Hello everyone,
I’ve finally registered and would like to ask for your advice, tips, and feedback on our floor plan.
We started looking for a plot about 4 years ago and, of course, had a dream house in mind (urban villa, basement, double garage…). Now we’re considering a semi-detached house if we can afford it at the current prices. We have basically scaled back to the minimum – it should just be a regular house for ordinary people ♀️ no frills. We currently live in a 3-room apartment of about 80 sqm (860 sq ft) and in a few years it will definitely be too small. The plot is offered by the city and not overpriced – so we hope we can manage to plan something decent on it. We have already received several offers:
The house is now planned with dimensions of about 8.5x13 m (28x43 ft) (I am not allowed to post the detailed drawing). The garage is planned on the wall between the kitchen and the study.
We’re very curious about your input!
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 529 sqm (5695 sq ft)
No slope
Plot ratio (floor area ratio): 0.4
Building coverage ratio: 0.4
Building envelope, building line and boundary approx. 12x15 m (39x49 ft) (garage must be inside the building envelope due to regulations)
Edge development: semi-detached property
Number of parking spaces: 2 if possible
Number of floors: 1
Roof type: gable roof
Style: classic
Orientation: north/west
Maximum heights/limits: 4.5 m eaves height (14.75 ft)
Other requirements: private green area in the west, street in front of house is a dead end and only 3 m wide (10 ft)
Owners’ requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: classic, gable roof, semi-detached house
Basement, floors: no basement (too expensive), 1 full floor allowed according to the development plan = 1.5 floors
Number of residents, age: currently 3 (ages 35, 33, 1), grandparents will stay with us about 4 months a year (spread out), older, grandfather has mobility issues
Room requirements ground floor / upper floor:
- Ground floor: kitchen, living/dining room, pantry, utility/technical room, home office/guest room, shower toilet
- Upper floor: 2 children’s rooms about 15 sqm (160 sq ft) each, bedroom (there should still be enough space next to the bed for a child’s cot), bathroom with bathtub and shower
Office: family use or home office? Both (actually a home office, the second children’s room is initially an office, and the home office downstairs doubles as a guest room for the grandparents so they don’t have to climb stairs. My grandfather would also sleep on the couch, but a) that’s bad for his back and b) he should have privacy and a place to retreat).
Guests per year: frequent, about 12–20
Open or closed layout: open
Conservative or modern construction: still open, but solid construction is planned
Open kitchen, island: open kitchen, if possible without direct line of sight to the living room, no kitchen island but space for a French door refrigerator
Number of dining seats: 8
Fireplace: no
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: would prefer a garage, but somehow couldn’t plan it on the plot without blocking light on the west side, so we switched to a carport ♀️♀️ the builder then added a garage again; we’re not sure yet how we feel about it
Kitchen garden, greenhouse: vegetable garden, dining table with 8 seats, play area for the kids
Other wishes/particularities/daily routine, including explanations why certain things are or are not desired:
House design
Who designed it: regional builder
What do you particularly like? Why? Utility room and stairs on a shared wall, better use of daylight
What do you dislike? Why? Bathroom arrangement (I’d prefer windows on the west side for the children’s rooms, bathroom ideally with double-wing windows); long narrow hallway; kitchen is too small/too little workspace for cooking and baking a lot; maybe pantry under the stairs or integrate storage in the kitchen? We hardly have any drink crates but currently have a well-stocked 1.5 sqm (16 sq ft) pantry
Price estimate according to architect/planner: 375k without photovoltaic, 360k if built simultaneously with the other half
Personal price limit for the house including fittings: 340k (new kitchen included; we take it with us and will rebuild)
Preferred heating technology: air-source heat pump with underfloor heating
If you had to give up, which features/expansions?
- Could give up: third children’s room (he included it because the ground floor is so large), pantry, open kitchen (although reluctantly ♀️ we have already rationalized down from our “dream house”)
- Cannot give up: guest room/office and shower toilet on the ground floor
Why is the design the way it is now? For example:
Design by the builder’s planner; we have already spoken with several companies and sometimes received standard designs that did not fit at all. Now we get to add our input. Initially, I wanted just 3 rooms plus bath upstairs (he designed the house much bigger so everything fits downstairs), but I’m confused because one company told us the technical room must be on an exterior wall and take up at least 3 m (10 ft) of wall length … ♀️
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
How can we arrange the rooms on the ground floor sensibly and large enough to get good light & enough storage? How does the garage fit on the plot?
