ᐅ Single-family house floor plan approximately 165 m² plus basement
Created on: 30 Aug 2022 21:16
G
Gregor_K
Hello everyone,
My wife and I purchased a plot of land last year and are now ready to start the construction project. Over the past few weeks, I have spoken with four general contractors and gathered quotes. In the coming weeks, I plan to choose one general contractor; at the moment, two are in the final running. Several floor plans have been developed, and I have posted the one we like best here. The floor plan currently does not include furniture, but once we decide on a contractor, I will finalize it with the contractor/architect unless a better plan comes up.
Of the two general contractors we are considering, one offers a planning contract for service phases HOAI 1-4. The other does not provide this, so we will need to hire a separate architect (HOAI 1-3).
Having followed various discussions in this forum for a while, I would appreciate your feedback on the floor plan. This is our first build; my knowledge so far comes from seminars by the Builders’ Protection Association and this housebuilding forum.
Development Plan/Restrictions
Plot No. 194
Plot size: 680m² (7,300 sq ft)
Slope: yes, descending about 1 to 1.5m (3 to 5 feet) from the access road
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Floor area ratio: N/A
Building envelope, building line and boundary: see blue line on the development plan; approximately 12.95m x 20m (42.5 ft x 66 ft)
Setback from boundary: 3m (10 feet)
Parking spaces: 1 to 2
Maximum building height: 2 full floors
Roof style: no specification in the development plan
Homeowners’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Single-family house, gabled roof with purlins if possible
Basement, floors: 2 full floors plus basement
Number of occupants: 5 people, 2 adults and 3 children
Office: Home office room
Occasional guests: none or at most 1 to 2 per year
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Yes, open kitchen, but kitchen island not absolutely necessary
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: no
Balcony, roof terrace: not required
Garage, carport: Single garage to be located on the east side, plus at least 2 additional parking spaces on the northwest side of the property
House Design
Designer:
- Design by a prefabricated house supplier
What do you particularly like? Why?
We like the appearance of the house with the bay window; it looks stylish to us. Overall, it includes everything we need, such as a pantry, a relatively spacious dining area combined with the living room, 3 children’s rooms, and an office.
What do you dislike? Why?
The staircase could be positioned further from the entrance, but this is acceptable. The bathroom design still looks unfinished.
Price estimate according to architect/designer: €620,000 without ancillary building costs (no price negotiation)
Personal price limit for the house, including fittings: €650,000 without ancillary building costs
If you had to give up certain details/extra features,
- what you could do without: Items we can omit have already been removed, e.g., walk-in closet and storage room
- what you cannot do without: 3 children’s rooms, pantry, office, landing staircase, basement
Why is the design as it is now? For example:
Design from the planner following these specifications:
- 2 full floors or 1.5 floors with a high knee wall (e.g., 180cm (70.9 inches))
- Flexible roof type; we like a gabled roof with purlins or alternatively a hip roof or flat roof
- Ground floor plus upper floor should be between 165m² and 175m² (1,776 to 1,884 sq ft)
- open kitchen + living room + dining area
- guest bathroom with shower
- entrance area should be usable for 5 people (space for shoe cabinets)
- pantry
- office room that can later be used as a bedroom in older age
- dining area close to the kitchen
- kitchen and dining area should be near the terrace
- 3 children’s rooms (2 rooms at least 15m² (161 sq ft), 1 room at least 12m² (129 sq ft))
- master bedroom with or without walk-in closet, depending on what fits better into the floor plan
- optional laundry chute would be great but not essential
- preferably no separate children’s bathroom
- bathroom at least 10m² (108 sq ft), better if 12 to 14m² (129 to 151 sq ft), depending on the layout
- staircase should not be located in the entrance’s dirt zone. A comfortable staircase would be great; ideally a landing staircase
- space for a single garage on the plot, i.e., no double garage
- access from the garage to the pantry would be nice but not essential
- no gallery
- no conservatory/glass extension
- covered access from garage to front door is not absolutely necessary
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Can the staircase be placed further away from the entrance? What do you think about making windows in the bathroom, master bedroom, and office narrower (window sill height)? Are the basement windows well positioned, especially those near the terrace?
