ᐅ Floor Plan Optimization for a Single-Family Home with Basement on a Small Plot
Created on: 16 Sep 2019 08:38
A
AnniSke
Hello everyone!
After reading here for quite some time (and checking out nearly all floor plan questions for similar lot sizes and building dimensions), we now have some questions about the preliminary design from our builder.
Our situation is similar to the forum post from Wednesday, but our main focus is on the basement J
This is the first draft based on a rough idea of what we envision and what is important to us (the design seems quickly done to me—see the projecting dormer—or is that common nowadays?), but overall all our requests have been considered. We see room for improvement especially in the basement level, the basement stairs/daylight wells, and the size of the living/dining area (probably only fixable with a larger house footprint). The upper floor works well for us.
Independently from the builder, we came up with a similar floor plan that meets our needs; it is nothing “special” but fits our ideas well.
We would appreciate it if some of you could share practical tips or suggestions for changes so that we can respond to the builder and discuss possible deviations.
Feel free to be thorough and please also point out any potentially major planning mistakes.
I have attached the following:
Development Plan / Restrictions
Lot size: approx. 360 m² (still not fully measured, as the plot is being subdivided)
Slope: no
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.4
Floor space index (FSI): 0.8
Building envelope, building line and boundary: see site plan; 3 m (approx. 10 ft) on three sides, less on street side due to protected green strip with fruit trees (not our property); open building style
Edge development: no (usually allowed for townhouses, but specifically excluded for carports and garages in the development plan); edge development allowed for uncovered parking spaces
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of stories allowed: 1-2 full stories
Roof type: gable roof (up to 38°), shed roof, flat roof (up to 25°)
Architectural style: classic-modern?
Orientation: ridge line along the street
Maximum heights / limits: eaves height max. 7.50 m (24.6 ft) above the access road (lot lies slightly below street level)
Additional requirements: none
Homeowner Requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: classic/modern detached single-family house, gable roof 38°, knee wall preferably raised to 1 m (3 ft)
Basement, number of floors: basement included, 1.5 floors
Number of people, ages: 2 (both 29), 1 child (1.5 years), at least 1 more (preferably 2) planned
Room requirements on ground floor (GF), upper floor (UF)
GF: kitchen (with sliding door, can be smaller, no separate dining area), living/dining area (currently about 32 m² (344 sq ft), our furniture is designed for this and we would like to keep it), future master bedroom, bathroom with shower (house should theoretically be usable on one level in an age-appropriate way)
UF: 3 children’s rooms, bathroom
Basement: utility room, technical room, workshop, office/guest room
Office (family use or home office?): office desired (in basement), home office at least once a week
Guests per year: about twice a month 2 people, every two weeks 1 person → guest room desired (can later be combined with office in the basement if a bedroom is needed on the ground floor)
Open or closed architecture: closed
Conservative or modern construction: rather conservative
Open kitchen, cooking island: no, smaller cooking area, separated by sliding door
Number of dining seats: permanently for 5 (current dining table has 8 seats)
Fireplace: yes, preferred
Music / stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: no
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: some vegetable garden, so we want to place the building close to the build boundary to maximize garden space
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why some things should or should not be: none
House Design
Planner: planner from a building company; the second attached version is our own adjusted “solution” with the house widened by 0.5 m (approx. 1.6 ft) and furniture drawn in the living/dining and bedroom areas which we already own.
What do you especially like?: the solution with a coat area and shower niche on the ground floor, the stairs, level, masonry showers, spacious children’s rooms, fireplace location between living and dining areas, large home office/guest room in basement, where both “uses” can be nicely combined.
Why?: we had not thought of the coat and shower concept in the floor plan ideas, find it practical and reasonably age-appropriate (though the dimensions could be slightly wider), and had no clue where best to put a fireplace.
What don’t you like? Why?: living/dining area too small, at 22 m² (237 sq ft) we cannot fit our furniture, kitchen is too large, we don’t need a separate seating area in the kitchen (we currently eat all meals in the dining area), the exterior basement stairs with the bend take up too much space, and we don’t want a carport as it would have to be inside the building zone (uncovered parking is allowed as edge development), the concrete daylight wells in the basement.
