ᐅ Floor Plan Design for a Single-Family House, Solid Wood Construction, 140 sqm in Lower Saxony
Created on: 2 Jan 2023 15:30
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-LotteS-
Hello dear house building forum!
Here are some details—based on our best knowledge and judgment—about our house construction project...
Development Plan/Restrictions
Plot size 576 sqm (approx. 6195 sq ft) - parcel 17/28 (see cadastral map)
Slope no – the plot has only a few centimeters (inches) of elevation difference
Floor area ratio (FAR) 0.3 = 172.8 sqm (1861 sq ft)
Plot ratio not defined
Building envelope, building line and boundary 24x24 meter (79x79 feet) plot = N-E-S-W 16x18x16x18 meter (52x59x52x59 feet) building envelope
Edge development no, exceptions possibly according to Lower Saxony Building Regulations
Required number of parking spaces not specified
Number of floors single storey
Roof shape gable/hip/half-hip with 35-50 degree pitch
Architectural style classic detached house
Ridge direction specified = ridge line running west-east
Max height limits ridge height 4.0 m (13 ft), eaves height 8.5 m (28 ft)
Additional rules no oil heating, 50% of the south-facing roof must have solar panels, no building allowed between house and street (e.g., no parking or similar in front yard)
The plot has been purchased and the utility infrastructure in the new development area is already completed (our plot is even located on a pre-asphalted road).
Homeowner Requirements
Style, roof shape, building type solid wooden house made of massive log beams inside, blown insulation, and exterior cladding
Basement, floors no basement – only ground floor + upper floor
Number of occupants, ages three, aged 36, 29, and five and a half
Space requirements on ground and upper floors standard single-family home with 3 bedrooms plus bathroom upstairs, open-plan living area downstairs, guest WC, and large utility/housekeeping room
Office: family use or home office? One room currently usable as office/guest room (backup for future child needs), currently neither of us have jobs with home office option
Open or closed layout living/dining/kitchen preferably open
Conservative or modern construction style conservative
Open kitchen, kitchen island open kitchen yes, kitchen island currently not planned
Number of dining seats daily use for 3, but dining nook should be sufficient for more people
Fireplace planned is a masonry stove
Music/stereo wall no
Balcony, roof terrace no
Garage, carport carport with workshop
Utility garden, greenhouse no
Other wishes/special features/daily routine, including reasons why some things are included or excluded
House Design
Who designed the plan: plan based on our principles, then optimized with the manufacturer’s in-house architect
What do you particularly like? Why? We really like the extended dining nook with the surrounding bench; overall, our ideas about room sizes have been well implemented – whether everything will really work as we imagine, we would like to ask here.
What do you dislike? Why? The chimney’s position might be bothersome in the children's room? Or is that negligible in daily life? We are still not satisfied with the kitchen and bathroom upstairs and are currently looking for a good furnishing/decorating solution.
Price estimate according to architect/planner: Since we are not working with a general contractor but will handle contracts ourselves after the shell is built and do a lot of work ourselves, we don’t have all numbers yet. The following trades are currently being costed.
Personal price limit for the house including fittings: 400,000 up to move-in ready, excluding everything outside the building itself, plot is paid
Preferred heating technology: heat pump with underfloor heating plus photovoltaics with possible storage
If you have to give up something, which details/extensions
- can you do without: We have tried to adapt our demands to the budget as much as possible – does anyone see further savings potential?
- can you not do without: As an absolute last resort, we would remove the dining nook and redesign the ground floor – also, the masonry stove is fixed for us (we just love this cozy atmosphere).
Why is the design the way it is now?
Standard plan from planner? The manufacturer does not offer standard houses; everything is individually designed
Which of your wishes were implemented by the architect? The current plan reflects our wishes quite well. Now we just need fine-tuning, and we hope for your assessments, ideas, and experiences.
A mix of many examples from various magazines... Of course, our inspirations come from many different sources (good and bad…) 😀
What makes it particularly good or bad in your opinion? It feels good to us so far – all our furniture fits, and the things that bother us in our current rented house have been eliminated in the design.
What is the most important/basic question about the layout, summarized in 130 characters?
- Does the layout work as it is, or are there specific arrangements that don’t work?
- Is the position and number of windows sufficient?
- Do the children's rooms upstairs need two roof windows or is one enough each?
