ᐅ Floor Plan Design for a 115 m² Semi-Detached House for a Family of Three
Created on: 11 Jun 2024 09:53
P
Princi162
Hello everyone,
we are currently in contact with a developer because we would like to sell our current house and build a new one. Our current house is an extension, has 140 m² (1506 sq ft), and is almost 40 years old.
In the new development area, mainly semi-detached houses are being built, which we find very suitable for our small family.
Here is the completed questionnaire:
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 330 m² (11 x 33 meters) (3552 sq ft; 36 x 108 feet)
Slope: no
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.25
Plot ratio: -
Building setback, building line, and boundary line: 3 meters (10 feet) from the plot boundary
Edge building: allowed up to 3 meters (10 feet) height
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 1 + recessed (setback) floor
Roof type: gable roof
Architectural style: modern, timeless
Orientation: see floor plan
Maximum heights / limits: top edge of structures max. 7 meters (23 feet)
Homeowner Requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: semi-detached house with gable roof
Basement, floors: no basement, 2 floors
Number of people, ages: 2 adults (37 & 36), 1 toddler (will remain one child)
Space requirement on ground floor and upper floor: total 115 m² (1238 sq ft)
Office: family use or home office? Both use home office occasionally, possibly a 2nd workspace?
Guests per year: 0
Open or closed layout: open
Conservative or modern construction: -
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen with peninsula
Number of dining seats: 6-8
Fireplace: -
Music / stereo wall: -
Balcony, roof terrace: -
Garage, carport: -
Utility garden, greenhouse: not planned at the moment
The furniture shown on our own floor plan is currently owned by us and we intend to keep it for now.
House Design
Who designed the plan:
- Planner from a construction company
- Do-it-yourself
What do you especially like? Why? The large living/dining area with an open kitchen, many windows on the ground floor for brightness
What do you dislike? Why? On the original floor plan: the open staircase, children’s room too small, arrangement of parking spaces, lack of storage, utility room too small
On our self-designed floor plan: problematic arrangement of sofa/TV and dining table
Price estimate according to architect/planner: €389,000 (special requests like additional windows and other changes not yet included)
Personal price limit for house including fittings: €450,000
Preferred heating technology: heat pump with preparation for photovoltaic system
If you have to give up something, which details or expansions
- you can give up: -
- you cannot give up: -
Why is the design like it is now?
Our own floor plan has more storage space, and we prefer the arrangement and size of rooms on the upper floor.
As mentioned before, we are still not completely happy with the ground floor or how to best arrange our furniture. The staircase takes up less space on our plan now, but it is still unclear whether we are allowed to change the staircase shape. We definitely want a staircase located in the hallway and separated from the living/dining area, because currently we have an open staircase and are not happy with the noise. Maybe you have ideas on how to integrate the staircase differently.
According to the developer, we can still make changes to the floor plan, but the extent of this will be clarified tomorrow (appointment with the developer). Originally, for example, the utility room was planned on the west side, which is not ideal.
Storage space is also a concern. Although the utility room is now larger, we would still like to have a small storage room under the stairs as shown. Maybe a bit of the children’s room on the upper floor could be allocated for another storage space? The room is actually already quite large...
We have not yet considered the possibility of a 2nd workspace if my husband and I both work from home at the same time.
Due to the low floor area ratio, outdoor space is also challenging. We do not like the arrangement of parking spaces one behind the other and would rather place both in front of the house. However, we would then have to give up the carport, which is not very important to us since it would be an optional feature.
Do you have ideas on how these points could be implemented or how the floor plan could be changed to better suit our needs? I know that space is limited with 115 m² (1238 sq ft).
Many thanks!
we are currently in contact with a developer because we would like to sell our current house and build a new one. Our current house is an extension, has 140 m² (1506 sq ft), and is almost 40 years old.
In the new development area, mainly semi-detached houses are being built, which we find very suitable for our small family.
Here is the completed questionnaire:
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 330 m² (11 x 33 meters) (3552 sq ft; 36 x 108 feet)
Slope: no
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.25
Plot ratio: -
Building setback, building line, and boundary line: 3 meters (10 feet) from the plot boundary
Edge building: allowed up to 3 meters (10 feet) height
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 1 + recessed (setback) floor
Roof type: gable roof
Architectural style: modern, timeless
Orientation: see floor plan
Maximum heights / limits: top edge of structures max. 7 meters (23 feet)
Homeowner Requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: semi-detached house with gable roof
Basement, floors: no basement, 2 floors
Number of people, ages: 2 adults (37 & 36), 1 toddler (will remain one child)
Space requirement on ground floor and upper floor: total 115 m² (1238 sq ft)
Office: family use or home office? Both use home office occasionally, possibly a 2nd workspace?
