ᐅ Floor plan design 135-150 sqm, foundation slab, building gap (vacant lot)

Hello everyone,
we are planning to start building our house next year and have already put some thought into the floor plan. You can find a first draft attached.
The plot has already been purchased (Rhineland-Palatinate). Although it is not ideally shaped, the location on the edge of a field and the attractive price convinced us. The garden faces northwest, but in the evenings there is still enough sunlight because next door there is only a hedge about 1.5 m (5 feet) high and a low garage (house #9) – we tested this on site.
We want to position the house towards the rear, facing the field edge, since this area is secluded and offers a nice view due to the gentle slope of the plot. Because of the narrow width of the plot, the possible exterior width of the house is about 7–7.30 m (23–24 feet). The required 3 m (10 feet) setback from the neighbors is observed. Only the neighbor at house number 11 does not maintain this distance, but according to the local municipality, this has no impact on our building permit/planning permission.
At the same time, we are having floor plan proposals prepared by various providers and are looking forward to the results. So far, we have contacted the following companies:

• Viebrockhaus, Klinger and All inclusive appeal to us.
• Fullwood (interesting because of the very thin walls, but we have concerns about sound insulation; the plot is in a quiet residential area without major roads or railway tracks nearby)
• Town & Country – an affordable alternative with the Aura 125 model, in case the others exceed our budget
• Three regional solid construction providers – recommended by family
• A local carpentry company that builds ecological prefab houses, known to our family

Questionnaire:
Development plan/restrictions
Plot size
470 sqm (approx. 13–14 m x 35 m) (approx. 43,000 sq ft (approx. 43,000 sq ft))
Slope
Slight cross slope (approx. 0.5 m (1.6 feet) over 13–14 m (43–46 feet))

Site coverage ratio
§34
Floor space index
§34
Building window, building line, and boundary
3 m (10 feet) to neighbor, 5 m (16 feet) to street
Edge development
No
Number of parking spaces
2
Number of floors
1.5–2
Roof type
Gable roof
Architectural style

Orientation
gable end facing street

Maximum heights/limits
§34
Other requirements

Homeowners’ requirements
Architectural style, roof shape, building type
Flat gable roof, gable end orientation, single-family house

Basement, floors
1.5–2, on slab foundation
Number of residents, age
2 adults in late 20s, 1 dog, 1 child planned after house completion
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor
Approx. 135–150 sqm (1,450–1,615 sq ft)
Office: family use or home office?
2 home office workspaces
Sleeping guests per year
Max. 2, multiple times a year
Open or closed layout
Open
Conservative or modern architecture
Modern
Open kitchen, cooking island
Open kitchen with half or full cooking island
Number of dining seats
6; dining tables measuring 2.65 x 0.95 m (8.7 x 3.1 feet) available
Fireplace
No
Music/stereo wall
Wall with TV and speakers, at least 3.5 m (11.5 feet) wide
Balcony, roof terrace
No
Garage, carport
Carport with 1 parking space and 1 open parking space
Utility garden, greenhouse
No
Additional wishes/special features/daily routine, also reasons why some things should or shouldn’t be included

• We both work 30–50% from home.

• Rooms
• Ground floor: large living/dining/kitchen area (min. 45 sqm (485 sq ft)) facing rear toward field edge, with large floor-to-ceiling windows, kitchen with half or full cooking island, large dining table 2.7 x 1 m (8.9 x 3.3 feet), 1 guest toilet, utility and storage room
• Upper floor: 2 bedrooms, dressing room, 1 office, 1 bathroom
• Technology: KfW 55 standard with underfloor heating, air-to-water heat pump with cooling function or separate air conditioning, and central ventilation system
• Windows: gray exterior plastic frames, white interior
• Bathroom, WC & utility room tiled, all other rooms with high-quality vinyl flooring at 65€/sqm
• Walls Q3 fine plaster finish
• Sun protection: ground floor with venetian blinds, upper floor with aluminum roller shutters, electric
• We place great importance on good sound and heat insulation; heat insulation meeting the legal minimum is sufficient for us
• Preliminary preparations for terrace roof, carport & wallbox
• Optional: carport, photovoltaic system, terrace 7 x 4 m (23 x 13 feet)
• House entrance either side or front, with canopy

House design
Designer:
Do-it-Yourself
Personal budget for the house, including fittings:
500,000€ house, turnkey including painting and flooring
100,000€ additional building costs & contingency
Exterior landscaping separate
Preferred heating technology:
Heat pump with underfloor heating

