ᐅ Floor plan design for a single-family house with a basement on a sloped site
Created on: 16 Sep 2017 11:43
C
cherio
Hello!
Last year, we purchased a 709m² (7,631 sq ft) sloped plot of land and are now working on the floor plan and obtaining quotes from local home builders. I created a rough floor plan using MS Visio and shared it with the builders. They were allowed and encouraged to modify and optimize the plan based on their experience. We have now received a draft and a quote that largely meet our expectations. In my template, I designed a U-shaped staircase, but the builder’s representative modified the plan for their offer to include a straight staircase. This staircase from the basement to the ground floor, however, opens directly into the middle of the living/dining area.
This raises the question for us about potential issues such as cold air from below, drafts, and other negative effects. The builder said that basements are not as cold as they used to be. But what if the door downstairs is left open and there is a draft going upstairs? What if our children come home with friends and stand right in the middle of the living room?
Otherwise, we are already very happy with the upper floor and the ground floor layout. Some minor adjustments can still be made in the basement, for example, access from the carport into the basement room, and so forth.
Here are the details:
Development plan/restrictions: Yes
Plot size: 709m² (7,631 sq ft)
Slope: Yes
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.4
Plot ratio: 0.8
Building envelope, building line, and boundaries:
Edge development: garages/carports allowed
Number of parking spaces
Number of floors: 2 full stories
Roof type: gable roof 28°–38°
Architectural style
Orientation
Maximum heights/limits: eaves height 6m (20 ft) above natural ground level
Additional requirements: transverse gables and roof structures only allowed on the hillside side, due to noise protection
Owners’ requirements:
Style, roof type, building type: detached single-family home with basement
Levels: basement, ground floor, attic
Number and age of inhabitants: 2 adults (36, 37), 2 children (1, 3)
Space requirements on ground and upper floor
Office: family use or home office? Family use
Guest bedrooms per year: 5–10
Open or closed layout: open
Traditional or modern construction: traditional
Open kitchen, island: yes
Number of dining seats: 6–8
Fireplace: yes
Music/speaker wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: double carport
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Other wishes/special features/daily routine, please also explain why you want or do not want certain features:
WC in basement, so the children do not have to walk through the whole house when playing outside. Storage room on the ground floor to hold water crates and the vacuum cleaner. Children’s bedrooms of equal size with views of greenery.
House design:
Planner:
- Planner from a construction company: Yes
- Do-it-yourself: MS Visio drawing
What do you particularly like and why?: small hallway in the upper floor, layout and size of bedrooms upstairs; orientation of rooms on ground and upper floor according to cardinal directions; open design; large windows facing south; office in basement; hidden coat closet under the stairs in basement
What don’t you like and why?: staircase exit on ground floor; entrance area in basement possibly too small
Price estimate according to architect/planner: €280,000 including carport
Personal price limit for the house, including fittings: €360,000 total, excluding landscaping
Preferred heating technology: air-to-water heat pump with ventilation system and heat recovery (Proxon). The Proxon by Zimmermann Lüftung.
If you had to skip some features or extensions, which ones?
- Could skip: fireplace, wood stove on ground floor; double carport (possibly later)
- Could not skip:
Why did the design turn out like it is now?
Received template and optimized with own ideas.
Standard plan from planner? No, customer-specific.
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad?
What is your most important/fundamental question about the floor plan, summarized in 130 characters?
- The plan for the offer shows a straight staircase. This staircase from basement to ground floor opens right into the middle of the living/dining room. We wonder about cold air from below, drafts, and other negative effects.
I look forward to your suggestions and constructive feedback.
Best regards,
Cherio
Last year, we purchased a 709m² (7,631 sq ft) sloped plot of land and are now working on the floor plan and obtaining quotes from local home builders. I created a rough floor plan using MS Visio and shared it with the builders. They were allowed and encouraged to modify and optimize the plan based on their experience. We have now received a draft and a quote that largely meet our expectations. In my template, I designed a U-shaped staircase, but the builder’s representative modified the plan for their offer to include a straight staircase. This staircase from the basement to the ground floor, however, opens directly into the middle of the living/dining area.
This raises the question for us about potential issues such as cold air from below, drafts, and other negative effects. The builder said that basements are not as cold as they used to be. But what if the door downstairs is left open and there is a draft going upstairs? What if our children come home with friends and stand right in the middle of the living room?
Otherwise, we are already very happy with the upper floor and the ground floor layout. Some minor adjustments can still be made in the basement, for example, access from the carport into the basement room, and so forth.
