ᐅ Searching for Ideas: Floor Plan on the Plot / Garage Situation
Created on: 10 Sep 2021 09:45
M
Mietzi_Mietz
Hello everyone,
We’re in the relatively fortunate position of possibly acquiring a plot of land... In our region in the Oberallgäu area, finding an affordable plot is anything but easy.
We have already contacted some prefab home suppliers and received an offer for a house that would meet our needs. We also considered building locally, but due to our limited budget, that probably won’t be possible.
Now the question is whether we want to take the plot if we get it, no matter what or not. Honestly, we can’t be too picky here, as there are long waiting lists for years or the prices are extremely high.
So, about the plot: it’s house number 3.
The development is in a small district of a small municipality. The road at the house is only for traffic related to the development and therefore sees little traffic.
Since we are only allowed a 0.9m (3 feet) fence height along the street, we are likely to orient the garden to the south towards the neighbor’s existing garage. There we could put up a higher privacy screen since it’s not directly by the street.
As we won’t have a basement, we are currently planning a double garage.
The local building regulations do not specify roof ridge directions, so we can position the house as we wish.
We also need to maintain a 5-meter (16 feet) distance from the street in front of the garage.
Otherwise, the development plan is quite generous; we only have a maximum ridge beam height and no other restrictions. The floor area ratio is also absolutely fine.
My problem is that the longer I look at the plot, the fewer ideas I have or the more negative my thoughts get.
So I’m hoping to get some ideas here that we can pursue...
Just for an overview...
Our neighboring plot to the south is already built on, the eastern one not yet. The neighbor there intends to place the garage on the border to our property, so this is why we are considering positioning our garage in the same location...
Here are two very rough sketches. Obviously, the house is not finalized, but this is roughly the direction we’re heading.
In this version, the garage and house are parallel, but we’re a bit concerned that the living room might get quite little light, so we probably won’t build the garage directly attached.
Later we thought about having a small covered area for trash bins etc. at the front side of the garage facing the house.
Or rotate everything a bit so the living room is farther from the garage...
In this layout, there would be about 1.7m (5.5 feet) gap at the front and 2.5m (8 feet) at the back between house and garage, but everything is kind of skewed 😀
Another alternative would be to place the garage on the east side and possibly create an east-facing terrace behind the garage and a smaller one to the south.
We would then be closer to the western property boundary...
I think I’m simply insecure because our building envelope is so crooked and skewed, and I lack the imagination to visualize it properly.
If any information is missing that would be necessary for rough brainstorming, I’ll gladly find out. 🙂
Also, I’d appreciate any general impressions you have of the plot.
Some say it’s better to have a quiet street on one side than a neighbor who might become annoying someday, others say definitely not on a street at all, etc.
We’re in the relatively fortunate position of possibly acquiring a plot of land... In our region in the Oberallgäu area, finding an affordable plot is anything but easy.
We have already contacted some prefab home suppliers and received an offer for a house that would meet our needs. We also considered building locally, but due to our limited budget, that probably won’t be possible.
Now the question is whether we want to take the plot if we get it, no matter what or not. Honestly, we can’t be too picky here, as there are long waiting lists for years or the prices are extremely high.
So, about the plot: it’s house number 3.
The development is in a small district of a small municipality. The road at the house is only for traffic related to the development and therefore sees little traffic.
Since we are only allowed a 0.9m (3 feet) fence height along the street, we are likely to orient the garden to the south towards the neighbor’s existing garage. There we could put up a higher privacy screen since it’s not directly by the street.
As we won’t have a basement, we are currently planning a double garage.
The local building regulations do not specify roof ridge directions, so we can position the house as we wish.
We also need to maintain a 5-meter (16 feet) distance from the street in front of the garage.
Otherwise, the development plan is quite generous; we only have a maximum ridge beam height and no other restrictions. The floor area ratio is also absolutely fine.
My problem is that the longer I look at the plot, the fewer ideas I have or the more negative my thoughts get.
So I’m hoping to get some ideas here that we can pursue...
Just for an overview...
Our neighboring plot to the south is already built on, the eastern one not yet. The neighbor there intends to place the garage on the border to our property, so this is why we are considering positioning our garage in the same location...
Here are two very rough sketches. Obviously, the house is not finalized, but this is roughly the direction we’re heading.
