ᐅ Floor Plan for a Single-Family House with 1.5 Floors Plus Basement / Initial Draft – Suggestions?
Created on: 6 Jan 2022 19:25
A
Andi1980
A friendly hello to everyone 🙂
After a long wait, we have finally been able to purchase a building plot in a new development area and now want to fulfill the dream of owning our own home. We have been working on the optimal floor plan for us for several months now. So far, we are quite satisfied with the result.
What can you say about the floor plan in general? What do you like, or where do you see room for improvement? We have been reading and quietly following the forum for some time, but we think you might spot areas where adjustments could be made. Where do you see weaknesses? We look forward to constructive criticism and your feedback!
Thank you very much in advance!
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 435 m² (4680 sq ft)
Slope: no
Site occupancy index: 0.4
Floor area ratio: 0.8
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors permitted: from bungalow up to 2 full stories
Roof shape: open
Orientation: open
Maximum heights / limits: ridge height 10 m (33 ft), eave height 6.5 m (21 ft)
Homeowners’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Single-family house with gable roof, modern
Basement, floors: with basement, 1.5 floors
Number of occupants, age: 3
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor
Office: family use or home office? Home office
Guest stays per year: frequent
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern construction: conservative
Open kitchen, kitchen island: yes
Number of dining seats: 6-8
Fireplace: yes
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: yes
House Design
Who designed it: Do-it-yourself
What do you especially like? Why?
Large, open living area, staircase in the living area, access to the garage from the house
What do you dislike? Why?
Because of the narrow plot width, the garage is too narrow; we would have preferred to build a double garage.
Personal price limit for the house including fittings: 480 K
Preferred heating technology: geothermal heat, underfloor heating, photovoltaic system on the roof
If you have to give up something, which details / additions
-can you do without:
Sauna
-can you not do without:
large kitchen, open room layout, office on the ground floor, guest room, large walk-in closet, access to the garage from the house
Why is the design the way it is now? For example
The design developed the way it did based on our wishes and ideas – we tried to implement them as well as possible for the narrow plot. We also visited various show homes and of course sifted through countless floor plans on the internet.
Thank you very much for reading and best regards
Andi1980
After a long wait, we have finally been able to purchase a building plot in a new development area and now want to fulfill the dream of owning our own home. We have been working on the optimal floor plan for us for several months now. So far, we are quite satisfied with the result.
What can you say about the floor plan in general? What do you like, or where do you see room for improvement? We have been reading and quietly following the forum for some time, but we think you might spot areas where adjustments could be made. Where do you see weaknesses? We look forward to constructive criticism and your feedback!
Thank you very much in advance!
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 435 m² (4680 sq ft)
Slope: no
Site occupancy index: 0.4
Floor area ratio: 0.8
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors permitted: from bungalow up to 2 full stories
Roof shape: open
Orientation: open
Maximum heights / limits: ridge height 10 m (33 ft), eave height 6.5 m (21 ft)
Homeowners’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Single-family house with gable roof, modern
Basement, floors: with basement, 1.5 floors
Number of occupants, age: 3
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor
Office: family use or home office? Home office
Guest stays per year: frequent
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern construction: conservative
Open kitchen, kitchen island: yes
Number of dining seats: 6-8
Fireplace: yes
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: yes
House Design
Who designed it: Do-it-yourself
What do you especially like? Why?
Large, open living area, staircase in the living area, access to the garage from the house
What do you dislike? Why?
Because of the narrow plot width, the garage is too narrow; we would have preferred to build a double garage.
Personal price limit for the house including fittings: 480 K
Preferred heating technology: geothermal heat, underfloor heating, photovoltaic system on the roof
If you have to give up something, which details / additions
-can you do without:
Sauna
-can you not do without:
large kitchen, open room layout, office on the ground floor, guest room, large walk-in closet, access to the garage from the house
Why is the design the way it is now? For example
The design developed the way it did based on our wishes and ideas – we tried to implement them as well as possible for the narrow plot. We also visited various show homes and of course sifted through countless floor plans on the internet.
Thank you very much for reading and best regards
Andi1980
ypg schrieb:
You don’t have to write the same thing to everyone here. Everyone reads it like part of a conversation.
Because your argument/feeling is unfounded. It does rain very often in Germany, but mostly at night. You’re not the only one who thinks it rains EVERY time they come home and 4 meters (13 feet) along the house wall make you completely soaked. That’s not true!
And misusing an office or another room that is not a hallway as a hallway reduces the personal living value of the space, because it then becomes as maintenance-intensive as a hallway and needs to be equipped with a doormat and boot scraper. You don’t go to the kitchen to use the toilet either.
You’re not moving in now, and you’re not building just for one year, but hopefully for at least two generations. And even if it’s only 20 years: life will change—in acquisition, values, and especially in food production and storage.
Door widths are standard, among other things. How do you plan to get your heating system in there?
If the data here is correct with a 40-degree roof pitch, then your 2-meter (6.5 feet) mark is simply wrong! You have a maximum knee wall height of 130cm (51 inches)… with an interior recess of about 80cm (31 inches) you reach your 2 meters. And at that height, I definitely don’t see a shower fixture. Or do you want to say that your windows top and bottom are the same heights or that the two windows on the upper floor are 3 meters (10 feet) high?
