ᐅ Floor Plan Optimization | Semi-Detached House on a Slope with 192 m² of Living Space
Created on: 7 Jun 2020 21:28
E
erazorlll
Dear Forum,
In recent weeks, I shared my experiences searching for and selecting a construction company. Thanks again for all your help and discussions!
As promised, I am posting our current plans here and would appreciate your comments and suggestions. Some minor details are not ideal but likely cannot be changed – I have explained these below.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 340m² (3,659 sq ft)
Slope: Yes, approximately 2m (6.5 ft) difference over 17m (56 ft) length
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Floor area ratio: none
Building envelope, building line and boundary:
Maximum building envelope for semi-detached house: 8x13m (26x43 ft)
Maximum garage building envelope: 5x9m (16x30 ft)
Building boundaries may be exceeded by a maximum of 5m (16 ft) in width and 1.5m (5 ft) in depth per building side, as well as by minor structural elements
Number of parking spaces: 2 cars and 2 bicycles
Storeys: No direct specification, but height limits above sea level apply
Roof type: Gable roof, 30-40° pitch
Architectural style: -
Orientation: Southeast
Maximum heights/limits:
Maximum eaves and ridge heights are given as heights above sea level.
No roof structures are permitted on the north side.
Additional requirements:
A cistern is mandatory. The maximum height of the garage within its designated envelope is specified.
Client Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Modern, gable roof, semi-detached house
Basement, floors: At least two floors required; the open basement results from the slope
Number of occupants, age: 2 adults in their early/mid-30s, planning for 1-2 children
Space requirements on ground and upper floors:
Ground floor: office, living room, dining room, kitchen, pantry, and shower/WC
Upper floor: bedroom, dressing room, bathroom, and two children’s bedrooms
Office: family use or home office? An office is essential
Overnight guests per year: 2-3 times
Open or closed architecture: Good mix. Kitchen, dining, and living areas are mostly open; the rest are mostly closed
Conservative or modern construction: Modern construction preferred
Open kitchen, island: Open kitchen with island
Number of dining seats: 4-6
Fireplace: Yes, if feasible
Music/sound wall: ?
Balcony, roof terrace: No, not needed
Garage, carport: Double garage is not possible due to development plan restrictions. Therefore, a slightly wider single garage with space for trash bins and bicycles.
Utility garden, greenhouse: No
Additional wishes/special features/daily routine, reasons for preferences:
The master bedroom can be smaller since it is only for sleeping; the space should benefit other rooms.
A large bathroom with a spacious, airy feel.
See also text below.
House Design
Planning source: Discussions with the general contractor and implementation by architects
What do you especially like? Why?
Bathroom – relatively large, wide double vanity, WC somewhat hidden, and walk-in shower without enclosure
Staircase – not too tightly curved for a semi-detached house
Children’s rooms – equally sized but not mirrored exactly, slightly different layouts
What do you not like? Why?
Pantry – unfortunately not directly behind the kitchen, with stairs in between
Ground floor WC – initially planned as a shower toilet but moved to basement due to space constraints
Estimated cost according to architect/planner: approx. 2,400 euros per m² (approx. $220 per sq ft)
Personal price limit for house including fittings:
Preferred heating system: Air-to-water heat pump as a split unit – suggested model was "Weishaupt Air/Water Heat Pump Biblock (WWP LB)"
If you had to give up, which details or expansions would you skip
-Could you skip: Fireplace, granny flat, size of basement hallway, knee wall in master bedroom
-Cannot skip: Large bathroom, pantry and ground floor WC, office
Why was the design created this way?
We discussed our wishes for each floor with the general contractor, who then worked with the architect to create a design.
We reviewed and adjusted the design several times to meet our needs.
The suggestion to place the kitchen directly by the terrace and the living room more inward came from the general contractor.
Additional remarks:
We acquired a plot for a semi-detached house and after long research chose a solid construction provider.
Besides standard rooms, we require two children’s rooms and a home office. Due to the slope, a three-story building with an open basement at the front evolved. An open kitchen-dining-living area with a possible small division to the living room via a fireplace is important to us.
The general contractor proposed placing the kitchen on the garden side for easy access between garden and kitchen/refrigerator, especially in summer. The living area was placed more inward for more privacy. Initially, this seemed unusual since most floor plans are the other way around. Now we find it quite interesting.
