ᐅ Floor Plan Design for a Semi-Detached House 17x10 m – Optimal Use of Space?
Created on: 7 Aug 2018 12:10
M
MadameP
Hello everyone,
I’ve been following the forum for a while and have been pondering over a practical floor plan for our semi-detached house project, but I just can’t make progress. The maximum allowed footprint for each half of the semi-detached house is 8.50m (28 feet) wide by 10m (33 feet) deep, so we don’t have to build a “narrow” house. If possible, we want a staircase with straight steps, either straight or a half-turn landing staircase (I simply can’t stand the steps that narrow towards the middle and don’t want to walk on that for the next 20 years...). The “standard” semi-detached floor plan with guest bathroom, cloakroom, spiral staircase one behind the other and then living area etc. doesn’t appeal to us at all. We’re not necessarily looking for fancy features that take up unnecessary space but want the “perfect” layout with a bit of flair. As a layperson, I’ve been stuck on this for weeks—whenever I think I solved the ground floor, the upper floor doesn’t fit and vice versa. So I’m hoping for your input.
We already own the plot, and the plan is to rent out one half of the semi-detached house and live in the other. That means we will build one showpiece and one with decent standard; the exterior should be uniform.
I’ll just start:
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 479 sqm (5158 sq ft), 23m (75 ft) wide, 20.80m (68 ft) deep
Slope: slight incline towards southwest, about 1.50m (5 ft) max over the plot depth and width
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.35
Floor space index (FSI): 0.7
Building line / boundary: 3m (10 ft) setback line (not including garages etc.), no defined building envelope
Edge development: no (garage allowed)
Parking spaces: 2 per unit, total 4
Number of floors: 2 full stories
Roof type: pitch 25–45 degrees, gable, half-hipped, vaulted
Style:
Orientation:
Maximum height / limits: max. building height 9.50m (31 ft)
Additional requirements: none
Homeowners’ requirements
Style, roof, building type: modern, clean lines, simple building shape, gable roof
Basement, floors: basement preferred, 2 full stories, attic as expansion reserve
Number of occupants, ages: 3 (45/40/2); the second half of the semi-detached house should be suitable for a family with 2 children
Space needs, ground and upper floors:
Ground floor: guest toilet, cloakroom, large open living/dining area, open kitchen
Upper floor: large children’s room, master bedroom, family bathroom, possibly small study for home office
Attic (expansion reserve): studio / guest room / hobby room, connections/drywall for shower bathroom
Office use: family use and home office
Overnight guests per year: about 20 nights, 1-4 persons
Open or closed architecture: mixed—living/dining/kitchen open, stairs to basement and attic closed, no direct access to upper floor from living area
Traditional or modern construction: modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: both
Number of dining seats: 8
Fireplace: yes, if within budget
Music/speaker wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: no, 2 parking spaces
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons why certain things should or shouldn’t be:
The attic should be finished by ourselves. If the basement doesn’t fit the budget, a utility room must be planned on the ground floor; however, due to the slope, we prefer to invest in the basement. The family bathroom should ideally have a T-layout with a level-access shower and toilets “back to back.” Walk-in closet in the master bedroom is desirable but not a must; if not possible, at least 3m (10 ft), preferably 3.50m (11.5 ft) for wardrobes.
House design
Designer: architect from a construction company
What do you like most? Why?
- the opposite entrances
- the straight staircase
- the kitchen/dining layout
- glass wall with door to separate hallway and kitchen in the design of the semi-detached house on the upper plan side
What do you dislike? Why?
- planned without basement; if including basement, the stairs are located between kitchen and dining area (going all the way through the house); with basement, utility room could be omitted
- staircase too much “in the middle” — I would prefer it shifted slightly to the right side of the plan to gain more living space
- 4 to 4.5m (13–15 feet) window front with sliding door to the garden desired instead of regular doors to better open living space to the garden
- semi-detached units are not offset in height relative to each other (this was a request to avoid an overly massive-looking building and to reduce the need for extensive land grading in the southern half—the natural slope should easily allow a staggered design)
- maximum width of 8.50m (28 feet) per semi-detached unit is not fully utilized (only 7.75m (25 feet))
- upper floor bathroom too small / poor layout
Estimated price according to architect/planner: to come (currently company holiday)
Personal price limit for the house, including fixtures: 700k
Preferred heating system: preferably geothermal, if budget allows
If you had to give up something, which details/expansions could you forgo?
