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!
WilderSueden schrieb:
This definitely sounds like an interesting project. The budget will be tight since solid wood construction is quite an expensive building method, and you’re looking at around 2800 €/sqm (about $320/sqft) including additional construction costs.
What I personally miss is a sketch with the property boundaries. At the moment, the garden seems a bit fragmented, especially with the carport in the back corner. I find the zoning plan’s regulations pretty ridiculous, but I guess you have to live with them. The question is whether attaching a carport to the house, for example, might allow a better, more efficient use of the land. We will try to get a sketch; the soil surveyor also needs something for the measurement points. Or would a rough hand-drawn sketch of how we roughly imagine it be enough for now? The carport could definitely be attached directly to the house—unless there are problems with the wide roof overhang and the carport’s flat roof? The workshop room should be located somewhat "behind" the house so that there is still a passage to the garden. With a total length of 9 meters (about 30 feet) including the workshop—how much width should I allow for the whole thing? 3 meters (around 10 feet) or more? Less is not allowed anyway due to the building envelope, right? It would probably be more of a DIY store carport, which offers more flexibility. A manufacturer-made carport from the same wood as the main house is definitely way over budget 😀
WilderSueden schrieb:
You’re not by any chance building with Fullwood like @Holzhäuschen? No. I checked, we didn’t even request catalogs from them. They sent us a letter after our online inquiry asking me to tick boxes on a form and mail it back in a prepaid envelope to receive their material—that seemed quite inflexible and not very modern to us, so we gave up on it right away. 😀
I could recommend our shell construction contractor. He is based in Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia, and builds with solid wood panels and timber frame construction, using very modern planning tools. However, he is fully booked until summer 2023. I don’t think he offers the type of construction method you are considering.
For my semi-detached house with about 132m² (1420 sq ft), I paid a final invoice amount of only 104,843.85 net (not including windows and doors, except for one roof window) as of December 2020.
For my semi-detached house with about 132m² (1420 sq ft), I paid a final invoice amount of only 104,843.85 net (not including windows and doors, except for one roof window) as of December 2020.
W
WilderSueden3 Jan 2023 19:51-LotteS- schrieb:
Or would a rough hand-drawn sketch of our ideas be enough for now?Yes. We also just moved templates around on a piece of cardboard at first. At this stage, the main goal is to get a feel for whether anything stands in the way, how far the window is from the neighbor, how much continuous garden space remains, and so on. Especially since your zoning plan / building permit for the front yard is quite restrictive, you need to plan efficiently. -LotteS- schrieb:
The shape of the kitchen and the layout aren't fixed yet. We are also considering ideas with an L-shape and an island – we’re still unsure about the best way to approach this.With about 3x3m (10x10 ft) for the kitchen, I definitely don’t see room for an island. Even a peninsula takes up too much space on the opposite wall. If you keep the kitchen like that, only a U-shape makes sense. Nowadays, it’s common to install the oven and dishwasher at countertop height, which really uses up a lot of running meters in the kitchen. Without a basement, you might also want to include a slightly larger pantry cabinet. We have almost 2.90m (9.5 ft) width and 4m (13 ft) length filled with our U-shaped kitchen. I wouldn’t want significantly fewer cabinets than that.
I’ll briefly summarize the posts on the topic of knee wall / finished floor level:
How can I find out the exact heights of the individual reference points here, so we’re not in the dark and can plan precisely? Our plot is directly adjacent to a construction road. There is also a storm drain on our property—I’ve attached a photo. Tomorrow, the man will ask his boss if he can borrow the total station to do a rough survey. But this is only a partial solution since the development area surveyor hasn’t been able to provide us with the geodata of our plot or any reference points for three weeks now, so we can only estimate. We could also ask my father-in-law, who is a survey engineer (though he mainly works in other fields like oil and fracking).
Getting the conditions of the plot together with the development plan and our house design plan now seems to be our very first and most important task—am I right to see it this way?
Is there anything else we should consider/find out/request/measure/carry out right away so we can plan concretely in the end?
Regarding the photo: I am standing at the intersection shown on the development plan, looking towards the plot. By our estimate, the drain cover in the sand should be at the front left of our property.
K a t j a schrieb:
I don’t fully understand the general concerns regarding the knee wall yet. The eaves height is 4m (13 feet). That means about 1m (3 feet) of knee wall—in small houses like this, usually even more depending on ceiling height. The marked 40cm (16 inches) or whatever it was doesn’t seem necessary, right?
