ᐅ Floor plan for a single-family house, 14 by 14 meters, with a limited ridge height
Created on: 6 May 2025 19:07
T
tempusfugit
Hello everyone,
a bit different and certainly very straightforward – here is our floor plan. The plot is in Brandenburg, just under 1,000 m² (10,764 sq ft). The zoning plan specifies a maximum ridge height at 34 meters above NHN (Normalhöhennull, standard elevation). The manhole cover on the street is approximately at 28.30 meters above NHN. The neighboring plot next door is accessible via a separate street (Pr).
The house itself will be built with a steel frame and prefabricated elements. The roof will be made of sandwich panels (Kingspan/Hoffmann) with a U-value of 0.15 and will be covered with solar panels (K2) on the southern side. This should hopefully reduce the sound of rain and also limit heat buildup somewhat.
There will be a gallery, which, due to limited height, will probably serve more as storage. Possibly, at least one area with 2 m (6 ft 7 in) height could work (finished ceiling height approximately 28.5 m = 5.5 m possible ridge height; 2.8 m (9 ft 2 in) ground floor; 0.2 m (8 in) ceiling; the rest 2 m (6 ft 7 in) up to the ridge). We still need to discuss this further with the surveyor and architect to see what is feasible. Depending on that, the gallery will either be open with a railing or closed off. We still want a “proper” staircase though.
The floor plan is quite pragmatic – the bathrooms present some challenges. One has no window, and the other is square.
Zoning plan / restrictions
Plot size: approx. 1,000 m² (10,764 sq ft)
Slope: No (approx. 10 cm (4 in) drop over 40 meters)
Floor area ratio: 0.4
Plot ratio: 1 (+ gallery level)
Building envelope, setback lines: 15 x 15 m (49 x 49 ft), 3 m (10 ft) to neighboring plot, 6 m (20 ft) to street (cul-de-sac)
Edge development: Last house on the street
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 1.5
Roof type: Gable roof, minimum 20° slope
Style: Does not matter
Orientation: South
Maximum height limits: Approx. 5.5 m (18 ft) ridge height
Homeowner requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Single-family house / bungalow
Basement, floors: No basement, ground floor + gallery level/storage space
Number and age of occupants: 3 (ages 49, 49, 14)
Room needs on ground/floor level: Living/kitchen, bedroom, child’s room, utility room, office, master bathroom, guest/teen bathroom, walk-in closet
Office: Family use and home office? Both
Guest stays per year: Weekends
Open or closed architecture: Open
Conservative or modern build: Modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Yes
Number of dining seats: Corner bench/table, max 6-8
Fireplace: Probably not (no suitable place, cost) — if anyone has tips for an affordable fireplace, please share
Music/stereo wall: No
Balcony, roof terrace: No
Garage, carport: No, cars (2) will probably park on the east side of the building (with charging station) or below the turning circle
Utility garden, greenhouse: No
House design
Design origin: Do-it-yourself
What we like most and why?
Affordable, no structural challenges due to steel frame construction with large-panel wall elements, wooden stud partition walls, trapezoidal profile roof panels with insulating core, structural flexibility
What we dislike and why?
Guest bathroom has no window, master bathroom is tricky because it is square, likely limited height in the attic due to gable roof and max ridge height limit (34 m above NHN compared to 28.2 m above NHN street level), difficult to find space for fireplace, driveway is structurally unusable — it was set like that during street construction.
Cost estimate by architect/planner: Shell construction 210,000
Personal budget limit for house including equipment: 350,000
Preferred heating system: Heat pump (air source)
If you had to waive some details/upgrades
- Could waive: Luxury features, KNX system (instead Shelly devices), garage, external blinds (raffstores), expensive lift-and-slide doors, elaborate garden
- Cannot waive: Central ventilation system, large living space, as much photovoltaic as possible (approx. 120 m² (1,292 sq ft) south-facing)
Why did the design end up like this?
