After reading the forum for a long time and gathering many ideas, our first preliminary design is now complete. We will have the house built by a local building contractor. The design comes from the contractor’s architect.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 950 sqm (10226 sq ft) including access road
Slight slope
Number of parking spaces: 2
Floors: Ground floor, upper floor
Roof type: Gable roof, 27% pitch
Style: Villa style
Requirements from the Homeowners
Villa style
Bright rooms
Basement: yes
Number of occupants: 4 (ages 35, 29, 1.5 years + 1 additional child)
Room requirements on ground floor and upper floor
Gas heating with solar (solar was recommended to us)
Decentralized ventilation system (supposedly required by energy regulations?)
Ground floor:
Large living room with bay window
Closed kitchen with cooking island
Number of dining seats: 6 (in the living/dining area)
Fireplace
Entry room with passage from house to garage
Pantry accessible from kitchen
Office: study room and guest room if needed
Overnight guests per year: 2–3 nights of 1 person
Double garage with storage room
Upper floor:
Gallery
Both children’s rooms should be about the same size
Large walk-in closet for all clothing (no wardrobes in the children’s rooms)
Master bedroom with balcony (mountain view)
Master bathroom with corner bathtub (mountain view)
Laundry chute accessible from master bathroom, children’s bathroom, and entry room
House Design
Designer: Contractor’s architect
Estimated price according to architect/planner: 548,000 EUR
Personal maximum budget for the house, excluding fittings and landscaping: 400,000 EUR
The offer from our contractor is nearly 150,000 EUR over our maximum budget.
We urgently need to reduce costs to make this project feasible. The roof terrace was not included in the offer. We would appreciate any advice.
Thank you very much!
Regina and Matthias
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 950 sqm (10226 sq ft) including access road
Slight slope
Number of parking spaces: 2
Floors: Ground floor, upper floor
Roof type: Gable roof, 27% pitch
Style: Villa style
Requirements from the Homeowners
Villa style
Bright rooms
Basement: yes
Number of occupants: 4 (ages 35, 29, 1.5 years + 1 additional child)
Room requirements on ground floor and upper floor
Gas heating with solar (solar was recommended to us)
Decentralized ventilation system (supposedly required by energy regulations?)
Ground floor:
Large living room with bay window
Closed kitchen with cooking island
Number of dining seats: 6 (in the living/dining area)
Fireplace
Entry room with passage from house to garage
Pantry accessible from kitchen
Office: study room and guest room if needed
Overnight guests per year: 2–3 nights of 1 person
Double garage with storage room
Upper floor:
Gallery
Both children’s rooms should be about the same size
Large walk-in closet for all clothing (no wardrobes in the children’s rooms)
Master bedroom with balcony (mountain view)
Master bathroom with corner bathtub (mountain view)
Laundry chute accessible from master bathroom, children’s bathroom, and entry room
House Design
Designer: Contractor’s architect
Estimated price according to architect/planner: 548,000 EUR
Personal maximum budget for the house, excluding fittings and landscaping: 400,000 EUR
The offer from our contractor is nearly 150,000 EUR over our maximum budget.
We urgently need to reduce costs to make this project feasible. The roof terrace was not included in the offer. We would appreciate any advice.
Thank you very much!
Regina and Matthias
N
nordanney22 Jul 2015 12:49What exactly is included in the cost estimate (land? additional costs? architect’s fees? fittings and fixtures? ...)
R
Regina_Matthias22 Jul 2015 13:25Bautraum2015 schrieb:
Um... well, that’s the price for a villa... that’s what you wanted, right? No. We don’t want a villa. It should be a single-family house in a “villa style,” meaning columns at the entrance, floor-to-ceiling windows with muntins, etc., nothing more.
Reducing the floor plan (ground floor + upper floor) is not an option for us, as we would otherwise have space problems on the upper floor. Our question with ideas for cost savings referred to the current floor plan and fittings. What about a partial basement? How much can be saved by having a carport instead of a garage? Does it make sense to initially do without the fireplace? Would you make compromises on building materials, and if so, where? Which work can we still have done later?
Thanks, Manu1976, for your comments on the floor plan.
Manu1976 schrieb:
- A villa but then a small kids’ bathroom without natural light = no-go
- No direct access from kitchen to living-dining area?
- Huge hallway but hardly any space for furniture, coat rack, etc.
