ᐅ Floor Plan Review Single-Family Home with Basement on a Gentle Slope
Created on: 8 Dec 2020 21:21
K
Kuzorra
Hello everyone,
after following along for a long time and reading through various threads and comments, I’m now stepping forward with our current planning status and hope for brutally constructive feedback. Of course, I followed the example of @ypg...
Development Plan / Restrictions
Fortunately, we have “access” to a family-owned plot. The old house needs to be demolished, and we want to rebuild roughly in the same spot. Setback distances are sufficient on all sides.
Plot size: approx. 900m² (9700 sq ft) with a slight slope
Number of parking spaces: existing double garage (old) remains for now
Number of floors: II allowed
Roof shape: gable roof specified, 40–50°
Maximum heights / limits: 3.25 m (10.7 ft) uphill side, 5.50 m (18 ft) downhill side
Homeowners’ Requirements
Basement, floors: full basement (partly used as living space), ground floor, attic floor
Number of occupants: 4 persons (2 adults + 2 toddlers)
Office: increasingly home office (both parents)
Overnight guests per year: 2–5 people, 3–10 visits per year (if not during COVID)
Open kitchen: yes, with a “half” cooking island
Number of dining seats: 6–8
Fireplace: no
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why some things are or aren’t included: We have planned a small pantry/storage room because we are used to it and find it very practical. The kitchen is already largely designed around our practical needs. The children’s rooms should be the same size because my wife is very traumatized by always having had the smaller room. ;-)
House Design
Who designed the plan: originally based on a standard model from a builder, but ultimately custom-designed (with the builder). We have already scaled back from much larger original plans and saved a total of 20 m² (215 sq ft).
What do you like particularly? Why? We already like a lot as it is. For example, the terrace is on the “pleasant” side and accessible from the kitchen and dining room. The ground-level basement exit uses the slope to provide offices (or guest room) with plenty of daylight. We don’t need a huge wellness area in the attic; a compact bathroom is sufficient. A walk-in closet would only be nice to have, but we skipped it and made sure there is enough space for our large wardrobes.
What don’t you like? Why? At the moment we are quite satisfied.
Price estimate according to architect/planner: €320,000 (we have already included as many options as possible in an initial sample selection). A finished basement will add around €50,000–60,000 (we are currently waiting for the soil survey results).
Personal price limit for the house, including fittings: please not too much ;-)
Preferred heating technology: air-to-water heat pump (gas is basically available but inconveniently located relative to the house. Furthermore, a photovoltaic system should eventually help supply the heat pump).
What details / expansions can you do without?
- can do without: photovoltaic system for now (roof and wiring will be prepared for it), centrally controlled ventilation system is too expensive for us, probably will take compromises on the staircase flooring and choose the second most expensive and second nicest solid wood floor.
- cannot do without: basement, second bathroom on the ground floor.
Why did the design turn out like it did? We researched a lot ourselves (catalogs, show homes, friends and relatives, and our current apartment) and worked through several iterations of the plan together with the builder.
The main living area will probably always be the open living/dining room, but the kids should have enough private retreat space in their own bedrooms. Optionally, home office and children’s rooms could be swapped later.
What do you think makes the design especially good or bad? The design covers what we imagine and we currently see no shortcomings.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Are we overlooking anything important? Any tips regarding the outdoor areas?
We have been a bit careless about the outdoor areas so far but have now contacted landscaping professionals. The parents-in-law live in house number 31, towards which we plan to orient the terrace. Additionally, there will be another seating area toward the barn (with afternoon/evening sun), but this is on the “lower level”. The outdoor unit of the air-to-water heat pump is located towards the neighbor at number 35. At the front entrance, 3 m (10 ft) must remain free to the neighboring property, which can also be used occasionally as a parking spot (but this should not be the main parking space).
after following along for a long time and reading through various threads and comments, I’m now stepping forward with our current planning status and hope for brutally constructive feedback. Of course, I followed the example of @ypg...
Development Plan / Restrictions
Fortunately, we have “access” to a family-owned plot. The old house needs to be demolished, and we want to rebuild roughly in the same spot. Setback distances are sufficient on all sides.
