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.
Two full floors are allowed according to the development plan "WAII."
Here is an excerpt from the text section of the development plan:
Simple question: Could you explain that in more detail?
As you might see from the second ground floor sketch, we are maintaining the 3 m (10 feet) distance to the property boundary → it would be approximately 3.85 m (12.6 feet).
The 5 meters (16.4 feet) was mentioned to me by an official at the building department. He said to keep 3 meters (10 feet) to the boundary, but at least 5 meters (16.4 feet) distance to the existing building on the neighboring plot because of fire safety regulations. By the way, we are planning to build in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW).
We would prefer to build with a 30° roof pitch (because neighbors have done it this way), otherwise, we will follow the 38° specified in the regulations.
Here is an excerpt from the text section of the development plan:
11ant schrieb:
So "total width minus minimum distances equals seven meters house width" will most likely be an oversimplified calculation.
Simple question: Could you explain that in more detail?
As you might see from the second ground floor sketch, we are maintaining the 3 m (10 feet) distance to the property boundary → it would be approximately 3.85 m (12.6 feet).
The 5 meters (16.4 feet) was mentioned to me by an official at the building department. He said to keep 3 meters (10 feet) to the boundary, but at least 5 meters (16.4 feet) distance to the existing building on the neighboring plot because of fire safety regulations. By the way, we are planning to build in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW).
We would prefer to build with a 30° roof pitch (because neighbors have done it this way), otherwise, we will follow the 38° specified in the regulations.
f_meyer schrieb:
We would prefer to build with a 30° roof pitch (since neighbors have done the same), otherwise we would follow the specified 38° pitch. I would also like to have a green badge, but I’m not a farmer. If the development plan specifies a roof pitch >38°, then 30° pitch requires an exemption. It’s difficult to assess the chances of that exemption based on the information we have so far.
f_meyer schrieb:
Stupid question: Can you explain that to me in more detail?
As you might see from the second ground floor sketch, we comply with the 3m (10 feet) setback from the property boundary -> it would be about 3.85m (12.6 feet).
The 5 meters (16.4 feet) was mentioned to me by an official at the building department. He said to keep 3 meters (10 feet) from the boundary, but at least 5 meters (16.4 feet) from the neighboring existing building for fire protection reasons. By the way, we want to build in NRW. That’s not a stupid question. I’m not sure why fire protection would require 5 meters (16.4 feet) here—possibly it applies due to a window in the neighbor’s garage and also concerns buildings with privileged boundary status. NRW is not BW or BY, so the side clearance must be at least 6 meters (19.7 feet), meaning 3 meters (10 feet) on each side of the boundary. However, this minimum only applies if the building heights do not require a greater distance, for example, if four-tenths of the building height (eave height; if a gable faces the boundary, part of the gable height is also included) exceeds these three meters (10 feet).
According to the image you posted, your two-story house likely has an eave height of 6.6 meters (21.7 feet) (and probably not much less than 6.0 meters (19.7 feet) overall), so 0.4 times that height equals 2.64 meters (8.7 feet) to 2.40 meters (7.9 feet), which is less than 3 meters (10 feet), meaning the minimum setback stays at 3 meters (10 feet) unless a gable faces the boundary. With the neighbor’s 6.0 meters (19.7 feet) minus 1.14 meters (3.7 feet) met, you would still have 4.86 meters (15.9 feet) on your side (note that the property boundary is not parallel to the wall).
So be prepared that your width assumptions might be too optimistic. You will probably want to align the axis of your house parallel to the neighbor’s boundary for practical reasons.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Thanks for the detailed explanation about the setback distances. Now I understand!
To clarify: the narrow plot on the right (with house number 7) and the 1.14 m (4 feet) setback belongs to my mother. The plot to be developed also belongs to my mother and will be transferred to me. It was once a large plot and was then divided during an extension (to the north of number 7). This explains the small setback of the existing building.
The 5-meter (16 feet) distance is based on § 30 of the building code of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), paragraph 1.
1. as the end wall of a building, except for buildings without habitable rooms and without fireplaces, with no more than 50 cubic meters (1765 cubic feet) gross volume, if these end walls are built on or at a distance of less than 2.5 m (8 feet) from the neighboring boundary, unless a distance of at least 5 m (16 feet) to existing or future buildings permitted by building regulations is legally ensured.
Therefore, the official stated that we are allowed to build with a minimum distance of 5 m (16 feet).
One more question on this:
Since this is a construction project within the family, would it be possible, with my mother’s consent, to reduce the 6-meter (20 feet) setback anyway?
To clarify: the narrow plot on the right (with house number 7) and the 1.14 m (4 feet) setback belongs to my mother. The plot to be developed also belongs to my mother and will be transferred to me. It was once a large plot and was then divided during an extension (to the north of number 7). This explains the small setback of the existing building.
The 5-meter (16 feet) distance is based on § 30 of the building code of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), paragraph 1.
1. as the end wall of a building, except for buildings without habitable rooms and without fireplaces, with no more than 50 cubic meters (1765 cubic feet) gross volume, if these end walls are built on or at a distance of less than 2.5 m (8 feet) from the neighboring boundary, unless a distance of at least 5 m (16 feet) to existing or future buildings permitted by building regulations is legally ensured.