- can give up: straight staircase, geothermal, attic expansion reserve (in that case, the upper floor layout would need to change significantly as guest room and one staircase would no longer be needed), T-bathroom
- cannot give up: basement
Why was the design created as it is now? For example:
Standard design from planner? We still need to discuss that; we received the plans shortly before the construction company’s holiday started.
Which requests from you were implemented by the architect? Straight staircase, maximum privacy from neighbors, not a standard cookie-cutter floor plan.
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad? As a layperson, I don’t feel qualified to call it “good” or “bad.” I can only say what I like or dislike, which I have mostly summarized above. We basically like the draft and think it could work with the proper modifications.
What is the most important fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Would changing the staircase but keeping the entrance arrangement significantly gain living space, and would basement and attic alter the layout?
I’ve been following the forum for a while and have been pondering over a practical floor plan for our semi-detached house project, but I just can’t make progress. The maximum allowed footprint for each half of the semi-detached house is 8.50m (28 feet) wide by 10m (33 feet) deep, so we don’t have to build a “narrow” house. If possible, we want a staircase with straight steps, either straight or a half-turn landing staircase (I simply can’t stand the steps that narrow towards the middle and don’t want to walk on that for the next 20 years...). The “standard” semi-detached floor plan with guest bathroom, cloakroom, spiral staircase one behind the other and then living area etc. doesn’t appeal to us at all. We’re not necessarily looking for fancy features that take up unnecessary space but want the “perfect” layout with a bit of flair. As a layperson, I’ve been stuck on this for weeks—whenever I think I solved the ground floor, the upper floor doesn’t fit and vice versa. So I’m hoping for your input.
We already own the plot, and the plan is to rent out one half of the semi-detached house and live in the other. That means we will build one showpiece and one with decent standard; the exterior should be uniform.
I’ll just start:
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 479 sqm (5158 sq ft), 23m (75 ft) wide, 20.80m (68 ft) deep
Slope: slight incline towards southwest, about 1.50m (5 ft) max over the plot depth and width
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.35
Floor space index (FSI): 0.7
Building line / boundary: 3m (10 ft) setback line (not including garages etc.), no defined building envelope
Edge development: no (garage allowed)
Parking spaces: 2 per unit, total 4
Number of floors: 2 full stories
Roof type: pitch 25–45 degrees, gable, half-hipped, vaulted
Style:
Orientation:
Maximum height / limits: max. building height 9.50m (31 ft)
Additional requirements: none
Homeowners’ requirements
Style, roof, building type: modern, clean lines, simple building shape, gable roof
Basement, floors: basement preferred, 2 full stories, attic as expansion reserve
Number of occupants, ages: 3 (45/40/2); the second half of the semi-detached house should be suitable for a family with 2 children
Space needs, ground and upper floors:
Ground floor: guest toilet, cloakroom, large open living/dining area, open kitchen
Upper floor: large children’s room, master bedroom, family bathroom, possibly small study for home office
Attic (expansion reserve): studio / guest room / hobby room, connections/drywall for shower bathroom
Office use: family use and home office
Overnight guests per year: about 20 nights, 1-4 persons
Open or closed architecture: mixed—living/dining/kitchen open, stairs to basement and attic closed, no direct access to upper floor from living area
Traditional or modern construction: modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: both
Number of dining seats: 8
Fireplace: yes, if within budget
Music/speaker wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: no, 2 parking spaces
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons why certain things should or shouldn’t be:
The attic should be finished by ourselves. If the basement doesn’t fit the budget, a utility room must be planned on the ground floor; however, due to the slope, we prefer to invest in the basement. The family bathroom should ideally have a T-layout with a level-access shower and toilets “back to back.” Walk-in closet in the master bedroom is desirable but not a must; if not possible, at least 3m (10 ft), preferably 3.50m (11.5 ft) for wardrobes.
House design
Designer: architect from a construction company
What do you like most? Why?
- the opposite entrances
- the straight staircase
- the kitchen/dining layout
- glass wall with door to separate hallway and kitchen in the design of the semi-detached house on the upper plan side
What do you dislike? Why?
