ᐅ Help with Floor Plan for a Semi-Detached House – Which Entrance Makes More Sense?

Hello,

we are new here and currently planning our house build. We have purchased a plot for a semi-detached house, facing southwest. On the attached plan, it is number 17.
Now we have the following problem: The plot has access from the south, meaning our street and the driveway to the garage are on the south side. The small street running along the west side of the plot is only a bike and pedestrian path, so it is not accessible by car. We are now considering where to place the main entrance of the house. Since it is a semi-detached house, the entrance cannot be placed on the east side, which would have been our preferred option. Normally, the entrance would be placed on the north side, so that the garden can be nice on the southwest side. However, if the entrance is on the north, you have to walk through the garden or around it via the bike path to get from the garage to the entrance. We are wondering if people would actually do that or if everyone would just walk through the garden... We have now also drawn a possible entrance on the south side, but many people say you shouldn’t put the entrance there because it is the nicest side of the house. An architect suggested placing the entrance on the west side, but then I would really spoil the terrace and the evening sun... Maybe you could give us some advice, that would be really great, I’m already getting frustrated. 😕

Thanks in advance.

P.S.: Attached you will find the site plan, plot no. 17 is ours.
The other attachment is a self-drawn floor plan, with the ground floor on the left and the upper floor shown on the right.

Romsi schrieb:
Since it’s a semi-detached house, you can’t have the entrance on the east side, which would be our preferred option.

That’s not necessarily correct! It depends on the regulations in your local development plan. If the houses must be built with the same layout and your neighbor submits a request with the entrance on the south side, you have to follow that. But if there are no such requirements, why shouldn’t you be allowed to place the entrance on the west side? There are several semi-detached houses with entrances located in the northwest, where guests walk along the terrace and the house to reach the entrance.
There might be something specified in the development plan regulations, or you can call your local building authority to check whether you can position your entrance on the west side (with your neighbor’s entrance on the east).

ypg schrieb:

Don’t pay attention to what others define as "normal."
My colleague looks at our shell construction, standing in the utility room on the ground floor, and says: So this is where the washing machine will go. I: No, I do laundry upstairs. She: Why upstairs? I: Because that’s where the laundry accumulates. She *confused*: But people do laundry downstairs in the utility room. I: Why? She: That’s just how it’s done. I: Who says that?

It’s the same for us. We have a utility room downstairs for building services, storage, and supplies, and a second utility room upstairs for the washing machine, dryer, and drying rack. We call this space the “laundry logistics center.”

Why carry laundry twice through the house for washing? Laundry is generated right by the bathroom and bedroom and should also be processed there.

What are the disadvantages of having an entrance in the northwest? (So, on the west side but towards the northern part.)

Friends have an entrance like this in their semi-detached house, and I think they have a well-designed floor plan. Their house is built about 0.5 meters (1.6 feet) above ground level, so their terrace is somewhat elevated. The pathway runs along the house below the terrace, and you go up three steps to the front door. It looks quite nice there.

Wastl schrieb:
...There are some semi-detached houses with the entrance on the northwest side, where guests walk along the terrace and the house to reach the door.

@Wastl: I have already mentioned it: because NOBODY does that! Visitors who park in front of the garden tend to knock on the terrace door and press their noses against the glass rather than walk around the house. We've been experiencing this for 14 years! Even strangers stand on the terrace...