- Have we missed or overlooked anything important?
- Can a U-shaped kitchen be sensibly planned in the existing space, or do we need to adjust walls downstairs first?
- Are the door positions appropriate regarding width, wall distance, and opening direction?
- Is the utility room (unfurnished room behind the laundry on the north/east side of the ground floor) dimensionally adequate?
- What knee wall height is recommended upstairs? Currently at 40 cm (16 in), we plan to raise it because otherwise, especially the upstairs bathroom will be problematic (though we don’t want a large bathroom, just “as big as necessary” – we would probably place the bathtub in the northeast corner of the room – would that fit?
- We’d like to add a laundry chute from the upstairs bathroom to the utility room – does anyone have a good idea for the best location?
One final note on our general concept:
We intend to buy the house from the manufacturer including insulation, cladding, and roof structure. Assembly will follow the “master carpenter assembly” principle (the company provides two experienced workers, plus 4-5 helpers from us – full warranty and savings of around 15,000-20,000 euros, about three to four weeks of hard work). The manufacturer’s “basic package” also includes windows and the front door, as they must be specially installed due to the house settling.
We plan to contract the foundation slab, roofing, and plumbing work separately. Electrical work (in consultation with the local master electrician), interior finishing (room doors, screed, underfloor heating, floor covering), and small tasks can be done by my partner (trained electrician, highly interested in almost everything, skilled and experienced with wood). I work professionally in an office of a building materials supplier, so I have access to good conditions, storage capacity, and established contacts in the industry. We also have great friends and a large family who are all enthusiastic about our project and willing to support us. We know this will require a lot of work, strain our time, nerves, and budget—but we want to give it a try.
We are now looking forward to suggestions, critical comments, and anything that can help us avoid as many mistakes as possible during the process.
Thank you very much in advance!
Here are some details—based on our best knowledge and judgment—about our house construction project...
Development Plan/Restrictions
Plot size 576 sqm (approx. 6195 sq ft) - parcel 17/28 (see cadastral map)
Slope no – the plot has only a few centimeters (inches) of elevation difference
Floor area ratio (FAR) 0.3 = 172.8 sqm (1861 sq ft)
Plot ratio not defined
Building envelope, building line and boundary 24x24 meter (79x79 feet) plot = N-E-S-W 16x18x16x18 meter (52x59x52x59 feet) building envelope
Edge development no, exceptions possibly according to Lower Saxony Building Regulations
Required number of parking spaces not specified
Number of floors single storey
Roof shape gable/hip/half-hip with 35-50 degree pitch
Architectural style classic detached house
Ridge direction specified = ridge line running west-east
Max height limits ridge height 4.0 m (13 ft), eaves height 8.5 m (28 ft)
Additional rules no oil heating, 50% of the south-facing roof must have solar panels, no building allowed between house and street (e.g., no parking or similar in front yard)
The plot has been purchased and the utility infrastructure in the new development area is already completed (our plot is even located on a pre-asphalted road).
Homeowner Requirements
Style, roof shape, building type solid wooden house made of massive log beams inside, blown insulation, and exterior cladding
Basement, floors no basement – only ground floor + upper floor
Number of occupants, ages three, aged 36, 29, and five and a half
Space requirements on ground and upper floors standard single-family home with 3 bedrooms plus bathroom upstairs, open-plan living area downstairs, guest WC, and large utility/housekeeping room
Office: family use or home office? One room currently usable as office/guest room (backup for future child needs), currently neither of us have jobs with home office option
Open or closed layout living/dining/kitchen preferably open
Conservative or modern construction style conservative
Open kitchen, kitchen island open kitchen yes, kitchen island currently not planned
Number of dining seats daily use for 3, but dining nook should be sufficient for more people
Fireplace planned is a masonry stove
Music/stereo wall no
Balcony, roof terrace no
Garage, carport carport with workshop
Utility garden, greenhouse no
Other wishes/special features/daily routine, including reasons why some things are included or excluded
House Design
Who designed the plan: plan based on our principles, then optimized with the manufacturer’s in-house architect
What do you particularly like? Why? We really like the extended dining nook with the surrounding bench; overall, our ideas about room sizes have been well implemented – whether everything will really work as we imagine, we would like to ask here.
