Hello everyone,
We are currently reviewing whether to make any changes to the standard floor plan from our home builder for our end-of-terrace house. There are stricter guidelines that I’m already sure will disappoint some forum members. Roughly, we’ve been told that exterior walls and the façade, including windows and exterior doors, cannot be altered, and load-bearing walls cannot be moved. This mainly concerns the staircase and stair wall. Most other interior walls, as far as we know, are movable. In principle, we could also move in with the unmodified standard layout, but we do see 1-2 points with potential for improvement (though maybe in the end this just fuels the Spec House Building - Small Changes, Unintended Consequences thread).
I will still fill out the questionnaire, even though most of it cannot be changed for us (in particular Section 1 on the development plan is more the home builder’s area).
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size – 207 m² (2,230 sq ft)
Slope – slight incline, I don’t have exact survey data, but we can’t change anything at the house entrances anyway.
Site coverage ratio – 0.4
Floor area ratio – 0.8
Building envelope, building line, and setback – not relevant since we cannot change the external shell
Edge development – not relevant since we cannot change the external shell
Number of parking spaces (already included) – garage plus parking space in front
Number of storeys – 2
Roof type – gable roof
Architectural style –
Orientation – north/south
Maximum heights / limits – not relevant
Other conditions: Hornbeam hedge along the cul-de-sac on our property (on the west side; in the floor plans it appears on the right because they are not north-oriented)
Homeowners’ Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: fixed by the home builder
Basement, floors: usable basement + 2 full stories + converted attic (already determined by the builder)
Number of occupants, ages: currently 2 (31 and 32); planning for 1-2 children
Space needs on ground and upper floors:
Office: family use or home office? Home office, both partly working remotely. Ideally, a separate space for each would be great, but if that’s not possible with potentially 2 children, it’s manageable.
Guest bedrooms per year: about 3-4 times a year
Open or closed layout: medium? Open transition between kitchen and living area is a must, but overall, some walls are okay.
Conservative or modern building style: –
Open kitchen, kitchen island: tends to “not fully closed” (see above), but we don’t necessarily need an island if something else is more practical or cost-effective.
Number of dining seats: for 4 people
Fireplace: no
Music / stereo wall: no
Balcony / roof terrace: no
Garage / carport: garage included
Utility garden / greenhouse: no (maybe a small bed later we’d do ourselves)
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why certain things should or shouldn’t be included:
We are both partly working remotely. Currently, we have an office and a desk in the living room. If possible, I’d prefer not to keep working in the living room. If two adults move in, it’s absolutely no problem; with one child it’s probably still fine, with two children… well, by then things might have changed anyway. I feel we’ll find a solution, and if someone locks themselves away in the 4 m² (43 sq ft) closet on the first floor (where the walls are still adjustable) or gets a desk in the bedroom, that might work.
House Design
Surroundings: To the south are garages for neighboring terrace houses, then a turning area (end of the cul-de-sac), followed by some individual trees and other detached houses. To the east is our block. Then a few small trees and a railway line (several meters lower). To the west, on our property, there is a city-required hornbeam hedge. We will try to negotiate a passage to the street (for bikes and so on). Since the second escape route on the ground floor is via the terrace, I see some chances, but city officials aren’t always easy.
Planning by:
- Home builder
What do you like especially? Why?
- I see the plan working for us both if the family plan doesn’t happen (then it’s very generous) and with 1-2 children as well.
What don’t you like? Why?
- Ground floor: (main pain point) Entrance is relatively narrow with little cloakroom space. The peninsula kitchen feels too small to work well (and probably requires an expensive extractor in the peninsula). The distance from the sofa to the TV is huge. The basement access is in the living room. We’ll probably manage some kind of furnishing on the ground floor, but right now it doesn’t exactly feel “yes, this is perfect.”
- Upper floor: We’ve debated whether to enlarge the 4 m² (43 sq ft) closet slightly to potentially use it later as an overflow office, but actually we find it as planned not bad at all (and initially more practical).
- Attic: The “landing” could be another possible office space if children come; we considered whether to separate it right away with a wall and door or leave it as shown.
So actually: except for the ground floor, we are quite satisfied; everything else is in the range of “if we want the jack-of-all-trades, maybe some changes could be made – or we keep it as is and see if the need arises.”
