Hello everyone!
After taking some time to consider our architect’s design and adjusting the ground floor to fit our ideas, I would now like to share the floor plan with you. Ideally, construction would start next year, but we are not in a real hurry.
The plans show a second preliminary draft from our architect, including an initial cost estimate. Unfortunately, dimensions are not included yet. The first draft was mainly to illustrate that our dreams cannot be realized within the original budget we had planned.
Development plan/restrictions
Plot size => approx. 450-500 m² (The exact size is not yet fixed as we are receiving the plot as a gift from my parents, and we are still unsure about the future boundaries.)
Slope => slight slope from west to east (approx. 1m (3 feet) over the house’s length)
[I]The house has an almost ideal north/south orientation. The entrance, carport, and driveway are therefore located on the north side.[/I]
- There is no development plan.
Homeowner requirements:
Style, roof type, building type => flat roof with roof terrace
Exterior dimensions => [I]11.80m x 7.2m (39 feet x 24 feet) with a bay window of 4.4m x 1.5m (14 feet x 5 feet) (no specification from us)
[/I]
Basement, floors => basement with a granny flat + 2 full floors + roof terrace
Number of people, age => 2 adults in the main living unit + 2 children expected soon + 1 person in the granny flat
Office: family use or home office? => My wife is a teacher and will regularly do some work at home. I will be working from home up to 4 days a week in the future.
Open or closed architecture => open living/kitchen/dining area
Conservative or modern design => modern design
Open kitchen, kitchen island => open, yes, but no island (if possible, without overhead cabinets)
Number of dining seats => 6-10 people (table 2.4m x 1.0m (8 feet x 3 feet) + 8-10 chairs)
Fireplace => undecided (my wife wants one, I don’t – leaning towards no)
Music/stereo wall => no
Balcony, roof terrace => roof terrace
Garage, carport => 2x carport
Utility garden, greenhouse => no
House design
Planning by:
- our trusted architect.
What do you like in particular?:
- open kitchen, cube on the roof with covered roof terrace, small utility room on the ground floor for washer and dryer
What do you dislike/what needs improvement?:
Basement – the layout needs optimization for a technical room.
Ground floor – should be mirrored west to east completely; we are also concerned that the living room width of 3.5m (11.5 feet) feels narrow and tunnel-shaped. I want the sofa on the north side and the TV on the south side.
Upper floor – 45° walls in the children’s bathroom
Preferred heating technology:
- gas boiler/solar vs. heat pump (air/water or geothermal) – still completely undecided, the floor plan should be finalized first, then heating load will be calculated.
If you had to do without certain features/extensions …
… what could you do without:
for now, the carport and basement finishing as well as expanding the children’s rooms + bathroom since we don’t have children yet. Otherwise, we would like everything included.
… what can’t you do without:
- open living area on the ground floor, granny flat, roof terrace
Since our architect is on vacation until early December, we are currently on a bit of a break, which we have used to reshape the ground floor according to our ideas.
[I][I]
We are now considering extending the longitudinal side by at least 50cm (preferably 1.0m (3 feet)) to increase the living room width from 3.5m (11.5 feet) to 4.0-4.5m (13-15 feet) (we extended the building by 1m (3 feet)).[/I]
We mirrored the plan from west to east to achieve a greater spatial separation between the living room and the granny flat. Additionally, we planned a niche for a side-by-side refrigerator – unfortunately at the expense of the already small utility room.
Sorry there are no measurements included yet, I will provide them as soon as possible. Please ask if you want specific dimensions.
Now to the architect’s cost estimate:
Site development: 7,000€
Surveying: 2,500€
Main house: 285,000€
Carport: 12,000€
Controlled ventilation system: 10,000€ (requested by us)
Sun protection: 7,500€
Ceiling spotlights: 2,000€ (requested by us)
Landscaping: 2,500€
Paved surfaces: 20,000€
Kitchen: 15,000€
Fireplace: 7,000€ (initially requested by us, now uncertain)
Architect fees approx.: 29,000€[/I]
Specialist experts, structural engineering, fire protection, energy saving regulations approx.: 11,000€
Total: 410,500€
The architect’s calculation assumes building costs of 326€/m³ (including VAT) of gross volume.
The living area currently is approx. 156m² (1,680 sq ft) + 38m² (410 sq ft) granny flat + 30m² (320 sq ft) usable space in the basement.