After the first draft, two problems arose: the kitchen was too narrow for our ideas. We wanted an open kitchen with a large central island. The dressing room upstairs was hard to use due to layout and a 2m (6.5 ft) boundary line. We reworked the plan extensively and had to move the staircase, which affected the layout on all floors. The dressing room has become acceptable and usable. Unfortunately, these changes meant that the pantry was no longer behind the kitchen and the ground floor WC lost its shower. We see no option to change this without causing other issues.
We do not actually need a granny flat. However, due to the open basement design, an extra room emerged. Initially planned as a hobby room, it became a granny flat because the ground floor shower had to be removed and we wanted a second shower for safety. This is not bad for several reasons: 1) if we are older, we would have everything needed downstairs and on the ground floor; 2) if a child wants to move in, they have a WC and shower; 3) there would be a second shower in the house (in case there are three women living here).
And if you wonder why the house is so large with 192m² (2,067 sq ft) of living space:
We never planned for so much space; it developed naturally. We do not want to change the width of 8m (26 ft), as it would become too narrow. The length of 12m (39 ft) could theoretically be reduced, but currently, only the basement area seems oversized. On the ground floor, space is tight for pantry and shower, and upstairs for dressing room layout.
That’s the overview of our ideas and plans. I look forward to your comments and questions.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
We would appreciate general opinions on the floor plan.
Have we overlooked anything that only becomes apparent in daily life?
Are there smarter ideas for alternative layouts?
What do you think about the kitchen’s layout and size?
What about the garage size? I’m unsure whether width or length is more important.
What do you think about the door orientations? Some open inward, some outward due to space. Is this inconvenient or acceptable?
If anything is missing, please let me know.
PS: The exterior design of the house and garage (color, wood between windows, etc.) and the type of doors in the dining room (sliding/door/fixed) are not finalized and just roughly sketched. Please disregard.
Thank you!
//Edit: If anyone wonders why the maximum roof height in the plan differs slightly from the building roof height: this was a later change to the development plan and is correct.
In recent weeks, I shared my experiences searching for and selecting a construction company. Thanks again for all your help and discussions!
As promised, I am posting our current plans here and would appreciate your comments and suggestions. Some minor details are not ideal but likely cannot be changed – I have explained these below.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 340m² (3,659 sq ft)
Slope: Yes, approximately 2m (6.5 ft) difference over 17m (56 ft) length
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Floor area ratio: none
Building envelope, building line and boundary:
Maximum building envelope for semi-detached house: 8x13m (26x43 ft)
Maximum garage building envelope: 5x9m (16x30 ft)
Building boundaries may be exceeded by a maximum of 5m (16 ft) in width and 1.5m (5 ft) in depth per building side, as well as by minor structural elements
Number of parking spaces: 2 cars and 2 bicycles
Storeys: No direct specification, but height limits above sea level apply
Roof type: Gable roof, 30-40° pitch
Architectural style: -
Orientation: Southeast
Maximum heights/limits:
Maximum eaves and ridge heights are given as heights above sea level.
No roof structures are permitted on the north side.
Additional requirements:
A cistern is mandatory. The maximum height of the garage within its designated envelope is specified.
Client Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Modern, gable roof, semi-detached house
Basement, floors: At least two floors required; the open basement results from the slope
Number of occupants, age: 2 adults in their early/mid-30s, planning for 1-2 children
Space requirements on ground and upper floors:
Ground floor: office, living room, dining room, kitchen, pantry, and shower/WC
Upper floor: bedroom, dressing room, bathroom, and two children’s bedrooms
Office: family use or home office? An office is essential
Overnight guests per year: 2-3 times
Open or closed architecture: Good mix. Kitchen, dining, and living areas are mostly open; the rest are mostly closed
Conservative or modern construction: Modern construction preferred
Open kitchen, island: Open kitchen with island
Number of dining seats: 4-6
Fireplace: Yes, if feasible
Music/sound wall: ?
Balcony, roof terrace: No, not needed
Garage, carport: Double garage is not possible due to development plan restrictions. Therefore, a slightly wider single garage with space for trash bins and bicycles.
Utility garden, greenhouse: No
Additional wishes/special features/daily routine, reasons for preferences:
The master bedroom can be smaller since it is only for sleeping; the space should benefit other rooms.