If you had to give up something, which details/extensions:
- We can give up: changes to the upper floor and attic
- We cannot give up: at least 1 office
Why is the design as it is now? e.g.
Standard plan from the home builder
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad?
I think it’s a solid floor plan for young families, but the ground floor worries me a bit. I feel maybe a different staircase shape would have helped, but as far as I’ve been told, that cannot be changed.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
How do we best arrange the ground floor? Should we still make some changes here?
Ideas for potential changes to the ground floor
Maybe reduce the kitchen size and straighten the hallway wall? (We’ve discussed this idea in the kitchen forum but haven’t talked to the planner yet.) The scale is off here (I think my cabinets are too large). The rough structural width in the kitchen at the narrowest point is 248 cm (98 inches), so roughly 240 cm (94 inches) minus about 130 cm (51 inches) for both kitchen sides would leave 110 cm (43 inches) aisle width. Also, the window would be moved to the corner. In return, there would be more cloakroom space in the hallway. Bad idea? Opinions?
Another question is a bit… can we reduce the distance between sofa and TV? I’ve just sketched in our current furniture; it would look roughly like this (sofa 275 x 220 cm (108 x 87 inches)).
Ideas so far include putting a shelf behind the sofa (but that blocks the terrace door more). Any other ideas?
Best regards
We are currently reviewing whether to make any changes to the standard floor plan from our home builder for our end-of-terrace house. There are stricter guidelines that I’m already sure will disappoint some forum members. Roughly, we’ve been told that exterior walls and the façade, including windows and exterior doors, cannot be altered, and load-bearing walls cannot be moved. This mainly concerns the staircase and stair wall. Most other interior walls, as far as we know, are movable. In principle, we could also move in with the unmodified standard layout, but we do see 1-2 points with potential for improvement (though maybe in the end this just fuels the Spec House Building - Small Changes, Unintended Consequences thread).
I will still fill out the questionnaire, even though most of it cannot be changed for us (in particular Section 1 on the development plan is more the home builder’s area).
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size – 207 m² (2,230 sq ft)
Slope – slight incline, I don’t have exact survey data, but we can’t change anything at the house entrances anyway.
Site coverage ratio – 0.4
Floor area ratio – 0.8
Building envelope, building line, and setback – not relevant since we cannot change the external shell
Edge development – not relevant since we cannot change the external shell
Number of parking spaces (already included) – garage plus parking space in front
Number of storeys – 2
Roof type – gable roof
Architectural style –
Orientation – north/south
Maximum heights / limits – not relevant
Other conditions: Hornbeam hedge along the cul-de-sac on our property (on the west side; in the floor plans it appears on the right because they are not north-oriented)
Homeowners’ Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: fixed by the home builder
Basement, floors: usable basement + 2 full stories + converted attic (already determined by the builder)
Number of occupants, ages: currently 2 (31 and 32); planning for 1-2 children
Space needs on ground and upper floors:
Office: family use or home office? Home office, both partly working remotely. Ideally, a separate space for each would be great, but if that’s not possible with potentially 2 children, it’s manageable.
Guest bedrooms per year: about 3-4 times a year
Open or closed layout: medium? Open transition between kitchen and living area is a must, but overall, some walls are okay.
Conservative or modern building style: –
Open kitchen, kitchen island: tends to “not fully closed” (see above), but we don’t necessarily need an island if something else is more practical or cost-effective.
Number of dining seats: for 4 people
Fireplace: no
Music / stereo wall: no
Balcony / roof terrace: no
Garage / carport: garage included
Utility garden / greenhouse: no (maybe a small bed later we’d do ourselves)
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why certain things should or shouldn’t be included:
We are both partly working remotely. Currently, we have an office and a desk in the living room. If possible, I’d prefer not to keep working in the living room. If two adults move in, it’s absolutely no problem; with one child it’s probably still fine, with two children… well, by then things might have changed anyway. I feel we’ll find a solution, and if someone locks themselves away in the 4 m² (43 sq ft) closet on the first floor (where the walls are still adjustable) or gets a desk in the bedroom, that might work.
House Design
Surroundings: To the south are garages for neighboring terrace houses, then a turning area (end of the cul-de-sac), followed by some individual trees and other detached houses. To the east is our block. Then a few small trees and a railway line (several meters lower). To the west, on our property, there is a city-required hornbeam hedge. We will try to negotiate a passage to the street (for bikes and so on). Since the second escape route on the ground floor is via the terrace, I see some chances, but city officials aren’t always easy.
