ᐅ Floor plan for a two-story single-family house without a basement
Created on: 25 Oct 2014 17:59
T
Turbo DHello forum community,
I want to design the floor plan for a two-story single-family house without a basement.
Are there any specific things I should pay special attention to?
For example, does the utility room always have to be adjacent to the kitchen or the guest toilet? (This seems to be the case at least in all prefabricated houses.)
If anyone could at least answer this question, it would be very helpful!
Thank you in advance!
Best regards
Daniel
I want to design the floor plan for a two-story single-family house without a basement.
Are there any specific things I should pay special attention to?
For example, does the utility room always have to be adjacent to the kitchen or the guest toilet? (This seems to be the case at least in all prefabricated houses.)
If anyone could at least answer this question, it would be very helpful!
Thank you in advance!
Best regards
Daniel
Not a good approach – I’m convinced of that by now. Usually, professionals do this better and feel restricted by the process. It’s like saying: I want a circle, but it has to have four corners.
However, I find freehand drawing useful to clarify what you really want or to be able to evaluate results.
If someone says the design is rubbish and seems knowledgeable, that’s often true. In that case, don’t start justifying it—better to start over (this is a normal creative process).
What should you pay attention to? It’s best to start with your room program—what rooms do you need, how big are they currently, are they too small or too large, what is missing? Then, I found it helpful to learn some standard dimensions—for example, a double bed requires 3.7 * 3.1 m (12.1 * 10.2 ft), a toilet should not be narrower than 1.15 m (3.8 ft), the staircase should follow stair design formulas (there’s nothing worse than finishing a floor plan only to realize the staircase has one step too few), a bright room has about 20% window area relative to the floor area (this is a very rough guideline), bathrooms should be stacked vertically or at least have a room below that can accommodate a soil pipe (so avoid placing it above the living room or entrance area), and depending on your tools, plan realistic wall thicknesses.
If you don’t enjoy all this, better to leave it to the professionals.
However, I find freehand drawing useful to clarify what you really want or to be able to evaluate results.
If someone says the design is rubbish and seems knowledgeable, that’s often true. In that case, don’t start justifying it—better to start over (this is a normal creative process).
What should you pay attention to? It’s best to start with your room program—what rooms do you need, how big are they currently, are they too small or too large, what is missing? Then, I found it helpful to learn some standard dimensions—for example, a double bed requires 3.7 * 3.1 m (12.1 * 10.2 ft), a toilet should not be narrower than 1.15 m (3.8 ft), the staircase should follow stair design formulas (there’s nothing worse than finishing a floor plan only to realize the staircase has one step too few), a bright room has about 20% window area relative to the floor area (this is a very rough guideline), bathrooms should be stacked vertically or at least have a room below that can accommodate a soil pipe (so avoid placing it above the living room or entrance area), and depending on your tools, plan realistic wall thicknesses.
If you don’t enjoy all this, better to leave it to the professionals.
D
Doc.Schnaggls25 Oct 2014 21:04Hello Daniel,
At the beginning of our planning, we also drew quite a few floor plans.
They were somewhat helpful for orientation, but not much more than that.
Things like the chimney flue, water and waste pipes, stairs, etc., regularly ruin the designs made by us amateur architects.
The reason why utility rooms and kitchens (bathrooms, toilets, etc.) are often adjacent in many designs is simply that it allows for a shared plumbing stack, which can save a significant amount of money.
We found it quite effective to create a list of requirements, defining the desired rooms, living area, technical features, etc., and use this as a basis to approach construction companies we were interested in.
The results sometimes pleasantly surprised us.
Best regards,
Dirk
At the beginning of our planning, we also drew quite a few floor plans.
They were somewhat helpful for orientation, but not much more than that.
Things like the chimney flue, water and waste pipes, stairs, etc., regularly ruin the designs made by us amateur architects.
The reason why utility rooms and kitchens (bathrooms, toilets, etc.) are often adjacent in many designs is simply that it allows for a shared plumbing stack, which can save a significant amount of money.
We found it quite effective to create a list of requirements, defining the desired rooms, living area, technical features, etc., and use this as a basis to approach construction companies we were interested in.
The results sometimes pleasantly surprised us.
Best regards,
Dirk
N
nordanney25 Oct 2014 21:04Don’t worry about the floor plan of your house. Architects usually do that better and you pay them for it.
Instead, think about what you want your house to offer (a large living room, bright rooms filled with natural light, windows, entrance area with or without a vestibule, open or closed kitchen, number and size of children’s rooms, utility room or just a technical room, whether a utility room is needed on the upper floor, etc.) and how your life in the new house should be. That way, your architect can create a practical design that includes your wishes.
Instead, think about what you want your house to offer (a large living room, bright rooms filled with natural light, windows, entrance area with or without a vestibule, open or closed kitchen, number and size of children’s rooms, utility room or just a technical room, whether a utility room is needed on the upper floor, etc.) and how your life in the new house should be. That way, your architect can create a practical design that includes your wishes.
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