ᐅ Floor Plan Design for a Single-Family Home with a Secondary Apartment
Created on: 6 Mar 2024 00:38
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Sleepwalker1
Dear forum members,
I have been following this forum for some time now and have already gathered a lot of helpful information for our planned house construction. Many thanks for that!
We have now finalized our floor plan, and I would appreciate your expert feedback on our designs.
P.S. Since the location and orientation of the house and garage on the corner plot are quite fixed and conform to the development plan, my main concern is the room dimensions and whether the layout, in your opinion, works well in reality. Of course, I am open to any suggestions and improvements.
Thank you in advance!
Best regards
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 880 m² (9,470 sq ft)
Slope: 3 meters (10 feet) incline from south to north (see attached survey)
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.4
Gross floor area ratio (GFAR): 0.8
Building area boundaries, building line, and limits: 3 meters (10 feet)
Edge development: Garage directly adjacent to neighbor’s property, up to 9 meters (30 feet) in length
Number of parking spaces: 2
Client Requirements
No basement, 2 full floors
Number of occupants, age: 4 people (2 adults in their mid-30s, 1 toddler, 1 child planned)
Office: occasional home office (2 days per week)
Overnight guests per year: possibly 4–5 times
Open-concept design
Open kitchen with island
Number of dining seats: 8
KfW standard EH 40 compliant (including granny flat)
Potential preparation for a fireplace (installation not allowed due to KfW requirements)
Garage with storage room and carport (also serves as entrance canopy)
House Design
Designer: Architect
What we like: open living/dining area, utility room on the upper floor, storage room with freezer under the stairs, “mudroom” in the technical room, granny flat, half-landing staircase, carport serving as entrance canopy
What we don’t like: possibly the office
Estimated price according to architect: 500,000 €
Personal budget for the house, including fittings: approx. 550,000 € (plus own work)
Preferred heating system: air-to-water heat pump
If You Had to Give Up Certain Details or Extras
Separate walk-in closet, T-shaped bathroom layout
Why the Design Is the Way It Is
Based on our individual preferences and wishes
I have been following this forum for some time now and have already gathered a lot of helpful information for our planned house construction. Many thanks for that!
We have now finalized our floor plan, and I would appreciate your expert feedback on our designs.
P.S. Since the location and orientation of the house and garage on the corner plot are quite fixed and conform to the development plan, my main concern is the room dimensions and whether the layout, in your opinion, works well in reality. Of course, I am open to any suggestions and improvements.
Thank you in advance!
Best regards
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 880 m² (9,470 sq ft)
Slope: 3 meters (10 feet) incline from south to north (see attached survey)
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.4
Gross floor area ratio (GFAR): 0.8
Building area boundaries, building line, and limits: 3 meters (10 feet)
Edge development: Garage directly adjacent to neighbor’s property, up to 9 meters (30 feet) in length
Number of parking spaces: 2
Client Requirements
No basement, 2 full floors
Number of occupants, age: 4 people (2 adults in their mid-30s, 1 toddler, 1 child planned)
Office: occasional home office (2 days per week)
Overnight guests per year: possibly 4–5 times
Open-concept design
Open kitchen with island
Number of dining seats: 8
KfW standard EH 40 compliant (including granny flat)
Potential preparation for a fireplace (installation not allowed due to KfW requirements)
Garage with storage room and carport (also serves as entrance canopy)
House Design
Designer: Architect
What we like: open living/dining area, utility room on the upper floor, storage room with freezer under the stairs, “mudroom” in the technical room, granny flat, half-landing staircase, carport serving as entrance canopy
What we don’t like: possibly the office
Estimated price according to architect: 500,000 €
Personal budget for the house, including fittings: approx. 550,000 € (plus own work)
Preferred heating system: air-to-water heat pump
If You Had to Give Up Certain Details or Extras
Separate walk-in closet, T-shaped bathroom layout
Why the Design Is the Way It Is
Based on our individual preferences and wishes
Sleepwalker1 schrieb:
“Residential units are spaces within a defined area intended for permanent living in residential buildings, which must allow for running a household (own lockable entrance, rooms, utility connections for kitchen/kitchenette and bathroom/WC).” Nothing more, nothing less. That’s exactly the point — there is no separate lockable entrance. The entrance is shared with the “other residential unit” through the main door. It would be different if there were a common hallway leading to two apartment doors — one for the main residential unit and one for the second.
I have discussed this topic with several general contractors, energy consultants, and architects.
Believe me, you are not smarter than the rest of the world...
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Costruttrice12 Mar 2024 05:19Sleepwalker1 schrieb:
@Costruttrice: The guest toilet already has a shower, as shown in the plan.I have already noticed that the ground floor bathroom includes a shower. However, I had not considered this bathroom in your plan as the guest toilet for the main apartment, since it is designed as the bathroom for the secondary apartment. But with your explanation
Sleepwalker1 schrieb:
that the secondary apartment was created to comply with KfW standards. it becomes clear that this is merely a formal secondary unit for funding purposes, and that this bathroom will likely be used as a guest toilet, while the secondary apartment will probably serve as a guest room for the few overnight visitors during the year. For those few occasions, it is even slightly larger than your children’s bedrooms, which are occupied year-round. But children don’t need a ballroom; the parents create one for guests, which is supposed to generate some capital. That’s just my sense of humor.
