Hello, I have been following this forum for a long time and find it always interesting. I thought I might share our planning here. We started planning at the end of 2018, began construction in 03/2019, and moved in by 12/2019.
We planned the floor plans, dimensions, materials, etc., ourselves and then hired a retired architect to create the construction drawings and structural engineering, as well as to submit the building permit / planning permission application. He also handled the approvals and insurance.
Since we live in a historic preservation area with classical architecture, we wanted to reflect this style in our house and I did a lot of research. I know nothing is perfect and it is a series of compromises (size, budget, historic style). We wanted about 120sqm (1292 sqft) of living space, aimed not to exceed a certain budget, and wanted to choose and plan all the trades ourselves (this really saves a lot of money!). I have almost no craftsmanship skills, yet we still did or helped with many tasks ourselves (preparations for the electrician, applying window and facade plaster molding ourselves, ceiling molding, wooden baseboards, cladding the carport, assembling the garden shed, distributing 55t (60 US tons) of soil, planting, manually drilling a garden well, etc.). Ok, my father-in-law helped a lot because he is handy.
We wanted to keep as much symmetry as possible and had a rough idea inspired by a Georgian house. Wooden sash windows and front door made by the local carpenter, facade plaster molding, ceiling height of 2.75m (9 ft) on the ground floor, and a hipped roof with clay tiles.
The staircase was a bit challenging because the hallway is central and the dimensions we set (somewhat arbitrarily) limited a straight staircase. The stair builder managed it nevertheless using some tricks (a bit steeper and with a longer tread or something like that).
Since I talked a lot with energy consultants and wanted a reasonable price-performance/use balance, we made the following decisions:
* Energy standard just enough to meet requirements (saves construction costs)
* Therefore, deliberately only double-glazed windows
* Gas condensing boiler with underfloor heating and gas fireplace
* Solar thermal system for hot water (I would have preferred to skip this as a cost driver; in summer you don’t need 270l (71 gallons) of hot water and in winter the sun usually isn’t sufficient despite the south-facing side)
* No electric window openers (but conduits were installed)
* 36.5cm (14.4 inches) aerated concrete walls on the outside and 17.5/11.5cm (6.9/4.5 inches) limestone interior walls
* Interior walls plastered with cement plaster to Q3 level (relatively smooth)
* Plumbing and heating company installed everything. Toilets, sinks, faucets were bought by us (all Villeroy & Boch and GROHE, mostly via eBay)
* Floor tiles and parquet also bought by us and then installed by professionals
The total cost excluding the land was €297,000 (about USD 320,000) including connections and exterior works, garden planting (partly €500 (about USD 540) per tree), double carport, 12sqm (129 sqft) garden shed, 150sqm (1615 sqft) paving, 24sqm (258 sqft) travertine terrace, insurance, surveying, 55t (60 US tons) of topsoil (we added about 20-30cm (8-12 inches) of soil), kitchen and appliances, electric garden gate, and masonry gate pillars (including historically accurate pillar caps) etc.
Land size: 680sqm (7320 sqft)
Living space: 122sqm (1313 sqft)
* 29sqm (312 sqft) living room
* 11.5sqm (124 sqft) kitchen
* 7.5sqm (81 sqft) utility room (laundry hangs from the ceiling with Foxydry)
* approx. 9.5sqm (102 sqft) hallway downstairs
* 11.5sqm (124 sqft) children’s room
* 9sqm (97 sqft) guest room/library/study
* approx. 9.3sqm (100 sqft) bathroom with shower, freestanding bathtub, toilet, bidet, washbasin
* approx. 20sqm (215 sqft) bedroom with walk-in closet/wardrobe
* The attic is currently an unheated storage room but could still be developed.
The space is sufficient, sometimes missing 0.5-1m (1.6-3.3 ft) here and there, but more space would have come at significantly higher construction costs.
What do you think of the floor plan? Any questions?
I’ve attached some pictures to give you a rough idea.
We planned the floor plans, dimensions, materials, etc., ourselves and then hired a retired architect to create the construction drawings and structural engineering, as well as to submit the building permit / planning permission application. He also handled the approvals and insurance.
Since we live in a historic preservation area with classical architecture, we wanted to reflect this style in our house and I did a lot of research. I know nothing is perfect and it is a series of compromises (size, budget, historic style). We wanted about 120sqm (1292 sqft) of living space, aimed not to exceed a certain budget, and wanted to choose and plan all the trades ourselves (this really saves a lot of money!). I have almost no craftsmanship skills, yet we still did or helped with many tasks ourselves (preparations for the electrician, applying window and facade plaster molding ourselves, ceiling molding, wooden baseboards, cladding the carport, assembling the garden shed, distributing 55t (60 US tons) of soil, planting, manually drilling a garden well, etc.). Ok, my father-in-law helped a lot because he is handy.
We wanted to keep as much symmetry as possible and had a rough idea inspired by a Georgian house. Wooden sash windows and front door made by the local carpenter, facade plaster molding, ceiling height of 2.75m (9 ft) on the ground floor, and a hipped roof with clay tiles.
The staircase was a bit challenging because the hallway is central and the dimensions we set (somewhat arbitrarily) limited a straight staircase. The stair builder managed it nevertheless using some tricks (a bit steeper and with a longer tread or something like that).