Calculating only on living area, that equates to around 1,470€/m² (137 USD/sq ft).
Including all costs, it comes to 2,110€/m² (197 USD/sq ft).
Does this seem realistic to you?
What do you think about the design? What would you improve?
I look forward to your suggestions!
Best regards, Mathias




After taking some time to consider our architect’s design and adjusting the ground floor to fit our ideas, I would now like to share the floor plan with you. Ideally, construction would start next year, but we are not in a real hurry.
The plans show a second preliminary draft from our architect, including an initial cost estimate. Unfortunately, dimensions are not included yet. The first draft was mainly to illustrate that our dreams cannot be realized within the original budget we had planned.
Development plan/restrictions
Plot size => approx. 450-500 m² (The exact size is not yet fixed as we are receiving the plot as a gift from my parents, and we are still unsure about the future boundaries.)
Slope => slight slope from west to east (approx. 1m (3 feet) over the house’s length)
[I]The house has an almost ideal north/south orientation. The entrance, carport, and driveway are therefore located on the north side.[/I]
- There is no development plan.
Homeowner requirements:
Style, roof type, building type => flat roof with roof terrace
Exterior dimensions => [I]11.80m x 7.2m (39 feet x 24 feet) with a bay window of 4.4m x 1.5m (14 feet x 5 feet) (no specification from us)
[/I]
Basement, floors => basement with a granny flat + 2 full floors + roof terrace
Number of people, age => 2 adults in the main living unit + 2 children expected soon + 1 person in the granny flat
Office: family use or home office? => My wife is a teacher and will regularly do some work at home. I will be working from home up to 4 days a week in the future.
Open or closed architecture => open living/kitchen/dining area
Conservative or modern design => modern design
Open kitchen, kitchen island => open, yes, but no island (if possible, without overhead cabinets)
Number of dining seats => 6-10 people (table 2.4m x 1.0m (8 feet x 3 feet) + 8-10 chairs)
Fireplace => undecided (my wife wants one, I don’t – leaning towards no)
Music/stereo wall => no
Balcony, roof terrace => roof terrace
Garage, carport => 2x carport
Utility garden, greenhouse => no
House design
Planning by:
- our trusted architect.
What do you like in particular?:
- open kitchen, cube on the roof with covered roof terrace, small utility room on the ground floor for washer and dryer
What do you dislike/what needs improvement?:
Basement – the layout needs optimization for a technical room.
Ground floor – should be mirrored west to east completely; we are also concerned that the living room width of 3.5m (11.5 feet) feels narrow and tunnel-shaped. I want the sofa on the north side and the TV on the south side.
Upper floor – 45° walls in the children’s bathroom
Preferred heating technology:
- gas boiler/solar vs. heat pump (air/water or geothermal) – still completely undecided, the floor plan should be finalized first, then heating load will be calculated.
If you had to do without certain features/extensions …
… what could you do without:
for now, the carport and basement finishing as well as expanding the children’s rooms + bathroom since we don’t have children yet. Otherwise, we would like everything included.
… what can’t you do without:
- open living area on the ground floor, granny flat, roof terrace
Since our architect is on vacation until early December, we are currently on a bit of a break, which we have used to reshape the ground floor according to our ideas.
[I][I]
We are now considering extending the longitudinal side by at least 50cm (preferably 1.0m (3 feet)) to increase the living room width from 3.5m (11.5 feet) to 4.0-4.5m (13-15 feet) (we extended the building by 1m (3 feet)).[/I]
We mirrored the plan from west to east to achieve a greater spatial separation between the living room and the granny flat. Additionally, we planned a niche for a side-by-side refrigerator – unfortunately at the expense of the already small utility room.
Sorry there are no measurements included yet, I will provide them as soon as possible. Please ask if you want specific dimensions.
Now to the architect’s cost estimate:
Site development: 7,000€
Surveying: 2,500€
Main house: 285,000€
Carport: 12,000€
Controlled ventilation system: 10,000€ (requested by us)
Sun protection: 7,500€
Ceiling spotlights: 2,000€ (requested by us)
Landscaping: 2,500€
Paved surfaces: 20,000€
Kitchen: 15,000€
Fireplace: 7,000€ (initially requested by us, now uncertain)
Architect fees approx.: 29,000€[/I]
Specialist experts, structural engineering, fire protection, energy saving regulations approx.: 11,000€
Total: 410,500€
The architect’s calculation assumes building costs of 326€/m³ (including VAT) of gross volume.