Planning by:
- Home builder
What do you like especially? Why?
- I see the plan working for us both if the family plan doesn’t happen (then it’s very generous) and with 1-2 children as well.
What don’t you like? Why?
- Ground floor: (main pain point) Entrance is relatively narrow with little cloakroom space. The peninsula kitchen feels too small to work well (and probably requires an expensive extractor in the peninsula). The distance from the sofa to the TV is huge. The basement access is in the living room. We’ll probably manage some kind of furnishing on the ground floor, but right now it doesn’t exactly feel “yes, this is perfect.”
- Upper floor: We’ve debated whether to enlarge the 4 m² (43 sq ft) closet slightly to potentially use it later as an overflow office, but actually we find it as planned not bad at all (and initially more practical).
- Attic: The “landing” could be another possible office space if children come; we considered whether to separate it right away with a wall and door or leave it as shown.
So actually: except for the ground floor, we are quite satisfied; everything else is in the range of “if we want the jack-of-all-trades, maybe some changes could be made – or we keep it as is and see if the need arises.”
If you had to give up something, which details/extensions:
- We can give up: changes to the upper floor and attic
- We cannot give up: at least 1 office
Why is the design as it is now? e.g.
Standard plan from the home builder
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad?
I think it’s a solid floor plan for young families, but the ground floor worries me a bit. I feel maybe a different staircase shape would have helped, but as far as I’ve been told, that cannot be changed.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
How do we best arrange the ground floor? Should we still make some changes here?
Ideas for potential changes to the ground floor
Maybe reduce the kitchen size and straighten the hallway wall? (We’ve discussed this idea in the kitchen forum but haven’t talked to the planner yet.) The scale is off here (I think my cabinets are too large). The rough structural width in the kitchen at the narrowest point is 248 cm (98 inches), so roughly 240 cm (94 inches) minus about 130 cm (51 inches) for both kitchen sides would leave 110 cm (43 inches) aisle width. Also, the window would be moved to the corner. In return, there would be more cloakroom space in the hallway. Bad idea? Opinions?
Another question is a bit… can we reduce the distance between sofa and TV? I’ve just sketched in our current furniture; it would look roughly like this (sofa 275 x 220 cm (108 x 87 inches)).
Ideas so far include putting a shelf behind the sofa (but that blocks the terrace door more). Any other ideas?
Best regards
C
Costruttrice18 Jun 2023 18:16We have just purchased two sliding door frames for installation in drywall partitions. One is a standard model, available either as a DIY kit or pre-assembled at hardware stores. These come for finished wall thicknesses of 12.5 cm (5 inches) or 15 cm (6 inches).
For the second one, we needed custom dimensions and had to order it from a specialized dealer from a different manufacturer. These are also available for finished wall thicknesses of 12.5 cm (5 inches) or 15 cm (6 inches) — that is, CW 75 studs plus double plasterboard layers on each side, or CW 100 plus double plasterboard layers on each side.
The manufacturer also offers systems for electrical installations inside the frame as well as systems for mounting wall cabinets. In any case, it will be more expensive than a standard door.
For the second one, we needed custom dimensions and had to order it from a specialized dealer from a different manufacturer. These are also available for finished wall thicknesses of 12.5 cm (5 inches) or 15 cm (6 inches) — that is, CW 75 studs plus double plasterboard layers on each side, or CW 100 plus double plasterboard layers on each side.
The manufacturer also offers systems for electrical installations inside the frame as well as systems for mounting wall cabinets. In any case, it will be more expensive than a standard door.
I would give priority to the door leading to the kitchen here. It saves wall thickness, which is useful given the width of the house. Sliding doors running along the wall then obstruct either the kitchen or hallway layout options. After all, a terraced end house is not a spacious mansion, so you have to be careful not to block any potential layout possibilities.
mayglow schrieb:
I would have preferred a sliding door recessed into the partition wall. But well, a standard door is clearly much cheaper for us (and maybe the other option would have complicated the electrical planning?). If it ends up annoying us endlessly, we’ll either remove the door or replace it at some point with a folding sliding door or something like that. We also had the "problem" with the door always somehow being in the way.