Since I talked a lot with energy consultants and wanted a reasonable price-performance/use balance, we made the following decisions:
* Energy standard just enough to meet requirements (saves construction costs)
* Therefore, deliberately only double-glazed windows
* Gas condensing boiler with underfloor heating and gas fireplace
* Solar thermal system for hot water (I would have preferred to skip this as a cost driver; in summer you don’t need 270l (71 gallons) of hot water and in winter the sun usually isn’t sufficient despite the south-facing side)
* No electric window openers (but conduits were installed)
* 36.5cm (14.4 inches) aerated concrete walls on the outside and 17.5/11.5cm (6.9/4.5 inches) limestone interior walls
* Interior walls plastered with cement plaster to Q3 level (relatively smooth)
* Plumbing and heating company installed everything. Toilets, sinks, faucets were bought by us (all Villeroy & Boch and GROHE, mostly via eBay)
* Floor tiles and parquet also bought by us and then installed by professionals
The total cost excluding the land was €297,000 (about USD 320,000) including connections and exterior works, garden planting (partly €500 (about USD 540) per tree), double carport, 12sqm (129 sqft) garden shed, 150sqm (1615 sqft) paving, 24sqm (258 sqft) travertine terrace, insurance, surveying, 55t (60 US tons) of topsoil (we added about 20-30cm (8-12 inches) of soil), kitchen and appliances, electric garden gate, and masonry gate pillars (including historically accurate pillar caps) etc.
Land size: 680sqm (7320 sqft)
Living space: 122sqm (1313 sqft)
* 29sqm (312 sqft) living room
* 11.5sqm (124 sqft) kitchen
* 7.5sqm (81 sqft) utility room (laundry hangs from the ceiling with Foxydry)
* approx. 9.5sqm (102 sqft) hallway downstairs
* 11.5sqm (124 sqft) children’s room
* 9sqm (97 sqft) guest room/library/study
* approx. 9.3sqm (100 sqft) bathroom with shower, freestanding bathtub, toilet, bidet, washbasin
* approx. 20sqm (215 sqft) bedroom with walk-in closet/wardrobe
* The attic is currently an unheated storage room but could still be developed.
The space is sufficient, sometimes missing 0.5-1m (1.6-3.3 ft) here and there, but more space would have come at significantly higher construction costs.
What do you think of the floor plan? Any questions?
I’ve attached some pictures to give you a rough idea.
G
Georgian201923 Sep 2021 23:0211ant schrieb:
Great!, yes, "that's how it should be" 🙂
This is an exemplary ratio between the plot and the building, and there was still enough budget for a decent gate.
What a relief compared to those miserable pseudo-mansions where the house leaves only a tiny dirty corner of the plot besides the terrace after being crammed onto the land.
This, however, can truly be called an "estate," Higgins would be proud of you.
However, the front door opening outwards is a bit too much understatement for me.The outward-opening door couldn’t be avoided. Due to the dimensions of the hallway and stairs, the door could not be properly opened inwardly or it would be very cramped with an inward-opening door.
In der Ruine24 Sep 2021 06:44Very refreshing for the eye, not the usual cookie-cutter design.
I really like it, although I might have done a few things differently.
A slightly larger roof overhang might suit the house well, but that’s just a feeling.
For the base, I might have chosen a darker gray to make the façade more interesting.
Or maybe incorporated the bricks from the gateposts into the base.
Unfortunately, the gable facing the street can’t quite match the impressive main façade. The narrow windows make it look a bit unbalanced. A small round or triangular window for the attic might have added some life to it.
Overall, though, it’s a dream house. Very well done.
I really like it, although I might have done a few things differently.
A slightly larger roof overhang might suit the house well, but that’s just a feeling.
For the base, I might have chosen a darker gray to make the façade more interesting.
Or maybe incorporated the bricks from the gateposts into the base.
Unfortunately, the gable facing the street can’t quite match the impressive main façade. The narrow windows make it look a bit unbalanced. A small round or triangular window for the attic might have added some life to it.
Overall, though, it’s a dream house. Very well done.
G
Georgian201924 Sep 2021 07:00In der Ruine schrieb:
Very refreshing for the eye, not the usual cookie-cutter design.
I really like it, although I might have done a few things differently.
A slightly larger roof overhang might suit the house well, but that’s just a feeling.
For the base, I might have chosen a darker gray to make the facade a bit more interesting.
Or picked up the brick from the gateposts in the base.
Unfortunately, the street-facing gable can’t compete with the great main facade. Due to the narrow windows, it looks unbalanced. A small round or triangular window in the attic might have brought it to life.
Overall, though, a dream house. Well done. Thank you very much for your feedback! The color of the facade was specified by the heritage authority. In fact, we were not allowed to use a contrasting color for the plaster on the facade, as a uniform facade color was required.
I would have also preferred a symmetrical window arrangement on the street-facing gable. Unfortunately, space constraints didn’t allow it because the available area is taken up by the guest toilet and utility room with their dividing wall. We also needed an entire wall in the utility room to install the technical equipment there. Alternatively, we would have had to build larger again. But, as mentioned, we wanted to stay within a certain budget and monthly payment.
In der Ruine24 Sep 2021 07:09Georgian2019 schrieb:
Thank you very much for your feedback! The facade color was specified by the heritage preservation office. Actually, we were not allowed to color-highlight the facade stucco, as a uniform facade color was required.It’s good that you decided to go against those requirements. Georgian2019 schrieb:
I would also have preferred the street gable to have a symmetrical window design. Well, sometimes you just have to take it as it comes. Are you going to remove the carport to create more of an ensemble effect?
The more I look at the pictures, the more ideas I get. (just brainstorming, no criticism)
Extend the roof ventilation higher and make it look like a chimney. That would fit the old building charm really well.
Mount the TV on the wall. It looks unfinished and like you just moved in ;-)
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