ᐅ Floor Plan for a Complete Renovation of a Semi-Detached House into a Three-Story Family Home
Created on: 8 May 2024 23:07
D
DraislahHello everyone,
We are facing the exciting task of renovating and redesigning a semi-detached house in the city to create a modern and light-filled single-family home.
Our main focus is on the open, spacious communal area on the ground floor, which should offer a seamless connection to the terrace and garden. On the first floor, we plan the rooms for both children, a bathroom, and a versatile guest room or office.
The attic should have the character of an open loft with an exposed roof space (removed ceiling to the attic) featuring floor-to-ceiling gable windows on at least one side, if not both, and serve as the parents’ area. (--> some walls on the ground floor and attic will need to be removed!)
The basement will also be designed to be functional and open, with two separate rooms and an open area.
Efficiency and renewable energy are especially important to me in the design of this house.
The semi-detached house dates back to 1954 and is in need of major renovation. It is fully connected to all utilities and fully basemented, built with solid construction and a pitched roof. The windows are made of plastic with insulating glass, and the energy certificate shows an annual primary energy demand of 312.4 kWh/(m²a), corresponding to energy efficiency class H. Heating is currently provided by stoves, a unit heating system, and instantaneous water heaters.
I am looking forward to receiving your feedback and ideas, especially since we are still in an early planning phase!
Best regards!
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The semi-detached house is from 1954 and in need of renovation.
Year of construction / completion: approx. 1954
Utilities: fully connected
Basement: fully basemented
Condition: in need of major renovation
Construction type: solid masonry
Roof type: pitched roof
Roof: fully developed
Window type: plastic/insulating glass
Primary energy demand: 312.4 kWh/(m²a)
Energy efficiency rating: H
Heating system: stove heating, unit heating, instantaneous water heater
Total living area: approx. 162 m² (1,743 sq ft)
Plot size: 458 m² (0.11 acres)
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 460 m² (0.11 acres)
Slope: no
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: building line at the rear garden area
Number of parking spaces: at least 1
Number of floors: 3 floors
Orientation: southwest-northeast
Currently, the house is divided into 3 residential units with an extremely unattractive staircase --> challenge!
Client requirements
Style: modern
Number of occupants: 2 adults (40), 2 children (3 and 1)
Basement: storage + laundry
Ground floor: communal area --> very bright, open, as spacious as possible, extension with maximum size, cooking-eating-family living, garden view
1st floor: children + guest
2nd floor (attic): parents
Home office: only 1 parent, rarely used
Overnight guests per year: 20
Modern construction methods
Open kitchen / kitchen island
No fireplace
No garage, but bicycle and garden shed
Garden: lawn area with border beds
House design
Planning: preliminary design by architect
Cost estimate according to architect/planner: 600k
Preferred heating technology: heat pump with ground hoops in the garden or air-to-water system
If you had to give up, which details/features would you omit?
- Could give up: garage, bathtub, attic
- Cannot give up: modern energy supply: photovoltaics + heat pump, floor-to-ceiling gable windows, many windows, and lots of natural light
Why is the design the way it is now? For example:
Standard design from the planner?
Which requests were fulfilled by the architect?
A mix of many ideas from various magazines...
What do you think are its main strengths or weaknesses?
We are facing the exciting task of renovating and redesigning a semi-detached house in the city to create a modern and light-filled single-family home.
Our main focus is on the open, spacious communal area on the ground floor, which should offer a seamless connection to the terrace and garden. On the first floor, we plan the rooms for both children, a bathroom, and a versatile guest room or office.
The attic should have the character of an open loft with an exposed roof space (removed ceiling to the attic) featuring floor-to-ceiling gable windows on at least one side, if not both, and serve as the parents’ area. (--> some walls on the ground floor and attic will need to be removed!)
The basement will also be designed to be functional and open, with two separate rooms and an open area.
Efficiency and renewable energy are especially important to me in the design of this house.
The semi-detached house dates back to 1954 and is in need of major renovation. It is fully connected to all utilities and fully basemented, built with solid construction and a pitched roof. The windows are made of plastic with insulating glass, and the energy certificate shows an annual primary energy demand of 312.4 kWh/(m²a), corresponding to energy efficiency class H. Heating is currently provided by stoves, a unit heating system, and instantaneous water heaters.
I am looking forward to receiving your feedback and ideas, especially since we are still in an early planning phase!
Best regards!
-------------------------------
The semi-detached house is from 1954 and in need of renovation.
Year of construction / completion: approx. 1954
Utilities: fully connected
Basement: fully basemented
Condition: in need of major renovation
Construction type: solid masonry
Roof type: pitched roof
Roof: fully developed
Window type: plastic/insulating glass
Primary energy demand: 312.4 kWh/(m²a)
Energy efficiency rating: H
Heating system: stove heating, unit heating, instantaneous water heater
Total living area: approx. 162 m² (1,743 sq ft)
Plot size: 458 m² (0.11 acres)
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 460 m² (0.11 acres)
Slope: no
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: building line at the rear garden area
Number of parking spaces: at least 1
Number of floors: 3 floors
Orientation: southwest-northeast
Currently, the house is divided into 3 residential units with an extremely unattractive staircase --> challenge!
