ᐅ Is a split-level design recommended for building on a sloped site?
Created on: 29 Dec 2017 09:43
N
Nicki21Hello dear forum,
we have purchased a plot of land (428 m² (4607 sq ft)).
It has a slope of about 2.50 m (8 ft 2 in) from front to back.
The plot is 19 m (62 ft 4 in) wide and 22.5 m (74 ft) long.
Because of this slope, we are considering building our house using a split-level design.
Maybe someone has experience with this?
Best regards
we have purchased a plot of land (428 m² (4607 sq ft)).
It has a slope of about 2.50 m (8 ft 2 in) from front to back.
The plot is 19 m (62 ft 4 in) wide and 22.5 m (74 ft) long.
Because of this slope, we are considering building our house using a split-level design.
Maybe someone has experience with this?
Best regards
Welcome to the forum.
@matte1987 has just completed something like this. He definitely has information on it.
I myself live in a rented house built in the mid-1970s, with a split-level design. For us, this is a reason to build something of our own and avoid this setup again. You end up constantly going up and down stairs for every little thing. Bathroom visit – stairs, grabbing the vacuum cleaner – stairs, children's room – stairs.
Building age-appropriate homes, if that is important to you, is in my opinion impossible without a space for an elevator shaft in a split-level house. No stairlift in the world can solve that.
Advantage: evolutionary pressure on the kids . Because we would typically have had to install more than four safety gates to secure the stairs, we deliberately skipped that and instead practiced stair climbing intensively.
@matte1987 has just completed something like this. He definitely has information on it.
I myself live in a rented house built in the mid-1970s, with a split-level design. For us, this is a reason to build something of our own and avoid this setup again. You end up constantly going up and down stairs for every little thing. Bathroom visit – stairs, grabbing the vacuum cleaner – stairs, children's room – stairs.
Building age-appropriate homes, if that is important to you, is in my opinion impossible without a space for an elevator shaft in a split-level house. No stairlift in the world can solve that.
Advantage: evolutionary pressure on the kids . Because we would typically have had to install more than four safety gates to secure the stairs, we deliberately skipped that and instead practiced stair climbing intensively.
How did you decide on a split-level design? Do you already have an architect? I would only consider this type of house with an architect who has experience with split-level homes.
Our property slopes about 3 meters (10 feet) over a length of approximately 35 meters (115 feet), with the driveway located at the lowest point.
We really wanted to be able to enter the house from the car at ground level (for heavy groceries, etc.). However, given the site layout, a traditional design would have required a driveway that compensates for about 1.5 meters (5 feet) of height difference over roughly 15 meters (50 feet). We would have had to drive up or down this ramp in reverse every time because there was no space at the top to turn around.
Eventually, we accepted that our wishes were difficult to reconcile with a sloped lot.
So, we designed the split-level house in a way that still allows level access:
Level 0: Driveway with carport and covered entrance, entrance hall with coat area and utility/laundry room
Level 1: Kitchen and dining area, parents’ suite
Level 2: Living room and guest toilet
Level 3: Children’s bedrooms, office, shower bathroom, storage room
Level 4: Hallway and roof terrace
We have a toilet on every relevant level (1, 2, and 3), so family members don’t always have to use the stairs to reach a bathroom.
Groceries now need to be carried up half a level, but I prefer doing that indoors and dry rather than outside on a wet or icy staircase. Also, I can first put everything down inside and then carry it up to the kitchen gradually.
I understand Alex’s criticisms, but many of those issues can be addressed or mitigated through careful planning.
As I mentioned, the multiple toilets help a lot.
We don’t need to get supplies from the basement or utility room because the kitchen is large enough to store everything. There is also ample space for waste and recycling in the kitchen, so we don’t have to climb stairs every time.
The vacuum cleaner issue also became apparent quickly. We solved this by adding a cleaning closet on level 1 where the vacuum is stored.
We’re also adding a robot vacuum that can be used on all floors. Since these can’t fully replace a regular vacuum, we keep a smaller vacuum in the storage room on level 3 to minimize carrying the vacuum up and down stairs.
I don’t quite understand the objection to stairs in relation to the children’s rooms. That’s normal in any multi-story house—except for bungalows.
Ultimately, a lot depends on smart planning.