Price estimate from architect/planner: not yet available, initial rough offer before planning (130 m² (1400 sq ft) with basement) was 315,000 including standard ancillary construction costs, but with a “standard basement”; we might need a waterproof concrete shell (“white tub”), estimated extra cost about 20,000 according to the builder
Personal price limit for the house: 340,000 (furniture is already owned from current large apartment (126 m² (1356 sq ft) living space), kitchen belongs to us and only needs minor changes, cost covered separately)
Preferred heating technology: we considered a ground source heat pump, but the builder has had problems twice in the building area with insufficient supply temperature and therefore recommends an air-to-water heat pump on the south side of the house. Has anyone had experience with this?
If you have to give up something, what details/features?
Can give up: dormer, large kitchen, fully heated basement
Cannot give up: basement (due to small lot and 3 children planned), bedroom on ground floor, bathroom with shower on ground floor
Why is the layout the way it is now?
Draft from planner after a brief initial discussion about our preferences (we did not provide a detailed list of requirements)
Which wishes were implemented by the architect? bedroom on ground floor, bathroom with shower, staircase design, bathroom with shower and tub on upper floor, basement with office
What do you think works well or poorly? we like the overall distribution of floors, but are not yet convinced by the basement layout.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Any ideas to improve the basement (e.g., no bent stairs, maybe no basement hallway at stairs, maybe no daylight wells)? Any improvements for other floors (e.g., larger living/dining area)? Is there any place to add a laundry chute (nice to have but not essential)?
We look forward to your ideas and feedback J
Best regards and many thanks in advance!
After reading here for quite some time (and checking out nearly all floor plan questions for similar lot sizes and building dimensions), we now have some questions about the preliminary design from our builder.
Our situation is similar to the forum post from Wednesday, but our main focus is on the basement J
This is the first draft based on a rough idea of what we envision and what is important to us (the design seems quickly done to me—see the projecting dormer—or is that common nowadays?), but overall all our requests have been considered. We see room for improvement especially in the basement level, the basement stairs/daylight wells, and the size of the living/dining area (probably only fixable with a larger house footprint). The upper floor works well for us.
Independently from the builder, we came up with a similar floor plan that meets our needs; it is nothing “special” but fits our ideas well.
We would appreciate it if some of you could share practical tips or suggestions for changes so that we can respond to the builder and discuss possible deviations.
Feel free to be thorough and please also point out any potentially major planning mistakes.
I have attached the following:
- Site plan assumed by the builder
- Builder’s planning (floor plans, section, exterior view)
- Our modified floor plans based on the builder’s draft (larger living/dining area, smaller kitchen, different basement stairs)
Development Plan / Restrictions
Lot size: approx. 360 m² (still not fully measured, as the plot is being subdivided)
Slope: no
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.4
Floor space index (FSI): 0.8
Building envelope, building line and boundary: see site plan; 3 m (approx. 10 ft) on three sides, less on street side due to protected green strip with fruit trees (not our property); open building style
Edge development: no (usually allowed for townhouses, but specifically excluded for carports and garages in the development plan); edge development allowed for uncovered parking spaces
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of stories allowed: 1-2 full stories
Roof type: gable roof (up to 38°), shed roof, flat roof (up to 25°)
Architectural style: classic-modern?
Orientation: ridge line along the street
Maximum heights / limits: eaves height max. 7.50 m (24.6 ft) above the access road (lot lies slightly below street level)
Additional requirements: none
Homeowner Requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: classic/modern detached single-family house, gable roof 38°, knee wall preferably raised to 1 m (3 ft)
Basement, number of floors: basement included, 1.5 floors
Number of people, ages: 2 (both 29), 1 child (1.5 years), at least 1 more (preferably 2) planned
Room requirements on ground floor (GF), upper floor (UF)
GF: kitchen (with sliding door, can be smaller, no separate dining area), living/dining area (currently about 32 m² (344 sq ft), our furniture is designed for this and we would like to keep it), future master bedroom, bathroom with shower (house should theoretically be usable on one level in an age-appropriate way)
UF: 3 children’s rooms, bathroom
Basement: utility room, technical room, workshop, office/guest room
Office (family use or home office?): office desired (in basement), home office at least once a week
Guests per year: about twice a month 2 people, every two weeks 1 person → guest room desired (can later be combined with office in the basement if a bedroom is needed on the ground floor)
Open or closed architecture: closed
Conservative or modern construction: rather conservative
Open kitchen, cooking island: no, smaller cooking area, separated by sliding door
Number of dining seats: permanently for 5 (current dining table has 8 seats)
Fireplace: yes, preferred
Music / stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: no
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: some vegetable garden, so we want to place the building close to the build boundary to maximize garden space
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why some things should or should not be: none
House Design
Planner: planner from a building company; the second attached version is our own adjusted “solution” with the house widened by 0.5 m (approx. 1.6 ft) and furniture drawn in the living/dining and bedroom areas which we already own.
