ᐅ Floor plan – house design carried out by a structural engineer
Created on: 18 Aug 2015 20:31
M
MrIcemanLE
Hello everyone,
I would like to open a discussion about our current floor plan. The house was designed by a civil engineer whom we contracted for all service phases according to HOAI. My main concern is whether we might have overlooked something important or if there are aspects we haven't fully considered. I would be very grateful for any tips, suggestions, or criticism.
Here is an excerpt from the checklist:
Plot size: 2200 m2 (0.54 acres)
Number of floors: 2
Roof type: hipped roof
Architectural style: urban villa
Orientation: see plans
Number of occupants, age: 2 adults, 2-3 children
Office: home office, no clients
Guests per year: 10
More closed architecture
Rather conservative construction style
Closed kitchen with cooking island
Number of dining areas: 2
Fireplace: yes
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: yes, double garage
House design
Designer: IBS Staudacher, Borna
Favorite features: double door to the kitchen, TV corner with view of the garden and fireplace
Disliked features: narrow hallway on the ground floor and narrow staircase
Price estimate according to architect/planner: 300,000€
Personal budget for house including fittings: 310,000€
Preferred heating system: air- or ground-source heat pump
If you had to give up something, which details or extensions
- could you do without: fireplace (possibly retrofit later), large terrace window (tilt-and-slide window)
- cannot do without: office on the ground floor, dining area in the kitchen
I would like to open a discussion about our current floor plan. The house was designed by a civil engineer whom we contracted for all service phases according to HOAI. My main concern is whether we might have overlooked something important or if there are aspects we haven't fully considered. I would be very grateful for any tips, suggestions, or criticism.
Here is an excerpt from the checklist:
Plot size: 2200 m2 (0.54 acres)
Number of floors: 2
Roof type: hipped roof
Architectural style: urban villa
Orientation: see plans
Number of occupants, age: 2 adults, 2-3 children
Office: home office, no clients
Guests per year: 10
More closed architecture
Rather conservative construction style
Closed kitchen with cooking island
Number of dining areas: 2
Fireplace: yes
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: yes, double garage
House design
Designer: IBS Staudacher, Borna
Favorite features: double door to the kitchen, TV corner with view of the garden and fireplace
Disliked features: narrow hallway on the ground floor and narrow staircase
Price estimate according to architect/planner: 300,000€
Personal budget for house including fittings: 310,000€
Preferred heating system: air- or ground-source heat pump
If you had to give up something, which details or extensions
- could you do without: fireplace (possibly retrofit later), large terrace window (tilt-and-slide window)
- cannot do without: office on the ground floor, dining area in the kitchen
I created a version 3 ... the chimney is back in its original position, and I adjusted the upper floor (UF) a bit.
320 cm (126 inches) for a double bed is a bit tight, so I swapped the bedroom and the closet room. 214 cm (84 inches) for the closet room is not very spacious, but it should work. Whether the window has to be at the top side is questionable ... you could also extend the closets along the wall. For now, it’s about 5 m (16 feet) of closet space and a dresser in front of the window.
The beds have been extended to just under 210 cm (83 inches), and the youth beds widened to 100 cm (39 inches). Rooms have been adjusted, and the hallway at the bottom side has been added to the kids’ rooms. All kids’ rooms are now designed to fit 140 cm (55 inches) wide youth beds later on 😉.
In the hallway on the upper floor at the top side, I planned a towel dresser under the window for the bathroom, or it could also be used to store bed linens for everyone.
Windows and bay window on the upper floor are now matched to the ground floor (GF).
320 cm (126 inches) for a double bed is a bit tight, so I swapped the bedroom and the closet room. 214 cm (84 inches) for the closet room is not very spacious, but it should work. Whether the window has to be at the top side is questionable ... you could also extend the closets along the wall. For now, it’s about 5 m (16 feet) of closet space and a dresser in front of the window.