What do you dislike? Why? The chimney’s position might be bothersome in the children's room? Or is that negligible in daily life? We are still not satisfied with the kitchen and bathroom upstairs and are currently looking for a good furnishing/decorating solution.
Price estimate according to architect/planner: Since we are not working with a general contractor but will handle contracts ourselves after the shell is built and do a lot of work ourselves, we don’t have all numbers yet. The following trades are currently being costed.
Personal price limit for the house including fittings: 400,000 up to move-in ready, excluding everything outside the building itself, plot is paid
Preferred heating technology: heat pump with underfloor heating plus photovoltaics with possible storage
If you have to give up something, which details/extensions
- can you do without: We have tried to adapt our demands to the budget as much as possible – does anyone see further savings potential?
- can you not do without: As an absolute last resort, we would remove the dining nook and redesign the ground floor – also, the masonry stove is fixed for us (we just love this cozy atmosphere).
Why is the design the way it is now?
Standard plan from planner? The manufacturer does not offer standard houses; everything is individually designed
Which of your wishes were implemented by the architect? The current plan reflects our wishes quite well. Now we just need fine-tuning, and we hope for your assessments, ideas, and experiences.
A mix of many examples from various magazines... Of course, our inspirations come from many different sources (good and bad…) 😀
What makes it particularly good or bad in your opinion? It feels good to us so far – all our furniture fits, and the things that bother us in our current rented house have been eliminated in the design.
What is the most important/basic question about the layout, summarized in 130 characters?
- Does the layout work as it is, or are there specific arrangements that don’t work?
- Is the position and number of windows sufficient?
- Do the children's rooms upstairs need two roof windows or is one enough each?
- Have we missed or overlooked anything important?
- Can a U-shaped kitchen be sensibly planned in the existing space, or do we need to adjust walls downstairs first?
- Are the door positions appropriate regarding width, wall distance, and opening direction?
- Is the utility room (unfurnished room behind the laundry on the north/east side of the ground floor) dimensionally adequate?
- What knee wall height is recommended upstairs? Currently at 40 cm (16 in), we plan to raise it because otherwise, especially the upstairs bathroom will be problematic (though we don’t want a large bathroom, just “as big as necessary” – we would probably place the bathtub in the northeast corner of the room – would that fit?
- We’d like to add a laundry chute from the upstairs bathroom to the utility room – does anyone have a good idea for the best location?
One final note on our general concept:
We intend to buy the house from the manufacturer including insulation, cladding, and roof structure. Assembly will follow the “master carpenter assembly” principle (the company provides two experienced workers, plus 4-5 helpers from us – full warranty and savings of around 15,000-20,000 euros, about three to four weeks of hard work). The manufacturer’s “basic package” also includes windows and the front door, as they must be specially installed due to the house settling.
We plan to contract the foundation slab, roofing, and plumbing work separately. Electrical work (in consultation with the local master electrician), interior finishing (room doors, screed, underfloor heating, floor covering), and small tasks can be done by my partner (trained electrician, highly interested in almost everything, skilled and experienced with wood). I work professionally in an office of a building materials supplier, so I have access to good conditions, storage capacity, and established contacts in the industry. We also have great friends and a large family who are all enthusiastic about our project and willing to support us. We know this will require a lot of work, strain our time, nerves, and budget—but we want to give it a try.
We are now looking forward to suggestions, critical comments, and anything that can help us avoid as many mistakes as possible during the process.
Thank you very much in advance!
11ant schrieb:
.. but quite a good portion of this is already used up just to get from the street to the houseI haven’t read anywhere that the street is actually higher or lower than the top edge of the floor slab (OKFB). How do you conclude that?
K a t j a schrieb:
At first glance, I find the floor plan quite solid. However, on closer inspection, I have some doubts about the staircase. It looks too small to me. Are there exact measurements and specifications for it? What ceiling heights are planned? According to the latest section drawing, the ground floor ceiling height is 2.46m plus 36.5cm (14 feet 4 inches plus 14 inches) = 2.825m (9 feet 3 inches). With 14 steps plus the final step up to the upper floor level, this results in a rise per step (is that the correct term?) of 2.825m divided by 15 = 18.83cm (7.4 inches). Is this calculation correct? In my last sketch for the current floor plan, I drew the staircase with a length of 3.00m (9 feet 10 inches) and a width of 1.50m (4 feet 11 inches) on the front door side (these dimensions came from the manufacturer’s model house plan; the numbers are the same). We have a phone appointment with the manufacturer tomorrow, where I will inquire about the exact measurements of the currently planned staircase.
