ᐅ Floor Plan Single-Family Home with Granny Flat as a Three-Unit Residence
Created on: 5 Jul 2021 06:50
F
florian93
Hello everyone,
I have been a quiet reader here for a long time and have gained a lot of information and ideas from this forum. Many thanks for that!
Since the end of last year, we have been looking into building a house. Initially, we spoke with a few turnkey construction companies. We moved forward with planning more concretely with one company. However, we were never completely satisfied with the results, as we felt the flexibility and individuality were always limited beyond a certain point. Meanwhile, we have turned to an architect from the neighboring village who will support us from planning to the finished house (phases 1-8). We have now reached the point of a "final" draft including a cost estimate.
Development plan/restrictions
Plot size: 709 sqm (7,630 sq ft)
Slope: No
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.4
Floor space index (FSI): 0.8
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: see plan
Edge construction: garage
Number of parking spaces: 1.5 per residential unit (= 5)
Number of floors: 1.5
Roof type: 38-47° (100-116°F) gable or half-hipped roof
Style: No specification
Orientation: No specification
Maximum height/restrictions: None
Other requirements: None
Client requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Classic-modern, gable roof
Basement, floors: 2 full floors (according to development plan only 1.5 => however, neighbors in the immediate area have been granted permission for 2 as long as the overall height does not exceed 1.5, which requires a lower roof pitch)
Number of people, age:
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor:
Office: home office
Overnight guests per year: can sleep on the sofa
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern construction: modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open, kitchen island maybe
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: provision for future installation
Music/stereo wall: No
Balcony, roof terrace: No
Garage, carport: garage, but also open to a carport (depending on savings)
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: No, possibly a small utility area in the garden
Other wishes/special features/daily routine, including reasons for choices or exclusions: None
House design
Who designed the plan: architect
What do you especially like? Why?
What do you dislike? Why?
Cost estimate according to architect/planner:
Personal budget limit for the house, including fittings: Is it even possible to define this nowadays?
Preferred heating system: heat pump
If you had to give up something, which features/extensions
- you can live without: fireplace (or just fireplace preparation), smart home (I’m an IT professional and can retrofit it myself later)
- you cannot live without: none
Why does the design look as it does now? For example:
Standard design from the planner? Basic idea is ours + several discussions with the architect
Which wishes were implemented by the architect?
What makes it particularly good or bad in your opinion?
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summed up in 130 characters?
I have been a quiet reader here for a long time and have gained a lot of information and ideas from this forum. Many thanks for that!
Since the end of last year, we have been looking into building a house. Initially, we spoke with a few turnkey construction companies. We moved forward with planning more concretely with one company. However, we were never completely satisfied with the results, as we felt the flexibility and individuality were always limited beyond a certain point. Meanwhile, we have turned to an architect from the neighboring village who will support us from planning to the finished house (phases 1-8). We have now reached the point of a "final" draft including a cost estimate.
Development plan/restrictions
Plot size: 709 sqm (7,630 sq ft)
Slope: No
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.4
Floor space index (FSI): 0.8
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: see plan
Edge construction: garage
Number of parking spaces: 1.5 per residential unit (= 5)
Number of floors: 1.5
Roof type: 38-47° (100-116°F) gable or half-hipped roof
Style: No specification
Orientation: No specification
Maximum height/restrictions: None
Other requirements: None
Client requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Classic-modern, gable roof
Basement, floors: 2 full floors (according to development plan only 1.5 => however, neighbors in the immediate area have been granted permission for 2 as long as the overall height does not exceed 1.5, which requires a lower roof pitch)
Number of people, age:
- Currently: 3 (Dad 27, Mom 25, son 1)
- Future: 4-5 (Dad, Mom, 2-3 children) + 2 in granny flat (parents, in about 5-10 years)
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor:
- Ground floor + upper floor:
- Size: approx. 160-180 sqm (1,722-1,938 sq ft); inspired by the new build of an acquaintance
- Rooms ground floor: open kitchen/dining/living area + small pantry, office, utility/technical room, guest WC
- Rooms upper floor: large bathroom, master bedroom, 3 children’s rooms
- Granny flat:
- Size: approx. 50 sqm (538 sq ft); based on our old 2-room apartment
- Rooms: open kitchen/dining/living area, bathroom, bedroom
Office: home office
Overnight guests per year: can sleep on the sofa
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern construction: modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open, kitchen island maybe
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: provision for future installation
Music/stereo wall: No
Balcony, roof terrace: No
Garage, carport: garage, but also open to a carport (depending on savings)
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: No, possibly a small utility area in the garden
Other wishes/special features/daily routine, including reasons for choices or exclusions: None
House design
Who designed the plan: architect
What do you especially like? Why?
