ᐅ House and Floor Plan Design – Initial Architect’s Draft Available
Created on: 14 Oct 2020 18:29
P
Pinkiponk
As previously announced, our old house in Baden-Württemberg has now been sold, we have moved to the Leipzig district, and we can now focus on our new house. Due to our age, we have deliberately downsized both the lot size and the living space. We have a first architect’s draft. I have already noted a few change requests and am now looking forward to your additions, criticism, and suggestions. If further plans or similar are needed, I will gladly provide them as long as I have them available.
Thank you in advance for taking the time to help me.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Lot size: 567sqm (6,105 sqft)
Slope: visually not noticeable; if this is important information, I will look for where to find it
Site occupancy index: 0.35
Floor area ratio: 0.8
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: see attached drawing
Edge development: not allowed/desired on our part
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 2
Roof type: hipped roof
Style: classic, conservative
Orientation: ?
Maximum heights/limits: “Top of raw floor slab of ground floor to ridge height of main roof max. 11.5 meters (38 feet)”; “Top of raw floor slab of ground floor to eave height of main roof max. 7.0 meters (23 feet)”
Further requirements
Client Requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: we are trying to approximate the house shown in the photo below; however, without the gable projection; classic/conservative, hipped roof, town house
Basement, floors: no basement, 2 floors
Number of occupants, age: 1 male, 64 years old – 1 female, 58 years old
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor:
Ground floor → kitchen, shower bathroom, living/lounge room, utility room with kitchenette and floor drain, hallway;
Upper floor → bathroom with tub, bedroom, 2 “wardrobe and storage rooms”
Office: family use or home office? Couple without children, no home office
Number of overnight guests per year: 10
Open or closed architecture: open on the outside, closed on the inside
Conservative or modern construction: conservative
Open kitchen, cooking island: no, classical L-shaped kitchen or similar (the plan includes a cooking island that will not be built)
Number of dining seats: 2 in the kitchen, up to 6–8 in the living/lounge room
Fireplace: gas stove chimney
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: both no
Garage, carport: 2 arched carports
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: both no
Additional wishes/particulars/daily routine, also reasons why some things should or should not be
House Design
Who created the plan:
– Planner from a construction company: yes, in cooperation with the clients
– Architect: unclear
– Do-it-yourself: yes, in cooperation with the prefabricated house manufacturer’s planner
What do you especially like? Why? Many windows and patio doors, lots of natural light and fresh air
What do you not like? Why? The windows on the upper floor are too low in the plan, but this will be changed
Price estimate according to architect/planner: already commissioned offer/order €312,780.00 (without carport, outdoor facilities, additional construction costs, land, ...)
Personal price limit for the house including equipment: €400,000.00
Preferred heating system: gas condensing boiler plus solar thermal (according to legal requirements)
If you have to forgo something, which details/upgrades
– What you can give up: we are already giving up shutters, whirlpool
– What you cannot give up: many windows and patio doors, muntins in the windows and doors
Why is the design as it is? For example:
A mixture of many examples from various magazines…
What do you think makes it good or bad? It generally meets our wishes. On the ground floor, we want access to the garden from every room. We find symmetry more pleasing than asymmetry. Few different window and door formats. No horizontal (“lying”) windows. Each of us has a separate room for clothing and such, so that no wardrobes have to be placed in the bedroom. We do not want a separate dressing room.
What is the most important/fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
The roof seems somewhat steep to me. Is a 30-degree roof pitch for a house with a base of 9.40m x 9.40m (31 feet x 31 feet) too steep? The standard according to the provider is 22 degrees. That seemed too flat, or you can hardly see the roof.
The development plan was too large to upload; I will try again in a separate post in this thread.
Thank you in advance for taking the time to help me.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Lot size: 567sqm (6,105 sqft)
Slope: visually not noticeable; if this is important information, I will look for where to find it
Site occupancy index: 0.35
Floor area ratio: 0.8
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: see attached drawing
Edge development: not allowed/desired on our part
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 2
Roof type: hipped roof
Style: classic, conservative
Orientation: ?
Maximum heights/limits: “Top of raw floor slab of ground floor to ridge height of main roof max. 11.5 meters (38 feet)”; “Top of raw floor slab of ground floor to eave height of main roof max. 7.0 meters (23 feet)”
Further requirements
Client Requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: we are trying to approximate the house shown in the photo below; however, without the gable projection; classic/conservative, hipped roof, town house
Basement, floors: no basement, 2 floors
Number of occupants, age: 1 male, 64 years old – 1 female, 58 years old
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor:
Ground floor → kitchen, shower bathroom, living/lounge room, utility room with kitchenette and floor drain, hallway;
Upper floor → bathroom with tub, bedroom, 2 “wardrobe and storage rooms”
Office: family use or home office? Couple without children, no home office
Number of overnight guests per year: 10
Open or closed architecture: open on the outside, closed on the inside
Conservative or modern construction: conservative
Open kitchen, cooking island: no, classical L-shaped kitchen or similar (the plan includes a cooking island that will not be built)
Number of dining seats: 2 in the kitchen, up to 6–8 in the living/lounge room
Fireplace: gas stove chimney
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: both no
Garage, carport: 2 arched carports
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: both no
Additional wishes/particulars/daily routine, also reasons why some things should or should not be
House Design
Who created the plan:
– Planner from a construction company: yes, in cooperation with the clients
– Architect: unclear
– Do-it-yourself: yes, in cooperation with the prefabricated house manufacturer’s planner
What do you especially like? Why? Many windows and patio doors, lots of natural light and fresh air
What do you not like? Why? The windows on the upper floor are too low in the plan, but this will be changed
Price estimate according to architect/planner: already commissioned offer/order €312,780.00 (without carport, outdoor facilities, additional construction costs, land, ...)