You also like having an office accessible through the bedroom, just like the rest of the design. Then go for it—it has to be your dream home, not the forum user’s.
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Bamboochaa12 Mar 2024 06:04I can only agree with the previous comments. An accessory apartment like this won’t work. Keyword: subsidy fraud.
Is this the design of an independent architect or a house provider?
Without having read all the comments – the following points immediately bother me:
- No consideration of the terrain or connection to the outdoor area
- Utility room not practically usable
- Bedroom almost as large as the two children’s rooms combined
- Office as a walk-through room
- Bathtub within the door’s swing area
- Very little storage space in the kitchen. (The kitchen may look good visually, but in everyday use, especially if you plan to cook often, it won’t function well)
It gives me the impression of an amateur design. Please hit the RESET button, find a new designer, and be open to new ideas. The plot seems to have potential.
Best regards
Is this the design of an independent architect or a house provider?
Without having read all the comments – the following points immediately bother me:
- No consideration of the terrain or connection to the outdoor area
- Utility room not practically usable
- Bedroom almost as large as the two children’s rooms combined
- Office as a walk-through room
- Bathtub within the door’s swing area
- Very little storage space in the kitchen. (The kitchen may look good visually, but in everyday use, especially if you plan to cook often, it won’t function well)
It gives me the impression of an amateur design. Please hit the RESET button, find a new designer, and be open to new ideas. The plot seems to have potential.
Best regards
H
hanghaus202312 Mar 2024 09:50Sleepwalker1 schrieb:
Your plan is quite nice but doesn’t work for several reasons: The west side is the only side with neighboring houses, so it’s unsuitable for a terrace. To the north there is open field, and to the south/east a wide, unobstructed view of the valley. The road in front (your planned driveway) is a dead-end, and we are the last house before it turns into a farm track. Accordingly, the orientation of our house is already optimized (see above). Also, in my opinion your proposed driveway has too sharp an angle—I wouldn’t want to have to drive or maneuver a car in there regularly. Like I said, well-intentioned but unfortunately not suitable for our plot. (We initially even considered something similar with our architect but sensibly abandoned it for the reasons mentioned.) Thanks anyway! My plan is not just nice but carefully thought through. Due to a lack of necessary information, it is only partially perfect. But it is definitely better than the one you suggested. Where is your terrace? How do you plan to shape the terrain? Are you allowed to raise the ground that much? Or do you intend to build a raised terrace? These are all unanswered questions.
One day, you’ll be glad to get some shade from the west. Especially since you can also orient the terrace entirely towards the south. You neither show the surroundings nor have you explained what is important to you.
Please share an aerial view and photos of the area.
What does the local zoning regulation, the building permit / planning permission, or if in doubt, the regional building code say about parking spaces? You don’t respond to questions. I would never plan such a long, steep driveway, let alone in the southwest.
Where are the parking spaces for the second residential unit supposed to go?
Are you sure that no building will happen on the north side eventually? Why then orient the house away from the north, if that is so important to you?
You planned a house and then just placed it somewhere. That makes no sense to me. On a slope, you plan together with the terrain. For example, I positioned the Tieger house so that extensive ground filling wasn’t necessary.
Please provide all the necessary information and then I will consider improvements again.
I don’t see a complete second residential unit in your design. That can be easily fixed, but it is currently missing in your plan.
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Schorsch_baut12 Mar 2024 09:58Sleepwalker1 schrieb:
Hello,
as promised, I’m getting back to you regarding your comments.
Since the topic of accessory apartments has sparked the most discussion among some of you, I want to address this first. I had mentioned that the accessory apartment was built in accordance with KfW compliance. The credit guidelines state: “Residential units are rooms within a self-contained area intended for permanent living in residential buildings, enabling independent household management (own lockable entrance, rooms, utility connections for kitchen/kitchenette and bathroom/WC).” Nothing more, nothing less. I don’t see anything there regarding DIN standards, minimum sizes, rental obligations, or the like. It’s possible some people have mixed up different requirements. For example, the state building regulations (LaBo) set out different rules, but we are not planning according to those.
KfW only funds what complies with the regional building codes. Since KfW is aware that building regulations are managed at the state level, they omit detailed definitions or listing requirements according to the respective state building codes in their description.
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Schorsch_baut12 Mar 2024 10:04The information from an "information sheet" is just that – initial information.
Before the funding from the KfW is disbursed, the apartment must be approved as such during the building permit / planning permission process. This means it must meet all requirements for fire protection, sound insulation, and parking regulations. These are additional costs that usually exceed the amount of the funding. A good architect should be aware of this, but a contractor might provide less customer-oriented advice.
Before the funding from the KfW is disbursed, the apartment must be approved as such during the building permit / planning permission process. This means it must meet all requirements for fire protection, sound insulation, and parking regulations. These are additional costs that usually exceed the amount of the funding. A good architect should be aware of this, but a contractor might provide less customer-oriented advice.
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