ᐅ Single-family house floor plan, 2 full stories, approximately 180 m², on a 600 m² plot of land
Created on: 6 Oct 2021 00:29
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Masterle25
Hello dear members,
like most others, I have also been quietly following along for quite some time. There are many great pieces of advice here.
The building application has been submitted, and the exterior dimensions as well as the number of windows are fixed. Positioning is still negotiable in consultation, though only to a limited extent. Inside, we basically still have almost all options. The general contractor (GC) is a local family business and has been operating for over 20 years. They are consistently found in the surrounding new development areas, along with two other GCs, and their reputation is quite remarkable. (In fact, we spent quite some time interviewing the newly settled homeowners around us... *g*) One GC was excluded because of the building method (exclusively KfW 40+ standard), and another after submitting a proposal. The process so far has taken about 10 months, starting with graph paper, heating technology, necessary rooms, house positioning, and so on. There are great guides on this topic in the forum!
So, I hope these words were inviting enough to read through the list of questions. If I have forgotten anything, please let me know. I look forward to your feedback, critical comments are also welcome!
Development plan / Restrictions
No development plan
Plot size – 598 sqm (6,435 sq ft)
Slope – no
Floor area ratio – 0.3
Building window, building line and boundary – 3 m (10 feet) distance on all sides
Other stipulations – orientation aligned with neighboring buildings
The building project, including documents, has already been approved by the relevant building authority.
Homeowners’ requirements
Style, roof type, building type – gable roof / 30° pitch facing south with a 10 kWp photovoltaic system, KfW 55 EE standard
Basement, floors – slab-on-grade foundation, 2 full floors, unheated attic
Number of occupants, ages – currently 3 people, planned 4; ages 38, 35, 1
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor – Ground floor: living/dining, closed kitchen, study/guest room, WC/bathroom, utility/technical room, guest WC including shower
Upper floor: bedroom, dressing room (emergency room if 3rd child), 2 children’s rooms, bathroom
Office: 2 home office workstations
Guests per year: max. 5, excluding drunken friends, who usually make do with the couch *g*
Open or closed architecture: rather closed architecture
Conservative or modern construction: conservative
Open kitchen, island: closed kitchen, island only used as a workspace
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: no
Music/speaker wall: TV wall
Balcony, roof terrace: none
Garage, carport: garage plus carport cover
House design
Who created the plan:
Planner from a construction company, based on our draft floor plan
What do you particularly like? Why? All necessary rooms are present in sufficient size
What do you not like? Why? Office entrance difficult to use, lack of space due to guest WC and living room widening
Fixed price: approx. 450,000€
Personal price limit for house, including fittings: 550,000€
Preferred heating technology: air-to-water heat pump + underfloor heating
If you had to give up something, which details/extensions:
- can give up: size of the dressing room
- cannot give up: office / two children’s rooms
Why did the design turn out like it is now?
Which wishes were implemented by the planner?
- We have already planned and commissioned the kitchen; floor plan adjusted accordingly (changes still possible)
We hesitated a long time over open vs. closed kitchen and, after deciding, debated for a long time over whether to have a pantry behind the kitchen front or not; it is now behind sliding elements on the right side (see attachment)
- Storage space under the stairs
- Bedroom window removed on the east side because of bedroom closet
- Living room widened due to TV wall and to gain space
What makes it particularly good or bad in your opinion?
All rooms are suitable for everyday use, and living on the ground floor later with minimal alterations is possible
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Are the individual rooms adequately lit? I have no sense of this at all. Any obvious flaws?
PS: North is at the top on the site plan as well as on both floor plans!
like most others, I have also been quietly following along for quite some time. There are many great pieces of advice here.
The building application has been submitted, and the exterior dimensions as well as the number of windows are fixed. Positioning is still negotiable in consultation, though only to a limited extent. Inside, we basically still have almost all options. The general contractor (GC) is a local family business and has been operating for over 20 years. They are consistently found in the surrounding new development areas, along with two other GCs, and their reputation is quite remarkable. (In fact, we spent quite some time interviewing the newly settled homeowners around us... *g*) One GC was excluded because of the building method (exclusively KfW 40+ standard), and another after submitting a proposal. The process so far has taken about 10 months, starting with graph paper, heating technology, necessary rooms, house positioning, and so on. There are great guides on this topic in the forum!
So, I hope these words were inviting enough to read through the list of questions. If I have forgotten anything, please let me know. I look forward to your feedback, critical comments are also welcome!
Development plan / Restrictions
No development plan
Plot size – 598 sqm (6,435 sq ft)
Slope – no
Floor area ratio – 0.3
Building window, building line and boundary – 3 m (10 feet) distance on all sides
Other stipulations – orientation aligned with neighboring buildings
The building project, including documents, has already been approved by the relevant building authority.
Homeowners’ requirements
Style, roof type, building type – gable roof / 30° pitch facing south with a 10 kWp photovoltaic system, KfW 55 EE standard
Basement, floors – slab-on-grade foundation, 2 full floors, unheated attic
Number of occupants, ages – currently 3 people, planned 4; ages 38, 35, 1
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor – Ground floor: living/dining, closed kitchen, study/guest room, WC/bathroom, utility/technical room, guest WC including shower
Upper floor: bedroom, dressing room (emergency room if 3rd child), 2 children’s rooms, bathroom
Office: 2 home office workstations
Guests per year: max. 5, excluding drunken friends, who usually make do with the couch *g*
Open or closed architecture: rather closed architecture
Conservative or modern construction: conservative
Open kitchen, island: closed kitchen, island only used as a workspace
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: no
Music/speaker wall: TV wall
Balcony, roof terrace: none
Garage, carport: garage plus carport cover
House design
Who created the plan:
Planner from a construction company, based on our draft floor plan
What do you particularly like? Why? All necessary rooms are present in sufficient size
What do you not like? Why? Office entrance difficult to use, lack of space due to guest WC and living room widening
Fixed price: approx. 450,000€
Personal price limit for house, including fittings: 550,000€
Preferred heating technology: air-to-water heat pump + underfloor heating
If you had to give up something, which details/extensions:
- can give up: size of the dressing room
- cannot give up: office / two children’s rooms
Why did the design turn out like it is now?
