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
kbt09 schrieb:
@matte1987 ... I really like the plan every time Thank you!
We like it a lot as well.
However, we are currently a bit concerned about where the costs will ultimately lead, which is why I would be very grateful for an assessment from @Bauexperte...
Of course, this applies to everyone else as well. I appreciate every estimate.
So, plus additional construction-related costs, landscaping, and kitchen?
That would be about €80,000 more than what our architect estimated...
For the pure construction costs including controlled residential ventilation and exterior blinds, we are at €315,000.
So, about €375/m³ (11.88/ft³).
Your estimate would be €476/m³ (15.08/ft³).
That would be about €80,000 more than what our architect estimated...
For the pure construction costs including controlled residential ventilation and exterior blinds, we are at €315,000.
So, about €375/m³ (11.88/ft³).
Your estimate would be €476/m³ (15.08/ft³).
B
Bauexperte13 Nov 2016 11:12Hello,
sorry, I’ve been really busy
Single-family house including partial basement according to the Energy Saving Ordinance: approx. EUR 350,000
Controlled residential ventilation with heat recovery: approx. EUR 15,000
Attached carport: approx. EUR 18,000
Painting/flooring work included in the shell contract: EUR 25,000
Reserves for extras: EUR 10,000
Reserves for additional foundation costs: EUR 10,000 (split level)
Outdoor facilities included in the shell contract: EUR 10,000 (only essentials)
Additional construction costs: EUR 40,000
Total estimated cost: about EUR 478,000
I left out the heating system from the calculation since both options are roughly the same price. If you choose gas, however, expect additional costs due to higher insulation requirements. Regarding the roller shutters, I’m not sure which windows you plan to darken with them; I haven’t read the entire thread. Costs generally start at around €1,500.00 per window.
Best regards, Bauexperte
sorry, I’ve been really busy
matte1987 schrieb:First of all – it’s a very appealing design, congratulations! However, it won’t come cheap...
@Bauexperte
Regarding that, here are some details:
- Construction according to the 2016 Energy Saving Ordinance
- 840 m³ (29,650 ft³) enclosed volume
- 180 m² (1,940 ft²) living space + 17 m² (183 ft²) basement replacement room
- 36.5 cm (14 inches) masonry walls
- Triple-glazed windows
- Electric roller shutters
- Heating system not yet decided, either gas + solar or air-to-water heat pump
- Central controlled residential ventilation with heat recovery
- Double carport attached to the house (ideally not wood, but matching the house with concrete supports and flat roof)
Single-family house including partial basement according to the Energy Saving Ordinance: approx. EUR 350,000
Controlled residential ventilation with heat recovery: approx. EUR 15,000
Attached carport: approx. EUR 18,000
Painting/flooring work included in the shell contract: EUR 25,000
Reserves for extras: EUR 10,000
Reserves for additional foundation costs: EUR 10,000 (split level)
Outdoor facilities included in the shell contract: EUR 10,000 (only essentials)
Additional construction costs: EUR 40,000
Total estimated cost: about EUR 478,000
I left out the heating system from the calculation since both options are roughly the same price. If you choose gas, however, expect additional costs due to higher insulation requirements. Regarding the roller shutters, I’m not sure which windows you plan to darken with them; I haven’t read the entire thread. Costs generally start at around €1,500.00 per window.
Best regards, Bauexperte
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