Here are the details:
Development plan/restrictions: Yes
Plot size: 709m² (7,631 sq ft)
Slope: Yes
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.4
Plot ratio: 0.8
Building envelope, building line, and boundaries:
Edge development: garages/carports allowed
Number of parking spaces
Number of floors: 2 full stories
Roof type: gable roof 28°–38°
Architectural style
Orientation
Maximum heights/limits: eaves height 6m (20 ft) above natural ground level
Additional requirements: transverse gables and roof structures only allowed on the hillside side, due to noise protection
Owners’ requirements:
Style, roof type, building type: detached single-family home with basement
Levels: basement, ground floor, attic
Number and age of inhabitants: 2 adults (36, 37), 2 children (1, 3)
Space requirements on ground and upper floor
Office: family use or home office? Family use
Guest bedrooms per year: 5–10
Open or closed layout: open
Traditional or modern construction: traditional
Open kitchen, island: yes
Number of dining seats: 6–8
Fireplace: yes
Music/speaker wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: double carport
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Other wishes/special features/daily routine, please also explain why you want or do not want certain features:
WC in basement, so the children do not have to walk through the whole house when playing outside. Storage room on the ground floor to hold water crates and the vacuum cleaner. Children’s bedrooms of equal size with views of greenery.
House design:
Planner:
- Planner from a construction company: Yes
- Do-it-yourself: MS Visio drawing
What do you particularly like and why?: small hallway in the upper floor, layout and size of bedrooms upstairs; orientation of rooms on ground and upper floor according to cardinal directions; open design; large windows facing south; office in basement; hidden coat closet under the stairs in basement
What don’t you like and why?: staircase exit on ground floor; entrance area in basement possibly too small
Price estimate according to architect/planner: €280,000 including carport
Personal price limit for the house, including fittings: €360,000 total, excluding landscaping
Preferred heating technology: air-to-water heat pump with ventilation system and heat recovery (Proxon). The Proxon by Zimmermann Lüftung.
If you had to skip some features or extensions, which ones?
- Could skip: fireplace, wood stove on ground floor; double carport (possibly later)
- Could not skip:
Why did the design turn out like it is now?
Received template and optimized with own ideas.
Standard plan from planner? No, customer-specific.
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad?
What is your most important/fundamental question about the floor plan, summarized in 130 characters?
- The plan for the offer shows a straight staircase. This staircase from basement to ground floor opens right into the middle of the living/dining room. We wonder about cold air from below, drafts, and other negative effects.
I look forward to your suggestions and constructive feedback.
Best regards,
Cherio
ypg schrieb:
I would place the living room with kitchen in the basement, possibly adding a pantry and a restroom.
Adjust the ground floor and upper floor accordingly, maybe put the parents’ bedroom under the roof, and the children’s rooms and utility room on the ground floor. Just think sensibly rather than standardizing.
It might even be possible to manage with one less floor, which would help stay within the budget. @ypg was that a hint?
I can understand why the original poster doesn’t want to answer my questions, but I don’t understand how someone can think it’s realistic to build basically three stories and stay within the budget (let's say 320,000 euros) just because the architect said so. That’s why I asked about the cost per cubic meter!
The basement level here serves as the entrance floor, which is exposed on roughly the front half.
Wherever the two designs differ, I prefer the "red" design. However, even though exceptions can be requested, I would expect the initial planning to follow the specified roof pitches. If necessary, the builder should then inform the client if this does not align with their wishlist.
I don’t see the cross-gable roof (referred to as a dormer here) working like this in the children's rooms.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Wherever the two designs differ, I prefer the "red" design. However, even though exceptions can be requested, I would expect the initial planning to follow the specified roof pitches. If necessary, the builder should then inform the client if this does not align with their wishlist.
I don’t see the cross-gable roof (referred to as a dormer here) working like this in the children's rooms.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
A basement, to me, is a floor that is mostly underground and therefore less valuable as living space because the quality of light and atmosphere does not compare to that of regular living rooms.
For a sloped lot, one should distinguish between the lower ground floor and the basement, and consider why they are building a basement in the first place, as well as what truly defines living space.
Not just for me, the opportunity to step out of the living area at ground level and thus access fresh air and nature, such as a garden, is the greatest motivation to build one’s own house at all—rather than prioritizing the best location for basement rooms simply because of the standard expectation of a house with a basement (building permit / planning permission).
For a sloped lot, one should distinguish between the lower ground floor and the basement, and consider why they are building a basement in the first place, as well as what truly defines living space.
Not just for me, the opportunity to step out of the living area at ground level and thus access fresh air and nature, such as a garden, is the greatest motivation to build one’s own house at all—rather than prioritizing the best location for basement rooms simply because of the standard expectation of a house with a basement (building permit / planning permission).
Either way, this sloped basement is a hybrid, with a ground floor at the front and a basement at the back, offering all the possibilities that come with that. This doesn’t really affect the top floor, which I think is already used as effectively as possible – we’ll see what remains after adjusting the knee wall height (where feasible) and the roof pitch.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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