Which wishes were implemented by the planner?
- We have already planned and commissioned the kitchen; floor plan adjusted accordingly (changes still possible)
We hesitated a long time over open vs. closed kitchen and, after deciding, debated for a long time over whether to have a pantry behind the kitchen front or not; it is now behind sliding elements on the right side (see attachment)
- Storage space under the stairs
- Bedroom window removed on the east side because of bedroom closet
- Living room widened due to TV wall and to gain space
What makes it particularly good or bad in your opinion?
All rooms are suitable for everyday use, and living on the ground floor later with minimal alterations is possible
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Are the individual rooms adequately lit? I have no sense of this at all. Any obvious flaws?
PS: North is at the top on the site plan as well as on both floor plans!
Masterle25 schrieb:
2.45m (8 ft) is the standard height; anything else will likely be more expensive. The structural height of 262.5cm (8 ft 7.3 in) is also specified in the general contractor’s building description. However, I will actually ask about it because I am curious myself. I am 1.88m (6 ft 2 in) tall and feel comfortable with a similar ceiling height in my current apartment. 2.45m (8 ft) is more of a 1990s typical ceiling height. Nowadays, a structural height of 2.75m (9 ft) minus 16–20cm (6.3–7.9 in) for floor buildup would usually result in a finished ceiling height between 2.55 and 2.61m (8 ft 4.7 in to 8 ft 7 in). Lower ceilings can feel quite oppressive, especially in larger rooms. Since you basically have three separate living-dining-kitchen areas, it might still work.
I would therefore also plan for door heights of 2.11m (6 ft 11 in). However, in my opinion, that only makes sense if done consistently throughout.
The general contractor should be able to accommodate this for an additional cost of around 2,000.
Masterle25 schrieb:
Could you maybe sketch that out for me? I'm having a hard time picturing how you would design the bathroom. Generally, my wife has no problem with the open toilet; actually, I’m more the one who prefers to hide it... 😉 Unfortunately not right now. I’m currently on vacation.
Masterle25 schrieb:
We initially had everything quite open, until my wife noticed that she had no walls where she could place cabinets or similar. But with the short wall sections, you separate the partition walls so that you can’t really place anything useful between windows or doors.
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Masterle256 Oct 2021 23:02Zubi123 schrieb:
2.45 m (8 feet) is more like a 1990s standard height. Typically today, the raw ceiling height is 2.75 m (9 feet), minus a 16–20 cm (6–8 inch) floor build-up, so you should end up between 2.55 and 2.61 m (8 ft 4 in to 8 ft 7 in). Anything lower tends to feel a bit oppressive, especially in larger rooms. Since you basically have three separate living, dining, and kitchen areas, it might still work.
I would also plan the doors to be 2.11 m (7 feet) accordingly. In my opinion, that only makes sense to do together.
The general contractor should be able to manage that for around an extra 2,000. Do I understand correctly that the whole house would become taller then? Or is it just the ceiling being treated differently?
The idea from ypg with the bedroom is excellent. Additionally, I would probably place a utility room with a washing machine upstairs, including cabinets for bed linens and similar items, and have storage downstairs near the technical room. You could also incorporate the space under the stairs into the technical room, making it much more accessible. What I don’t like is the whole window situation in the kitchen and living-dining areas. We have a very similar layout for these rooms but many more windows—both in the living-dining room and the kitchen. There, we placed the tall cabinets against the interior wall to keep the exterior wall free for access to a second terrace. I love the abundance of natural light throughout the year. In your case, that would be the west side, which is the perfect spot for an evening terrace right outside the kitchen!
I would only build this angled arch with drywall, perhaps after the flooring is installed? That way, it can be removed later if you don’t like it anymore. However, it does create a nice zoning effect. We have two small walls like that between the kitchen and dining area, but out of necessity because we needed to hide pipes and support the load-bearing wall above. I quite like it, though. Maybe someday I’ll install a large loft-style glass door there.
I would only build this angled arch with drywall, perhaps after the flooring is installed? That way, it can be removed later if you don’t like it anymore. However, it does create a nice zoning effect. We have two small walls like that between the kitchen and dining area, but out of necessity because we needed to hide pipes and support the load-bearing wall above. I quite like it, though. Maybe someday I’ll install a large loft-style glass door there.
M
Masterle256 Oct 2021 23:06ypg schrieb:
Unfortunately not at the moment. I’m currently on vacation.
However, by using the wall stubs, you separate the partition walls, so you can’t really place anything useful between the windows or doors.No rush... it will take a while anyway until the building permit / planning permission is approved. Maybe you’ll be interested when you’re back. 🙂I’ll reconsider the wall stubs again, since that also depends on the interior design.
Masterle25 schrieb:
Do I understand correctly that the entire house will get taller? Or is it just the ceiling that is modified?Yes, the house will be taller as a result.
I also find the 2.62 meters (8 feet 7 inches) — screed build-up — covering to be too low, as do some others here. Increasing the ceiling height obviously affects the building permit / planning permission.
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