What do you especially like?: the solution with a coat area and shower niche on the ground floor, the stairs, level, masonry showers, spacious children’s rooms, fireplace location between living and dining areas, large home office/guest room in basement, where both “uses” can be nicely combined.
Why?: we had not thought of the coat and shower concept in the floor plan ideas, find it practical and reasonably age-appropriate (though the dimensions could be slightly wider), and had no clue where best to put a fireplace.
What don’t you like? Why?: living/dining area too small, at 22 m² (237 sq ft) we cannot fit our furniture, kitchen is too large, we don’t need a separate seating area in the kitchen (we currently eat all meals in the dining area), the exterior basement stairs with the bend take up too much space, and we don’t want a carport as it would have to be inside the building zone (uncovered parking is allowed as edge development), the concrete daylight wells in the basement.
- Regarding the basement daylight wells: my father (landscape architect) suggests a landscaped slope on that side of the house instead of concrete daylight wells (I roughly marked some slope lines on our design) with stairs integrated into the slope at the rear of the house. What do you think of this option? We are unsure about stair drainage for rain, but this should be manageable with proper drainage (could be routed by pipe to the cistern we must install per development plan). Any other ideas?
Price estimate from architect/planner: not yet available, initial rough offer before planning (130 m² (1400 sq ft) with basement) was 315,000 including standard ancillary construction costs, but with a “standard basement”; we might need a waterproof concrete shell (“white tub”), estimated extra cost about 20,000 according to the builder
Personal price limit for the house: 340,000 (furniture is already owned from current large apartment (126 m² (1356 sq ft) living space), kitchen belongs to us and only needs minor changes, cost covered separately)
Preferred heating technology: we considered a ground source heat pump, but the builder has had problems twice in the building area with insufficient supply temperature and therefore recommends an air-to-water heat pump on the south side of the house. Has anyone had experience with this?
If you have to give up something, what details/features?
Can give up: dormer, large kitchen, fully heated basement
Cannot give up: basement (due to small lot and 3 children planned), bedroom on ground floor, bathroom with shower on ground floor
Why is the layout the way it is now?
Draft from planner after a brief initial discussion about our preferences (we did not provide a detailed list of requirements)
Which wishes were implemented by the architect? bedroom on ground floor, bathroom with shower, staircase design, bathroom with shower and tub on upper floor, basement with office
What do you think works well or poorly? we like the overall distribution of floors, but are not yet convinced by the basement layout.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Any ideas to improve the basement (e.g., no bent stairs, maybe no basement hallway at stairs, maybe no daylight wells)? Any improvements for other floors (e.g., larger living/dining area)? Is there any place to add a laundry chute (nice to have but not essential)?
We look forward to your ideas and feedback J
Best regards and many thanks in advance!
haydee schrieb:
@ypg A larger footprint for the plot is difficult. I would have gone for building upwards and suggested that. You cannot avoid having three living levels. I completely missed that two full floors are also possible. But with 340,000 (including furniture and extras!), you won’t get three finished floors—whether downstairs or upstairs.With this budget, only two children would fit. Maybe that’s a point to consider.
In case anyone isn’t familiar with my basement formula: for every 20 cm (8 inches) difference in ground level within the building plot, add ten percent of the basement cost to account for not building it (and substituting with retaining wall elements and similar). Elevation points are shown only twice on the site plan, along the planned road, about 25 m (80 feet) apart and away from the property, with exactly a 20 cm (8 inches) absolute difference (which translates to roughly twelve or so on the building plot, of course not “measured” directly). Economically, this clearly falls within the range of “slab-on-grade instead of basement” here – and conversely, it would mean “no natural light without a light well”: no slope, no unobstructed window view, and living space would hardly be genuinely desirable, with daily home office use just as unlikely. With all due respect, or to put it as “when in doubt, build a basement”: in this case, I would leave it out.
