ᐅ Floor plan design for a single-family house, 165 sqm, without a basement, on a 400 sqm plot
Created on: 10 Aug 2023 09:33
M
Maulwurfbau
At the request of 11ant, here is a post with the completed list ;-) Unfortunately, he still doesn’t have a crystal ball.
Providing all information possible/available at this point in time.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 400 sqm (4300 sq ft)
Slope: No, and no means no!
Floor space index (FSI): 0.4
Floor area ratio (FAR): ?
Building envelope, building line and boundary: Yes, available.
Edge development: Possible with garage.
Number of parking spaces: at least 1, preferably 2
Number of storeys: 1-2
Roof type: Gable roof (pitch minimum 31°, maximum 45°)
Architectural style: ??
Orientation: Gable end facing
Maximum heights / limits: Roof ridge 6-7 m (20-23 ft), eaves 9-12 m (30-39 ft)
Other requirements: No brick facades allowed. Driveway or space in front of garage at least 6 m (20 ft). Red roof tiles mandatory, light facade.
Homeowners’ Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: Gable roof, fixed
Basement, storeys: 2 full storeys without basement
Number of occupants, age: 4 people (2 toddlers)
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor:
Office: Family use or home office? Office of approx. 12 sqm (130 sq ft) is a must.
Guest bedrooms per year: Few
Open or closed architecture: ? Whatever that means.
Conservative or modern construction style: rather modern construction.
Open kitchen, cooking island: Open kitchen, possibly with cooking island
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: NO
Music / stereo wall: Not planned, TV location is quite important.
Balcony, roof terrace: NO
Garage, carport: Garage desired. Carport with storage box also conceivable.
Utility garden, greenhouse: NO
Further wishes / special features / daily routine, preferably with reasons for choices:
Laundry room on the upper floor. They want to do laundry where it is generated and where it must be returned clean. Anything else is a hassle, at least for us.
House Design
Who designed the plan: Architect
What do you particularly like? Why?
Everything we provided as basic information and what our daily life requires has been implemented.
We like the clear lines/structure.
The open space in the hallway.
The connection/proximity of all rooms on ground and upper floors that need water/sewage. So no funny business with the bathroom upstairs in one corner and the utility room diagonally opposite on the ground floor. Personally, I like that.
No bay windows or other awkward extensions.
Laundry room upstairs where the washer and dryer are planned.
What don’t you like? Why?
The living room might be a bit too exposed for us. It could also be a cozy nook with TV without direct view of the kitchen. Cooking and eating together openly is liked; the living room could be a bit more separate. Currently, the floor plan shows it like a narrow, rather shadowy corner.
The somewhat narrow bedroom upstairs is not a dealbreaker but not 100% pleasing.
Price estimate according to architect/planner:
-
Personal price limit for the house, including fixtures and fittings:
500-575k
Preferred heating system:
Predefined, ground source heat pump with collector. Cold local heating network.
If you have to give up, which details/extras
-can you do without:
The small additional room for the father upstairs.
Garage, as mentioned carport also conceivable.
-can you not do without:
Office.
Storage box at garage or carport.
Children’s rooms.
Why is the design the way it is now? e.g.
The design turned out this way because the architect implemented our wishes and requirements almost 1:1. This preliminary layout resulted in this first version.
What do you consider particularly good or bad?
See what we like and what not. We don’t find anything particularly bad. Rather, not entirely optimal.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Position garage flush with house or set back?
43.5 sqm (468 sq ft) + 4 sqm (43 sq ft) pantry sufficient as “all-purpose room”?
Same floor plan possibly mirrored? Then office on south side, sun all day, blinds always down. Same issue upstairs with bedroom in summer at least. Entrance farther from parking space.
The building method will be timber frame construction with a local timber builder.
This is a first sketch after clarifying needs/wishes with the architect.
Providing all information possible/available at this point in time.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 400 sqm (4300 sq ft)
Slope: No, and no means no!
Floor space index (FSI): 0.4
Floor area ratio (FAR): ?
Building envelope, building line and boundary: Yes, available.
Edge development: Possible with garage.
Number of parking spaces: at least 1, preferably 2
Number of storeys: 1-2
Roof type: Gable roof (pitch minimum 31°, maximum 45°)
Architectural style: ??
Orientation: Gable end facing
Maximum heights / limits: Roof ridge 6-7 m (20-23 ft), eaves 9-12 m (30-39 ft)
Other requirements: No brick facades allowed. Driveway or space in front of garage at least 6 m (20 ft). Red roof tiles mandatory, light facade.