If you have to give up on anything, which details/extensions
-What you can do without:
Separate dressing room, smaller utility room, staircase design
-What you cannot do without:
Large living/dining area, open kitchen with island, office with 2 workspaces

Why is the design the way it is now? For example:
A mix of many examples from various magazines...
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad?
Good question, we have tried to implement our wishes and therefore look forward to feedback.
We look forward to your feedback and tips 🙂

Best regards

Notes BEFORE the floor plan:
- The selection of providers ranges across very different “leagues.” It’s roughly like comparing Audi and Dacia at the same time.
- The §34 regulation makes things a bit more complicated (for example: Are brick façades even allowed if there are none in the neighborhood?). I would recommend a different approach here: work with an architect to create a preliminary design and submit a building inquiry (building permit / planning permission inquiry). Only after that is approved should you sign the construction contract. Otherwise, it can happen that the building authority ultimately says, “The house design does not correspond to the neighboring buildings.”
- Also, the budget should be clearly considered here. Including brick façades in the price expectations will be tight. (We had a development plan requiring brick façades and had to take care of that. It is noticeably more expensive than a plaster façade.)

The floor plan itself:
The plot imposes quite a few conditions. I noticed a few things, although much is also dictated by the shape of the house, which is set by the plot.
- There are hardly any windows facing east. Is there a reason for this?
- Depending on the situation with children and guests, the staircase in the living room could be disruptive. I would consider the following: move the staircase forward to where the storage room currently is, and position the storage under the stairs (and extend it if needed). This way, there would be no “through traffic” in the living room anymore. It would also be possible to plan some type of door (regular, sliding, or similar) between the living room and hallway for more privacy if there is more traffic.
- Bathroom: Is there no bathtub planned, or is the shower and bathtub combined?
- The walk-in closet is quite large. It doesn’t need that much “dance floor” space in the middle. I would consider slightly reducing it and instead enlarging the children’s room marginally towards the top of the plan. (For example: 80cm (cabinet + 20cm clearance) + 100cm (window) + 80cm (cabinet + 20cm clearance) would very likely be sufficient for the walk-in closet and would give the children’s room 27cm (about 11 inches) more space—enough room for bookshelves behind the door or similar.)

Overall, I really like the plan given the constraints imposed by the plot. The only thing that would drive me crazy (warning: very subjective!) is the staircase in the living-dining area.

Hebel1000 schrieb:

§34

Is a two-story house allowed?

What does the neighboring development look like?

Papierturm schrieb:

- There are hardly any windows facing east. Is there a reason for that?

Probably because of the neighbor. What does the neighbor have there?

Basically, it should be feasible. Unfortunately, I can't judge the dimensions well enough to tell if a lot is planned too tightly.
You could still refine the upper floor since the dressing room for the ballroom takes up a lot of space. The bedroom is probably much too narrow since a bed around 2.20 m (7 ft 3 in) long won't fit snugly against the wall. Then you wouldn't have a passageway to the window or the other side of the bed.
The facade design on the north side might also look off.

In my opinion, a width of 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in) is too narrow to fit a dining table and sofa area side by side. Also, anyone sitting or relaxing probably wouldn’t enjoy seeing the front door directly from there.
A suggestion: place the living area opposite the stairs and locate the kitchen by the terrace to improve the overall layout.

A plot that is 13 to 14 meters (43 to 46 feet) wide is actually too narrow for a proper building project. You often end up with a kind of townhouse floor plan, even though it is supposed to be a detached single-family house. Tip: Don’t buy anything less than 18 meters (59 feet) wide.

A small addition regarding facing bricks:
In my opinion, only thin brick slips are suitable for this property.

Fully brick-clad walls become noticeably thicker, and there isn’t enough space here for that.
(Unfortunately, brick slips are not significantly cheaper.)

Marvinius2016 schrieb:

Tip: Don’t buy anything less than 18m (59 feet) wide

Well, that’s a bit late now. I also find that quite patronizing.

I think the floor plan is pretty good. The staircase in the living area would have bothered me too. Maybe separate it off; it doesn’t have to remain open on the left side. Moving it toward the storage room would probably cause issues with the bathroom upstairs.
Upstairs, you just have to be careful that there is enough headroom despite the pitched roof.

By the way, I also have a house 7m (23 feet) wide and live very comfortably in it.