I don’t worry much about things that won’t be built anyway. I already mentioned: the budget doesn’t allow for a basement. So, a redesign is necessary. ypg schrieb:
You don’t have to write the same thing to everyone here. Everyone reads it like part of a conversation. Thanks for the information.
ypg schrieb:
Because your argument/feeling is unfounded. It does rain very often in Germany, but mostly at night. You’re not the only one who thinks it rains EVERY time they come home and 4 meters (13 feet) along the house wall make you completely soaked. That’s not true!
And misusing an office or another room that is not a hallway as a hallway reduces the personal living value of the space, because it then becomes as maintenance-intensive as a hallway and needs to be equipped with a doormat and boot scraper. You don’t go to the kitchen to use the toilet either. We don’t want to do without a mudroom since we find it very practical. You can, for example, take out the trash, carry groceries into the house, and do other things without having to go outside. Originally, the office and mudroom were planned separately, but due to limited space, we combined the two rooms. How do you think the situation could be improved?
ypg schrieb:
You’re not moving in now, and you’re not building just for one year, but hopefully for at least two generations. And even if it’s only 20 years: life will change—in acquisition, values, and especially in food production and storage. The room is intended as a buffer and storage room, so you don’t have to go down to the basement for every little thing. Among other things, vacuum cleaner, mop, various kitchen and cleaning supplies, consumables, and smaller amounts of food will be stored here. A pantry for larger quantities will be in the basement.
ypg schrieb:
Door widths are standard, among other things. How do you plan to get your heating system in there? We will adjust the door widths accordingly.
ypg schrieb:
If the data here is correct with a 40-degree roof pitch, then your 2-meter (6.5 feet) mark is simply wrong! You have a maximum knee wall height of 130cm (51 inches)… with an interior recess of about 80cm (31 inches) you reach your 2 meters. And at that height, I definitely don’t see a shower fixture. Or do you want to say that your windows top and bottom are the same heights or that the two windows on the upper floor are 3 meters (10 feet) high? I have prepared a cross-section view to show the situation with the 2-meter line more clearly. I will upload it shortly.
ypg schrieb:
I don’t worry much about things that won’t be built anyway. I already mentioned: the budget doesn’t allow for a basement. So, a redesign is necessary. We set the stated budget knowing that we will do a lot of work ourselves. We also have a contingency of €100,000 (approximately $110,000) for unforeseen expenses.
Hello, I have uploaded a cross-section and exterior views again.
I will soon upload additional exterior views. Simply moving the living room window might look odd. Currently, except for the large corner window, everything on the south side is symmetrical.
Zubi123 schrieb:
I would move the living room window further to the right so that from the entrance you have a clear view straight through the house to the garden.
Otherwise, I think the design already works quite well.
I also find the door between the house and garage very practical for the same reasons as you. However, this makes the office a passageway for coats and other items. With this floor plan, I don’t see a true dedicated home office.
I will soon upload additional exterior views. Simply moving the living room window might look odd. Currently, except for the large corner window, everything on the south side is symmetrical.
Ysop*** schrieb:
The guest is just as loud as the child? I didn’t mean swapping rooms upstairs, but rather making the downstairs area a bit less open 🙂Oh, I see, sorry for the misunderstanding! Our current living situation is also very open, with the bedrooms directly adjacent to the open living area, so we don’t see any issues here for ourselves / the child / guests.
I think the original idea is good. The budget has already been mentioned – you need to check that. Otherwise, here are the following points:
Another major point is the windows… but that can only be discussed once the design is final.
- The steep roof with a low knee wall is unfavorable and is neither required by the building permit / planning permission nor by space requirements. It would be better to have a (very) high knee wall with a 22-25° roof pitch, possibly executed inside as an exposed roof structure. This way, you won’t have problems with sloping ceilings and can plan windows on the eaves sides.
- The airlock is not a good idea for the reasons mentioned by @ypg (even if you don’t want to hear it). If you don’t want to give up on the idea, still leave out the garage door, but construct the exterior wall so that you can easily retrofit a side entrance door later. If you still miss this in three years, you can retrofit the door then (which, however, you probably won’t do 🙂 ).
- I would remove the small storage room next to the ground floor kitchen and instead extend the tall cabinets to the western exterior wall. This results in almost the same storage space but is much more accessible. You can also use deeper cabinets there (in my opinion, kitchen manufacturers offer such systems).
- Logically, extend the ground floor restroom to the exterior wall as well, and possibly plan for a shower.
- Because of this, you can shift the wall between the hallway and the ground floor restroom slightly to the right on the plan and choose a larger front door with glass side panels to bring more light into the hallway.
- On the upper floor, I would definitely move the wall between corridor and dressing room/bedroom downwards on the plan to align it with the stairwell.
- In doing so, you could also shift the wall between the children’s room and bathroom downwards on the plan to “slim down” the bathroom and give the child more space.
- In this context, I would also relocate the door between bedroom and dressing room upwards on the plan and eliminate the separate dressing room/bathroom access (just quickly crossing the corridor is really not a problem).
- Please tidy up the doors from the corridor to guest/children’s rooms as it is currently too complicated.
Another major point is the windows… but that can only be discussed once the design is final.
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