A large bathroom with a spacious, airy feel.
See also text below.
House Design
Planning source: Discussions with the general contractor and implementation by architects
What do you especially like? Why?
Bathroom – relatively large, wide double vanity, WC somewhat hidden, and walk-in shower without enclosure
Staircase – not too tightly curved for a semi-detached house
Children’s rooms – equally sized but not mirrored exactly, slightly different layouts
What do you not like? Why?
Pantry – unfortunately not directly behind the kitchen, with stairs in between
Ground floor WC – initially planned as a shower toilet but moved to basement due to space constraints
Estimated cost according to architect/planner: approx. 2,400 euros per m² (approx. $220 per sq ft)
Personal price limit for house including fittings:
Preferred heating system: Air-to-water heat pump as a split unit – suggested model was "Weishaupt Air/Water Heat Pump Biblock (WWP LB)"
If you had to give up, which details or expansions would you skip
-Could you skip: Fireplace, granny flat, size of basement hallway, knee wall in master bedroom
-Cannot skip: Large bathroom, pantry and ground floor WC, office
Why was the design created this way?
We discussed our wishes for each floor with the general contractor, who then worked with the architect to create a design.
We reviewed and adjusted the design several times to meet our needs.
The suggestion to place the kitchen directly by the terrace and the living room more inward came from the general contractor.
Additional remarks:
We acquired a plot for a semi-detached house and after long research chose a solid construction provider.
Besides standard rooms, we require two children’s rooms and a home office. Due to the slope, a three-story building with an open basement at the front evolved. An open kitchen-dining-living area with a possible small division to the living room via a fireplace is important to us.
The general contractor proposed placing the kitchen on the garden side for easy access between garden and kitchen/refrigerator, especially in summer. The living area was placed more inward for more privacy. Initially, this seemed unusual since most floor plans are the other way around. Now we find it quite interesting.
After the first draft, two problems arose: the kitchen was too narrow for our ideas. We wanted an open kitchen with a large central island. The dressing room upstairs was hard to use due to layout and a 2m (6.5 ft) boundary line. We reworked the plan extensively and had to move the staircase, which affected the layout on all floors. The dressing room has become acceptable and usable. Unfortunately, these changes meant that the pantry was no longer behind the kitchen and the ground floor WC lost its shower. We see no option to change this without causing other issues.
We do not actually need a granny flat. However, due to the open basement design, an extra room emerged. Initially planned as a hobby room, it became a granny flat because the ground floor shower had to be removed and we wanted a second shower for safety. This is not bad for several reasons: 1) if we are older, we would have everything needed downstairs and on the ground floor; 2) if a child wants to move in, they have a WC and shower; 3) there would be a second shower in the house (in case there are three women living here).
And if you wonder why the house is so large with 192m² (2,067 sq ft) of living space:
We never planned for so much space; it developed naturally. We do not want to change the width of 8m (26 ft), as it would become too narrow. The length of 12m (39 ft) could theoretically be reduced, but currently, only the basement area seems oversized. On the ground floor, space is tight for pantry and shower, and upstairs for dressing room layout.
That’s the overview of our ideas and plans. I look forward to your comments and questions.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
We would appreciate general opinions on the floor plan.
Have we overlooked anything that only becomes apparent in daily life?
Are there smarter ideas for alternative layouts?
What do you think about the kitchen’s layout and size?
What about the garage size? I’m unsure whether width or length is more important.
What do you think about the door orientations? Some open inward, some outward due to space. Is this inconvenient or acceptable?
If anything is missing, please let me know.
PS: The exterior design of the house and garage (color, wood between windows, etc.) and the type of doors in the dining room (sliding/door/fixed) are not finalized and just roughly sketched. Please disregard.
Thank you!
//Edit: If anyone wonders why the maximum roof height in the plan differs slightly from the building roof height: this was a later change to the development plan and is correct.
I can’t speak for all vinyl flooring products on the market, but the specialist I spoke with said that their product is made entirely of plastic. So, unlike laminate flooring, it doesn’t have an HDF core that could swell. He recommended sealing the expansion joints with silicone in wet rooms because if water seeps under the planks there, it could eventually cause mold due to the moisture. However, you probably wouldn’t see it—only smell it eventually.
The vinyl flooring from this dealer is phthalate-free but still contains plasticizers, which is why I would choose cork flooring for the bedroom and children’s rooms.