Guests per year: 0
Open or closed layout: open
Conservative or modern construction: -
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen with peninsula
Number of dining seats: 6-8
Fireplace: -
Music / stereo wall: -
Balcony, roof terrace: -
Garage, carport: -
Utility garden, greenhouse: not planned at the moment
The furniture shown on our own floor plan is currently owned by us and we intend to keep it for now.
House Design
Who designed the plan:
- Planner from a construction company
- Do-it-yourself
What do you especially like? Why? The large living/dining area with an open kitchen, many windows on the ground floor for brightness
What do you dislike? Why? On the original floor plan: the open staircase, children’s room too small, arrangement of parking spaces, lack of storage, utility room too small
On our self-designed floor plan: problematic arrangement of sofa/TV and dining table
Price estimate according to architect/planner: €389,000 (special requests like additional windows and other changes not yet included)
Personal price limit for house including fittings: €450,000
Preferred heating technology: heat pump with preparation for photovoltaic system
If you have to give up something, which details or expansions
- you can give up: -
- you cannot give up: -
Why is the design like it is now?
Our own floor plan has more storage space, and we prefer the arrangement and size of rooms on the upper floor.
As mentioned before, we are still not completely happy with the ground floor or how to best arrange our furniture. The staircase takes up less space on our plan now, but it is still unclear whether we are allowed to change the staircase shape. We definitely want a staircase located in the hallway and separated from the living/dining area, because currently we have an open staircase and are not happy with the noise. Maybe you have ideas on how to integrate the staircase differently.
According to the developer, we can still make changes to the floor plan, but the extent of this will be clarified tomorrow (appointment with the developer). Originally, for example, the utility room was planned on the west side, which is not ideal.
Storage space is also a concern. Although the utility room is now larger, we would still like to have a small storage room under the stairs as shown. Maybe a bit of the children’s room on the upper floor could be allocated for another storage space? The room is actually already quite large...
We have not yet considered the possibility of a 2nd workspace if my husband and I both work from home at the same time.
Due to the low floor area ratio, outdoor space is also challenging. We do not like the arrangement of parking spaces one behind the other and would rather place both in front of the house. However, we would then have to give up the carport, which is not very important to us since it would be an optional feature.
Do you have ideas on how these points could be implemented or how the floor plan could be changed to better suit our needs? I know that space is limited with 115 m² (1238 sq ft).
Many thanks!
The staircase immediately caught my attention as well. And again, the back door in the utility room—I would also leave that out here, as it takes up space in the utility room. Apart from that, Yvonne has already mentioned pretty much everything else that I noticed.
One more question: what knee wall height is planned for the upper floor? It looks like about 135 to 150 cm (53 to 59 inches).
One more question: what knee wall height is planned for the upper floor? It looks like about 135 to 150 cm (53 to 59 inches).
P
Princi16211 Jun 2024 13:44ypg schrieb:
Hello,
yes, I know the design.
The problem is that many things no longer work properly. First of all, the staircase, which affects everything: it is below standard, so it is very difficult to use and therefore risky. If you look here:
https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/grundriss-planung-unbedingt-vor-beitrag-erstellung-lesen.11714/
at the very bottom, you will find the minimum target dimensions. And yes, if someone is tall and willing to accept it, they can build with 200 x 220cm (79 x 87 inches), but you are compressing the staircase to 189 x 175cm (74 x 69 inches). That’s simply too steep, with narrow steps… and since these are tapered, it’s quite dangerous. You would regret it every day. I’m not even sure if it still counts as an emergency escape route. Because there is supposed to be a utility room underneath, you will have to enclose the staircase with walls. That means it will be almost impossible to get furniture or even a ladder upstairs. You’re right, I already suspected that the staircase is planned too steep and narrow. But does that also apply to the original floor plan design? Basically, we could also imagine just separating the staircase slightly with a wall on the side, if that makes sense!? Simply not as open as it is currently…
ypg schrieb:
Your kitchen is not functional. Your tall cabinets are not 60cm (24 inches) wide. For two tall cabinets for fridge and oven/pantry, you have to plan 130cm (51 inches), for three, 190cm (75 inches). A kitchen island should be 90cm (35 inches) deep so that splashing grease stays on the surface and doesn’t drip onto the floor behind. Yes, that seems correct… so far the kitchen was just included as a placeholder with the program’s preset dimensions. For detailed planning, these won’t work properly.
ypg schrieb:
With 6 meters (20 feet) wide, trying to divide the open-plan living area into two main zones is simply a bad idea. Basically, hardly anything works on the ground floor except for guest WC, hallway, and utility room.