My wife and I purchased a plot of land last year and are now ready to start the construction project. Over the past few weeks, I have spoken with four general contractors and gathered quotes. In the coming weeks, I plan to choose one general contractor; at the moment, two are in the final running. Several floor plans have been developed, and I have posted the one we like best here. The floor plan currently does not include furniture, but once we decide on a contractor, I will finalize it with the contractor/architect unless a better plan comes up.
Of the two general contractors we are considering, one offers a planning contract for service phases HOAI 1-4. The other does not provide this, so we will need to hire a separate architect (HOAI 1-3).
Having followed various discussions in this forum for a while, I would appreciate your feedback on the floor plan. This is our first build; my knowledge so far comes from seminars by the Builders’ Protection Association and this housebuilding forum.
Development Plan/Restrictions
Plot No. 194
Plot size: 680m² (7,300 sq ft)
Slope: yes, descending about 1 to 1.5m (3 to 5 feet) from the access road
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Floor area ratio: N/A
Building envelope, building line and boundary: see blue line on the development plan; approximately 12.95m x 20m (42.5 ft x 66 ft)
Setback from boundary: 3m (10 feet)
Parking spaces: 1 to 2
Maximum building height: 2 full floors
Roof style: no specification in the development plan
Homeowners’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Single-family house, gabled roof with purlins if possible
Basement, floors: 2 full floors plus basement
Number of occupants: 5 people, 2 adults and 3 children
Office: Home office room
Occasional guests: none or at most 1 to 2 per year
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Yes, open kitchen, but kitchen island not absolutely necessary
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: no
Balcony, roof terrace: not required
Garage, carport: Single garage to be located on the east side, plus at least 2 additional parking spaces on the northwest side of the property
House Design
Designer:
- Design by a prefabricated house supplier
What do you particularly like? Why?
We like the appearance of the house with the bay window; it looks stylish to us. Overall, it includes everything we need, such as a pantry, a relatively spacious dining area combined with the living room, 3 children’s rooms, and an office.
What do you dislike? Why?
The staircase could be positioned further from the entrance, but this is acceptable. The bathroom design still looks unfinished.
Price estimate according to architect/designer: €620,000 without ancillary building costs (no price negotiation)
Personal price limit for the house, including fittings: €650,000 without ancillary building costs
If you had to give up certain details/extra features,
- what you could do without: Items we can omit have already been removed, e.g., walk-in closet and storage room
- what you cannot do without: 3 children’s rooms, pantry, office, landing staircase, basement
Why is the design as it is now? For example:
Design from the planner following these specifications:
- House with basement:
- 2 full floors or 1.5 floors with a high knee wall (e.g., 180cm (70.9 inches))
- Flexible roof type; we like a gabled roof with purlins or alternatively a hip roof or flat roof
- Ground floor plus upper floor should be between 165m² and 175m² (1,776 to 1,884 sq ft)
- Ground floor:
- open kitchen + living room + dining area
- guest bathroom with shower
- entrance area should be usable for 5 people (space for shoe cabinets)
- pantry
- office room that can later be used as a bedroom in older age
- dining area close to the kitchen
- kitchen and dining area should be near the terrace
- Upper floor:
- 3 children’s rooms (2 rooms at least 15m² (161 sq ft), 1 room at least 12m² (129 sq ft))
- master bedroom with or without walk-in closet, depending on what fits better into the floor plan
- optional laundry chute would be great but not essential
- preferably no separate children’s bathroom
- bathroom at least 10m² (108 sq ft), better if 12 to 14m² (129 to 151 sq ft), depending on the layout
- General:
- staircase should not be located in the entrance’s dirt zone. A comfortable staircase would be great; ideally a landing staircase
- space for a single garage on the plot, i.e., no double garage
- access from the garage to the pantry would be nice but not essential
- no gallery
- no conservatory/glass extension
- covered access from garage to front door is not absolutely necessary
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Can the staircase be placed further away from the entrance? What do you think about making windows in the bathroom, master bedroom, and office narrower (window sill height)? Are the basement windows well positioned, especially those near the terrace?
I agree with Yvonne; the first design was better. I just find the entrance area somehow unbalanced. Normally, you would expect the front door to be on the side (and mirrored once), but there isn’t enough space on the plot for that. Maybe the staircase is simply too bulky.