I’ve finally registered and would like to ask for your advice, tips, and feedback on our floor plan.
We started looking for a plot about 4 years ago and, of course, had a dream house in mind (urban villa, basement, double garage…). Now we’re considering a semi-detached house if we can afford it at the current prices. We have basically scaled back to the minimum – it should just be a regular house for ordinary people ♀️ no frills. We currently live in a 3-room apartment of about 80 sqm (860 sq ft) and in a few years it will definitely be too small. The plot is offered by the city and not overpriced – so we hope we can manage to plan something decent on it. We have already received several offers:
- Architect, 290k for the house (calculated with 1300 €/sqm…)
- Nationwide prefab house supplier 390k
- Regional company, solid construction 375k
The house is now planned with dimensions of about 8.5x13 m (28x43 ft) (I am not allowed to post the detailed drawing). The garage is planned on the wall between the kitchen and the study.
We’re very curious about your input!
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 529 sqm (5695 sq ft)
No slope
Plot ratio (floor area ratio): 0.4
Building coverage ratio: 0.4
Building envelope, building line and boundary approx. 12x15 m (39x49 ft) (garage must be inside the building envelope due to regulations)
Edge development: semi-detached property
Number of parking spaces: 2 if possible
Number of floors: 1
Roof type: gable roof
Style: classic
Orientation: north/west
Maximum heights/limits: 4.5 m eaves height (14.75 ft)
Other requirements: private green area in the west, street in front of house is a dead end and only 3 m wide (10 ft)
Owners’ requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: classic, gable roof, semi-detached house
Basement, floors: no basement (too expensive), 1 full floor allowed according to the development plan = 1.5 floors
Number of residents, age: currently 3 (ages 35, 33, 1), grandparents will stay with us about 4 months a year (spread out), older, grandfather has mobility issues
Room requirements ground floor / upper floor:
- Ground floor: kitchen, living/dining room, pantry, utility/technical room, home office/guest room, shower toilet
- Upper floor: 2 children’s rooms about 15 sqm (160 sq ft) each, bedroom (there should still be enough space next to the bed for a child’s cot), bathroom with bathtub and shower
Office: family use or home office? Both (actually a home office, the second children’s room is initially an office, and the home office downstairs doubles as a guest room for the grandparents so they don’t have to climb stairs. My grandfather would also sleep on the couch, but a) that’s bad for his back and b) he should have privacy and a place to retreat).
Guests per year: frequent, about 12–20
Open or closed layout: open
Conservative or modern construction: still open, but solid construction is planned
Open kitchen, island: open kitchen, if possible without direct line of sight to the living room, no kitchen island but space for a French door refrigerator
Number of dining seats: 8
Fireplace: no
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: would prefer a garage, but somehow couldn’t plan it on the plot without blocking light on the west side, so we switched to a carport ♀️♀️ the builder then added a garage again; we’re not sure yet how we feel about it
Kitchen garden, greenhouse: vegetable garden, dining table with 8 seats, play area for the kids
Other wishes/particularities/daily routine, including explanations why certain things are or are not desired:
- We have to build to KfW40 standard, and if photovoltaic panels are installed, 40% of the roof area must be photovoltaic (city requirement)
- Need space for a deep freezer in the utility room
- Showers should be walk-in or at least have a low bathtub
- We are not allowed to build a separate apartment on the plot
House design
Who designed it: regional builder
What do you particularly like? Why? Utility room and stairs on a shared wall, better use of daylight
What do you dislike? Why? Bathroom arrangement (I’d prefer windows on the west side for the children’s rooms, bathroom ideally with double-wing windows); long narrow hallway; kitchen is too small/too little workspace for cooking and baking a lot; maybe pantry under the stairs or integrate storage in the kitchen? We hardly have any drink crates but currently have a well-stocked 1.5 sqm (16 sq ft) pantry
Price estimate according to architect/planner: 375k without photovoltaic, 360k if built simultaneously with the other half
Personal price limit for the house including fittings: 340k (new kitchen included; we take it with us and will rebuild)
Preferred heating technology: air-source heat pump with underfloor heating
If you had to give up, which features/expansions?