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https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
kbt09 schrieb:
Wouldn’t it be smartest to design the basement access so that one of the rooms adjacent to this stairwell also benefits from a light well? Maybe make the basement stairway a bit wider so it’s easier to carry things down there comfortably? Yes, I had already considered that based on your suggestions, or moving the staircase to a different location.
kaho674 schrieb:
You need rooms for people — and not in the basement. You are five in total and want to regularly host guests. Try fitting a table for six in your floor plan! Each person needs about 60cm (24 inches) at the table, and you should allow at least 1m (39 inches) behind the chairs to pull them out. Standard table depth is about 90cm (35 inches). Do you really want to squeeze everyone into the kitchen for life? That’s true, Katja, but as I wrote, we find the living room in the builder’s standard floor plan too small. We would prefer a smaller kitchen but a more generous living and dining area (currently 32 sqm (344 sq ft), which works really well). I actually liked Yvonne’s suggestion of a narrower but longer house because that would give a significantly larger living area. Alternatively, we could consider an extension. I also think some re-planning, for example the laundry area as suggested, could make good use of the existing layout. We are still at the first draft stage, so nothing is fixed yet (no, even the floor area isn’t set in stone).
haydee schrieb:
First floor: 3 bedrooms, small office, bathroom, and utility room.
Attic will be a fourth bedroom if needed and also storage for baby clothes until all the children have outgrown them. Usually, attics can’t be easily converted to rooms with full standing height, especially with two full storeys below, right? If you want to use the attic as a fourth bedroom (which, according to our plans, hopefully will be the case), you’d need a proper staircase, not just a pull-down ladder… or am I mistaken? Or maybe add a small staircase up from the office later on?
kaho674 schrieb:
I totally missed that two full storeys are allowed. But with $340k (including furniture and all extras!) there’s no way you can afford three fully finished floors — not upstairs or downstairs. That budget only fits two children. Maybe that’s a place to start reconsidering. I’m pretty sure I said excluding furniture (including the kitchen), since we already have everything we need (currently 127 sqm (1,366 sq ft) living space) and can cover the additional costs for furniture ourselves. Also probably new flooring in the living areas and paint for the walls. To be honest, I don’t think it’s very kind to say the budget only fits two children and that we should reconsider. Everyone should still be able to decide how many children they want. It would make more sense to say, “Don’t build, your budget is not sufficient,” rather than the other way around. Just saying…
11ant schrieb:
There are only two elevation markers on the site plan. So economically speaking, this is totally in the “slab instead of basement” category — no slope, no daylighted window, living space isn’t really attractive, and daily home office isn’t feasible either. With all due respect, or in case of doubt in favor of a basement: I’d leave it out here. The builder has done the leveling; we just don’t have that info yet. As mentioned before, the property hasn’t been officially surveyed. The city council’s final zoning plan approval meeting is at the end of the month, and then I expect a final site plan including those elevation markers. Generally, you’re right, the difference in height isn’t big, so economically this basement probably won’t make sense for us, which we are aware of. I don’t think I said we want to do home office every day (it would be possible from my employer several times a week, but currently only 1-2 times per month, realistically about once a week, not more often). Living in the basement is not our intention anyway; the basement is supposed to accommodate the home office plus a guest bed. If the three children eventually each need their own space (earliest in 10-15 years), I think we’d consider that then.
haydee schrieb:
Look closely at the description of services. Especially for the basement.
What about the earthworks?
Budget and basement don’t fit together. Earthworks excluding disposal costs (yes, I know that can add around 10,000) were included in the additional construction costs. Based on the builder’s initial estimates, I thought the budget could work, but if everyone here is convinced it won’t, we need to look at it more closely. And yes, we have carefully studied the scope of work description and know where additional costs might arise (electrical work, finishing the basement living area, basement waterproofing, etc.). So far, there is no final cost estimate for this design, as I mentioned at the start, so I can’t say anything definite yet.
Please don’t misunderstand me — I appreciate the honest criticism because it’s definitely needed in this planning phase; you often miss many things in the excitement. But some assumptions made don’t match what I originally wrote, and I find it unfortunate when things are simply assumed or read into the posts that aren’t true.
Still, it’s great that you point out when the budget doesn’t fit our expectations. Then we will have to consider compromises or maybe give up on a garden and basement and build bigger without one. Personally, I’d find that a pity, but it is of course worth considering (we have already thought about the cost savings of a basement-free house with a larger footprint). Maybe we should also check whether a little more financing is possible. Right now, we are calculating with comfortable costs for financing...
Best regards
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