ᐅ Terraced Corner House Floor Plan in Development – Any Suggestions for Changes?
Created on: 20 Aug 2022 21:05
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Bauherrin123
Hello dear forum members,
we are building an end-terrace house measuring 7 by 10 m (23 by 33 ft) without a basement. It will have 2 full floors and an attic above. Now the question is which roof we should have. I was shown a house with a 38-degree gable roof without a knee wall, which I found very nice in terms of the feeling of space. Now we have been informed that only a 35-degree gable roof is allowed for us, but with a 30 cm (12 inches) knee wall. What I didn’t realize was that our attic has a maximum height of only 63 cm (25 inches). So the attic space is very low. Now I have no basement and hardly any storage space and I’m a bit frustrated because the building permit application is now in front of me. I initially agreed that this was okay, but I would prefer a 1 m (3 ft) knee wall. The development plan only allows a maximum of 30 cm (12 inches). I’m really unsure what to choose... I don’t want to spend unnecessary money if it doesn’t make a big difference since we have a very large plot and can build storage in the garage, barn, or garden house...
What would you do?
A. 38-degree gable roof or
B. 35-degree gable roof with 30 cm (12 inches) knee wall or
C. 35-degree gable roof with 1 m (3 ft) knee wall, applying to the city office...
We would need to submit a request to the building authority to increase the knee wall to 1 m (3 ft), which would mean more effort, bureaucracy, and delays... I don’t know what it would cost or if it’s even possible, but it’s weighing on my mind because I only read online about people who built houses with a knee wall on the attic. The extra cost of $3,000–$5,000, if that’s roughly the amount, would be worth it to me if it creates nicer rooms and I get a higher attic for storage.
The second problem is that the plot is much lower than street level. We are paying an extra €10,000 to fill the plot with gravel up to street level. Now the house will be built just slightly above street level, so there will be a step at the entrance. There will be a total of 3 terraced houses, and we have the end house. In our row, two finished terraced houses from other builders are already standing next to ours. However, these are built 1 m (3 ft) above street level with 3 or 4 steps higher, so they probably look taller overall. I find this visually unappealing and also, personally, I want our house to be higher.
What are your thoughts on this?
I’m also uploading my floor plan, which I think is finished. I don’t understand how high the ceilings are; can someone tell from the plans? Inside the rooms, how high are they? And generally, do you notice anything about the floor plan?
My building permit application is ready, but I want to change it after all. It doesn’t suit me, and I’m sure it will cause trouble with the company if they have to make changes for us, but I want to be able to decide again and just need some feedback here.
Looking forward to your support!
Best regards
we are building an end-terrace house measuring 7 by 10 m (23 by 33 ft) without a basement. It will have 2 full floors and an attic above. Now the question is which roof we should have. I was shown a house with a 38-degree gable roof without a knee wall, which I found very nice in terms of the feeling of space. Now we have been informed that only a 35-degree gable roof is allowed for us, but with a 30 cm (12 inches) knee wall. What I didn’t realize was that our attic has a maximum height of only 63 cm (25 inches). So the attic space is very low. Now I have no basement and hardly any storage space and I’m a bit frustrated because the building permit application is now in front of me. I initially agreed that this was okay, but I would prefer a 1 m (3 ft) knee wall. The development plan only allows a maximum of 30 cm (12 inches). I’m really unsure what to choose... I don’t want to spend unnecessary money if it doesn’t make a big difference since we have a very large plot and can build storage in the garage, barn, or garden house...
What would you do?
A. 38-degree gable roof or
B. 35-degree gable roof with 30 cm (12 inches) knee wall or
C. 35-degree gable roof with 1 m (3 ft) knee wall, applying to the city office...
We would need to submit a request to the building authority to increase the knee wall to 1 m (3 ft), which would mean more effort, bureaucracy, and delays... I don’t know what it would cost or if it’s even possible, but it’s weighing on my mind because I only read online about people who built houses with a knee wall on the attic. The extra cost of $3,000–$5,000, if that’s roughly the amount, would be worth it to me if it creates nicer rooms and I get a higher attic for storage.
The second problem is that the plot is much lower than street level. We are paying an extra €10,000 to fill the plot with gravel up to street level. Now the house will be built just slightly above street level, so there will be a step at the entrance. There will be a total of 3 terraced houses, and we have the end house. In our row, two finished terraced houses from other builders are already standing next to ours. However, these are built 1 m (3 ft) above street level with 3 or 4 steps higher, so they probably look taller overall. I find this visually unappealing and also, personally, I want our house to be higher.
