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?
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?
Y
Ypsi aus NI23 Mar 2020 08:51Good morning,
@11ant: Children are planned, but not yet here. That’s correct. Rooms 3 and 4 are preferably the children’s bedrooms, as they have a nice south-facing orientation. Room 1 is planned as an office (home office).
Regarding your question about the extensions: The L-shape (the blocks extending to the left and upwards on the plan) are not just simple extensions. The ground floor is a full level, similar to a bungalow. Another floor (probably set back slightly) will be built on top of it.
I have attached another image showing both floors stacked on top of each other. This way you can see the walls of both floors. I hope this helps to explain?
@11ant: Children are planned, but not yet here. That’s correct. Rooms 3 and 4 are preferably the children’s bedrooms, as they have a nice south-facing orientation. Room 1 is planned as an office (home office).
Regarding your question about the extensions: The L-shape (the blocks extending to the left and upwards on the plan) are not just simple extensions. The ground floor is a full level, similar to a bungalow. Another floor (probably set back slightly) will be built on top of it.
I have attached another image showing both floors stacked on top of each other. This way you can see the walls of both floors. I hope this helps to explain?
Y
Ypsi aus NI23 Mar 2020 08:56@ypg: Hipped roof and knee wall: We are still completely open on this. If the upper floor is set back (relative to the alignment of the exterior walls of the ground floor), then we could also imagine the upper floor with a flat roof. Or maybe a hipped roof with reasonable slopes (i.e., a comfortable knee wall height). The two blocks that are not built over on the upper floor could have flat roofs (with terrace) or hipped roofs.
But we’re not that far yet—form follows function... First the floor plan, then we will see what looks good and is affordable in terms of knee wall height and roof design.
I have slightly updated the drawing from yesterday. I hope it is clearer now? The first grey block is an existing house, which I have grayed out so nothing can be seen clearly.
Regarding the budget: Well, we’re still flexible here. We wanted to wait and see what the offers say. There will probably be a huge difference between KfW40+ and KfW55 standards. We will have to decide once we have more detailed offers and understand what is worth what to us.
But we’re not that far yet—form follows function... First the floor plan, then we will see what looks good and is affordable in terms of knee wall height and roof design.
I have slightly updated the drawing from yesterday. I hope it is clearer now? The first grey block is an existing house, which I have grayed out so nothing can be seen clearly.
Regarding the budget: Well, we’re still flexible here. We wanted to wait and see what the offers say. There will probably be a huge difference between KfW40+ and KfW55 standards. We will have to decide once we have more detailed offers and understand what is worth what to us.
Y
Ypsi aus NI23 Mar 2020 09:04Regarding the bedroom/bathroom layout: Yes, that is currently our biggest issue! What happens if you swap the two rooms (bathroom and bedroom)? Then the bathroom becomes a passageway, and the door faces the living area. The toilet is no longer private. Basically, I’m happy to do without a guest toilet. It’s only planned at the moment because the master bathroom is located in our private area.
The architect also pointed out that no one would be able to sleep if the layout remains as it is. Generally, we get up together every day and go to work together. But on weekends, I sometimes like to sleep longer than my partner. So, I would be the only one with an issue regarding the floor plan.
The architect suggested creating a room within a room. So: you enter the private area from the open living space; then, on the left, there would be a corridor leading to the dressing room and bedroom, while the bathroom would be on the right. That was her proposal, and she said she would develop it further for us. We have, of course, considered this and experimented with it at home. But this corridor solution just looks really awkward. We couldn’t get comfortable with it. That’s why, out of frustration, we went “back to square one,” meaning the current layout.
What concrete suggestions would there be to solve the bathroom/bedroom layout problem?
The architect also pointed out that no one would be able to sleep if the layout remains as it is. Generally, we get up together every day and go to work together. But on weekends, I sometimes like to sleep longer than my partner. So, I would be the only one with an issue regarding the floor plan.
The architect suggested creating a room within a room. So: you enter the private area from the open living space; then, on the left, there would be a corridor leading to the dressing room and bedroom, while the bathroom would be on the right. That was her proposal, and she said she would develop it further for us. We have, of course, considered this and experimented with it at home. But this corridor solution just looks really awkward. We couldn’t get comfortable with it. That’s why, out of frustration, we went “back to square one,” meaning the current layout.
What concrete suggestions would there be to solve the bathroom/bedroom layout problem?
Y
Ypsi aus NI23 Mar 2020 09:31Then let's focus on the ground floor, as I wrote!
1. The floors are connected. Moving the staircase changes everything.
2. As you have drawn it, the structural engineer will request some costly modifications.
3. Your unconventional design will cost money – a lot of money.
Do you have the budget for this?
Living and sleeping habits change, especially with children.
2. As you have drawn it, the structural engineer will request some costly modifications.
3. Your unconventional design will cost money – a lot of money.
Do you have the budget for this?
Living and sleeping habits change, especially with children.
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