Despite the additional cost, we decided on a door integrated into the drywall partition. There are also wall-mounted cabinets attached to that wall, and the electrical wiring and outlets were retained.
Our kitchen door is actually almost always open, and at first we didn’t even want a door at all, but especially when my husband makes his coffee at 4 a.m. and plates clatter around, I’m glad he can close the door and keep the noise downstairs.
Thank you for all the feedback from different perspectives. We are reconsidering everything carefully.
Currently, we have also requested a lot of other things, such as preparations for photovoltaic systems and for an electric vehicle charging station (wallbox). Apart from the skylights, all windows have roller shutters, and we have asked whether any external shading options could also be added for the skylights. We have also inquired about the reversibility of the heat pump (meaning using the heat pump for cooling as well).
None of these options are usually very expensive, but it is quite surprising how quickly the costs add up.
Currently, we have also requested a lot of other things, such as preparations for photovoltaic systems and for an electric vehicle charging station (wallbox). Apart from the skylights, all windows have roller shutters, and we have asked whether any external shading options could also be added for the skylights. We have also inquired about the reversibility of the heat pump (meaning using the heat pump for cooling as well).
None of these options are usually very expensive, but it is quite surprising how quickly the costs add up.
The shell construction is progressing! With all the rain and mud last week, the builder didn’t really want us on-site (which I can understand), but we did get a photo taken from the crane as a consolation. Since I didn’t ask for permission to share it, I won’t post it here, but it was pretty cool. The ground floor was almost completely built with masonry by then (I initially thought it would be poured concrete, but apparently not), and they didn’t forget our extra window either, which we could see.
Meanwhile, the special requests department (still a nice term) contacted us again to confirm if it was correct that we wanted a sink in the basement and shading for the roof windows (and what exactly we had in mind), because they can now provide us with offers. We don’t have those yet, but our neighbors paid around 3200 euros for two roller shutters on their roof windows (electric but solar-powered). That seems quite expensive to me, especially since solar is usually a retrofit solution to avoid running electrical cables. You could probably easily add it later if needed, but on the other hand, it would be nice to have it taken care of all at once.
Otherwise, the topic here was the floor plan. Upstairs, in the bathroom, almost all the neighbors we spoke to had changed the wall between the bathtub and the toilet, meaning this one (no, it’s not load-bearing):
The other two parties we talked to made it into a 1.20m (4 feet) half wall; I think we want to remove it completely and maybe have a 10cm (4 inches) ledge at the tub height instead. It might be a little odd when sitting on the toilet, but I’m not a fan of the enclosed feeling either. If you don’t want to increase the bathroom area, another option might be not to have both a bathtub and a shower (i.e., remove one or the other). But I find that hard to give up. Yes, we don’t bathe very often, but when we do, I really enjoy it.
Meanwhile, the special requests department (still a nice term) contacted us again to confirm if it was correct that we wanted a sink in the basement and shading for the roof windows (and what exactly we had in mind), because they can now provide us with offers. We don’t have those yet, but our neighbors paid around 3200 euros for two roller shutters on their roof windows (electric but solar-powered). That seems quite expensive to me, especially since solar is usually a retrofit solution to avoid running electrical cables. You could probably easily add it later if needed, but on the other hand, it would be nice to have it taken care of all at once.
Otherwise, the topic here was the floor plan. Upstairs, in the bathroom, almost all the neighbors we spoke to had changed the wall between the bathtub and the toilet, meaning this one (no, it’s not load-bearing):
The other two parties we talked to made it into a 1.20m (4 feet) half wall; I think we want to remove it completely and maybe have a 10cm (4 inches) ledge at the tub height instead. It might be a little odd when sitting on the toilet, but I’m not a fan of the enclosed feeling either. If you don’t want to increase the bathroom area, another option might be not to have both a bathtub and a shower (i.e., remove one or the other). But I find that hard to give up. Yes, we don’t bathe very often, but when we do, I really enjoy it.
mayglow schrieb:
We want to probably remove it completely and maybe have about 10cm (4 inches) of edging at the tub height instead, I think. That would always be my choice – but I also try to understand if, for four people, one wants some visual privacy at the toilet with a so-called privacy screen. However, I don’t see any real privacy here, since it is positioned beside the tub and not adjacent to the washbasin or entry.
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