K a t j a schrieb:
The kitchen seems a bit old-fashioned and small to me as it is. The path to the terrace from there is also annoyingly long – in my opinion, it lacks a direct exit. Moving the dining area is not a good idea on the ground floor. However, skipping the third gable on the upper floor really feels like a missed opportunity. The shape and layout of the kitchen haven’t been finalized yet. Ideas with an L-shape and a work island are also being considered – we are still unsure what would work best. Without moving the dining area, we can’t bring the terrace door any closer to the kitchen. If we did move it, the gable would end up inside a child’s bedroom. Keeping the gable centered above the dining area is not an option structurally; we originally planned it that way, but then discarded it because it would hardly be usable for the children’s rooms. Do you perhaps have a good idea for this?
K a t j a schrieb:
I find the utility room (HAR) a bit too large relative to the overall size of the house. I would suggest adding the technical equipment to the plan and radically moving walls. The window also seems poorly placed or too large in the utility room. By moving walls, do you mean keeping the width of the utility room but shortening it in the north-south direction, so that the utility room and/or the kitchen could be enlarged or extended? Or did I misunderstand your idea about “moving walls”? My partner has been working on the technical planning for a few days now, so the exact dimensions of the planned equipment are not finalized yet. For the next floor plan, we would try to use standard sizes and recalculate how much space we could save there to allocate it to the other rooms, especially the kitchen. Maybe that would also solve our current furniture layout problem there – what do you think?
Do you have a suggestion for a better window size? We haven’t settled on the exact position or final dimensions yet. This will certainly depend on the practical positioning of the equipment. This also applies to the windows throughout the house – we are open to any suggestions. By the way, our current landlord, who owns a glass manufacturing company, plans to come by for a beer at the end of the week and has offered to take a look at our plans…
K a t j a schrieb:
The low knee wall on the upper floor regularly causes people to bump their heads on the bed. What roof pitch was used in the example? We are currently not happy at all with the knee wall height of 40cm (16 inches). This is top priority for the phone call tomorrow to see how best to solve or improve this. The roof pitch is currently planned at 45 degrees. According to the development plan, a pitch between 35 and 50 degrees is permitted.
K a t j a schrieb:
I haven’t seen anywhere that the road is actually higher or lower than the finished ground floor level. How do you conclude that? I’m not concluding that at all. The key point is THAT the road (and not the ground floor slab) is the relevant reference here. If the road were higher—meaning we would theoretically gain height—that would help only to a limited extent, especially in timber construction where the sill plate with its bottom edge (which is always at least level with the top of the foundation slab = finished ground floor slab) should be at least 15cm (6 inches) above the surrounding ground level. The choice here is simply between a levee and a moat. The top edge of the drain cover is basically the “backflow level” related to rainwater; in a masonry building, this whole consideration is only about 15cm (6 inches) more favorable anyway.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
-LotteS- schrieb:
a step depth (is that the correct term?) of 282.5 : 15 = 18.83cm (7.42 inches).That is called the rise height.https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
ypg schrieb:
The floor plan will work, even though the wooden walls at the intersections will naturally reduce space. Also, you should be aware that having steps right in front of the entrance door can be annoying when going up and down barefoot or in socks, plus residents will also bring dirt into the house.If we were to widen the entire house by, say, half a meter (about 20 inches) to have a bit more room right at the first step, I assume that wouldn’t really solve the problem? Could we design the staircase more effectively to avoid this issue — or would that basically mean starting from scratch? Originally, the front door was much further east, and the staircase was along the wall facing the living room, but that caused serious problems in the upper floor...
ypg schrieb:
Personally, I find the cloakroom area too narrow and dark. It also takes some discipline for an adult to resist the temptation to just kick off shoes in front of the bathroom door. I find the hallway quite large, but that fits with the relatively conservative rest of the layout. I would probably swap the door and the stove so that the house greets you more openly as you enter.In that case, I should plan the doorway so that shoes have their designated spot behind the side of the door, allowing me to simply “slide” them out of the way if needed, avoiding any tripping hazards — right? 😀 Hopefully the darkness can be avoided with better lighting — definitely more than a small bulb was planned there. Or are there more structural concerns regarding the lighting?