Plot size: approx. 900m² (9700 sq ft) with a slight slope
Number of parking spaces: existing double garage (old) remains for now
Number of floors: II allowed
Roof shape: gable roof specified, 40–50°
Maximum heights / limits: 3.25 m (10.7 ft) uphill side, 5.50 m (18 ft) downhill side
Homeowners’ Requirements
Basement, floors: full basement (partly used as living space), ground floor, attic floor
Number of occupants: 4 persons (2 adults + 2 toddlers)
Office: increasingly home office (both parents)
Overnight guests per year: 2–5 people, 3–10 visits per year (if not during COVID)
Open kitchen: yes, with a “half” cooking island
Number of dining seats: 6–8
Fireplace: no
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why some things are or aren’t included: We have planned a small pantry/storage room because we are used to it and find it very practical. The kitchen is already largely designed around our practical needs. The children’s rooms should be the same size because my wife is very traumatized by always having had the smaller room. ;-)
House Design
Who designed the plan: originally based on a standard model from a builder, but ultimately custom-designed (with the builder). We have already scaled back from much larger original plans and saved a total of 20 m² (215 sq ft).
What do you like particularly? Why? We already like a lot as it is. For example, the terrace is on the “pleasant” side and accessible from the kitchen and dining room. The ground-level basement exit uses the slope to provide offices (or guest room) with plenty of daylight. We don’t need a huge wellness area in the attic; a compact bathroom is sufficient. A walk-in closet would only be nice to have, but we skipped it and made sure there is enough space for our large wardrobes.
What don’t you like? Why? At the moment we are quite satisfied.
Price estimate according to architect/planner: €320,000 (we have already included as many options as possible in an initial sample selection). A finished basement will add around €50,000–60,000 (we are currently waiting for the soil survey results).
Personal price limit for the house, including fittings: please not too much ;-)
Preferred heating technology: air-to-water heat pump (gas is basically available but inconveniently located relative to the house. Furthermore, a photovoltaic system should eventually help supply the heat pump).
What details / expansions can you do without?
- can do without: photovoltaic system for now (roof and wiring will be prepared for it), centrally controlled ventilation system is too expensive for us, probably will take compromises on the staircase flooring and choose the second most expensive and second nicest solid wood floor.
- cannot do without: basement, second bathroom on the ground floor.
Why did the design turn out like it did? We researched a lot ourselves (catalogs, show homes, friends and relatives, and our current apartment) and worked through several iterations of the plan together with the builder.
The main living area will probably always be the open living/dining room, but the kids should have enough private retreat space in their own bedrooms. Optionally, home office and children’s rooms could be swapped later.
What do you think makes the design especially good or bad? The design covers what we imagine and we currently see no shortcomings.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Are we overlooking anything important? Any tips regarding the outdoor areas?
We have been a bit careless about the outdoor areas so far but have now contacted landscaping professionals. The parents-in-law live in house number 31, towards which we plan to orient the terrace. Additionally, there will be another seating area toward the barn (with afternoon/evening sun), but this is on the “lower level”. The outdoor unit of the air-to-water heat pump is located towards the neighbor at number 35. At the front entrance, 3 m (10 ft) must remain free to the neighboring property, which can also be used occasionally as a parking spot (but this should not be the main parking space).
Kuzorra schrieb:
We did a lot of our own drafting and went through countless catalogs... we initially thought it would be cheaper to follow a standard template, but quickly realized that didn’t work for us. (That’s also why we moved away from Viebrockhaus – great houses, but they haven’t really invented flexibility.)Maybe you should reconsider other big-name builders as well. You won’t find your house in their catalogs not because your preferences are unusual, but precisely because you seem to prefer a more traditional style, while those catalogs mainly focus on two or three standard models with a Milanese flair. If you go for a refined gourmet meal but order a basic meat sandwich, you’re out of place, if you know what I mean. You’d end up having to make costly changes. Look around the corner instead; even Willi Kasulke builds houses – and not badly at all. I will never understand why people with normal taste – which is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of – only check the bolded listings in the industry directories 🙂https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
I appreciate your support for the local builder (and the clear explanation above), but I think we have moved beyond this point by now. Ultimately, we feel well taken care of by Kern, and we have only heard positive feedback from the internet and other Kern homeowners in the area – especially regarding our construction manager/sales representative, the planned site manager (whom we have already met and who has been on site), and the building crew that typically works here.
So far, I haven’t found anything seriously negative that would fundamentally question our (emerging) decision. The experience reports you linked in the other thread [URL='https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/duotherm-mauerwerk-von-Kern-Haus-erfahrungsberichte.37328/post-453975']are interesting, but only partially applicable, since the circumstances were quite different in some cases. Regarding the Lego-style construction method in general, I haven’t seen any outright critical reviews. Of course, if people who are only semi- or uninformed say “I’ll build this Lego house quickly myself without much planning” (which we definitely do not intend), then many things could go wrong – as is true with other construction methods as well.