- planned without basement; if including basement, the stairs are located between kitchen and dining area (going all the way through the house); with basement, utility room could be omitted
- staircase too much “in the middle” — I would prefer it shifted slightly to the right side of the plan to gain more living space
- 4 to 4.5m (13–15 feet) window front with sliding door to the garden desired instead of regular doors to better open living space to the garden
- semi-detached units are not offset in height relative to each other (this was a request to avoid an overly massive-looking building and to reduce the need for extensive land grading in the southern half—the natural slope should easily allow a staggered design)
- maximum width of 8.50m (28 feet) per semi-detached unit is not fully utilized (only 7.75m (25 feet))
- upper floor bathroom too small / poor layout
Estimated price according to architect/planner: to come (currently company holiday)
Personal price limit for the house, including fixtures: 700k
Preferred heating system: preferably geothermal, if budget allows
If you had to give up something, which details/expansions could you forgo?
- can give up: straight staircase, geothermal, attic expansion reserve (in that case, the upper floor layout would need to change significantly as guest room and one staircase would no longer be needed), T-bathroom
- cannot give up: basement
Why was the design created as it is now? For example:
Standard design from planner? We still need to discuss that; we received the plans shortly before the construction company’s holiday started.
Which requests from you were implemented by the architect? Straight staircase, maximum privacy from neighbors, not a standard cookie-cutter floor plan.
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad? As a layperson, I don’t feel qualified to call it “good” or “bad.” I can only say what I like or dislike, which I have mostly summarized above. We basically like the draft and think it could work with the proper modifications.
What is the most important fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Would changing the staircase but keeping the entrance arrangement significantly gain living space, and would basement and attic alter the layout?
Tego12 schrieb:
- The stairs are located entirely in the dirty zone, so dirt always gets carried upstairs True... I need to rethink that.
Tego12 schrieb:
- A straight staircase in this position doesn’t leave room for practical rooms; the house is simply too small for that Hmm, okay. Would a 90-degree staircase with a landing achieve more?
Tego12 schrieb:
- The longer distance from the kitchen to the terrace is unfortunate and not very modern; direct access from the kitchen to the terrace is especially great in summer I partly agree with you, but in my opinion, the east side is the only possible location for the kitchen. Otherwise, the living area would have to be located either northeast or southeast (depending on the semi-detached house side) facing the street. Or am I missing something here?
Tego12 schrieb:
- Is the utility room for the washing machine? Even with a basement, it’s very convenient to have a dedicated laundry room on the upper floor... that eliminates the annoying trips up and down stairs with laundry Currently, we carry laundry from the second floor down to the basement laundry room, and it doesn’t bother us much. The washer and dryer will stay in the basement, so this compromise is acceptable. If we build with a basement, the utility room can be omitted or made smaller and converted into a pantry.
Tego12 schrieb:
- Upper floor: guest room and office of 6 square meters (about 65 square feet) each… better to combine them, otherwise no one will ever feel comfortable there because the rooms are tiny Definitely, I think this is just an initial suggestion and planning basis. I don’t like it as it is either.
Tego12 schrieb:
- On the upper floor, this type of staircase ruins practical rooms given the house size... There’s a reason why most semi-detached houses of this size look very similar... I’m not a fan either, but this design makes everything worse. I feared that. *cry* Should we completely redesign? Thanks so much for the input already.
MadameP schrieb:
Hmm, okay. Would a 90-degree landing staircase achieve more?
...
I feared as much. *crying* Should we completely redesign then? I'm not quite sure what puts you off the common floor plans. Here is an example with a landing. Try to describe what you want to be different.
With a basement and room for future expansion, you will probably not avoid having a landing.
Is the design really that bad? I don’t think so!
However, it could be a bit more relaxed if the staircase made a 90-degree turn on one or both sides. Just try it out: this way, less floor space is wasted. The wardrobe could also be installed in between.
Girl, you’re not getting any younger! One day you will hate that!
However, it could be a bit more relaxed if the staircase made a 90-degree turn on one or both sides. Just try it out: this way, less floor space is wasted. The wardrobe could also be installed in between.
MadameP schrieb:
At the moment, we carry the laundry from the second floor down to the laundry room in the basement, and it doesn’t bother us much.
Girl, you’re not getting any younger! One day you will hate that!
ypg schrieb:
Girl, you won't get any younger! At some point, you'll hate that! By then, haven’t you already planned the bungalow for the final stage?
kaho674 schrieb:
By that time, wouldn’t the bungalow already be planned for the final stage?You hesitate for 10 years before accepting it and spend 10 years looking for a plot of land. That’s 20 years spent in frustration.
I would rather include a guest room/office in the basement. There is enough space there.
I must admit that I’m attending a training course and have little time to review the designs.
With the stairway angle, a storage room would form at the top... or you could take part of the office space for that...
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