11ant schrieb:
There seems to be enough difference overall, but a good portion of it is already “used up” just to get from the street to the house. For the timber house, the rain-protected sole plate height is a critical aspect. By the time we actually reach the usual reference height, the top of the finished ground floor slab (OKFB), the “climber on the hill” will already have half a dozen sweat drops on their forehead. The initially mentioned worst case of a 40 cm (16 inches) knee wall will probably be exceeded but unfortunately only marginally.
K a t j a schrieb:
I haven’t read anywhere that the street is actually higher or lower than the finished floor level. What makes you conclude that?
11ant schrieb:
I don’t conclude that at all. The crucial point is that the street (not the ground floor slab) is the significant reference here. If the street were higher—we’d theoretically gain some height—but this would do little, especially for timber construction where the sole plate with its underside (always at least at the top of the ground slab = top of the finished ground floor level, OKRFB) should stand at least 15 cm (6 inches) above the finished terrain (GOK). The choice here is only between a mound and a moat. The top of the gutter cover is basically the "backwater level" in terms of rainwater; with masonry construction, the whole situation improves by only about 15 cm (6 inches) anyway.
How can I find out the exact heights of the individual reference points here, so we’re not in the dark and can plan precisely? Our plot is directly adjacent to a construction road. There is also a storm drain on our property—I’ve attached a photo. Tomorrow, the man will ask his boss if he can borrow the total station to do a rough survey. But this is only a partial solution since the development area surveyor hasn’t been able to provide us with the geodata of our plot or any reference points for three weeks now, so we can only estimate. We could also ask my father-in-law, who is a survey engineer (though he mainly works in other fields like oil and fracking).
Getting the conditions of the plot together with the development plan and our house design plan now seems to be our very first and most important task—am I right to see it this way?
Is there anything else we should consider/find out/request/measure/carry out right away so we can plan concretely in the end?
Regarding the photo: I am standing at the intersection shown on the development plan, looking towards the plot. By our estimate, the drain cover in the sand should be at the front left of our property.
WilderSueden schrieb:
Yes. We also initially just moved templates around on a piece of cardboard. This step is mainly about getting a sense of whether anything is in the way, how far the window is from the neighbor, how much continuous garden space remains, and so on.
Especially since your development plan for the front yard is quite restrictive, you’ll need to focus on efficient planning. We don’t know what the neighbors are doing. So far, only one person in the whole development has actually started construction. Since most likely prefer a southwest-facing garden rather than a northeast-facing one, I assume the neighboring plots to the north and south would plan similarly to us? To the east there is the street, and the plot to the west has a very awkward shape (land parcels 18/9 + 17/29, see image in the first post) – it probably extends further west because otherwise, they would have to install an excessive length of pipes if they went all the way to the northeast?
WilderSueden schrieb:
With a good 3x3m (10ft by 10ft) kitchen space, I definitely don’t see room for an island. Even a peninsula would take up too much space along the opposite wall. If you leave the kitchen as it is, only a U-shape makes sense. Nowadays, it’s common to install the oven and dishwasher at waist height, which then really consumes a lot of running meters of cabinet space in the kitchen. Since you don’t have a basement, you might also want to include a somewhat larger pantry cupboard.
We filled almost 2.90m (9.5ft) width and 4m (13ft) length with our U-shaped kitchen. I wouldn’t want considerably fewer cabinets than that. I counted what I actually need in my cabinets. Half of it can go 😀
I don’t need a whole drawer just for roasting pans and casserole dishes that I only use about a dozen times a year. I imagine setting aside space for those in the utility room instead—together with the supplies that are currently stored entirely in the kitchen cabinets. At least those you don’t use daily, but that really count as "pantry" items. And drinking glasses... I could supply an entire school with them. I think that can be managed. Maybe as we continue planning the kitchen, we can adjust the basic dimensions to add one or two more cabinets. However, I’m quite flexible with most results—even though I cook a lot... 🙂
i_b_n_a_n schrieb:
I could recommend our shell builder. He’s from Münster in NRW and specializes in solid wood and timber frame construction, using very modern planning tools. However, he is fully booked until summer 2023. I don’t think the construction method you are aiming for is in his portfolio, though.
For my semi-detached house with about 132m² (1,420 sq ft), I paid "only" 104,843.85 euros net with the final invoice from December 2020 (windows and doors not included except for one roof window). I would love to have a pre-Corona price like that and an interest rate under 1% too... 🙁 But it doesn’t help, we have to work with the prices currently being asked.
What would the shell construction cost currently be for 140m² (1,507 sq ft) of living space? Are there "typical current reference values," for example around 1,200 euros per m², covering walls, ceilings, roof structure, etc.? We are building in the Hannover region. It would be interesting to know if our currently estimated price from the manufacturer is above or below that.
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