sometimes do want to close the door. The double door is just for aesthetics. 😉
SandyBlack schrieb:
For the two doors shown near the stairs, maybe just a passage would be enough, or the door leading to the garden could simply be a floor-to-ceiling window. We already have a large access from the living room. Those are minor details that you can keep or change as you like. Don’t forget, these are suggestions. You can take parts out, modify, flip around, or discard them entirely. Just some ideas—nothing more.
SandyBlack schrieb:
How big would the pantry be approximately in that case? If I understand correctly, it would be the space under the stairs plus the area to the right of it, right? Well, about 3.5 square meters (around 38 square feet). The cabinet is 1.50 meters by 0.60 meters (5 feet by 2 feet) deep. You can fit quite a bit in there, and there’s still some space next to it.
SandyBlack schrieb:
What is generally the advantage of a bay window compared to an inset window? Are these purely financial considerations or also aesthetics? Define what you mean by “inset window”?
SandyBlack schrieb:
We would like to install the photovoltaic system on the west and east sides to maximize self-consumption of the electricity. Do you see any issue if the gable side is about 13 meters long and the other side is only about 8.4 meters? Your roof faces south, which is the area available for photovoltaics. The west and east sides are the gable ends—so no photovoltaics there at all.
S
SandyBlack10 Jun 2022 20:06K a t j a schrieb:
That’s the question! If you skip the storage room (so just a tiny space that fits about 4 bikes), the options get a lot better. Then you’d need a new plan, which would probably be much better and, above all, cheaper. But the question is, can you do without that space? Our garage is full, and we don’t even have a car in it, plus we have a shed just for garden tools. 😱 For us, a good floor plan is definitely more important than a perfectly planned storage room. If there is enough space in the storage room for bikes, for example, that would be great. We also have plenty of storage space in the attic, and if push comes to shove and space is absolutely not enough, we could always consider a garden shed or something similar. But the floor plan itself cannot be changed anymore.
K a t j a schrieb:
Not too narrow, but you still want to be able to close the door every now and then. The double door is just for aesthetics. 😉 Okay, then better a single door and more space for the kitchen 🙂. I think a glass door would make sense here so that more light from the west can enter the hallway, even when the door is actually closed.
K a t j a schrieb:
These are small details, and you can keep them as you like. Don’t forget, these are just suggestions. If you want, you can take ideas from them, change them, flip them around, or just dismiss them. They’re just food for thought—nothing more. Well, as you could see from our first floor plan, we tend to underestimate some things. That’s why we prefer to ask about the “simpler” matters too, just to make sure we haven’t overlooked anything in our thinking 😉
K a t j a schrieb:
Well, around 3.5 sqm (about 38 sq ft). The cabinet is 1.50 m x 0.60 m (5 ft x 2 ft) deep. You can fit quite a bit in there, and there’s space next to it as well. Yes, I think that would be enough for us.
K a t j a schrieb:
Can you define what you mean by “recess”? “Recess” is probably not the correct term 😉 What I mean is this:
A bay window is a projection that only increases the living space on the ground floor. By “recess,” I mean that not only the ground floor has a projection but the entire house, so the living space on both floors is enlarged.
Or would that technically just be two bay windows and therefore simply double the cost?
K a t j a schrieb:
Your roof faces south with the area intended for photovoltaic panels. On the west and east sides are the gables—so no photovoltaic there at all. I don’t understand that. How does the floor plan with two full floors determine where the gable is?
Can’t I basically decide that freely?
A bay window is a bay window. It can extend over one storey or multiple storeys. I can’t break down the costs for you, but the fact is, this kind of feature is expensive. It primarily affects the roof structure, which becomes more complex. If multiple roofs are required, you will pay for each one separately.
With a gable roof, it looks quite odd when the gable is on the long side. The greater the difference in length, the stranger it appears. Additionally, the ridge height rises very quickly if you position the gable on the long side.
With a gable roof, it looks quite odd when the gable is on the long side. The greater the difference in length, the stranger it appears. Additionally, the ridge height rises very quickly if you position the gable on the long side.
S
SandyBlack10 Jun 2022 21:26Ah, okay. I thought a bay window only counts if it’s on a single floor. Learned something new 🙂
Alright, I understand that too. Optimizing the use of the plot and the floor plan is more important to us than perfect photovoltaic placement. So it would also be fine if the gable faced east/west.
Alright, I understand that too. Optimizing the use of the plot and the floor plan is more important to us than perfect photovoltaic placement. So it would also be fine if the gable faced east/west.
Having the photovoltaic system on the south side is actually a good idea. This is especially beneficial during the winter months when maximum energy output is needed.
Positioning the gable east-west also makes a lot of sense in terms of natural light. Assuming a full story with a moderate knee wall of about 1 meter (3 feet) and a roof pitch of around 40 degrees, the sun can reach the north-facing garden almost unobstructed. Starting from March, the sun is about 30 degrees above the horizon, and in the summer months even higher, so the light glides along the roof and falls, depending on the eaves height, about 3 to 4 meters (10 to 13 feet) behind the house onto the ground. That means if you step 2 meters (6.5 feet) in front of the house, the sun shines right into your face (depending on your height).
Long story short… a north-facing terrace and garden can be very pleasant if planned correctly. By the way, with many south-facing homes, the windows are heavily shaded in summer. You don’t have that on the north side, so you can enjoy a nice view of the garden.
Positioning the gable east-west also makes a lot of sense in terms of natural light. Assuming a full story with a moderate knee wall of about 1 meter (3 feet) and a roof pitch of around 40 degrees, the sun can reach the north-facing garden almost unobstructed. Starting from March, the sun is about 30 degrees above the horizon, and in the summer months even higher, so the light glides along the roof and falls, depending on the eaves height, about 3 to 4 meters (10 to 13 feet) behind the house onto the ground. That means if you step 2 meters (6.5 feet) in front of the house, the sun shines right into your face (depending on your height).
Long story short… a north-facing terrace and garden can be very pleasant if planned correctly. By the way, with many south-facing homes, the windows are heavily shaded in summer. You don’t have that on the north side, so you can enjoy a nice view of the garden.
S
SandyBlack10 Jun 2022 22:23The photovoltaic system on the south side is definitely not a bad option. However, east/west orientation has advantages when it comes to self-consumption.
But that's true – I hadn’t considered the shadow casting. It would certainly be shorter with an east/west gable. Currently, we’re planning for two full floors or a knee wall height of 2.80 meters (9 feet 2 inches), but it might be worth considering reducing the knee wall height to, for example, 1.80 meters (5 feet 11 inches) for the north-facing garden. That would also save some money.
But that's true – I hadn’t considered the shadow casting. It would certainly be shorter with an east/west gable. Currently, we’re planning for two full floors or a knee wall height of 2.80 meters (9 feet 2 inches), but it might be worth considering reducing the knee wall height to, for example, 1.80 meters (5 feet 11 inches) for the north-facing garden. That would also save some money.
Similar topics