Hello everyone,
I would like to get some feedback and, ideally, suggestions for improvement on our building project from the community.
Regarding the site conditions:
We have a plot of approximately 14 x 35 meters (46 x 115 feet). Due to an easement, building right at the front of the property is not feasible, so the building needs to be set back about 10 meters (33 feet) from the street.
The width of our building is limited by the distance to the neighboring building.
The existing structure is only 1.14 meters (3.7 feet) from the property line. After consulting with the building authority, at least 5 meters (16 feet) distance from this building is required to build without fire protection measures.
This results in an effective building width of 7 meters (23 feet).
Now about the house itself:
We want to build a two-story house. Ideally, two full stories, but we could also accept a high knee wall (starting at 2 meters / 6.6 feet).
A gable roof is mandatory according to the development plan (38 - 55° roof pitch; however, nearby houses were also built with a 30° pitch).
We would like to have at least 130 m² (1,400 sq ft) of living space.
Besides the usual rooms, we want the following:
Ground floor with a shower bathroom; a study room of at least 6 m² (65 sq ft) — which could also be moved to the upper floor if necessary; upper floor with two children's bedrooms.
We aim to keep construction costs below €400,000. We plan to contribute through painting and floor installation (except tiles).
Therefore, my goal was to limit the floor plan length to 12 meters (39 feet), but I ended up with 12.5 meters (41 feet).
Every square meter costs money!
I would appreciate your thoughts on this.
If any information is missing, please let me know. I tried to include everything here, but as a beginner, excuse me if I have overlooked something.
I would like to get some feedback and, ideally, suggestions for improvement on our building project from the community.
Regarding the site conditions:
We have a plot of approximately 14 x 35 meters (46 x 115 feet). Due to an easement, building right at the front of the property is not feasible, so the building needs to be set back about 10 meters (33 feet) from the street.
The width of our building is limited by the distance to the neighboring building.
The existing structure is only 1.14 meters (3.7 feet) from the property line. After consulting with the building authority, at least 5 meters (16 feet) distance from this building is required to build without fire protection measures.
This results in an effective building width of 7 meters (23 feet).
Now about the house itself:
We want to build a two-story house. Ideally, two full stories, but we could also accept a high knee wall (starting at 2 meters / 6.6 feet).
A gable roof is mandatory according to the development plan (38 - 55° roof pitch; however, nearby houses were also built with a 30° pitch).
We would like to have at least 130 m² (1,400 sq ft) of living space.
Besides the usual rooms, we want the following:
Ground floor with a shower bathroom; a study room of at least 6 m² (65 sq ft) — which could also be moved to the upper floor if necessary; upper floor with two children's bedrooms.
We aim to keep construction costs below €400,000. We plan to contribute through painting and floor installation (except tiles).
Therefore, my goal was to limit the floor plan length to 12 meters (39 feet), but I ended up with 12.5 meters (41 feet).
Every square meter costs money!
I would appreciate your thoughts on this.
If any information is missing, please let me know. I tried to include everything here, but as a beginner, excuse me if I have overlooked something.
Draw the existing or desired furniture in the floor plan to scale everywhere. Remember, you are working with rough construction dimensions, so 80cm (31.5 inches) might actually become 75cm (29.5 inches).
On the ground floor, I would try to position the entrance on the side. This will shorten the hallway, which is too long for the size of the house.
The bathroom on the upper floor will not work. The shower is too narrow, and the bathtub looks very small.
Does the study need to be a separate room, or would a work corner be sufficient?
The space layout is quite ambitious for the size of the house.
On the ground floor, I would try to position the entrance on the side. This will shorten the hallway, which is too long for the size of the house.
The bathroom on the upper floor will not work. The shower is too narrow, and the bathtub looks very small.
Does the study need to be a separate room, or would a work corner be sufficient?
The space layout is quite ambitious for the size of the house.
f_meyer schrieb:
Now regarding the house itself:
We want to build a two-story house. Ideally two full stories, but we could also accept a high knee wall (from 2 meters (6.6 feet)).
A gable roof is required according to the development plan (38 - 55° roof pitch; This sounds as if two full stories might not be allowed because of the roof requirements.
Regarding the design:
The shower and toilet on the upper floor are too narrow. It’s also not recommended to place toilets next to a bedroom wall, as this can be noisy and disruptive.
The ground floor layout is poor because the hallway is too long and wastes valuable square meters.
Remove the shower; put the washing machine and dryer in the toilet if necessary; shorten the hallway to create usable space.
-> Entrance on the side and a guest toilet toward the front.
Use the space under the stairs as a storage room.
Thank you for the feedback.
I have now added more existing furniture. For example, our dining table is really quite large at 100 x 200 cm (40 x 79 inches)...
Now the layout is correctly shown with the cardinal directions (rotated 180 degrees).
A side entrance is something to consider. We have already noticed that a side entrance offers more options for the layout.
However, we need to build set back (the property is shown in the screenshot) and are about 10 meters (33 feet) from the street.
We wouldn’t want to place the entrance even further back. Additionally, the left side is planned for a carport – which already makes space there quite tight.
On the right is the corridor to my parents’ house. An entrance there would be possible, but I think it would be less practical if the parking is on the opposite side.
This is just to explain our idea – I’m always open to input.
I have slightly adjusted the bathroom upstairs. With a width of 90 cm (35 inches), the shower should fit, right? The bathtub is actually 180 x 90 cm (71 x 35 inches) according to the catalog.
The study is intended to be closed off. My wife works from home full-time.
One idea with one child would be to use the second children’s room as a study/guest room.
However, with additional children, we would be quite limited – although on the ground floor we would have much more flexibility with room usage.
You’re right: This is quite a challenging task. But I also find it interesting how to get the most out of the space here.
haydee schrieb:
The floor plan is ambitious for the house size Exactly. A walk-in closet and office are already quite luxurious in a 130 sqm (1400 sq ft) house.
ypg schrieb:
Reading this about the roof, it sounds like two full stories are not allowed at all. I agree there as well. A roof pitch up to 55° is an indicator of limited stories and restrictive knee wall regulations. A 5 m (16 ft) distance to the neighboring building corresponds to the minimum building distance in southern Germany, assuming a maximum eaves height of 6.25 m (20.5 ft) (2.5 m = 0.4h). In places like Berlin/Brandenburg, a roof pitch over 45° would also count towards the building height at the property boundary. So the formula "total width minus minimum distances equals seven meters of house width" is very likely an oversimplification.
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