- Use as a single-family house plus granny flat, with the option to separate into 3 units later, e.g., when children grow older or if renting is desired
- Separate garden areas for the main house and granny flat
- Large windows facing south => lots of daylight (neighbor to the south is quite far away + good privacy to the east thanks to granny flat)
- Garden/terraces on the south side
- Direct access to the garage from inside
- Direct access to the granny flat for times of sole family use
What do you dislike? Why?
- Very dark entrance area
- Concern that the kitchen/dining/living area might be too small or cramped
Cost estimate according to architect/planner:
- Note: everything calculated very generously based on current raw material prices
- All-in: 778k (we already own the serviced land)
- of which 40k are additional construction costs
- of which 35k already planned for furnishings
- of which 50k already planned for outdoor facilities and open spaces
- Resulting in:
- after deductions for subsidies: 662k (3x KfW 40 Plus + energy consultant = 116k)
- after deductions for assured DIY work: 642k
- after deduction of approx. 160k for granny flat (financed by parents): 482k
Personal budget limit for the house, including fittings: Is it even possible to define this nowadays?
Preferred heating system: heat pump
If you had to give up something, which features/extensions
- you can live without: fireplace (or just fireplace preparation), smart home (I’m an IT professional and can retrofit it myself later)
- you cannot live without: none
Why does the design look as it does now? For example:
Standard design from the planner? Basic idea is ours + several discussions with the architect
Which wishes were implemented by the architect?
- Almost all of our wishes
- Staircase with straight steps
What makes it particularly good or bad in your opinion?
- Good: not a run-of-the-mill standard design, visually very appealing (in our opinion)
- Bad: nothing
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summed up in 130 characters?
- We would simply like some unbiased opinions/optimizations from third parties
- How can the entrance area be improved in terms of natural light?
Here I am again, I reviewed some things and read everything carefully.
What caught my attention:
Yes, I think so. It is a stylish house, no question. But on the inside, for example, the upper floor is really left out. You have to pass through a “hallway” to get to the children’s room. I think as a toddler, I would be afraid to open the “apartment door” and go through there, where the garages are also located, just to reach the sleeping area. And what if I sleep restlessly as a child? Then you have a very long and far way to check on things. I don’t think that is very family-friendly. Toddlers do need to be checked on quite frequently.
The passage to the chill-out lounge through a narrow opening off the kitchen is also not to everyone’s taste.
Basically, the house doesn’t quite meet any particular need. It’s not really a family house, for a yuppie house the kitchen is not well located, the apartment might be suitable for an au pair, but it’s not suitable for seniors by today’s standards.
What caught my attention:
florian93 schrieb:The upper floor stairwell could benefit from a window facing east. I had thought of installing a skylight for the lower hallway, but that’s already where the upper floor begins.
How can the entrance area be optimized regarding daylight?
florian93 schrieb:There is a difference between two young people in love sharing an apartment and a senior couple. The reasons are obvious: tolerance, ailments, hearing loss — or as @Myrna_Loy recently described very well 🙂
Granny flat / Secondary apartment:
- Size: approx. 50 sqm; the orientation was based on our old 2-room apartment
florian93 schrieb:But if they wanted, they could switch rooms and avoid each other.
The parents (both in their early 60s) currently still live in their own house. Since the children moved out, a lot of space is empty
florian93 schrieb:
"Age-appropriate" fits better. And for this purpose, we think it does. Don’t you agree?
florian93 schrieb:For a former farmer, probably less so.… Man, although he takes care of the garden, he’s kind of stuck there, isn’t he?!
You have to consider that my father is a self-employed farmer
florian93 schrieb:
Of course, further feedback on the rest of the plan is also welcome, beyond the granny flat.
florian93 schrieb:
We would simply like to consider certain eventualities. This includes, for example, placing the staircase so that we could divide the house into two separate units—ground floor and upper floor—if we wanted to.
florian93 schrieb:
Maybe we are overthinking by trying to plan for every eventuality?
Yes, I think so. It is a stylish house, no question. But on the inside, for example, the upper floor is really left out. You have to pass through a “hallway” to get to the children’s room. I think as a toddler, I would be afraid to open the “apartment door” and go through there, where the garages are also located, just to reach the sleeping area. And what if I sleep restlessly as a child? Then you have a very long and far way to check on things. I don’t think that is very family-friendly. Toddlers do need to be checked on quite frequently.
The passage to the chill-out lounge through a narrow opening off the kitchen is also not to everyone’s taste.
Basically, the house doesn’t quite meet any particular need. It’s not really a family house, for a yuppie house the kitchen is not well located, the apartment might be suitable for an au pair, but it’s not suitable for seniors by today’s standards.
I don’t want to go into the design details—not because it’s bad, but because you have taken a wrong turn in the basic planning assumptions, and I therefore recommend starting over from scratch.