Homeowners’ Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: Gable roof, fixed
Basement, storeys: 2 full storeys without basement
Number of occupants, age: 4 people (2 toddlers)
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor:
Office: Family use or home office? Office of approx. 12 sqm (130 sq ft) is a must.
Guest bedrooms per year: Few
Open or closed architecture: ? Whatever that means.
Conservative or modern construction style: rather modern construction.
Open kitchen, cooking island: Open kitchen, possibly with cooking island
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: NO
Music / stereo wall: Not planned, TV location is quite important.
Balcony, roof terrace: NO
Garage, carport: Garage desired. Carport with storage box also conceivable.
Utility garden, greenhouse: NO
Further wishes / special features / daily routine, preferably with reasons for choices:
Laundry room on the upper floor. They want to do laundry where it is generated and where it must be returned clean. Anything else is a hassle, at least for us.
House Design
Who designed the plan: Architect
What do you particularly like? Why?
Everything we provided as basic information and what our daily life requires has been implemented.
We like the clear lines/structure.
The open space in the hallway.
The connection/proximity of all rooms on ground and upper floors that need water/sewage. So no funny business with the bathroom upstairs in one corner and the utility room diagonally opposite on the ground floor. Personally, I like that.
No bay windows or other awkward extensions.
Laundry room upstairs where the washer and dryer are planned.
What don’t you like? Why?
The living room might be a bit too exposed for us. It could also be a cozy nook with TV without direct view of the kitchen. Cooking and eating together openly is liked; the living room could be a bit more separate. Currently, the floor plan shows it like a narrow, rather shadowy corner.
The somewhat narrow bedroom upstairs is not a dealbreaker but not 100% pleasing.
Price estimate according to architect/planner:
-
Personal price limit for the house, including fixtures and fittings:
500-575k
Preferred heating system:
Predefined, ground source heat pump with collector. Cold local heating network.
If you have to give up, which details/extras
-can you do without:
The small additional room for the father upstairs.
Garage, as mentioned carport also conceivable.
-can you not do without:
Office.
Storage box at garage or carport.
Children’s rooms.
Why is the design the way it is now? e.g.
The design turned out this way because the architect implemented our wishes and requirements almost 1:1. This preliminary layout resulted in this first version.
What do you consider particularly good or bad?
See what we like and what not. We don’t find anything particularly bad. Rather, not entirely optimal.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Position garage flush with house or set back?
43.5 sqm (468 sq ft) + 4 sqm (43 sq ft) pantry sufficient as “all-purpose room”?
Same floor plan possibly mirrored? Then office on south side, sun all day, blinds always down. Same issue upstairs with bedroom in summer at least. Entrance farther from parking space.
The building method will be timber frame construction with a local timber builder.
This is a first sketch after clarifying needs/wishes with the architect.
M
Maulwurfbau14 Aug 2023 15:40Phew, where do I start?
Maybe with the basic structure. As you can already see in the image of the first floor plan, the building area is 10 x 13 m2 (33 x 43 ft2). If you add a garage on the side that is 3 m (10 ft) wide, the house width is limited to a maximum of 10 m (33 ft) on this plot. Currently, the footprint is about 9.15 x 12.5 m (30 x 41 ft), but that’s not set in stone.
This leads to the question of the preferred orientation. Since the lot is only 16 m (52 ft) wide and there is only a 3 m (10 ft) strip left on the south side for a garden, the orientation basically points west where the garden is located. Currently, my south side actually faces the neighbor’s north side, where his garage is on the property line along with his driveway. So everything that would lie on our south side looks onto the neighbor’s driveway and garage just 3 m (10 ft) away. The west side isn’t our favorite, but it feels like the lot dictates this. It’s not a big problem, though.
Both staircase types are possible. We tend to prefer a straight staircase visually, but we’re also open to a staircase with a landing. Our kids are still small and a bit unsteady on stairs—holding onto the railing is always important—but they will get more confident as they grow…
Water supply and wastewater in one go, as I already said, sounds very appealing. Definitely better than searching for water veins in the house with a dowsing rod ;-)
Regarding the entrance: If the space works out reasonably well between the entrance, garage access, and car positioning relative to the house, I’m open to it. But honestly, it feels quite tight right now.
Current situation:
Modern house built in 2018, closed kitchen, rather small bathroom, storage space lacking everywhere. I live over three floors.
The entrance area is far too small for the family.
Coat niche 1.2 m (4 ft) wide—laughable.