Therefore, the official stated that we are allowed to build with a minimum distance of 5 m (16 feet).
One more question on this:
Since this is a construction project within the family, would it be possible, with my mother’s consent, to reduce the 6-meter (20 feet) setback anyway?
f_meyer schrieb:
One more question on this:
Since this is a building project within the family, would it be possible to reduce the 6-meter (20 feet) setback with my mother’s consent? No. That would effectively override the setback requirement in relation to a future owner of the building plot. You might want to consider merging the two properties, and instead of owning the plot, you could be granted a separate ownership area within a condominium ownership arrangement. But for more details, please check the pianist thread: [link as given]
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
f_meyer schrieb:
Two full stories are permitted according to the development plan "WAII".Is the plot actually located within the WAII area?
f_meyer schrieb:
You’re right: It’s quite a challenging task. But I also find it interesting to see how to get the most out of it here. Then please show the entire plot with orientation and all measurements.
If possible, also provide the full development plan, as it should be reviewed in its entirety, not just in excerpts.
And by the way:
ypg schrieb:
Please fill out this questionnaire
https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/grundriss-planung-unbedingt-vor-beitrag-erstellung-lesen.f5w5f3/Feel free to complete the questionnaire as well, which unfortunately has not yet been re-pinned in the subforum.
11ant schrieb:
You might want to consider merging the two plots of land, and instead of owning the plot, you would get a separate ownership share within the condominium ownership community (WEG). But read the pianist thread on this topic: https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/haus-auf-Grundstück-der-eltern-erbschaftsprobleme.j3i4e9/ I have looked into this.
My understanding is that both plots would be merged again. Then, basically, I would be granted a separate ownership unit for the area of the "new building plot." As a result, setback requirements would no longer apply because both buildings would be considered on the same property.
However, fire protection regulations including fire separation distances and other requirements of the zoning plan would still need to be observed.
The condominium ownership community (WEG) would consist of my wife, my mother, and myself. How would a possible future sale of one of the buildings be handled?
Would all rights and obligations transfer only for the respective building to the buyer? So either the separate ownership unit (new building) or the property (existing building) would be sold, minus any "depreciation" of the separate ownership unit?
That does seem like a viable option. Thanks for this input.
I do have one more question regarding setback distances for existing buildings / legal non-conforming use (grandfathering).
After all, I received the information that I could build this way and only have to maintain a 5-meter (16 feet) fire safety setback from an employee at the building authority.
On what basis did they make this statement? What might they be referring to?
I have also seen this mentioned in another forum, that for existing buildings with no registration in the land registry, no setback to the neighboring plot is required.
These are just statements, though. Therefore, I would prefer a reference to a specific section of the law or regulation.
ypg schrieb:
Is the plot located in WA II? Yes, the plot is in WA II.
ypg schrieb:
Then please show the entire plot with orientation and dimensions. Possibly also the full zoning plan, not just excerpts but in its entirety. Here is the plot with measurements. North orientation.
For your information: an extension was added later to building number 7. I have marked the ridge lines on both buildings. That might be relevant.
And here is the link to the zoning plan (plot 145):
o-sp.de/download/paderborn/467228
And finally, the list you asked for:
Zoning Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: approx. 520 sqm (5595 sq ft)
Slope: 1° / 1.7%
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Floor area ratio
Building window, building line and boundary: 3.5 m (11.5 ft) from the street
Edge development: no
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of storeys: 2
Roof type: gable roof or half-hipped roof
Architectural style: aligned with neighboring buildings
Orientation: irrelevant
Maximum heights/limits: 1-storey = 4.0/11.5 m (13.1/37.7 ft); 2-storey = 6.6/14.5 m (21.7/47.6 ft)
Other requirements: roof pitch 38° - 55° (38° - 55°)
Homeowners’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: cubic, gable roof
Basement, floors: no basement, 1.5 - 2 floors
Number of occupants, ages: 3 persons; 42 y., 35 y., 1 y.
Space requirements on ground and upper floors
Office: home office
Guest bedrooms per year: 8-10
Open or closed architecture: closed, except for living-dining area
Conservative or modern construction method: conservative
Open kitchen, cooking island: no cooking island, max. 1 counter
Number of dining seats: 4-5
Fireplace: no
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: terrace in front of living room to the garden
Garage, carport: carport
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Additional wishes/special features/daily routine, including reasons why certain aspects are preferred or avoided
House Design
Who designed the plan: do-it-yourself
What do you particularly like? Why?
What do you not like? Why?
Price estimate according to architect/planner:
Personal price limit for the house, including equipment: 400,000 € (approx. 440,000 USD)
Preferred heating technology: air heat pump or air-to-air heat pump
If you have to give up something, which features/extensions
-can you do without: 2nd children’s room, dressing room
-can you not do without: office, guest WC with shower
Why is the design as it is now?
The goal was/is to accommodate 2 children’s rooms, 1 office, and an additional shower WC within a 7 x 12 meter (23 x 39 feet) floor plan.
By minimizing some rooms/areas, this is barely possible.
The question remains whether this tight layout will be satisfactory for years of living in the house.
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