Their cork floors also come with decorative layers, and nowadays you can get wood or stone patterns. The natural cork pattern wouldn’t be suitable for me personally.
By the way, unless you use solid hardwood planks, parquet flooring also contains adhesives, solvents, and possibly pesticides.
Vinyl is easier to maintain in the sense that you don’t have to immediately wipe up moisture or dirt. There’s no need for regular oiling either. It’s more durable because the protective layer is simply harder than a wood surface. The downside is that it can’t be sanded, which is true, but the same applies to many engineered parquet floors that have such a thin wear layer that you can only sand them a few times at most. Also, many dents (not scratches) caused by dropped objects cannot be sanded out.
But yes, if installing (good quality) parquet were as easy as click vinyl and vinyl were as affordable as this one, I might consider going back to parquet. But from what I have researched, that’s not the case.
The vinyl flooring from this dealer is phthalate-free but still contains plasticizers, which is why I would choose cork flooring for the bedroom and children’s rooms.
Their cork floors also come with decorative layers, and nowadays you can get wood or stone patterns. The natural cork pattern wouldn’t be suitable for me personally.
By the way, unless you use solid hardwood planks, parquet flooring also contains adhesives, solvents, and possibly pesticides.
Vinyl is easier to maintain in the sense that you don’t have to immediately wipe up moisture or dirt. There’s no need for regular oiling either. It’s more durable because the protective layer is simply harder than a wood surface. The downside is that it can’t be sanded, which is true, but the same applies to many engineered parquet floors that have such a thin wear layer that you can only sand them a few times at most. Also, many dents (not scratches) caused by dropped objects cannot be sanded out.
But yes, if installing (good quality) parquet were as easy as click vinyl and vinyl were as affordable as this one, I might consider going back to parquet. But from what I have researched, that’s not the case.
P
pagoni202022 Jun 2020 23:10Tolentino schrieb:
My parquet flooring in the condominium is lacquered (I didn’t know better at the time, otherwise I would have insisted on oiled—this choice was available through the developer) and also in the kitchen area. Even after 4 years, I still see no difference between the boards in front of the stove (which have grease splashes) and elsewhere.
Yes, if something falls, dents appear immediately. But that can happen anywhere. Interestingly, most of the dents aren’t in the kitchen area but in the living room or hallway.
In some spots, you can feel moisture that has seeped in; the joints can be felt, but I don’t see anything visually.
The parquet even stands up to cat vomit that was left for several hours. I see no stains.
As a slight contradiction to my comparatively positive experience, in our current building project I’m planning vinyl luxury flooring on the ground floor and cork upstairs.
The reasons are durability, ease of maintenance, and also the very simple DIY installation; in the case of cork, also the absence of plasticizers. So you’ve had good experience with lacquered wood. Here, we also really wanted oiled floors (which just sounds healthier…), but we ended up choosing “matte lacquer” from MEISTER since we have large areas and not all products were available for our second choice.
I eventually had MEISTER explain it to me directly; their “matte lacquer” version is almost identical to oiled in terms of appearance. I don’t remember all the details exactly, but based on that, we decided on this UV-based matte lacquer, and it really doesn’t shine. It looks like oiled but never needs re-oiling, which can get annoying on large areas and with age.
We were quite skeptical since we were focused on “oiled,” but now we are very happy with it, and it’s installed everywhere except in the bathroom where I might consider it next time as well.
Overall, I think wood flooring in the bathroom often looks great and I don’t understand the argument about frequent flooding, which hardly ever happens—more likely in the kitchen.
We’ve used almost everything by now, and in the end, for us, real wood is always the best both visually and to the touch.
P
pagoni202022 Jun 2020 23:16Tolentino schrieb:
I can’t speak for all vinyl flooring on the market, but the specialist I talked to said that his product is entirely made of plastic. So it doesn’t have an HDF core like laminate, which can swell. He recommended sealing expansion joints in wet rooms with silicone because water that seeps under the planks through these gaps could eventually cause mold (simply due to the moisture). But you wouldn’t see it, maybe just smell it eventually.
The vinyl flooring from this dealer is phthalate-free but still contains plasticizers, so I would have chosen cork flooring for the bedroom and kids’ rooms.