ypg schrieb:
What really bothers me, though, are the many windows that seem randomly placed on the gable ends. For such a simple floor plan, there should be a more elegant solution. The north side should also be made more attractive with windows. Instead, the designer focuses on symmetry with the roof windows. I would arrange those deliberately, also considering that a refrigerator with a 40cm (16 inches) depth requires standing height near the windows.The windows are currently more symmetrical than thoughtfully arranged... According to the drawings, it initially seemed acceptable to us — but with the planned increase of the knee wall height, I hope to gain more flexibility for a more sensible layout. Maybe you could find some time to create a rough sketch at some point on how the window arrangement and sizes could be improved? We’d be very grateful for any suggestions! 🙂
ypg schrieb:
Definitely place the refrigerator as high as possible, and if the bay window is already elaborate, raise it upward as well. Because 40cm (16 inches) is almost nothing. Also, in the bedroom, the bed probably won’t fit as currently planned. The bathroom looks bigger than it actually is — but of course, it’s sufficient. The patio door has to be wider, otherwise stepping outside isn’t comfortable at all. Personally, I’d also choose bigger windows, meaning either deeper or wider ones everywhere, to bring more light into the house. Keep in mind that you have spruce interior wood and not white walls like most people. The wood won’t reflect daylight and will absorb a lot of light.With the hopefully several centimeters (hopefully several dozen centimeters) increase of the knee wall height, we’ll rework the bathroom and bedroom in a room-planning tool. We currently live in a half-timbered house, and the bedroom there has no knee wall at all. However, the roof pitch is extremely steep, so we only have about 50cm (20 inches) between the headboard and footboard in height. Having one and a half meters (about 5 feet) of wasted space between the bed and the wall would also be very unfortunate...
Noted on the patio door — what width would you suggest? Regarding the lighting situation, we plan to install fairly close-spaced LED downlights in the ceiling for basic illumination, possibly supported by some wall lights and indirect lighting for cozy evening ambience.
I won’t go into detail about the floor plan design, as it’s not really my area of expertise ;-)
If I were you, I would first clarify the main framework conditions before getting lost in details that might not fit later on.
Be sure to confirm the possible knee wall height. I also consider the 15cm (6 inches) above ground level mentioned by [USER=32750]@11ant as absolutely essential. I seem to recall that our shell builder even gave guarantees regarding this. I enter the house over a slight slope that rises about 20cm (8 inches) in total, and I’m very happy with that. Unfortunately, this means a significant increase in your knee wall height is hardly feasible. Other compensating measures, like dormers and gable extensions, are quite expensive (which is why I really curse those who drew up the development plan!).
I also read somewhere that the planning should definitely start at the upper floor. So I recommend scrapping everything and first carefully questioning and writing down the room program. The smaller the project, the more precise the planning needs to be. Much less space is needed for the technical rooms anyway, and if necessary, a smaller technician can be called in (a common saying on construction sites). Just don’t go overboard.
Maybe simply draw a cross-section through the potential house showing the eaves and ridge lines and then experiment with the maximum possibilities. That’s more or less how we did it—our architect really pushed everything to the absolute last possible centimeter ;-)
If I were you, I would first clarify the main framework conditions before getting lost in details that might not fit later on.
Be sure to confirm the possible knee wall height. I also consider the 15cm (6 inches) above ground level mentioned by [USER=32750]@11ant as absolutely essential. I seem to recall that our shell builder even gave guarantees regarding this. I enter the house over a slight slope that rises about 20cm (8 inches) in total, and I’m very happy with that. Unfortunately, this means a significant increase in your knee wall height is hardly feasible. Other compensating measures, like dormers and gable extensions, are quite expensive (which is why I really curse those who drew up the development plan!).
I also read somewhere that the planning should definitely start at the upper floor. So I recommend scrapping everything and first carefully questioning and writing down the room program. The smaller the project, the more precise the planning needs to be. Much less space is needed for the technical rooms anyway, and if necessary, a smaller technician can be called in (a common saying on construction sites). Just don’t go overboard.
Maybe simply draw a cross-section through the potential house showing the eaves and ridge lines and then experiment with the maximum possibilities. That’s more or less how we did it—our architect really pushed everything to the absolute last possible centimeter ;-)
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