Hello everyone,
we currently have a plot of land reserved and plan to purchase it within the next few months. However, the house construction will take place next year, as we first need to sell our existing property. The plot is located in Lower Saxony in the Südheide region.
All further information can be found below.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 739m² (approximately 7,951 sq ft)
Slope: no
Site coverage ratio (floor area ratio): 0.3
Gross floor area ratio: 0.3
Building envelope, building line and boundary: 3m (10 feet) around the plot
Edge development: no
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 1
Roof shape: 25° to 45° slope
Style: no high-gloss roof tiles, roof tiles in red or anthracite
Orientation: no specifications
Maximum heights / limits: at least 3m (10 feet) eaves height
Other regulations
Homeowners’ Requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: preferably classic but modern, brick facing. Roof shape: hipped roof 25°, the garage should also have a hipped roof (integrated into the main roof; roofs on ancillary buildings can be flatter); building: bungalow
Basement, floors: no basement, 1 floor, the attic should be usable as storage space
Number and age of occupants: 2 people, both 40 years old; no children now or planned for the future
Space requirements on the ground floor: approx. 120–125m² (so much as needed, as little as possible); the attached floor plan comes to 125m² (1,344 sq ft)
Office: home office needed for one of us
Guest bedrooms per year: very rarely to never
Open or closed layout: living area open, the rest closed
Conservative or modern construction style: rather conservative but not outdated, definitely no experiments
Open kitchen
Number of dining seats: 4–5
Fireplace: no
Garage is a must, also space for equipment storage
Other special features:
We have a dog (Labrador), so a second entrance through the garage/laundry room is necessary. Therefore, the garage is planned to be this large (6.4m (21 feet), so you can walk around the car inside the garage).
Storage space: the utility room is planned to be large but will mainly be used as needed. The cabinets shown in the plans are just examples.
Next to the dining table is a window seat for sitting and looking outside.
KfW 55 standard (only what is required by law).
The ceiling in the small hallway near the bedrooms should be lowered and equipped with air conditioning (not immediate but must be prepared for it).
Photovoltaic system should also be installed or at least conduit pipes provided for later installation.
House Design
Planning origin: do-it-yourself
What do you particularly like? Why?
What do you dislike? Why?
I’m not sure if the entrance area is too complicated.
The utility room seems oversized, but on the other hand, storage space is needed.
The bedroom on the south side seems oversized, but I cannot sensibly reduce it.
Price estimate from architect/planner: none so far
Personal price limit for the house, including fixtures: 500,000 EUR total (plot, incidental construction costs, garden, terrace, etc.). The plot costs 73,000 EUR fully serviced. Own labor is not an option due to time constraints.
Preferred heating technology: air-to-water heat pump
The plot is not ideal for building a bungalow with a garage. On the west, north, and east sides, the house just fits with a 3m (10 feet) setback from the boundary.
If you have to compromise, on which details/finishes
-you can give up:
-you cannot give up:
Basically, on one hand, we want to build as cost-effectively as possible, but on the other hand, a few things are important to us (garage, brick facing, air conditioning, storage space including utility room and equipment).
I would like to bring the living area down to 120m² (1,292 sq ft), but it is not that easy to achieve this meaningfully.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions
we currently have a plot of land reserved and plan to purchase it within the next few months. However, the house construction will take place next year, as we first need to sell our existing property. The plot is located in Lower Saxony in the Südheide region.