- The master bathroom is really impractical. To get to the hallway, you have to go through the bedroom and dressing room!? That would annoy me over time.
- I also don’t like the bedroom being a “trapped” room.
I think much more can be made of the available space than what is currently designed. - Yes, it would be great if the kids’ bathroom had a window, but we don’t know where to place it.
- We deliberately do not want a passage from the living room to the kitchen.
- How would you redesign the hallway to create more space for furniture? Currently, there is additional space next to the stairs, since the wall above is solidly built.
- We only use the master bathroom in the morning and evening; at those times we are in the bedroom anyway.
- The dressing room should be accessible from both the master bedroom and the hallway (for the children).
What other ideas or suggestions do you have regarding the floor plan? Are there any aspects you find impractical beyond the points already mentioned?
B
Bauexperte22 Jul 2015 14:03Regina_Matthias schrieb:
No. We don’t want a villa. It should be a single-family house in a "villa style," meaning columns at the entrance, floor-to-ceiling windows with muntins, etc., nothing more. And a rather expensive entrance canopy that integrates with the roof of the masonry garage, two different bay windows, one of which should also serve as a balcony, a corner bathtub, corner windows, columns, a basement...
Unfortunately, you didn’t answer my question about the building location. Could you please also upload the elevations for the building project? Should the basement be built as a utility basement or as a living basement?
Best regards, Bauexperte
R
Regina_Matthias22 Jul 2015 14:48We are building in Upper Bavaria.
The basement is mainly planned as a utility cellar. However, the offer does include underfloor heating for the hobby room.
Also included in the offer are a decentralized ventilation system and a solar system for domestic hot water (costing 9,500 EUR and 2,900 EUR). According to the builder, both are supposedly required for an energy-efficient house (we want to build a KfW 70 standard). Is this correct?
Updated views with the carport will be provided during the day. I will upload them immediately.
The basement is mainly planned as a utility cellar. However, the offer does include underfloor heating for the hobby room.
Also included in the offer are a decentralized ventilation system and a solar system for domestic hot water (costing 9,500 EUR and 2,900 EUR). According to the builder, both are supposedly required for an energy-efficient house (we want to build a KfW 70 standard). Is this correct?
Updated views with the carport will be provided during the day. I will upload them immediately.
Hello,
we are currently in the middle of our planning as well.
Now regarding your floor plan:
bedroom 18m² (194ft²), gallery 17m² (183ft²) + open space, walk-in closet 15m² (161ft²), kitchen 20m² (215ft²), hallway 20m² (215ft²), bay window, double garage, and basement
In my opinion, there is still a lot of room for optimization. I would suggest starting again with a priority list and a needs assessment.
Best regards, Barossi
we are currently in the middle of our planning as well.
Now regarding your floor plan:
bedroom 18m² (194ft²), gallery 17m² (183ft²) + open space, walk-in closet 15m² (161ft²), kitchen 20m² (215ft²), hallway 20m² (215ft²), bay window, double garage, and basement
In my opinion, there is still a lot of room for optimization. I would suggest starting again with a priority list and a needs assessment.
Best regards, Barossi
Regina_Matthias schrieb:
- Yes, it would be great if the kids’ bathroom had a window too, but we’re not sure where to place the kids’ bathroom. We have four bedrooms and two bathrooms with natural light on the upper floor (with similar dimensions). Our kids’ bathroom is located where you have your gallery on the upper floor. It’s a bit narrow but still enough space for three kids and, most importantly, it gets natural light.
Regina_Matthias schrieb:
- The walk-in closet should be accessible from both the master bedroom and the hallway (for the kids). Then turn the walk-in closet into the bedroom and the bedroom into the walk-in closet.
Regina_Matthias schrieb:
We deliberately don’t want a passage between the living room and the kitchen. Why? I find it very practical—better than having to go through two doors when guests are over.
Regina_Matthias schrieb:
We only use the master bathroom in the mornings and evenings since we’re in the bedroom anyway. We actually only use our master bathroom in the mornings and evenings too. ACTUALLY!!! But it happens that the kids use it to go to the toilet when their own toilet is occupied and the way downstairs is so long. Also, we sometimes shower at midday ;-) How do you handle the bathtub? When the kids want to bathe, they always have to go through your private area. We solved this by having both bathrooms accessible only from the hallway, so anyone can use any bathroom when needed.
Similar topics