Basically quite pragmatic, maximizing living space at low cost. A lot of self-work planned – construction time is not critical, as about 1–1.5 years until move-in.
a bit different and certainly very straightforward – here is our floor plan. The plot is in Brandenburg, just under 1,000 m² (10,764 sq ft). The zoning plan specifies a maximum ridge height at 34 meters above NHN (Normalhöhennull, standard elevation). The manhole cover on the street is approximately at 28.30 meters above NHN. The neighboring plot next door is accessible via a separate street (Pr).
The house itself will be built with a steel frame and prefabricated elements. The roof will be made of sandwich panels (Kingspan/Hoffmann) with a U-value of 0.15 and will be covered with solar panels (K2) on the southern side. This should hopefully reduce the sound of rain and also limit heat buildup somewhat.
There will be a gallery, which, due to limited height, will probably serve more as storage. Possibly, at least one area with 2 m (6 ft 7 in) height could work (finished ceiling height approximately 28.5 m = 5.5 m possible ridge height; 2.8 m (9 ft 2 in) ground floor; 0.2 m (8 in) ceiling; the rest 2 m (6 ft 7 in) up to the ridge). We still need to discuss this further with the surveyor and architect to see what is feasible. Depending on that, the gallery will either be open with a railing or closed off. We still want a “proper” staircase though.
The floor plan is quite pragmatic – the bathrooms present some challenges. One has no window, and the other is square.
Zoning plan / restrictions
Plot size: approx. 1,000 m² (10,764 sq ft)
Slope: No (approx. 10 cm (4 in) drop over 40 meters)
Floor area ratio: 0.4
Plot ratio: 1 (+ gallery level)
Building envelope, setback lines: 15 x 15 m (49 x 49 ft), 3 m (10 ft) to neighboring plot, 6 m (20 ft) to street (cul-de-sac)
Edge development: Last house on the street
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 1.5
Roof type: Gable roof, minimum 20° slope
Style: Does not matter
Orientation: South
Maximum height limits: Approx. 5.5 m (18 ft) ridge height
Homeowner requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Single-family house / bungalow
Basement, floors: No basement, ground floor + gallery level/storage space
Number and age of occupants: 3 (ages 49, 49, 14)
Room needs on ground/floor level: Living/kitchen, bedroom, child’s room, utility room, office, master bathroom, guest/teen bathroom, walk-in closet
Office: Family use and home office? Both
Guest stays per year: Weekends
Open or closed architecture: Open
Conservative or modern build: Modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Yes
Number of dining seats: Corner bench/table, max 6-8
Fireplace: Probably not (no suitable place, cost) — if anyone has tips for an affordable fireplace, please share
Music/stereo wall: No
Balcony, roof terrace: No
Garage, carport: No, cars (2) will probably park on the east side of the building (with charging station) or below the turning circle
Utility garden, greenhouse: No
House design
Design origin: Do-it-yourself
What we like most and why?
Affordable, no structural challenges due to steel frame construction with large-panel wall elements, wooden stud partition walls, trapezoidal profile roof panels with insulating core, structural flexibility
What we dislike and why?
Guest bathroom has no window, master bathroom is tricky because it is square, likely limited height in the attic due to gable roof and max ridge height limit (34 m above NHN compared to 28.2 m above NHN street level), difficult to find space for fireplace, driveway is structurally unusable — it was set like that during street construction.
Cost estimate by architect/planner: Shell construction 210,000
Personal budget limit for house including equipment: 350,000
Preferred heating system: Heat pump (air source)
If you had to waive some details/upgrades
- Could waive: Luxury features, KNX system (instead Shelly devices), garage, external blinds (raffstores), expensive lift-and-slide doors, elaborate garden
- Cannot waive: Central ventilation system, large living space, as much photovoltaic as possible (approx. 120 m² (1,292 sq ft) south-facing)
Why did the design end up like this?