All further information can be found below.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 739m² (approximately 7,951 sq ft)
Slope: no
Site coverage ratio (floor area ratio): 0.3
Gross floor area ratio: 0.3
Building envelope, building line and boundary: 3m (10 feet) around the plot
Edge development: no
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 1
Roof shape: 25° to 45° slope
Style: no high-gloss roof tiles, roof tiles in red or anthracite
Orientation: no specifications
Maximum heights / limits: at least 3m (10 feet) eaves height
Other regulations
Homeowners’ Requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: preferably classic but modern, brick facing. Roof shape: hipped roof 25°, the garage should also have a hipped roof (integrated into the main roof; roofs on ancillary buildings can be flatter); building: bungalow
Basement, floors: no basement, 1 floor, the attic should be usable as storage space
Number and age of occupants: 2 people, both 40 years old; no children now or planned for the future
Space requirements on the ground floor: approx. 120–125m² (so much as needed, as little as possible); the attached floor plan comes to 125m² (1,344 sq ft)
Office: home office needed for one of us
Guest bedrooms per year: very rarely to never
Open or closed layout: living area open, the rest closed
Conservative or modern construction style: rather conservative but not outdated, definitely no experiments
Open kitchen
Number of dining seats: 4–5
Fireplace: no
Garage is a must, also space for equipment storage
Other special features:
We have a dog (Labrador), so a second entrance through the garage/laundry room is necessary. Therefore, the garage is planned to be this large (6.4m (21 feet), so you can walk around the car inside the garage).
Storage space: the utility room is planned to be large but will mainly be used as needed. The cabinets shown in the plans are just examples.
Next to the dining table is a window seat for sitting and looking outside.
KfW 55 standard (only what is required by law).
The ceiling in the small hallway near the bedrooms should be lowered and equipped with air conditioning (not immediate but must be prepared for it).
Photovoltaic system should also be installed or at least conduit pipes provided for later installation.
House Design
Planning origin: do-it-yourself
What do you particularly like? Why?
What do you dislike? Why?
I’m not sure if the entrance area is too complicated.
The utility room seems oversized, but on the other hand, storage space is needed.
The bedroom on the south side seems oversized, but I cannot sensibly reduce it.
Price estimate from architect/planner: none so far
Personal price limit for the house, including fixtures: 500,000 EUR total (plot, incidental construction costs, garden, terrace, etc.). The plot costs 73,000 EUR fully serviced. Own labor is not an option due to time constraints.
Preferred heating technology: air-to-water heat pump
The plot is not ideal for building a bungalow with a garage. On the west, north, and east sides, the house just fits with a 3m (10 feet) setback from the boundary.
If you have to compromise, on which details/finishes
-you can give up:
-you cannot give up:
Basically, on one hand, we want to build as cost-effectively as possible, but on the other hand, a few things are important to us (garage, brick facing, air conditioning, storage space including utility room and equipment).
I would like to bring the living area down to 120m² (1,292 sq ft), but it is not that easy to achieve this meaningfully.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions
Here is my first quick idea.
- The rooms face the garden but not the terrace or the neighbor.
- The area next to the dining table could become a window seat.
- Utility room also serves as storage for the kitchen, so it has access from both sides.
- Glass door from the living room to the hallway; the hallway in front of the rooms is designed with a bit more space for movement.
- Due to the garage position, the utility room and bathroom/technical room could be swapped, but this has disadvantages (no direct access from the utility room to the kitchen, longer distances to the bathroom).
I would possibly enlarge the space in front of the rooms or make it more square-shaped and maybe adjust the bathroom and separate toilet accordingly. There are certainly good design options to integrate a shower or similar features there.
The terrace might also need to be oriented more toward west-southwest. With this orientation, the terrace no longer receives sunlight from around 5:00 PM onward.
- The rooms face the garden but not the terrace or the neighbor.
- The area next to the dining table could become a window seat.
- Utility room also serves as storage for the kitchen, so it has access from both sides.
- Glass door from the living room to the hallway; the hallway in front of the rooms is designed with a bit more space for movement.
- Due to the garage position, the utility room and bathroom/technical room could be swapped, but this has disadvantages (no direct access from the utility room to the kitchen, longer distances to the bathroom).
I would possibly enlarge the space in front of the rooms or make it more square-shaped and maybe adjust the bathroom and separate toilet accordingly. There are certainly good design options to integrate a shower or similar features there.
The terrace might also need to be oriented more toward west-southwest. With this orientation, the terrace no longer receives sunlight from around 5:00 PM onward.
F
forrestde18 May 2024 22:18@RomeoZwo
Attached is the site development plan as a screenshot.