- Could give up: third children’s room (he included it because the ground floor is so large), pantry, open kitchen (although reluctantly ♀️ we have already rationalized down from our “dream house”)
- Cannot give up: guest room/office and shower toilet on the ground floor
Why is the design the way it is now? For example:
Design by the builder’s planner; we have already spoken with several companies and sometimes received standard designs that did not fit at all. Now we get to add our input. Initially, I wanted just 3 rooms plus bath upstairs (he designed the house much bigger so everything fits downstairs), but I’m confused because one company told us the technical room must be on an exterior wall and take up at least 3 m (10 ft) of wall length … ♀️
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
How can we arrange the rooms on the ground floor sensibly and large enough to get good light & enough storage? How does the garage fit on the plot?
H
hausbau23inHE29 Apr 2022 22:24ypg schrieb:
You can clarify for us.
After reading your #38, it sounds like they all want to move in with you at some point.
I can’t make a suggestion if the questions remain unanswered… for example, there was the building time window and more. My questions in #35 weren’t answered at all. What other questions do you have? I went through #35 again. Apart from you not liking the idea of having the grandparents with us? Unfortunately, we do need the room on the ground floor (or first floor in UK terms) if we build 😕 yes, for regular guests, people sometimes sleep on the couch, etc., but they will initially stay with us for a few months and spend the rest of the time in their own apartment—until they realize they can no longer manage alone, I think. Of course, you can rent them a ground floor apartment (or they can rent one themselves), but if they become in need of care, they will come to us anyway. So, we have decided to include this room on the ground floor in our planning. We really debated a lot whether we could skip it—but if we build, it will be included. Don’t know if that answers your question? I wouldn’t have thought that caring for the grandparents would cause such a fuss.
H
hausbau23inHE29 Apr 2022 22:26ypg schrieb:
You are currently planning a 180 sqm (1,937 sq ft) house with 3 children's bedrooms (plus a multipurpose room) and an additional 50 sqm (538 sq ft) of expandable space in the attic.That’s why we want to revisit the floor plan :-) As mentioned, the construction company created the plan; it’s the first draft. We told them which rooms we wanted on the ground floor and upper floor, and they designed it based on that.
H
hausbau23inHE29 Apr 2022 22:27ypg schrieb:
You can clarify things for us.
After reading your #38, it sounds like they all want to move in with you at some point.
I can’t make any suggestions if these questions remain unanswered… for example, there was the building window and more. My questions in #35 weren’t answered at all. I will provide the building window on a drawing as soon as I get to it :-) I also want to include the street / walkways if possible
hausbau23inHE schrieb:
I wouldn’t have thought that taking care of the grandparents would cause such a big issue. The big issue is your budget!
I, or rather we, are just asking what exactly is being planned.
Because there is a difference between designing a house for 3-4 people
hausbau23inHE schrieb:
Number of people, current ages: 3 (35, 33, 1), or
hausbau23inHE schrieb:
but if they need care, they will come to us then anyway. the grandparents plus the grandpa (so a multi-room layout for an office, a senior couple, and the grandpa from the other family).
Your desired plan is difficult to implement on this plot and financially not feasible for you.
And personally, I think it’s not well thought through at all. This is not exaggeration. But if you want to help, the objectives have to be clear and realistic.
H
hausbau23inHE29 Apr 2022 22:58ypg schrieb:
The limit is your budget!
I or we are just asking what is actually planned.
Because there is a big difference between planning a house for 3-4 people
or
for grandparents plus grandpa (so a multi-room layout for an office, a senior couple, and the grandpa from the other family).
Your idea is hard to implement on this plot and financially not feasible for you.
Personally, I don’t think this is well thought through at all. No big fuss is being made here. But if you want to help, then the goals need to be clear and realistic. Please excuse me, apparently we misunderstood each other. It is only my grandparents, about 80 years old – so yes, a senior couple. I didn’t think to include the exact number of people, sorry! I used the metaphor about the limit because early on, when stating “indispensable,” I included this specific room. If it is not financially feasible, then we are out anyway – that’s just how it is. We haven’t bought the plot yet, either. That’s why I wanted to discuss it here and learn (for example, about access/garage, then go through Katja’s drawing and see how to reduce the 180m² (1940 sq ft)!).
I know the budget is tight given the current situation, even though we planned the additional building costs a bit more generously. If the house with the rooms (multi-room and 2 children’s bedrooms) is not financially within reach, then renting and adjusting the size accordingly sounds better depending on what is needed.
I am really grateful for the constructive criticism and advice so far.
For example, I still find it very odd about the architect’s price – he tells us 2500 but then writes down 1300.
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