His cork floors also come with decorative layers. Nowadays, you can get wood or stone patterns as well. The natural cork pattern wouldn’t appeal to me.
By the way, unless you use solid hardwood planks, parquet often contains adhesives, solvents, and possibly pesticides.
It’s easier to maintain in the sense that you don’t have to immediately wipe up moisture and dirt. You don’t need to oil it regularly either. It’s more durable in the sense that the protective layer is simply harder than a wood surface. The downside—being unable to sand it down—is true, but many engineered parquet floors have such a thin wear layer that you can’t sand them often anyway. Also, many dents (not scratches) caused by dropped objects can’t be sanded out anymore.
But yes, if installing (good) parquet were as easy as click vinyl and it was as affordable as that, I might go back to parquet. However, from my research, that’s not the case. Search for second-choice parquet from manufacturers like Meister, Haro, etc., and inquire carefully. Technically first-class, visually flawless for us (and we like things stylish) at a price of €25–30 per m² (about $27–32 per yd²). Installation, for example Meister easy, has a great locking system. Or check out “Lindura,” which offers plank widths up to 32cm (12.6 inches) and also has B-grade options. It depends on the quantity needed; we required 200 m² (2,150 sq ft), so that’s a significant expense.
As I said, flawless material!
Tolentino schrieb:
but the specialist I spoke with said that their product is completely made of plasticSo that alone would rule it out for me.In our previous rental apartment, a section of the laminate flooring was replaced with vinyl due to water damage. The vinyl definitely had the same type of subfloor as the laminate. Still, I admit that the vinyl felt much more pleasant to the touch than the laminate.
There is apparently special vinyl designed for wet areas (which I didn't consider an option for flooring, so I’m admittedly not very familiar with it), and it seems those require a different approach.
Dark tiles: well, if someone doesn’t realize that every speck of dust is visible on them... sorry. That’s why we chose different tiles for the entrance area and guest toilet than we did for the main bathroom upstairs. Upstairs we allowed dark tiles (we originally considered slate, and now the look is at least somewhat similar), while downstairs we went for a more dirt-friendly concrete-gray-beige-something color.
Regular oiling?
Well, I think for us it would be at most every 2 to 3 years. We’d rent a special machine for that, and then it’s a matter of a few hours, probably spread over 2 days. I find that quite manageable. We also had our dining table treated with that oil, and it really gets a lot of use – but so far the coating still looks great. So I’m pretty relaxed about it.
What was decisive for us was that we still wanted to feel that we have a wooden floor. The oil definitely preserves that.
But all of this is certainly a very personal decision. A plastic floor, no matter what kind, would never come into our house. I would rather go for real linoleum (a natural product!). But in the end, everyone has to decide for themselves.
Climbee schrieb:
That would immediately be ruled out for me. [...]
It definitely had the same subfloor as the laminate. Still, I admit that the vinyl felt much more pleasant to the touch than the laminate. As I said, I don’t know all the vinyl products out there, but I specifically paid attention to this—or the specialist retailer told me—that it was not an HDF (high-density fiberboard) core.
You can’t have both water resistance and pure natural materials. And as I said, unless the parquet is solid hardwood planks, there’s a lot of plastic in it too—not as much as in PVC planks, of course—but it’s not 100% natural either.
Climbee schrieb:
Regular oiling?
Well, I think for us it’s at most every 2–3 years. We would just rent a special machine, and then it’s a matter of a few hours, probably spread over 2 days. I’m just explaining the lower maintenance requirements that you doubted.
Whether it’s worthwhile for someone, or whether someone accepts it based on their personal priorities and preferences, of course remains up to each individual.
Linoleum was also on my checklist, but I ruled it out because of limited design options and costs.
I completely understand your reluctance regarding plastic boards in the house. It’s always about balancing your preferences and priorities, as well as budget constraints. And when I researched, I found that on the one hand most manufacturers have somewhat managed the plasticizer issue with vinyl; on the other hand, so-called natural materials aren’t purely natural, or genuinely natural materials are simply much more expensive—so I ended up leaning toward vinyl. Actually, our decision isn’t final yet. For example, I’m still considering tile. I’m just not quite comfortable with the idea of falling children’s heads yet...
Phew, we’re hijacking the thread, sorry.
Apologies to the original poster, maybe we should continue via private message or in another thread—there are plenty of threads about flooring...
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