The upper floor is similar: the bathroom there works for one or two people sharing. The bedroom is so cramped that the door hits the wardrobe. You probably can’t place a 60cm (24 inches) cabinet near the door area because it would block the door hinge.
Furthermore, your dimensions don’t match? At least you are working with measurements that don’t align with the original plan. I’m very sorry about the dimensions – I meant to add that as well. I actually wasn’t able to include all the correct measurements…
Thanks also for the note about the bedroom; that is indeed unfortunate…
ypg schrieb:
Basically, you can halve the WC since you won’t spend much time there. And you should forget about a 10 sqm (108 sq ft) hallway in a 115 sqm (1238 sq ft) semi-detached house. A nice niche or cabinet in the hallway, yes, but no large extra niche.
It is clear that you can’t expect miracles from the available space. But you should accept what you have and make the best of it. Positioning the staircase entrance in the hallway affects other things. Maybe it will still work out in the coming days (I will try), but it means the staircase has to start further toward the top of the plan and then the main room won’t zone well.
I would then put the kitchen along the long central wall. True, we probably have to give up on some ideas and try to make the best use of the existing space.
ypg schrieb:
I get the impression that you are not open to the guidelines and comments and are clinging stubbornly to your design without realizing that it might not even be worth building?!
But you were aware when signing the contract that storage space is lacking, even without an attic? That might come across wrong… I am happy to consider suggestions on how to better divide or design the whole project.
And we haven’t signed anything yet; we are still in the initial coordination phase, and financing is not finalized either.
Thank you for your comments.
S
Schorsch_baut11 Jun 2024 13:45Unfortunately, this size makes more sense as a bungalow or apartment when built without a basement. In a house, a lot of the limited space is lost to circulation areas. I remember such small terraced houses from my childhood. Nowadays, two of these houses are often combined into one.
P
Princi16211 Jun 2024 13:48kbt09 schrieb:
The staircase immediately caught my attention as well. And again, the exterior door to the utility room—I would skip that here because it takes up floor space in the utility room. Otherwise, Yvonne has already mentioned almost everything else I would have noticed.
One more question: what knee wall height is planned for the upper floor? It looks like about 135 to 150 cm (53 to 59 inches).Okay, let’s think about it. We had only considered it as potentially practical, so we wouldn’t have to walk through the living area with muddy clothes, especially for our child. But we will reconsider it.
The knee wall height is 1.69 meters (5 feet 7 inches). Here is the cross-section through the house.
So, I have been experimenting with this for several days now. The goal is always to have a small but functional hallway on the ground floor and to maximize open-plan living space. The ongoing issue, no matter what I do, is the roof pitch/knee wall in the upper floor. The positioning of the shower and bathtub makes sense here. Moving the shower would take up too much space elsewhere, while the bathtub’s location allows good use of the sloped ceiling.
I’m attaching a screenshot of the ground floor with an alternative staircase, but the upper floor still doesn’t work, as well as a planned row house that was actually built like this (4 floors and 13 meters [42 feet] long). The reason for this: the clients wanted a master bathroom in the attic despite a minimal knee wall and shallow roof pitch. We managed this by placing the bathroom in the center and putting the office under the sloped ceiling.
I’m attaching a screenshot of the ground floor with an alternative staircase, but the upper floor still doesn’t work, as well as a planned row house that was actually built like this (4 floors and 13 meters [42 feet] long). The reason for this: the clients wanted a master bathroom in the attic despite a minimal knee wall and shallow roof pitch. We managed this by placing the bathroom in the center and putting the office under the sloped ceiling.
kbt09 schrieb:
And once again, the front door at the utility room,I usually overlook such details... Yes, adding a second hallway and entrance simply makes no sense here. Muddy shoes right where the laundry is done and probably clean laundry is temporarily stored...Similar topics