I have some doubts that Willi Kasulke will build us an “honest and simple” house with everything included for significantly less money. When it comes to coordinating the various trades and everything involved, Kern seems solid to me – and if I have to pay a reasonable premium for this very good feeling so far, then so be it. Or is it realistic that, for 176 m² (1894 sq ft) of living space / 220 m² (2368 sq ft) of usable space (in the outer metropolitan area between Cologne and Düsseldorf), the price per square meter will fall below €2000?
So far, I haven’t found anything seriously negative that would fundamentally question our (emerging) decision. The experience reports you linked in the other thread [URL='https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/duotherm-mauerwerk-von-Kern-Haus-erfahrungsberichte.37328/post-453975']are interesting, but only partially applicable, since the circumstances were quite different in some cases. Regarding the Lego-style construction method in general, I haven’t seen any outright critical reviews. Of course, if people who are only semi- or uninformed say “I’ll build this Lego house quickly myself without much planning” (which we definitely do not intend), then many things could go wrong – as is true with other construction methods as well.
I have some doubts that Willi Kasulke will build us an “honest and simple” house with everything included for significantly less money. When it comes to coordinating the various trades and everything involved, Kern seems solid to me – and if I have to pay a reasonable premium for this very good feeling so far, then so be it. Or is it realistic that, for 176 m² (1894 sq ft) of living space / 220 m² (2368 sq ft) of usable space (in the outer metropolitan area between Cologne and Düsseldorf), the price per square meter will fall below €2000?
Kuzorra schrieb:
So far, I haven’t been able to find anything truly negative that would fundamentally question our (upcoming) decision. I also find the experience reports you linked in the other thread interesting, although they are only partially applicable since the initial situations differ quite a bit. Generally, I haven’t seen any devastating criticism regarding the Lego-type construction. If you want to build with Kern, I don’t see any reason for a general warning; every building method is a matter of personal preference, just like any other. You just need to be aware that for any tradesperson who has to work inside your house later on, the rule is: “directly behind the EPS insulation comes reinforced concrete”—you can only chase or cut as deep as the plaster and foam are. Also, as far as I know, for controlled mechanical ventilation (although I’m not sure if they offer alternative systems for an extra charge—if so, my usual concerns would apply accordingly), you will need to share their preference for a “decentralized” system. I recommend hiring an expert as a construction supervisor, since you have departed significantly from the standard design, and any “different from Immerso” feature could potentially cause problems. I am not aware of any alarming number of horror stories about Kern DuoTherm constructions; the few reports I have seen were not verified. If those reports are accurate, they appear to be statistically insignificant. I don’t personally know any Kern customers, although I live less than 40 km (25 miles) away from them. This is also true for most competitors represented in the Mülheim-Kärlich model home center. Here in the provinces, the market share of the major brands is quite limited.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Yes, I was initially skeptical about the wall construction as well, but by now I think it will work out!
(I don’t own a Hilti yet, but the heavy Metabo rotary hammer has always served us well so far.)
The kitchen will be installed by a professional, and the wall structure in that area is planned accordingly (a wooden framework to mount the kitchen cabinets).
As I mentioned in the other thread, we recently became members of the Homeowners’ Protection Association and have already had an initial conversation with a very friendly and, to me as a layperson, competent building surveyor.
(I don’t own a Hilti yet, but the heavy Metabo rotary hammer has always served us well so far.)
The kitchen will be installed by a professional, and the wall structure in that area is planned accordingly (a wooden framework to mount the kitchen cabinets).
As I mentioned in the other thread, we recently became members of the Homeowners’ Protection Association and have already had an initial conversation with a very friendly and, to me as a layperson, competent building surveyor.
Don’t let anyone talk you into something.
That is probably one of the most important things…
…and the design is very livable.
There are many much worse ones. And the better ones will most likely cost more money. Your requirements are met by this design. But watch out for the sun’s position! – especially in winter, very little sunlight comes into the house. I would rotate all the rooms 90 degrees counterclockwise.
And there isn’t any to the extent that our elephant expresses here.
Kuzorra schrieb:
Ultimately, because we feel well taken care of at Kern,
That is probably one of the most important things…
…and the design is very livable.
There are many much worse ones. And the better ones will most likely cost more money. Your requirements are met by this design. But watch out for the sun’s position! – especially in winter, very little sunlight comes into the house. I would rotate all the rooms 90 degrees counterclockwise.
Kuzorra schrieb:
Regarding the Lego-style option in general, I don’t find any harsh criticism here.
And there isn’t any to the extent that our elephant expresses here.
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