Client requirements
Style: modern
Number of occupants: 2 adults (40), 2 children (3 and 1)
Basement: storage + laundry
Ground floor: communal area --> very bright, open, as spacious as possible, extension with maximum size, cooking-eating-family living, garden view
1st floor: children + guest
2nd floor (attic): parents
Home office: only 1 parent, rarely used
Overnight guests per year: 20
Modern construction methods
Open kitchen / kitchen island
No fireplace
No garage, but bicycle and garden shed
Garden: lawn area with border beds
House design
Planning: preliminary design by architect
Cost estimate according to architect/planner: 600k
Preferred heating technology: heat pump with ground hoops in the garden or air-to-water system
If you had to give up, which details/features would you omit?
- Could give up: garage, bathtub, attic
- Cannot give up: modern energy supply: photovoltaics + heat pump, floor-to-ceiling gable windows, many windows, and lots of natural light
Why is the design the way it is now? For example:
Standard design from the planner?
Which requests were fulfilled by the architect?
A mix of many ideas from various magazines...
What do you think are its main strengths or weaknesses?
H
hanghaus20239 May 2024 10:48Garages will be removed, so where will the parking spaces be located?
H
hanghaus20239 May 2024 11:08I really don’t like the attic floor. The two chimneys are unnecessary and should be removed. That would also improve the bathrooms. Is the plan to have a roof terrace on the upper floor?
H
hanghaus20239 May 2024 12:27This is how I have envisioned it.
This reminds me of the house by @Ben_des in the thread
https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/grundriss-ideen-einfamilienhaus-als-anbau-mit-3-kinderzimmern-und-buero.46349/
It’s almost the same semi-detached house, just from 1939.
I assume that it wasn’t
that led to the wall positions, but rather the original floor plan?!
In that sense, it’s quite well solved. I wouldn’t bring up parking regulations as the first argument, but I would also support keeping the garages—even if there is currently no car in the family.
What bothers me, though, is the completely open chill-out area. Not that I’m thinking conservatively, but a wall also provides structure, coziness, and privacy. That’s missing here. The TV lacks a back wall, and a privacy screen of 2–3 meters (6.5–10 feet) near the terrace would also help prevent views of stored items on the terrace. Therefore, I would suggest a 2-meter (6.5-foot) wall at the top left of the plan to provide privacy from the garage and shield the sofa area, as well as a 2–3 meter (6.5–10 feet) long wall by the terrace at the top right. These don’t necessarily need to reach all the way to the ceiling.
Furthermore, what would really bother me are the wet rooms: one on the ground floor is enough, one on the first floor could also suffice if the attic has a family-friendly bathroom to compensate. I wouldn’t argue against having a bathtub, since there are plenty of good reasons to keep it (medical baths, washing pets, soaking wool, cleaning groceries, or other hobbies—after all, people don’t just search Pinterest for things they already know).
Since the attic can’t really serve as a separate apartment, I tend to agree with @hanghaus2023’s version. I would arrange the whole attic as a family bathroom, and the office could be set up in the smaller bedroom.
https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/grundriss-ideen-einfamilienhaus-als-anbau-mit-3-kinderzimmern-und-buero.46349/
It’s almost the same semi-detached house, just from 1939.
I assume that it wasn’t
Draislah schrieb:
A mixture of many examples from various magazines...
that led to the wall positions, but rather the original floor plan?!
In that sense, it’s quite well solved. I wouldn’t bring up parking regulations as the first argument, but I would also support keeping the garages—even if there is currently no car in the family.
What bothers me, though, is the completely open chill-out area. Not that I’m thinking conservatively, but a wall also provides structure, coziness, and privacy. That’s missing here. The TV lacks a back wall, and a privacy screen of 2–3 meters (6.5–10 feet) near the terrace would also help prevent views of stored items on the terrace. Therefore, I would suggest a 2-meter (6.5-foot) wall at the top left of the plan to provide privacy from the garage and shield the sofa area, as well as a 2–3 meter (6.5–10 feet) long wall by the terrace at the top right. These don’t necessarily need to reach all the way to the ceiling.
Furthermore, what would really bother me are the wet rooms: one on the ground floor is enough, one on the first floor could also suffice if the attic has a family-friendly bathroom to compensate. I wouldn’t argue against having a bathtub, since there are plenty of good reasons to keep it (medical baths, washing pets, soaking wool, cleaning groceries, or other hobbies—after all, people don’t just search Pinterest for things they already know).
Since the attic can’t really serve as a separate apartment, I tend to agree with @hanghaus2023’s version. I would arrange the whole attic as a family bathroom, and the office could be set up in the smaller bedroom.
hanghaus2023 schrieb:
Where will the parking spaces go once the garages are removed?A parking space in the driveway is provided as a formality. We do not own a car and do not plan to have one.Similar topics