No place for shoes. Storage room about 2.7 m2 (29 ft2) total, containing everything: storage, laundry, cleaning supplies, some shoes, and part of the groceries. Nightmare. Plenty of rooms of adequate size for everyone. On the second upper floor, a small room is used as storage for boxes, moving cartons, sorted and upcoming kids’ clothes, dad’s tools, etc. It keeps you busy.
No garage, parking space about 50 m (164 ft) from the front door.
Main bathroom is hard to ventilate; the architect had the brilliant idea of installing a porthole window that can only be tilted open when you step into the bathtub. Just tilting the window is annoying in itself. My pregnant wife had to wait for me to open the bathroom window…
Dark stairwell with a slightly altered staircase inside.
So, a lot packed into a small area with lots of compromises.
There are also positive things, don’t worry ;-)
But at least these points should be fixed, and it should still look architecturally good.
I already wrote about the wishes and requirements in the first post.
Requirements:
2 children’s bedrooms
1 office about 12 m2 (129 ft2)
Bathroom somewhat larger than normal—we currently live in a house with a bathroom of 8.2 m2 (88 ft2), which is quite questionable for two adults and two children; we are almost daily frustrated.
Open plan living, dining, and kitchen concept. Our current house has a closed kitchen, which is okay but not how we want to live. A 2 x 1 m (6.5 x 3 ft) table must fit and a larger corner sofa as well.
Since there is no basement, a technical room of around 8 m2 (86 ft2) is needed.
Laundry room on the upper floor.
No half- or quarter-turn staircases.
Wishes:
Staircase preferably not directly right or left of the entrance door.
Pantry
Kitchen area about 4 x 4 m (13 x 13 ft), to consider island solutions.
Natural light in the stairwell.
A small architectural highlight (like in the first plan, e.g., a stairwell light axis with a small open space at the entrance).
Dad also wants a small retreat area. Currently, our smaller town house has enough rooms for that.
That’s all I can think of for now. Since you can only make minor corrections here within a few minutes (ugh), I’ll just follow up if I forget something.
Maybe with the basic structure. As you can already see in the image of the first floor plan, the building area is 10 x 13 m2 (33 x 43 ft2). If you add a garage on the side that is 3 m (10 ft) wide, the house width is limited to a maximum of 10 m (33 ft) on this plot. Currently, the footprint is about 9.15 x 12.5 m (30 x 41 ft), but that’s not set in stone.
This leads to the question of the preferred orientation. Since the lot is only 16 m (52 ft) wide and there is only a 3 m (10 ft) strip left on the south side for a garden, the orientation basically points west where the garden is located. Currently, my south side actually faces the neighbor’s north side, where his garage is on the property line along with his driveway. So everything that would lie on our south side looks onto the neighbor’s driveway and garage just 3 m (10 ft) away. The west side isn’t our favorite, but it feels like the lot dictates this. It’s not a big problem, though.
Both staircase types are possible. We tend to prefer a straight staircase visually, but we’re also open to a staircase with a landing. Our kids are still small and a bit unsteady on stairs—holding onto the railing is always important—but they will get more confident as they grow…
Water supply and wastewater in one go, as I already said, sounds very appealing. Definitely better than searching for water veins in the house with a dowsing rod ;-)
Regarding the entrance: If the space works out reasonably well between the entrance, garage access, and car positioning relative to the house, I’m open to it. But honestly, it feels quite tight right now.
Current situation:
Modern house built in 2018, closed kitchen, rather small bathroom, storage space lacking everywhere. I live over three floors.
The entrance area is far too small for the family.
Coat niche 1.2 m (4 ft) wide—laughable.
No place for shoes. Storage room about 2.7 m2 (29 ft2) total, containing everything: storage, laundry, cleaning supplies, some shoes, and part of the groceries. Nightmare. Plenty of rooms of adequate size for everyone. On the second upper floor, a small room is used as storage for boxes, moving cartons, sorted and upcoming kids’ clothes, dad’s tools, etc. It keeps you busy.
No garage, parking space about 50 m (164 ft) from the front door.
Main bathroom is hard to ventilate; the architect had the brilliant idea of installing a porthole window that can only be tilted open when you step into the bathtub. Just tilting the window is annoying in itself. My pregnant wife had to wait for me to open the bathroom window…
Dark stairwell with a slightly altered staircase inside.
So, a lot packed into a small area with lots of compromises.
There are also positive things, don’t worry ;-)
But at least these points should be fixed, and it should still look architecturally good.
I already wrote about the wishes and requirements in the first post.