Personal price limit for the house including equipment: €400,000.00
Preferred heating system: gas condensing boiler plus solar thermal (according to legal requirements)
If you have to forgo something, which details/upgrades
– What you can give up: we are already giving up shutters, whirlpool
– What you cannot give up: many windows and patio doors, muntins in the windows and doors
Why is the design as it is? For example:
A mixture of many examples from various magazines…
What do you think makes it good or bad? It generally meets our wishes. On the ground floor, we want access to the garden from every room. We find symmetry more pleasing than asymmetry. Few different window and door formats. No horizontal (“lying”) windows. Each of us has a separate room for clothing and such, so that no wardrobes have to be placed in the bedroom. We do not want a separate dressing room.
What is the most important/fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
The roof seems somewhat steep to me. Is a 30-degree roof pitch for a house with a base of 9.40m x 9.40m (31 feet x 31 feet) too steep? The standard according to the provider is 22 degrees. That seemed too flat, or you can hardly see the roof.
The development plan was too large to upload; I will try again in a separate post in this thread.
I also believe that it’s less about the threshold itself and more about not having a step down there. This can of course be adjusted with the terrace level. Whether you build around the window sill or not should depend on whether the window sill is meant to be walkable or not, personal preference, and the desired terrace design.
For example, I am currently planning a terrace as a wooden deck, which will be level with the finished floor surface. The window frame will remain below as about a 3cm (1 inch) threshold, and where the terrace is located in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, there will be no window sill. The terrace will extend into the recess. I’m still undecided about adding a drainage channel there, as the terrace will be about 40cm (16 inches) above ground level. In my view, the slope of the terrace should be sufficient to drain any water arriving there. And yes, I will not install the decking boards tightly jammed together, even though cow dung certainly shouldn’t fall through either.
Where there is no terrace (I have three other ground-level windows), I will probably install walkable stone window sills. That will create a step down to the garden…
For example, I am currently planning a terrace as a wooden deck, which will be level with the finished floor surface. The window frame will remain below as about a 3cm (1 inch) threshold, and where the terrace is located in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, there will be no window sill. The terrace will extend into the recess. I’m still undecided about adding a drainage channel there, as the terrace will be about 40cm (16 inches) above ground level. In my view, the slope of the terrace should be sufficient to drain any water arriving there. And yes, I will not install the decking boards tightly jammed together, even though cow dung certainly shouldn’t fall through either.
Where there is no terrace (I have three other ground-level windows), I will probably install walkable stone window sills. That will create a step down to the garden…
Sounds interesting. Could someone explain what exactly you need to say or request during the selection process to get all the windows floor-to-ceiling with the terrace?
The way Tolentino described it here (with the terrace flooring running into the window reveal) sounds like a very neat solution to me. What should be considered here to make sure it’s ordered correctly during the selection? For us, this would involve a lift-and-slide door, a fixed glazing panel, and two floor-to-ceiling tilt-and-turn windows. Is it possible to arrange this for all existing windows?
The way Tolentino described it here (with the terrace flooring running into the window reveal) sounds like a very neat solution to me. What should be considered here to make sure it’s ordered correctly during the selection? For us, this would involve a lift-and-slide door, a fixed glazing panel, and two floor-to-ceiling tilt-and-turn windows. Is it possible to arrange this for all existing windows?
It is important to seal the window reveal from horizontal to vertical. Our inspector was specifically there for this. It is probably more difficult with window sills.
We clearly specified which door must be without a threshold.
Any other requirements for a terrace height level with the finished floor surface will be set by the general contractor.
We clearly specified which door must be without a threshold.
Any other requirements for a terrace height level with the finished floor surface will be set by the general contractor.
Having a completely flush transition from indoors to outdoors, essentially without any threshold, is a bit hard for me to imagine, since the window sash has to press against some kind of frame to close tightly. At least some overlap is present in every case, in my opinion. This can certainly be minimized, but all trades involved (from the shell builder, through screeding and tiling/flooring installers, to window manufacturers/installers and landscapers) must work with minimal tolerances.
If the terrace leads into the reveal, the landscaper or whoever is building the terrace has to manage that. Proper sealing at the window connection is crucial here. This is a very common point of dispute among the trades. In theory, it could be done by the window installer, plasterer, landscaper, or even the roofer (strangely enough, since roofers are very knowledgeable about sealing). What matters is that it is clearly defined who will do it and exactly how (for which specification).
The easiest approach is to know in advance exactly how you want each window. Then the contractor can incorporate this into their planning, and a general contractor or construction manager will select the appropriate subcontractors for each task. An architect takes this into account when preparing the tenders.
It becomes difficult when the terrace, as often happens, is a DIY project. In that case, you should expect that the other trades will do as little as possible…
If the terrace leads into the reveal, the landscaper or whoever is building the terrace has to manage that. Proper sealing at the window connection is crucial here. This is a very common point of dispute among the trades. In theory, it could be done by the window installer, plasterer, landscaper, or even the roofer (strangely enough, since roofers are very knowledgeable about sealing). What matters is that it is clearly defined who will do it and exactly how (for which specification).
The easiest approach is to know in advance exactly how you want each window. Then the contractor can incorporate this into their planning, and a general contractor or construction manager will select the appropriate subcontractors for each task. An architect takes this into account when preparing the tenders.
It becomes difficult when the terrace, as often happens, is a DIY project. In that case, you should expect that the other trades will do as little as possible…
That sounds very complicated... I think I’ll get back to you in a few months, right after the selection appointment, so I can share what they told me and possibly make changes through you 🙂. I’m using a prefab house provider like Pinkiponk, and I don’t think I can have much say regarding the trades, except that the terrace is actually self-performed 😕.
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