Assumptions or self-statements were taken at face value here, which I doubt. In particular, the idea of living with very little "in old age" involves a lot of wishful thinking. Before the joint meeting with the architect and your parents, first have some joint sessions with a psychologist involving the parents. Identify the reasons why the parents are not willing to move in immediately. Especially with a grandchild already in the picture and more planned, any hesitation should be explored carefully. I expect this to provide valuable insights for the planning that go far beyond structural details.
As a management consultant—someone who would already be opposed from a financial point of view to keeping a vacancy by using it as an oversized home office, not least because of the impact on special repayment contributions from renting it out—I can assure you that even the most conscientious people perceive every unnecessary square meter of a commercial property as an invitation to clutter.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Assumptions or self-statements were taken at face value here, which I doubt. In particular, the idea of living with very little "in old age" involves a lot of wishful thinking. Before the joint meeting with the architect and your parents, first have some joint sessions with a psychologist involving the parents. Identify the reasons why the parents are not willing to move in immediately. Especially with a grandchild already in the picture and more planned, any hesitation should be explored carefully. I expect this to provide valuable insights for the planning that go far beyond structural details.
As a management consultant—someone who would already be opposed from a financial point of view to keeping a vacancy by using it as an oversized home office, not least because of the impact on special repayment contributions from renting it out—I can assure you that even the most conscientious people perceive every unnecessary square meter of a commercial property as an invitation to clutter.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
H
hanghaus20005 Jul 2021 16:29If more details are needed here: The bedroom on the ground floor is too narrow, and the bathroom on the upper floor is located exactly above the living room?
Twenty years ago, I planned and built a multigenerational house like this and am still very satisfied with it today.
Everything worked out as planned. We gave the granny flat 80 m2 (860 sq ft) and oriented it towards the best side of the house. A third living unit was also planned but will probably never be realized. The kids are grown up and don’t want to move out yet. They love living under one roof with grandma and grandpa.
I am in favor of multigenerational housing.
Twenty years ago, I planned and built a multigenerational house like this and am still very satisfied with it today.
Everything worked out as planned. We gave the granny flat 80 m2 (860 sq ft) and oriented it towards the best side of the house. A third living unit was also planned but will probably never be realized. The kids are grown up and don’t want to move out yet. They love living under one roof with grandma and grandpa.
I am in favor of multigenerational housing.
I am generally in favor of multigenerational houses and am currently converting one myself. However, I believe the basic principle should be to design the apartments in a way that you would want to live there yourself at any time. It’s important not to assume, “At that age, I won’t have any expectations anymore,” and so on.
If you were a couple without children, would you want to move into the granny flat (also known as an accessory dwelling unit)? As you get older, the (necessary) requirements for comfort usually increase rather than decrease.
In my opinion, planning a third dwelling unit right from the start is never sensible. What are the chances that the children (some of whom don’t even exist yet for the original poster) will want to live later in the same city or even in the family home? If that does happen in a couple of decades, you can always find a new solution then.
If you were a couple without children, would you want to move into the granny flat (also known as an accessory dwelling unit)? As you get older, the (necessary) requirements for comfort usually increase rather than decrease.
In my opinion, planning a third dwelling unit right from the start is never sensible. What are the chances that the children (some of whom don’t even exist yet for the original poster) will want to live later in the same city or even in the family home? If that does happen in a couple of decades, you can always find a new solution then.
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pagoni20205 Jul 2021 17:1111ant schrieb:
Identify the reasons why the parents don’t want to move in immediately. Especially with a grandchild already present and more planned, it’s worth exploring their hesitation. I expect this will provide valuable insights for the planning that go far beyond just construction details. In my opinion, this is a very important point, and all parties should be honest about it. Strictly following the motto: say the difficult things right at the beginning! I also find it equally important that the parents clearly express their position, because they cannot necessarily expect the younger generation to just handle it whenever it occurs to them...
I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but I mean it seriously FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, because living together for a long time can be wonderful but can also fail if things are not clearly settled from the start. Often unspoken expectations or wishes simmer beneath the surface...
Therefore, your parents should make a clear decision, since you can see how you’re currently twisting the plans to cover all wishes and possibilities.
So the same applies to the parents: be straightforward and stop using the conditional mood!
11ant schrieb:
Identify the reasons why the parents do not want to move in immediately. Especially with a grandchild already in the picture and more planned, it is worth exploring their hesitation. I expect valuable insights for planning that go far beyond structural details.Well, to be honest: Besides the fact that the father is still an active farmer on his property, no one really wants to submit to the children right after retirement—as we all have said: it’s not a reason to see a psychologist if you want to feel comfortable and active in your longtime home for another 15 to 20 years, without having to say “we’re moving in with the children.” Even if a grandchild is involved, or perhaps especially then, people are happy to continue living their own lives rather than adjusting to the schedule of the younger family.
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