Requirements:
2 children’s bedrooms
1 office about 12 m2 (129 ft2)
Bathroom somewhat larger than normal—we currently live in a house with a bathroom of 8.2 m2 (88 ft2), which is quite questionable for two adults and two children; we are almost daily frustrated.
Open plan living, dining, and kitchen concept. Our current house has a closed kitchen, which is okay but not how we want to live. A 2 x 1 m (6.5 x 3 ft) table must fit and a larger corner sofa as well.
Since there is no basement, a technical room of around 8 m2 (86 ft2) is needed.
Laundry room on the upper floor.
No half- or quarter-turn staircases.
Wishes:
Staircase preferably not directly right or left of the entrance door.
Pantry
Kitchen area about 4 x 4 m (13 x 13 ft), to consider island solutions.
Natural light in the stairwell.
A small architectural highlight (like in the first plan, e.g., a stairwell light axis with a small open space at the entrance).
Dad also wants a small retreat area. Currently, our smaller town house has enough rooms for that.
That’s all I can think of for now. Since you can only make minor corrections here within a few minutes (ugh), I’ll just follow up if I forget something.
Maulwurfbau schrieb:
Keeping the wet rooms on the ground floor and first floor together is quite clever to avoid running water supply and drainage lines across the entire house. But based on your suggestions and judgments, I probably have to give this up, You don’t have to give it up. What works well is:
- Toilets stacked above each other
- Wash areas with short pipe runs to the heating system.
But a few meters of deviation are not a problem. You can still have technically flawless installations.
Personally, I make sure that toilets are installed close to an exterior wall: this helps keep the rest of the house cleaner in case a blockage requires opening the pipes.
The drainage lines from the kitchen are more flexible.
Ibdk14 schrieb:
Placing the entrance on the north side next to the driveway to the garage, rather than on the east side, simplifies the floor plan a lot, especially for a narrow house, but you really need to think that through carefully. However, the house is not narrow at 9 meters (30 feet)… with the west garden, you also create an L-shaped hallway… that’s possible, but it is a consequence.
Maulwurfbau schrieb:
If a garage of 3 meters (10 feet) width is added on the side, the house width is limited to a maximum of 10 meters (33 feet) on this plot. Currently, the footprint is around 9.15 x 12.5 meters (30 x 41 feet) or so. That’s not set in stone. I don’t think it makes sense here to make the house as wide as possible.
Maulwurfbau schrieb:
Well, since the plot is only 16 meters (52 feet) wide and on the south side there is only a 3-meter (10 feet) garden strip left, You could also think in the other direction and make the house narrower and longer. I don’t know: is there a building limit or building boundary?
Maulwurfbau schrieb:
Currently, my south side is the neighbor’s north side, where their garage is directly on the boundary, and their driveway. So everything on our south side faces the neighbor’s driveway and garage at a distance of 3 meters (10 feet). Every plot has neighbors like this. Free yourself from the idea that you’ll be looking at your neighbor. You don’t have to, and a house design also includes some landscaping to direct the residents’ view toward the garden, not the neighbor. This is usually done with hedges and shrubs—things you own yourself. You can plant hedges in front of a neighbor’s garage, or you can even use the neighbor’s nice white garage facade as an eye-catcher. Also, don’t forget that this is precisely why you avoid placing windows facing south here. South-facing sun is important and it comes from above onto a 3-meter (10 feet) strip into the house. And no one can look in there. In the evenings, you can use blinds.
M
Maulwurfbau14 Aug 2023 16:12ypg schrieb:
One could also consider thinking in the opposite direction and make the house narrower and longer. I don’t know: is there a building boundary? Yes, there is. You need to leave 3 m (10 feet) of space to the street, and then there is a 13 m (43 feet) building envelope along the long side. The rest is limited by regulations. See the seats. The house in the south also has 2 full stories.
H
hanghaus202314 Aug 2023 17:45Maulwurfbau schrieb:
That makes sense. It’s not about a hillside house after all. You are completely mistaken. My suggestion in post #68 meets all your requirements. I even adjusted the size to 9.15 * 12 m (30 ft * 39 ft). I haven’t received any feedback from you. That’s discouraging.
Maulwurfbau schrieb:
Tools from Dad. [...] No garage, parking space about 50 m (160 feet) away from the front door.Dad? Are you Bernd (Stromberg)? The closest of my garages (the one for the car) is five hundred meters (1,640 feet) from the front door. When listing the pain points, you really have to be careful (seriously!) not to end up designing an “anti-I-don’t-have-it-right-now” house by accident instead of peacefully considering your needs.
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