Hello,
we have been silent readers for quite some time. Now it is getting serious for us: we have a potential plot, a fixed-price contract with a prefab home builder is signed, and tomorrow is our first appointment with the architect.
I would like to briefly present our plans here and am already looking forward to feedback.
What is especially important to us:
1) A full story is specified, but the ridge height may be up to 9 m (29.5 ft). We want to increase the ground floor area using bay windows so that the usable space on the upper floor under the sloped ceilings is minimal (Hessen; upper floor max. 75% of ground floor with height >2.3 m (7.5 ft) from raw floor to the top of the roof structure). With this, we aim to achieve a knee wall of about 1.5 m (5 ft) clear height with a roof pitch of around 35°. This should keep the total height just under 9 m.
2) Due to our family situation, we need a spacious room on the ground floor (I call it guest) including a fully functional, accessible bathroom with barrier-free features.
I have attached the floor plan ideas. In the image showing the house and outdoor areas, the garden is slightly cut off at the top, meaning the garden extends a bit further. Unfortunately, it faces NNW.
A few details:
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: approx. 580 m² (6,243 sq ft). Width 16 m (52.5 ft), length 36 m (118 ft)
Slope: none
Site coverage ratio: 0.35
Floor space index: 0.7
Building envelope, building line and boundaries: 5 m (16.5 ft) distance from street, 3 m (10 ft) on right/left
Parking spaces: one single garage + one parking space in front and one beside
Number of stories: 1 full story
Roof type: gable roof
Style: timeless / rather modern
Orientation: plot faces NW, unfortunately
Maximum heights / limits: ridge height max. 9 m (29.5 ft) above finished street level
Homeowner requirements
Basement, stories: planned without basement unless soil report recommends it
Number of occupants, ages: 2 adults about 40 and 2 children aged 1 and 3 years at move-in
Room requirements ground floor / upper floor: total 170-180 m² (1,830-1,940 sq ft)
Office: family use or home office? See above – accessible living area
Guests per year: approx. 6
Open or closed architecture: rather open
Conservative or modern construction: timeless?
Open kitchen, island: open kitchen but slightly screened (so the dirty dishes aren’t visible from everywhere…)
Dining seats: 4, optionally more
Fireplace: rather no
Balcony, roof terrace: balcony from bedroom desired, facing street side because garden faces NW. So some sun can be caught in transitional seasons.
Garage, carport: 1 + 2 parking spaces
House design
Planning by: ourselves
What do we particularly like? We look forward to the relaxation/play area (or whatever one wants to call it) in the upper floor by the large window front to the west. We imagine large windows in the knee wall plus adjacent roof windows.
What don’t we like? Why? We don’t like the NW orientation, but setting the house further back also seems unfavorable.
Personal budget limit for the house incl. equipment: approx. €400,000 only for the house, i.e. excluding additional costs and excluding the plot, turnkey delivery
Preferred heating system: heat pump
If you had to give up any details/extras
- You can do without:
- You can’t do without: elevated knee wall despite single story, we’re willing to pay about €20,000 extra for this (mainly for the two bay windows)
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
How can we get the most out of the plan with a full story and a northwest orientation?
we have been silent readers for quite some time. Now it is getting serious for us: we have a potential plot, a fixed-price contract with a prefab home builder is signed, and tomorrow is our first appointment with the architect.
I would like to briefly present our plans here and am already looking forward to feedback.
What is especially important to us:
1) A full story is specified, but the ridge height may be up to 9 m (29.5 ft). We want to increase the ground floor area using bay windows so that the usable space on the upper floor under the sloped ceilings is minimal (Hessen; upper floor max. 75% of ground floor with height >2.3 m (7.5 ft) from raw floor to the top of the roof structure). With this, we aim to achieve a knee wall of about 1.5 m (5 ft) clear height with a roof pitch of around 35°. This should keep the total height just under 9 m.
2) Due to our family situation, we need a spacious room on the ground floor (I call it guest) including a fully functional, accessible bathroom with barrier-free features.
I have attached the floor plan ideas. In the image showing the house and outdoor areas, the garden is slightly cut off at the top, meaning the garden extends a bit further. Unfortunately, it faces NNW.
A few details:
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: approx. 580 m² (6,243 sq ft). Width 16 m (52.5 ft), length 36 m (118 ft)
Slope: none
Site coverage ratio: 0.35
Floor space index: 0.7
Building envelope, building line and boundaries: 5 m (16.5 ft) distance from street, 3 m (10 ft) on right/left
Parking spaces: one single garage + one parking space in front and one beside
Number of stories: 1 full story
Roof type: gable roof
Style: timeless / rather modern
Orientation: plot faces NW, unfortunately
Maximum heights / limits: ridge height max. 9 m (29.5 ft) above finished street level
Homeowner requirements
Basement, stories: planned without basement unless soil report recommends it
Number of occupants, ages: 2 adults about 40 and 2 children aged 1 and 3 years at move-in
Room requirements ground floor / upper floor: total 170-180 m² (1,830-1,940 sq ft)
Office: family use or home office? See above – accessible living area
Guests per year: approx. 6
Open or closed architecture: rather open
Conservative or modern construction: timeless?
Open kitchen, island: open kitchen but slightly screened (so the dirty dishes aren’t visible from everywhere…)
Dining seats: 4, optionally more
Fireplace: rather no
Balcony, roof terrace: balcony from bedroom desired, facing street side because garden faces NW. So some sun can be caught in transitional seasons.