In this version, the garage and house are parallel, but we’re a bit concerned that the living room might get quite little light, so we probably won’t build the garage directly attached.
Later we thought about having a small covered area for trash bins etc. at the front side of the garage facing the house.
Or rotate everything a bit so the living room is farther from the garage...
In this layout, there would be about 1.7m (5.5 feet) gap at the front and 2.5m (8 feet) at the back between house and garage, but everything is kind of skewed 😀
Another alternative would be to place the garage on the east side and possibly create an east-facing terrace behind the garage and a smaller one to the south.
We would then be closer to the western property boundary...
I think I’m simply insecure because our building envelope is so crooked and skewed, and I lack the imagination to visualize it properly.
If any information is missing that would be necessary for rough brainstorming, I’ll gladly find out. 🙂
Also, I’d appreciate any general impressions you have of the plot.
Some say it’s better to have a quiet street on one side than a neighbor who might become annoying someday, others say definitely not on a street at all, etc.
Mietzi_Mietz schrieb:
The kitchen layout isn’t final yet, that was just an example. We can still move the L-shape further south, and we don’t plan to have a breakfast bar or seating area there anyway.That won’t help if you stretch a narrow kitchen even further in length, making it difficult to maintain ergonomic workflow.Mietzi_Mietz schrieb:
Our current kitchen is rather small but actually has everything we need 🙂You want a bit more comfort, and at least you should consider that technology also reaches kitchens over time, with additional appliances gradually being added. My grandmother praised her washboard but eventually wanted a washing machine 😉Although I don’t think it makes much sense to discuss a ground floor plan without the upper floor (it really isn’t practical), here is a sketch to illustrate the proper size ratio between living room and kitchen.
You can clearly see where the staircase fits better than near the entrance at the dirty zone – namely where I marked AB.
H
hampshire13 Sep 2021 14:00I think, as [USER=12491]@ypg already mentioned, you need to consider the plot, the house, and the garage as a whole in order to achieve a truly good result. Otherwise, you are trying to piece together elements from different puzzles, which is naturally not so easy.
Regarding local suppliers and costs: Some carpentry companies are very well organized, standardized, and process-optimized for home construction, competitively priced, and can deliver turnkey solutions if needed. The same probably applies to solid masonry builders, although I have less insight into that.
On the topic of costs in general: It is often more sensible not to fixate on a specific size in square meters but instead focus on designing the best floor plan for family living on the plot. This can save building volume and thus reduce construction costs. Looking around locally is also worthwhile here.
Regarding local suppliers and costs: Some carpentry companies are very well organized, standardized, and process-optimized for home construction, competitively priced, and can deliver turnkey solutions if needed. The same probably applies to solid masonry builders, although I have less insight into that.
On the topic of costs in general: It is often more sensible not to fixate on a specific size in square meters but instead focus on designing the best floor plan for family living on the plot. This can save building volume and thus reduce construction costs. Looking around locally is also worthwhile here.
With regional providers, you often have to look closely at what is actually included.
At our supplier, many items were included that others required the builder to provide on site, such as a construction toilet or waste disposal. There were no “planned” hidden costs. Even an insurance package was included, covering the residential building with elemental coverage for the first year.
Additionally, prices for items like tiles were set so that we could choose 95% of the tiles at the tile showroom without extra charges.
Spontaneous changes on site were handled directly through the subcontractors, not through the general contractor.
We learned that the supposedly expensive provider was not more costly at all and offered a lot more in return.
At our supplier, many items were included that others required the builder to provide on site, such as a construction toilet or waste disposal. There were no “planned” hidden costs. Even an insurance package was included, covering the residential building with elemental coverage for the first year.
Additionally, prices for items like tiles were set so that we could choose 95% of the tiles at the tile showroom without extra charges.
Spontaneous changes on site were handled directly through the subcontractors, not through the general contractor.
We learned that the supposedly expensive provider was not more costly at all and offered a lot more in return.
Mietzi_Mietz schrieb:
Another alternative would be to place the garage on the east side and possibly create an east-facing terrace behind the garage, with a smaller one on the south. Just a simple question ... with the top of the plan being north ... why then the suggestion "garage on the east" ...?
As drawn, I don’t think that would be a bad idea ... and then you can start thinking about the floor plan. You don’t have to place privacy screens for the seating area right on the property line; you can also cleverly arrange them around the terrace.
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