What are your thoughts on this?
I’m also uploading my floor plan, which I think is finished. I don’t understand how high the ceilings are; can someone tell from the plans? Inside the rooms, how high are they? And generally, do you notice anything about the floor plan?
My building permit application is ready, but I want to change it after all. It doesn’t suit me, and I’m sure it will cause trouble with the company if they have to make changes for us, but I want to be able to decide again and just need some feedback here.
Looking forward to your support!
Best regards
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Bauherrin12321 Aug 2022 05:20P.S. The 5th attic window, all 3 on the sloped walls, I want to be larger, 140 by 118 cm (55 by 46 inches), but this has already been discussed and was not an issue during the selection of materials.
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Bertram10021 Aug 2022 06:56I would design the staircase as a standard double quarter-turn staircase along the wall. This way, you get a slightly wider hallway, which is invaluable if you want a coat rack and have children. Right now, the staircase takes up space that is technically there in square meters but not in the spot where you actually need it. The entrance situation is inconvenient for you, especially with a child and almost no coat storage. That will be frustrating (at least, it would bother me a lot).
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Bauherrin12321 Aug 2022 08:01Bertram100 schrieb:
I would suggest a standard staircase with two quarter turns along the wall. This way, you get a slightly wider hallway, which is really valuable if you want a coat rack and have children. Right now, the staircase takes up space that exists in square meters but not in the spot where it would be useful. The entrance layout is awkward for you with a child and almost no space for a coat rack. That will be frustrating (well, it would be hugely annoying to me).What do you mean by two quarter turns?2.15m (7 feet) long? If I make the staircase narrower, doesn’t it get longer? Could you explain the staircase situation again? We’ve had it changed several times because the rooms on the upper floor needed to be wider. The architect kept adjusting the staircase until the rooms were wide enough, so now our staircase is about 30cm (12 inches) longer. It’s longer than the neighbor’s, who in turn have more wall space and a somewhat larger storage room or living room. I honestly don’t see how you can make the staircase narrower without changing its length.
I just googled a bit—what exactly would be the difference compared to my staircase? I don’t understand how the hallway would be wider, even though I looked at some example pictures. What type of staircase do you have now?
Oh man, I’m feeling really bad today, and planning is usually fun—I’m just annoyed that we wasted so much time and I should have done this earlier alongside the architect.
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Bauherrin12321 Aug 2022 08:17What bothers me is the door to the office and the wall in front of it, but it couldn’t be done differently unless a narrow door was used, because of the staircase… and the wall is where it is because the bedroom needed to be wider to fit the wardrobe. Does anyone have another solution for the wall and door?
P.S. The staircase runs along the wall, I don’t know what was meant by “above.”
P.S. The staircase runs along the wall, I don’t know what was meant by “above.”
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Bertram10021 Aug 2022 08:42Bauherrin123 schrieb:
The staircase is along the wall, not sure what is meant by “above.” Exactly, I just meant a staircase along the wall.
Here is a photo of the floor plan as I have it. With the quarter-turn staircase along the wall. At the top, the staircase makes another quarter turn. You can’t see this on the plan. You have planned a staircase with a landing. I’m glad the hallway near the entrance is reasonably wide for me. Otherwise, it would be really tight. Terraced houses aren’t exactly palaces. That’s why function takes priority over aesthetics for me.
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Bauherrin12321 Aug 2022 09:02Bertram100 schrieb:
Exactly, I simply meant a staircase along the wall.
Here is a photo of the floor plan as I have it. With the quarter-turn staircase along the wall. At the top, the staircase makes another quarter turn. You can’t see that on the plan. You planned a staircase with a landing. I’m glad that the hallway at my entrance is reasonably wide. Otherwise, it would be really tight. Townhouses are not palaces, after all. That’s why for me, function comes before aesthetics. Thank you very much for your effort, I will bring it up. However, the staircase is positioned so far forward that it doesn’t actually make the hallway wider, maybe upstairs, but nothing will be placed there anyway. Downstairs, it won’t help me at all. The space for the shoe cabinet is next to the kitchen door; opposite to that is the storage room and the restroom—not a staircase that gives me more space there.
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