Garage, carport: 1 + 2 parking spaces
House design
Planning by: ourselves
What do we particularly like? We look forward to the relaxation/play area (or whatever one wants to call it) in the upper floor by the large window front to the west. We imagine large windows in the knee wall plus adjacent roof windows.
What don’t we like? Why? We don’t like the NW orientation, but setting the house further back also seems unfavorable.
Personal budget limit for the house incl. equipment: approx. €400,000 only for the house, i.e. excluding additional costs and excluding the plot, turnkey delivery
Preferred heating system: heat pump
If you had to give up any details/extras
- You can do without:
- You can’t do without: elevated knee wall despite single story, we’re willing to pay about €20,000 extra for this (mainly for the two bay windows)
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
How can we get the most out of the plan with a full story and a northwest orientation?
Sheldor schrieb:
The house is only 3.5m (11.5 feet) from the left neighbor’s property line. Is a terrace still allowed here according to Hessian neighborhood law? Well, we will definitely discuss that with our architect.What do you mean by needing permission? Of course, an official terrace isn’t permitted. But who would really mind if you just lay a few extra slabs there?
The bay windows will be cheaper if you don’t design them as balconies; nobody really needs those, except someone with lots of money to spend. I can’t imagine you actually need the bay windows. Based on my rough sketches on graph paper, you don’t.
ypg schrieb:
Bay windows are cheaper if they aren’t designed as balconies; nobody really needs those, except maybe someone with a lot of money to waste.
I can’t imagine that you actually need the bay windows. From my sketches on graph paper, you don’t need them. @ypg Sweetie, have you been drinking? You’re repeating yourself a bit. 😀
What exactly did you sketch out?
kaho674 schrieb:
@ypg Sweetie, have you been drinking? You’re repeating yourself a bit. 😀
What did you scribble down there?Did I write this here already?
Hmm, no, I haven’t been drinking 😉
I’m talking about the bay window itself, not for the calculation, and definitely not as a balcony.
And it’s worth repeating, as it backs up some opinions here 🙂
ypg schrieb:
Did I already write this here? hm, no, I haven’t been drinking 😉 In this paragraph alone, you say three times that bay windows are not necessary. But don’t worry. It doesn’t diminish your beauty or intelligence. Just made me smile. 😉
kaho674 schrieb:
In that paragraph alone, you say three times that bay windows are not necessary. But don’t worry. It won’t diminish your beauty or intelligence. Just made me smile. 😉Darling, one thing is balconies, the other is wanting bay windows because of the full story height or because of the floor plan/house shape 😉
Yes, I admit, a bit confusing :P
Hello,
thank you very much for the feedback, I’m really amazed at how much thought you’re putting into this. We have now also had an initial meeting with our architect (as suspected, not an independent architect, but a partner architect from the prefab house provider).
You’re probably right about the balconies; at least one of them has already been dropped from the plan. My partner is still hanging on to the other one in front of the bedroom...
According to the architect, the knee wall would be around 1.4m (4.6 ft), which is better than I expected, and the two bay windows totaling 13m² (140 sq ft) would add another 30cm (1 ft) to the knee wall height. Well, we’ll see; you’re probably right about the costs. For those few square meters of living space, they are quite expensive.
Definitely more windows facing west, of course! It’s obvious really, but sometimes you just don’t see it. And also a west-facing terrace, even if it ends up a bit narrow.
The architect said that on the plot, he would try to stretch the house a bit more lengthwise (more like 12–13m by 8–9m (39–43 ft by 26–30 ft) rather than 11.5m by 9.5m (38 ft by 31 ft)). That would enlarge the west side and also raise the knee wall a bit more (the house would be a bit deeper because of the narrower width). Also, there would be more space for the terrace.
What do you think, would a house measuring about 12.5m by 8.8m (41 ft by 29 ft) still look good and be functional, or would it look odd? I hardly ever see it from the side myself...
We somehow need to figure out how to get the bathroom on the ground floor onto the east side, for example. It’s a bit of a shame to have it facing west.
By the way, the street to the south is probably very quiet—it’s the last road in the new development area. After that, there is a small wooded strip and fields.
Best regards!
thank you very much for the feedback, I’m really amazed at how much thought you’re putting into this. We have now also had an initial meeting with our architect (as suspected, not an independent architect, but a partner architect from the prefab house provider).
You’re probably right about the balconies; at least one of them has already been dropped from the plan. My partner is still hanging on to the other one in front of the bedroom...
According to the architect, the knee wall would be around 1.4m (4.6 ft), which is better than I expected, and the two bay windows totaling 13m² (140 sq ft) would add another 30cm (1 ft) to the knee wall height. Well, we’ll see; you’re probably right about the costs. For those few square meters of living space, they are quite expensive.
Definitely more windows facing west, of course! It’s obvious really, but sometimes you just don’t see it. And also a west-facing terrace, even if it ends up a bit narrow.
The architect said that on the plot, he would try to stretch the house a bit more lengthwise (more like 12–13m by 8–9m (39–43 ft by 26–30 ft) rather than 11.5m by 9.5m (38 ft by 31 ft)). That would enlarge the west side and also raise the knee wall a bit more (the house would be a bit deeper because of the narrower width). Also, there would be more space for the terrace.
What do you think, would a house measuring about 12.5m by 8.8m (41 ft by 29 ft) still look good and be functional, or would it look odd? I hardly ever see it from the side myself...
We somehow need to figure out how to get the bathroom on the ground floor onto the east side, for example. It’s a bit of a shame to have it facing west.
By the way, the street to the south is probably very quiet—it’s the last road in the new development area. After that, there is a small wooded strip and fields.
Best regards!
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