ᐅ Floor plans for a single-family house with a secondary suite – looking for tips and feedback

I would appreciate it if an association were to establish itself in the neighboring house, even though there is only one parking space available.

Aside from that, what does the local authority say about the use of the property?

Is this a semi-detached house?
What are the dimensions of the existing building?
Does it have a basement?

Regarding the granny flat:
Why invest so much money to
a) bring strangers into the house
b) create hazardous light wells
c) have no parking spaces (I find it unlikely that none are required)

The staircase inside the house seems too short (at least it appears so, since measurements are missing)
Utility room without a washing machine?

Measurements are missing.
Dining area too small
Terrace not deep enough
Right next to it is the light well.
No cloakroom
How is the office door supposed to be used?

What is the purpose of a light well if it doesn’t get any light through the balcony?

Which room is for the second child?
How do you access the attic?

Why not build a nice house for a family?

Like Ypg, I seriously doubt this will be approved.

haydee schrieb:

I have serious doubts, like Ypg, that it will be approved

Me too.

Hello everyone, thank you for the feedback. I was also hoping for some positive remarks, but as we all know, you learn from mistakes. I thought I could learn and take away some useful information here as a layperson and future homeowner, but I wasn’t aware that this forum is mostly frequented by professionals. Instead of just complaining and criticizing our design, we would much prefer advice on how to do it correctly! So once again, I ask for constructive criticism.

However, I need to clarify and disagree with a few points:

• Club in the basement: The basement apartment is intended to be rented out permanently. Many houses on the street do this for financial and practical reasons. Perhaps I shouldn’t have mentioned the club. My wife manages the club and works there 45 hours/week. Usually, she is alone, with 1-2 permanent employees joining occasionally. No one runs around in the garden or has access to the ground floor apartment or garden. This is definitely much better than renting to strangers who just complain. On weekends and evenings, no one is there, so the people upstairs have peace and quiet—it doesn’t get much better than that. Practically, you are the boss of an office while being a tenant in your own property. You won’t find a better tenant, not to mention the short commute. There are rarely more than 4 people. The garden is separated and off-limits. No one smokes there either. These issues exist with any tenant. The family environment is never disturbed since the basement unit is separate.
• Edge development: This kind of building is common all along the street! As proof, here is the current state of the target street. Since the development plan does not apply here but rather § 34 of the German Building Code (Baugesetzbuch), I assume this is allowed. The immediate neighbor is a family member who will agree to this and also plans to build onto the mirrored neighbor and me.
• Flexible use: Honestly, it doesn’t matter whether the living unit is used by a Polish person, children, or grandparents later, as long as it is technically feasible and practical. So there is no need to debate this.
• Light wells: I was aware that these can be problematic and likely difficult to get approved. That is exactly why I am here and need your help. The basement should be bright, especially the rear room. At the same time, the terrace should of course be usable. Does anyone have ideas for how to implement this? Still, I have seen light wells next to gardens in the street. But not next to a terrace, which is really somewhat risky. A good solution is needed.

Please be understanding, as I am neither an architect nor a structural engineer. I still hope for better implementation suggestions.

Thank you very much

Best regards Freiburger

I am completely withdrawing the application because it creates the impression that this is a community education center, which is totally incorrect. It is simply a granny flat, and my wife is setting up her personal workspace/office in this granny flat. Is this clearer for you now? This is not a hardware store where 100 customers come every hour, so we do not need extra vehicle parking spaces, and almost no visitors come. But if you have family visits with children and three cars parked outside, nobody complains...

@haydee Thank you. You are the only one who has actually contributed something. Regarding your comment:
The existing house measures 9x9 meters (29.5x29.5 feet) and has a basement granny flat that is also rented out. My project will replicate this house exactly, with the only change being a small extension in the middle, as before. There is a fire protection wall in the center of the properties, which will remain. It also provides excellent privacy for the neighboring house halves.
Granny flat:
a.) The wife and her assistant are not strangers 🙂 And when we rent to others, they are always strangers. We bring in whoever is going to live in the granny flat and not in our main house on the ground and upper floors.
b.) Do you have a good suggestion on how to bring more natural light into the granny flat and also make use of it on the upper floor, terrace, or garden?
c.) One fixed parking space is required and is already planned. Another one can be arranged on the neighboring property (a relative) or purchased from the local authority in an adjacent area.

I will recalculate the staircase. Unfortunately, I haven’t found a quarter-turn staircase with measurements in the templates. The washing machine is planned to be in the basement in the bathroom or kitchen. If the basement becomes a home office (to everyone now: no longer an application), then we don’t actually need a washing machine there, only if rented to someone living there full time. The utility room will be about 10 sqm (108 sq ft) to maximize living space. In the end, we will need to check whether KNX, network cabinet, ventilation systems, battery storage, inverters, etc. can fit into 10 sqm, or if significantly more space is needed.

2. The light well is actually unnecessary, but how else am I supposed to bring light down there?

The second door to the office on the ground floor was meant to be functional. Private use door to the living room. Use in connection with the basement stairs through the other door. I understand now that this might be excessive. If you want to use the granny flat yourself later, an internal staircase from the ground floor to the basement is great. However, a sealed opening with just one door and possibly a simple door frame or cutout would be sufficient to start with.

The second child will have one of the small rooms on the upper floor. The parents will take the larger room, which also has optional kitchen connections.

A nice house would be great. However, the available space is limited to 320 sqm (3444 sq ft), and the requirements for the extension house, driveway, and granny flat must be observed. It is clear this will not be a luxury residence. So far, there has been little input here.
The retractable staircase to the attic is visible in the hallway on the upper floor, after all.

icandoit schrieb:

SweetHome 3D is only used when visualizing the 2D planning for obtaining permits/planning permission.
You could have saved yourself a lot of work.
It is more important to work out the basics.
For that, graph paper or millimeter (mm) paper and a pencil are sufficient.

A layperson resorts to the 3D magic wand when the 2D grid paper doesn’t make any sense. Basics are of little use if derived incorrectly (as here, drawing the wrong conclusion from semi-detached houses nearby that extensions up to the neighbor’s property line are generally allowed). Moreover, even informal family agreements are not enough; a setback area can only be replaced through formal agreement or official approval.

Freiburger2020 schrieb:

And still hope for better implementation suggestions.

However, no one among the more experienced participants will be able to develop such suggestions based on wishful thinking.

Freiburger2020 schrieb:

A light well is actually nonsense, but how else do I get light down there?

With traditional setback distances, light would come in from more sides.

---

https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/