Basically quite pragmatic, maximizing living space at low cost. A lot of self-work planned – construction time is not critical, as about 1–1.5 years until move-in.
tempusfugit7 May 2025 20:57kbt09 schrieb:
It would also be helpful to always orient different floor plans consistently, ideally according to how they will be positioned on the plot. To avoid having to search repeatedly, it’s best to always provide two drawings with each new design contribution: one showing the house with the site plan and one showing just the house floor plan. I agree, but that is unfortunately somewhat difficult at the moment. I originally designed everything in Allplan (construction, BIM, utilities, etc.), but the program runs a bit slowly on my laptop when I’m on the go.
The budget does not match the house size and seems unrealistic. With 350K, you won’t get a 160 sqm (1,722 sq ft) bungalow in Germany.
Besides that, I don’t see any exceptional skill that would allow you to handle the floor plan design on your own. Who is your building partner with the "steel frame"? Don’t they offer any consultation?
Besides that, I don’t see any exceptional skill that would allow you to handle the floor plan design on your own. Who is your building partner with the "steel frame"? Don’t they offer any consultation?
tempusfugit8 May 2025 07:11The topic of money somehow always seems to dominate. We have a quote for the shell construction including the foundation slab of about 180,000 (USD) and yes, there is also an architect contract for 35,000 (USD). There are already plenty of examples here in the forum where members have shown that costs of 2,000 to 2,500 (USD) per square meter are reasonable if the conditions are right: own labor, village location, sufficient time, no zero-percent financing, and so on.
However, in this thread, I was more interested in the floor plan and ideas that I could incorporate into the further planning.
However, in this thread, I was more interested in the floor plan and ideas that I could incorporate into the further planning.
tempusfugit schrieb:
At the moment, we’re having some doubts about the guest bathroom, which has no window. A guest bathroom without a window is one of the smaller issues or could be considered unproblematic, as long as it is used only occasionally.
tempusfugit schrieb:
In the current design, it is a central corridor. You are currently showing two corridors, separated by a sliding door. The excess space inside results from the shape and is difficult to integrate. Besides being unnecessarily expensive, the sliding door is also awkward to operate.
tempusfugit schrieb:
The corridor will get light through the glass door to the living room and a light strip next to the exterior door. Unfortunately, that’s all the light it will get. It remains quite dark, and more lighting is possible, but not if you consider this floor plan fixed. Floor plans #1, #6, and #8 are quite different—and one is even shown upside down. How are we supposed to tell the orientation? Which one is the final version?
If it is #6, I would also be interested in the dimensions of the indicated staircase. In plan #8, no staircase is visible.
Having the children’s rooms accessed from the vestibule is very inconvenient, while the heating room is closer and almost adjacent to the living area.
After entering the guest bathroom, you immediately step into the shower. A bathroom of 20sqm (215 sq ft) requires careful planning; otherwise, as often happens with amateur layouts, fixtures such as the toilet and washbasin end up awkwardly attached along the sides, leaving an unnecessarily large empty space in the center. Is there a more detailed plan? Because right now, it doesn’t look good. The walk-in closet has a seemingly endless wall, which also doesn’t appear very inviting to furnish, and this room feels unattractive, as if it resulted from just filling leftover space.
That impression applies to the overall layout, too—it does not feel like a home designed from the inside out based on individual needs, aiming to create at least a charming living atmosphere.
tempusfugit schrieb:
There is also an architect contract for 35k. But I guess the architect hasn’t seen this plan yet?
I would rather have the architect completely redesign it because I would immediately discard the current design myself. That’s exactly what you hire an architect for.
tempusfugit8 May 2025 08:05Thank you for the input! The floor plans in #1 and #6 are ours and have already been oriented to the north. #8 was a proposal, roughly 14 x 15 m (46 x 49 feet), relatively similar, but it was only a suggestion and besides the window in the guest bathroom, it has disadvantages you already pointed out (hallways, dressing area used as a corridor, huge bathroom, etc.).
H
hanghaus20238 May 2025 09:23What is included in the shell construction? For me, the shell construction without the roof and windows was about 50% of the total building costs.
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