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:
and on the colored exterior view I couldn’t spot the front door The front door is located at the corner by the carport, between the door intercom and the red car.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
I also prefer the red one in terms of the overall layout.
However, both options with the two-story entrance facade just look unbalanced to me: a single-family house with a basement squeezed in underneath. That’s a matter of taste [emoji848]
I would advocate for a hillside house, for example, using a split-level design.
But apparently, this style is popular here, so I would be more comfortable with the red version.
Regards, Yvonne
However, both options with the two-story entrance facade just look unbalanced to me: a single-family house with a basement squeezed in underneath. That’s a matter of taste [emoji848]
I would advocate for a hillside house, for example, using a split-level design.
But apparently, this style is popular here, so I would be more comfortable with the red version.
Regards, Yvonne
ypg schrieb:
However, both alternatives with the two-story entrance façade simply look unbalanced to me: a single-family house with a basement squeezed underneath. That's a matter of personal taste. I advocate for a hillside house, for example using a split-level design. In the red draft, it’s not actually a two-story entrance façade, but rather a continuous band of stairwell windows. The entrance is located on the side. This situation somewhat resembles conversions where the entrance has been relocated; visually, you would instinctively look for the entrance at the front. However, in my opinion, the floor plan looks coherent, so it works.
I don’t see a split-level design as suitable here: firstly, not under this roof, and secondly, I consider split-levels mainly appropriate for gentle slopes—here, however, there is a full hillside situation (i.e., a height difference of a whole floor from front to back), so half-levels following the terrain don’t seem practical.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
ypg schrieb:
A basement, to me, is a floor that is mostly underground and therefore considered less valuable as living space because the light quality and atmosphere don’t compare to regular living areas.
Hi, I agree that basements are underground, but why should a basement have lower quality? It really depends on the design and orientation. I’ve seen basements where you wouldn’t want to be anywhere else..Regards
mega2017 schrieb:
Hi, I agree about underground spaces, but why should a basement be considered lower quality? It really depends on the finishing and purpose. I’ve seen basements where you wouldn’t want to be anywhere else..
RegardsThat’s why:
ypg schrieb:
To me, a basement is a floor that is mostly below ground level and therefore less valuable as living space, because the quality of light and atmosphere is not the same as in regular living rooms.
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