The beds have been extended to just under 210 cm (83 inches), and the youth beds widened to 100 cm (39 inches). Rooms have been adjusted, and the hallway at the bottom side has been added to the kids’ rooms. All kids’ rooms are now designed to fit 140 cm (55 inches) wide youth beds later on 😉.
In the hallway on the upper floor at the top side, I planned a towel dresser under the window for the bathroom, or it could also be used to store bed linens for everyone.
Windows and bay window on the upper floor are now matched to the ground floor (GF).
M
MrIcemanLE20 Aug 2015 13:06kbt09 schrieb:
I created a version 3Great! Thanks for your effort. I really appreciate it. I’ve been experimenting a bit today as well. Even changing the staircase design doesn’t make it easier. I especially have some issues on the upper floor (bathroom, children's rooms, etc. :-/). The staircase entrance is at the bottom of the plan.
I find it hard to give up the second dining area. I imagine it would be inconvenient in everyday life to always cover the lovingly decorated dining table just to have breakfast, for example. Moving the only dining table into the kitchen and separating the living room for that purpose is one option.
Regarding the children’s rooms and garage: What does one have to do with the other? The children’s rooms won’t get bigger if I make the garage smaller!? ... But I do understand what you mean. The upper floor has to adapt to the ground floor, and we’d like to have three children’s rooms.
Here are my ideas (red box = double-sided fireplace, black box = circulation space around the table):
Do you already have children? At least one or two? Or are they still all in planning?
The desks in your last version are very small. Based on experience, that is usually not enough… and, as I mentioned, for beds I would always plan with an external length of 210 cm (83 inches). Because in addition to the mattress, there’s the bed frame, and in the rooms, there’s the plaster on the wall.
In your last version, I also think you made some rooms larger (guest bathroom, bathroom, etc.) that don’t actually need to be bigger. The children’s rooms, especially the largest one, don’t really benefit much from the extra square meters. And in the hallway on the upper floor, you now have no storage space at all.
Please be so kind as to always include some wall dimensions in your floor plans when you post them. That makes it easier to understand the scale of the spaces… Thanks 😉
The desks in your last version are very small. Based on experience, that is usually not enough… and, as I mentioned, for beds I would always plan with an external length of 210 cm (83 inches). Because in addition to the mattress, there’s the bed frame, and in the rooms, there’s the plaster on the wall.
In your last version, I also think you made some rooms larger (guest bathroom, bathroom, etc.) that don’t actually need to be bigger. The children’s rooms, especially the largest one, don’t really benefit much from the extra square meters. And in the hallway on the upper floor, you now have no storage space at all.
Please be so kind as to always include some wall dimensions in your floor plans when you post them. That makes it easier to understand the scale of the spaces… Thanks 😉
M
MrIcemanLE20 Aug 2015 13:46kbt09 schrieb:
The desks in your last version are very small. Based on experience, that won’t be enough... and, as I said, for beds I would always work with an overall length of 210 cm (83 inches). Because in addition to the mattress, there is the bed frame, and in the rooms, the plaster on the walls.Thank you for the advice. I will take that into account.
kbt09 schrieb:
In your last version, in my opinion, you also made some rooms larger (guest bathroom, bathroom) that don’t actually need to be bigger. The children's rooms, especially the largest one, don’t really benefit much from the extra square meters. And in the hallway upstairs, you now don’t have any storage space left.Well... I didn’t come up with a better solution for the family bathroom. One could extend the hallway up to the exterior wall to gain storage space and reduce the size of the bathroom.
The ground floor bathroom is just a placeholder. I’m not very creative when it comes to floor plans ;-)
You have an architect at your disposal. You are paying them for their work! Tell them that you are not completely satisfied with the staircase design. A floor plan should be at least nearly perfect for yourself… especially considering the amount of money being invested. Ask them to provide an example with a stairway landing along a house wall… That should lead to an interesting result. You can always make the final adjustments here afterwards…
Similar topics