The living area currently is approx. 156m² (1,680 sq ft) + 38m² (410 sq ft) granny flat + 30m² (320 sq ft) usable space in the basement.
Calculating only on living area, that equates to around 1,470€/m² (137 USD/sq ft).
Including all costs, it comes to 2,110€/m² (197 USD/sq ft).
Does this seem realistic to you?
What do you think about the design? What would you improve?
I look forward to your suggestions!
Best regards, Mathias
ypg schrieb:
That may be true, but as a moderator, you read (almost) every post in the entire forum – with late replies, there’s usually no time to read the whole thread.
That’s why I’m asking!You could then appropriately change the thread title, please?
To something like "Split-Level with Roof Terrace"
B
Bauexperte13 Nov 2016 19:40Good evening Mathias,
Your architect calculates based on "his" figures; I derive mine from the evaluations I have made over the course of a year in the respective region, taking the architecture into account. For example, a split-level house is more complex than a traditional new build.
You refer to a "basement replacement room"; I simply call it a utility basement when naming the rooms in the basement level.
I calculated – based on the data I have from 2016 – €1,750.00 per square meter and €35,000 for the basement (utility basement), each including excavation and lateral storage costs.
You will be surprised by the sums requested for plumbing and heating!
You will only know for sure once all the tenders have been returned.
Best regards, Bauexperte
matte1987 schrieb:
I am wondering how such a big difference comes about.
Your architect calculates based on "his" figures; I derive mine from the evaluations I have made over the course of a year in the respective region, taking the architecture into account. For example, a split-level house is more complex than a traditional new build.
matte1987 schrieb:
May I ask how you arrive at the €350,000 for the house according to the Energy Saving Ordinance, including the utility basement (which utility basement exactly)?
You refer to a "basement replacement room"; I simply call it a utility basement when naming the rooms in the basement level.
I calculated – based on the data I have from 2016 – €1,750.00 per square meter and €35,000 for the basement (utility basement), each including excavation and lateral storage costs.
matte1987 schrieb:
The goal is to have quotes for the shell construction and roof by Christmas.
Then it will probably be clearer where things are headed, since that accounts for about 40% of the total construction cost.
You will be surprised by the sums requested for plumbing and heating!
You will only know for sure once all the tenders have been returned.
Best regards, Bauexperte
After learning today that construction will start in calendar week, here is the final status:
Due to the high quotes, we were forced to revise the house plans again if we don’t want to already use up our contingency at the start of construction.
- The separate volume for the master bedroom is completely removed; the bedroom will now be integrated into the main building body.
- The house was reduced in width along the entire length from 7.75m (25 feet 5 inches) to 7.50m (24 feet 7 inches).
- In return, the house was extended by 0.5m (20 inches) to a length of 16m (52 feet 6 inches).
- Even before the tender, for better furniture layout in the living room, we decided against floor-to-ceiling windows.
Except for a few minor details (external venetian blind housing, floor construction, stair rise), this is now the final version.
The insulation for the ground slab and the roof has not yet been clarified; this depends on the energy saving regulation compliance report, which is still being prepared.
I already addressed the bathroom in another thread; it will be built as shown.
We are now really looking forward to finally seeing something tangible after almost one and a half years of pure planning time.








Due to the high quotes, we were forced to revise the house plans again if we don’t want to already use up our contingency at the start of construction.
- The separate volume for the master bedroom is completely removed; the bedroom will now be integrated into the main building body.
- The house was reduced in width along the entire length from 7.75m (25 feet 5 inches) to 7.50m (24 feet 7 inches).
- In return, the house was extended by 0.5m (20 inches) to a length of 16m (52 feet 6 inches).
- Even before the tender, for better furniture layout in the living room, we decided against floor-to-ceiling windows.
Except for a few minor details (external venetian blind housing, floor construction, stair rise), this is now the final version.
The insulation for the ground slab and the roof has not yet been clarified; this depends on the energy saving regulation compliance report, which is still being prepared.
I already addressed the bathroom in another thread; it will be built as shown.
We are now really looking forward to finally seeing something tangible after almost one and a half years of pure planning time.
Similar topics