Hello everyone,
We recently made a spontaneous decision to build a single-family house after unexpectedly acquiring a plot of land. Meanwhile, price negotiations with several construction companies (turnkey) have been completed, and the contracts have been signed.
I would appreciate it if some experienced homeowners could take a look at our floor plan. We can still make minor changes. Special attention should be given to the roof windows. Are they too large or too small? Could the double casement window (which is also planned to be 94/140cm (37/55 inches)) in the bathroom or bedroom be omitted? Is there a rule of thumb for window area? What are the advantages of pivot and tilt-and-turn windows?
Furthermore, we need to consider the placement of recessed ceiling spotlights on the ground floor soon. Is there a good planning guide available online, perhaps including recommendations on the required wattage or lumen output per square meter? For example, the office is roughly 4x4 meters (13x13 feet). If I arrange ceiling spots in a near-square pattern, there would either be 9 or 16 fixtures – how should I approach this decision?
Thank you for any feedback.
Note: There are still some minor errors in the floor plan; the terrace is drawn incorrectly, and the kitchen sink will not be a corner sink.
We recently made a spontaneous decision to build a single-family house after unexpectedly acquiring a plot of land. Meanwhile, price negotiations with several construction companies (turnkey) have been completed, and the contracts have been signed.
I would appreciate it if some experienced homeowners could take a look at our floor plan. We can still make minor changes. Special attention should be given to the roof windows. Are they too large or too small? Could the double casement window (which is also planned to be 94/140cm (37/55 inches)) in the bathroom or bedroom be omitted? Is there a rule of thumb for window area? What are the advantages of pivot and tilt-and-turn windows?
Furthermore, we need to consider the placement of recessed ceiling spotlights on the ground floor soon. Is there a good planning guide available online, perhaps including recommendations on the required wattage or lumen output per square meter? For example, the office is roughly 4x4 meters (13x13 feet). If I arrange ceiling spots in a near-square pattern, there would either be 9 or 16 fixtures – how should I approach this decision?
Thank you for any feedback.
Note: There are still some minor errors in the floor plan; the terrace is drawn incorrectly, and the kitchen sink will not be a corner sink.
K
Knallkörper19 Jul 2016 19:37Hello kbt.
I would like to have "Star Galaxy" in the hallway, the office, and on the stairs. My wife prefers a wood look in the living room. One of these two should also be in the kitchen, because otherwise three different floor coverings would meet near the kitchen door. We can't agree on using the same flooring throughout the entire ground floor 🙁
I would like to have "Star Galaxy" in the hallway, the office, and on the stairs. My wife prefers a wood look in the living room. One of these two should also be in the kitchen, because otherwise three different floor coverings would meet near the kitchen door. We can't agree on using the same flooring throughout the entire ground floor 🙁
A house width of 9 meters (30 feet) is not narrow. A length of 15 meters (50 feet) is a bit long 😉
15 meters (50 feet) is at least too long regarding your windows. You can address this somewhat with double casement windows, but spaciousness and size always need to be balanced with natural light. Wow, the rooms upstairs are about 7 meters (23 feet) long – that’s not exactly ideal 😱
Dark rooms stay small, even if they have a large amount of floor space.
Therefore... I would have reduced the rooms by a few 3–4 square meters (or even 5), shortening them and invested the savings into dormers or a third gable. That would also create a nice spot for the piano. A 22 square meter (237 square feet) children’s room is really unnecessary.
Also, the planned staircase is the smallest version typically used in row houses and semi-detached houses where space is limited.
Do you only have one patio door?
15 meters (50 feet) is at least too long regarding your windows. You can address this somewhat with double casement windows, but spaciousness and size always need to be balanced with natural light. Wow, the rooms upstairs are about 7 meters (23 feet) long – that’s not exactly ideal 😱
Dark rooms stay small, even if they have a large amount of floor space.
Therefore... I would have reduced the rooms by a few 3–4 square meters (or even 5), shortening them and invested the savings into dormers or a third gable. That would also create a nice spot for the piano. A 22 square meter (237 square feet) children’s room is really unnecessary.
Also, the planned staircase is the smallest version typically used in row houses and semi-detached houses where space is limited.
Do you only have one patio door?
D
develloper19 Jul 2016 23:46There is no space for a coat rack or closet in the hallway. In general, the house would benefit from having a storage room, preferably on the upper floor. To create this space, I would reduce the size of the children's rooms. Otherwise, I think the floor plan is quite okay 🙂
K
Knallkörper20 Jul 2016 00:20Good evening and thank you for your comments,
I’m also not very happy with the shape of the house; ultimately, it is determined by the plot. I really wanted an L-shaped staircase, for example, 3 steps – landing – 12 steps. However, due to the building length, that wasn’t feasible or it would have meant unacceptable compromises for me. The limited space in the hallway downstairs and the lack of storage upstairs are my main criticisms of the floor plan, but I hope we can find a practical, small solution under the stairs.
Yvonne, do you really think the children’s rooms might be too dark? I hoped that the large double casement windows would let in enough light overall. The room sizes are certainly quite generous, and that’s intentional. But if I add a room in between, it gets cramped again. I don’t want a dormer for “stylistic” reasons. I would have liked a gable end, but that is supposed to cost nearly 30,000 (about $30,000) 😀 Why do you always have to make compromises when building a house? 😉
We only have one terrace door. We don’t like floor-to-ceiling windows.
Where would you place the stairs to the “attic”? It will be used exclusively for storage. Would a “normal” staircase from the upper hallway still be possible, or only a fold-away staircase that is recessed into the ceiling?
I’m also not very happy with the shape of the house; ultimately, it is determined by the plot. I really wanted an L-shaped staircase, for example, 3 steps – landing – 12 steps. However, due to the building length, that wasn’t feasible or it would have meant unacceptable compromises for me. The limited space in the hallway downstairs and the lack of storage upstairs are my main criticisms of the floor plan, but I hope we can find a practical, small solution under the stairs.
Yvonne, do you really think the children’s rooms might be too dark? I hoped that the large double casement windows would let in enough light overall. The room sizes are certainly quite generous, and that’s intentional. But if I add a room in between, it gets cramped again. I don’t want a dormer for “stylistic” reasons. I would have liked a gable end, but that is supposed to cost nearly 30,000 (about $30,000) 😀 Why do you always have to make compromises when building a house? 😉
We only have one terrace door. We don’t like floor-to-ceiling windows.
Where would you place the stairs to the “attic”? It will be used exclusively for storage. Would a “normal” staircase from the upper hallway still be possible, or only a fold-away staircase that is recessed into the ceiling?
K
Knallkörper4 Aug 2016 15:57I would appreciate some feedback regarding the brightness in the children's rooms. According to the applicable state building regulations, we need to plan window areas equal to 1/8 of the room’s floor area (rough opening?), which is about 3.25 m² (35 sq ft).
Currently, we have 2.1 m² (23 sq ft) on the gable side (east or west) plus 1.9 m² (20 sq ft) as a double casement window (south).
Double casement windows are supposed to provide more light than "regular" windows – that makes sense.
Does anyone have practical experience?
Will it be reasonably bright and pleasant?
Currently, we have 2.1 m² (23 sq ft) on the gable side (east or west) plus 1.9 m² (20 sq ft) as a double casement window (south).
Double casement windows are supposed to provide more light than "regular" windows – that makes sense.
Does anyone have practical experience?
Will it be reasonably bright and pleasant?
Similar topics