We have refined the bay window floor plan together with the new general contractor, and I wanted to share the result with you. I have partially incorporated the feedback I received from you. The bathroom has now been moved from left to right, which was a request from the contractor. We have slightly opened up the hallway on the upper floor by adding a bend. We haven’t furnished the children’s rooms and the office yet; I think the rooms as they are now are workable. If we decide to go with this floor plan, I would do that later. The office is intended to be used as a bedroom in the future, so I did not install a floor-to-ceiling window.
The neighbor’s terrace is to the east from their point of view. See also the blue circle. Therefore, I would avoid a wraparound terrace on the west side, or at least not have a covered terrace in that area. A narrow “strip” is not excluded—for example, for a bench. The covered terrace with seating will be placed behind the bay window, which unfortunately reduces some light for the dining area.
The bedroom was criticized before—is it okay like this now? We don’t necessarily need a walk-in closet.
I would probably install a lift-and-slide door in the bay window, and I’m considering whether the floor-to-ceiling window behind the couch could be replaced with a regular window like the one in the kitchen. What do you think?
We haven’t found a solution for the entrance area since the plot is too narrow. But I don’t think that’s a big issue.
I really like the bathroom with the T-shaped layout—it looks great.
I like the house and can well imagine building it. What do you think of the house? Are there still things that should be changed?
The neighbor’s terrace is to the east from their point of view. See also the blue circle. Therefore, I would avoid a wraparound terrace on the west side, or at least not have a covered terrace in that area. A narrow “strip” is not excluded—for example, for a bench. The covered terrace with seating will be placed behind the bay window, which unfortunately reduces some light for the dining area.
The bedroom was criticized before—is it okay like this now? We don’t necessarily need a walk-in closet.
I would probably install a lift-and-slide door in the bay window, and I’m considering whether the floor-to-ceiling window behind the couch could be replaced with a regular window like the one in the kitchen. What do you think?
We haven’t found a solution for the entrance area since the plot is too narrow. But I don’t think that’s a big issue.
I really like the bathroom with the T-shaped layout—it looks great.
I like the house and can well imagine building it. What do you think of the house? Are there still things that should be changed?
I also find it very solid and perfectly fine. What I would change is that the route from the kitchen to, for example, the car is annoyingly long with just the one double door. I would actually install two single doors – one for the living room and one for the kitchen.
The use of the basement is too unspecific. What is supposed to go in there, and would you need anything like water, wastewater, electricity, internet, or similar?
The use of the basement is too unspecific. What is supposed to go in there, and would you need anything like water, wastewater, electricity, internet, or similar?
K a t j a schrieb:
I also think it’s very solid and not wrong. One thing I would change: the route from the kitchen to, for example, the car feels annoyingly long with just one double door. I would actually install two single doors – one to the living room and one to the kitchen.
The use of the basement is too vague. What is supposed to go in there and do you possibly need anything like water, sewage, electricity, internet, or similar? Thanks for your feedback!
I also find the path from the car to the kitchen too long. I had also considered adding a second entrance door to the pantry but decided against it. Originally, I planned to put a refrigerator where the kitchen door is likely to go (side-by-side fridge). But you are right, it is quite annoying.
The basement use would be as follows:
Basement Finished 3 – Utility room + technical room + washer + dryer
Basement Finished 2 – Storage room, traditional basement
Basement Finished 4 – Playroom, hobbies, ...
Basement Finished 1 – Room for my wife
At the moment, I only see electricity as necessary in the basement. We do not need water, sewage, or internet there. The entrance area of the basement will be heated with underfloor heating. It is not meant to be a living basement, even though it is marked as finished on the floor plan.
ypg schrieb:
Kitchen door aligned with the front door, properly define the kitchen layout and avoid placeholders, plan decent windows in the basement. Living spaces also require natural daylight, not a fortress-like view. Thanks for your feedback!
Yes, the path from the car to the kitchen really is quite long.
What do you consider decent windows in the basement? I don’t want to give the basement too high a priority. If you want the basement to be finished living space, you really need more than these tiny windows. For me, a simple root cellar is enough; the rest of the house is big enough in my opinion.
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