I was previously mistaken about the setback requirements. However, my understanding now is that a boundary wall for the garage is allowed as long as it is not prohibited in the development plan. I cannot find any regulations regarding this in the plan.
@hanse987
Regarding the second parking space, I could position it in the upper right corner. I have 80sqm (860 sq ft) of space in front of the garage/entrance area.
@ypg
The kitchen is indeed not ideally planned. The kitchen needs to be functional for us. Honestly, we are not expert cooks and don’t spend much time in the kitchen. I find the lack of zoning between the entrance area and the bedrooms more problematic.
Thanks to everyone for the suggestions and feedback.
I hope I already mentioned this: We need two bedrooms and a study.
Attached is the site development plan as a screenshot.
I was previously mistaken about the setback requirements. However, my understanding now is that a boundary wall for the garage is allowed as long as it is not prohibited in the development plan. I cannot find any regulations regarding this in the plan.
@hanse987
Regarding the second parking space, I could position it in the upper right corner. I have 80sqm (860 sq ft) of space in front of the garage/entrance area.
@ypg
The kitchen is indeed not ideally planned. The kitchen needs to be functional for us. Honestly, we are not expert cooks and don’t spend much time in the kitchen. I find the lack of zoning between the entrance area and the bedrooms more problematic.
Thanks to everyone for the suggestions and feedback.
I hope I already mentioned this: We need two bedrooms and a study.
forrestde schrieb:
The kitchen needs to be functional for us,Is it? Making sandwiches works, maybe a bit more as well. There are rental apartments where people are happy with that kind of existing furnishing.. . .
RomeoZwo schrieb:
Oh, that 8.2m² (88 sq ft) in the last plan is supposed to be an office! And where are the building services and heating?That has already been addressed – everything is planned to be in the garage.ypg schrieb:
That topic has already been discussed – everything goes into the garage.Which means a garage built on the property boundary is no longer part of the discussion. The exception only applies to "garages and buildings without living spaces or heating appliances." Has anyone considered how well, for example, moisture (which is common in garages during winter due to wet, snow-covered cars) affects the equipment stored there? I can’t imagine that working well.F
forrestde19 May 2024 09:47I am mainly thinking that the utility connections should be located in the garage, such as the water meter, electrical panel/breaker box, and fiber optic handover. I would place the heat pump equipment in the utility room. Maybe I haven’t considered something... I marked it in yellow on the floor plan.
There is no gas supply in the building area (which I wouldn’t want anyway), so it will come down to an air-to-water heat pump. If the heat pump is installed with separate outdoor and indoor units, hopefully the space needed in the utility room will be manageable. Strictly speaking, having a heat pump in the garage with a boundary wall might be a bit too casual, since it’s not considered a “fireplace appliance.”
In summary:
Having the house connections in the garage results from this particular floor plan. Thanks to your suggestions, I am now basically questioning this floor plan and am going back to square one or a few steps back 🙂
Our requirements:
- Garage with access to the utility room
- 2 bedrooms and 1 office (one bedroom is the master, the other for escape because one of the gentlemen snores unbearably)
- Utility room at least 12sqm (129 sqft)
- Single-story house (bungalow) with about 120–130sqm (1,292–1,399 sqft), preferably less rather than more due to cost reasons
There is no gas supply in the building area (which I wouldn’t want anyway), so it will come down to an air-to-water heat pump. If the heat pump is installed with separate outdoor and indoor units, hopefully the space needed in the utility room will be manageable. Strictly speaking, having a heat pump in the garage with a boundary wall might be a bit too casual, since it’s not considered a “fireplace appliance.”
In summary:
Having the house connections in the garage results from this particular floor plan. Thanks to your suggestions, I am now basically questioning this floor plan and am going back to square one or a few steps back 🙂
Our requirements:
- Garage with access to the utility room
- 2 bedrooms and 1 office (one bedroom is the master, the other for escape because one of the gentlemen snores unbearably)
- Utility room at least 12sqm (129 sqft)
- Single-story house (bungalow) with about 120–130sqm (1,292–1,399 sqft), preferably less rather than more due to cost reasons
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