I think we found a good solution. There are seven steps from the entrance to the kitchen.
From there, the house feels almost like a normal home, as the children’s bedrooms are only one flight of stairs away.
The only real difference is the height difference between the kitchen and living room.
Interestingly, this has helped me reduce my trips to the kitchen for sweets in the evening—good news for my fitness.
Here is our plan in case anyone is interested:
https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/Haus-mit-Dachterrasse-in-passau.13943/
Regards
Our property slopes about 3 meters (10 feet) over a length of approximately 35 meters (115 feet), with the driveway located at the lowest point.
We really wanted to be able to enter the house from the car at ground level (for heavy groceries, etc.). However, given the site layout, a traditional design would have required a driveway that compensates for about 1.5 meters (5 feet) of height difference over roughly 15 meters (50 feet). We would have had to drive up or down this ramp in reverse every time because there was no space at the top to turn around.
Eventually, we accepted that our wishes were difficult to reconcile with a sloped lot.
So, we designed the split-level house in a way that still allows level access:
Level 0: Driveway with carport and covered entrance, entrance hall with coat area and utility/laundry room
Level 1: Kitchen and dining area, parents’ suite
Level 2: Living room and guest toilet
Level 3: Children’s bedrooms, office, shower bathroom, storage room
Level 4: Hallway and roof terrace
We have a toilet on every relevant level (1, 2, and 3), so family members don’t always have to use the stairs to reach a bathroom.
Groceries now need to be carried up half a level, but I prefer doing that indoors and dry rather than outside on a wet or icy staircase. Also, I can first put everything down inside and then carry it up to the kitchen gradually.
I understand Alex’s criticisms, but many of those issues can be addressed or mitigated through careful planning.
As I mentioned, the multiple toilets help a lot.
We don’t need to get supplies from the basement or utility room because the kitchen is large enough to store everything. There is also ample space for waste and recycling in the kitchen, so we don’t have to climb stairs every time.
The vacuum cleaner issue also became apparent quickly. We solved this by adding a cleaning closet on level 1 where the vacuum is stored.
We’re also adding a robot vacuum that can be used on all floors. Since these can’t fully replace a regular vacuum, we keep a smaller vacuum in the storage room on level 3 to minimize carrying the vacuum up and down stairs.
I don’t quite understand the objection to stairs in relation to the children’s rooms. That’s normal in any multi-story house—except for bungalows.
Ultimately, a lot depends on smart planning.
I think we found a good solution. There are seven steps from the entrance to the kitchen.
From there, the house feels almost like a normal home, as the children’s bedrooms are only one flight of stairs away.
The only real difference is the height difference between the kitchen and living room.
Interestingly, this has helped me reduce my trips to the kitchen for sweets in the evening—good news for my fitness.
Here is our plan in case anyone is interested:
https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/Haus-mit-Dachterrasse-in-passau.13943/
Regards
matte1987 schrieb:
I understand Alex’s points of criticism, but many of these issues can be addressed through proper planning so that they either do not arise or are at least less problematic.That might be the difference between a self-designed build and purchasing an existing property.
matte1987 schrieb:
I don’t quite understand the issue with having to climb stairs to the children’s bedrooms. That’s the case in every house—except for a bungalow.From the living room, yes, but not from the bedroom. Kids cry during the night → stairs, kids want to come to the parents’ bedroom → stairs. Bedrooms are usually all on one level, upstairs. In a split-level, each floor area is smaller, so you can’t fit three bedrooms on one level; instead, there are more levels.
Yes, in that sense I agree with you. For us, however, it was always clear that we wanted our bedroom on the ground floor.
I don’t want to sugarcoat anything. Of course, in a split-level house you will climb more stairs than in a conventional house.
After a year, I’ll probably be fed up with it as well. But you can’t have everything, and a sloped plot simply requires a different planning approach than a flat piece of land.
My dream home would also have been a bungalow, but that’s just how it is.
I don’t want to sugarcoat anything. Of course, in a split-level house you will climb more stairs than in a conventional house.
After a year, I’ll probably be fed up with it as well. But you can’t have everything, and a sloped plot simply requires a different planning approach than a flat piece of land.
My dream home would also have been a bungalow, but that’s just how it is.
Similar topics