ᐅ L-Shaped Floor Plan – What Are Your Thoughts?

Created on: 22 Mar 2020 23:12
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Ypsi aus NI
Hello dear forum members,

as mentioned in the introduction thread, here is the current status of our house planning.
The plot is located in the second row and is accessible via the courtyard of the front house (shared driveway).
Currently, there are existing buildings on the plot that need to be demolished.

We have already had a few planning discussions with construction companies, and honestly, I have to say I am shocked by their “professionalism.” We have now specifically selected companies where consultation takes place with architects and not, for example, a trained cook (no joke, that actually happened!). In addition, we are already annoyed by the question: “What do you want to build? A shell bungalow or a single-family house?” When we say: “Let’s work out the floor plan step by step and see which shape and roof pitch result, then we can still decide the official house type,” we only get strange looks. There were no independent ideas tailored to the plot... When asking what they would recommend, we just get a questioning look. I have to say, I expected more, but maybe it is normal that you have to bring the initial idea for the floor plan yourself...

Due to the current situation, further appointments with the construction companies are difficult to arrange. So we are using the time to plan ourselves. After tapping into your collective intelligence in the first step, we will then send our draft to the companies including the issues we still see. They will then have the chance to optimize and price our draft for the next consultation.
For us, the heart of the house is the ground floor; the upper floor follows from the ground floor plan (room layout, bathroom above utility room, windows, etc.). The upper floor is located on the exterior walls of the ground floor to the right (north) and bottom (east) of the plan, while to the left (south) and top (west) it is limited to the “main rectangle” or recessed by 1.5m (roughly 5 feet).

Attached you will find the completed questionnaire. Unanswered questions I have not included anymore.

We are very curious about your opinion!

Many thanks in advance.
Ypsi aus NI

Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size approx. 700 sqm
Floor area ratio (FAR) 0.3
Site coverage ratio 0.3
Building window, building line and boundary 3m (10 feet) from the neighbor’s boundary
Number of floors 1 full story
open development


Client Requirements
Style, roof shape, building type (Mediterranean) urban villa
Basement, floors 1.5 floors
Number of occupants, age 2 people + planned children
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor GF = 130-140 sqm (1400-1500 sq ft), UF = 50-60 sqm (540-650 sq ft)
Open or closed architecture open
Conservative or modern construction modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island kitchen island
Number of dining seats 6-8
Fireplace wood stove
Balcony, roof terrace possibly roof terrace (flat roof on both volumes)
Garage, carport double garage

House Design
Planned by: Do-it-Yourself
What do you like in particular? Why? Shape fits well into the plot, living area is somewhat separated, kitchen and dining table as central element
What do you dislike? Why? Is the staircase suitable? Is the entrance spacious enough? Can the private rooms on the ground floor be arranged this way?
Preferred heating technology: heat pump

Why did the design develop this way?
We consider the plot relatively narrow. Normally, a rectangular house shape would make sense, using the full width of the plot. But then you lose the best side (south). The floor plan was developed according to “form follows function” and we really like it now (I mean the L-shape, not necessarily the individual room layout).
An interesting idea is not to realize the two wings on the upper floor with a hip roof, but instead to have a flat roof to possibly create one or two roof terraces.
The original wish was for a bungalow, but we realized that it consumes too much floor space. A good compromise for us is to have the master bedroom and master bathroom on the ground floor, and the children’s rooms plus office upstairs.

What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
Are there fundamental planning mistakes we have overlooked so far?

Floor plan: open kitchen, dining area, living room, hallway, bathroom, bedroom, utility room, guest WC.


Floor plan of a building with five rooms (Room 1-5) and area information in sqm.


Aerial view of a plot: house with double garage, red marked outline, adjacent street.
11ant7 May 2020 15:14
haydee schrieb:

Many include a note that additional costs may arise if changes are required due to structural engineering calculations.
This could partly explain the incredible extra cost: if the five thousand only referred to concrete and steel (which would still be quite affordable). I don’t know how much the building might move into a different fee category for the structural engineer.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
H
haydee
7 May 2020 17:02
Is the offered steel beam sufficient for the structural design, or does this not include the engineer’s fee? If not, check the small print in the contract.

What about waterproofing for the recessed storey? Does this require additional work?
11ant7 May 2020 18:04
haydee schrieb:

How is the waterproofing done for the recessed floor? Does it require more work?

The "Isokorb" gimmicks are quite a significant cost factor here. Before the energy-saving regulations, I would have expected the "do-it-yourself after work, no invoice needed, honey" price to be more likely – so I am honestly quite surprised it’s only around five thousand.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Y
Ypsi aus NI
7 May 2020 20:36
11ant schrieb:

The "Isokorb" jokes are actually a significant cost driver here.
What is that supposed to be?
11ant7 May 2020 21:10
Ypsi aus NI schrieb:

What is that supposed to be?
"Isokorb" is a product name from the manufacturer Schöck for thermal insulators that need to be installed in concrete components, for example when essentially the same concrete element partly lies within the building’s thermal envelope (such as a floor slab between the ground floor and the upper floor) and partly forms the building’s exterior envelope (like the ceiling of the ground floor with the roof area above, before the recessed upper floor). In such cases, the element must be divided into two parts that are thermally independent but must remain structurally connected. It’s essentially the “square of the circle,” so to speak. This task becomes especially challenging if it is expected to be done at a low cost. We already discussed this topic some time ago in this https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/grundrissentwurf-für-220m-Einfamilienhaus.24702/page-44#post-215782 thread. Before energy saving regulations, such projections (or cantilevers, for example as porch roofs) were simply kept free of ice by means of thermal bridging.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Y
Ypsi aus NI
8 May 2020 10:41
A general question... How did you approach comparing different quotes?
I was thinking of creating a simple Excel sheet where I list the various categories of the construction scope of work side by side, and do the same for the quantities.
Do you have any other clever ideas?