[A friendly hello] to the forum community from the tri-border area A/CH/D!
After spending several days browsing here first as a guest and now as a registered user, and wishing some posts were available in book format – so much information, excitement & entertainment – I’ll briefly introduce myself and start my first thread (the first of probably many to come 😉)
The [short] facts about the topic (more detailed info will follow once the first floor plans are ready; I’ll answer the list of questions there since it seems more appropriate):
We have been talking for years about tearing down our parents’ house (about 200 years old, oil and wood stoves only in occupied rooms, not all rooms properly insulated, ceiling and room heights so low it’s frustrating… can you feel my enthusiasm? … but it does have a very nice location – except for the [lovely] relatives who built next door – see attachment) and building something new instead. Finally, *hurray*, we now have a timeline and a budget.
Attached are pictures of the land and our house – the one with the red roof on the *curvy corner* (I can upload photos of the garden and views from the property on request) and my first plans. Honestly, the initial plan was created with an online planner, fully furnished, with decorations, pictures and all my plants – and there are quite a few *gg* . It was quite a challenge remodeling everything every time a wall was changed.
But I’m somewhat teachable and have now gotten a ruler, pencil, and of course an eraser. I’m no longer drawing decorations, and I’ll get graph paper soon, I promise!
I hope you can follow the plan; only the exterior walls are drawn, marked in red on the ground floor and orange hatch for the upper floor. The plot dimensions and the 3 m (10 ft) setback distance are also indicated. South is at the bottom as usual … until now in my plans the bottom was always where I placed the entrance, but as I said, I’m learning…
Now that you’ve had a look here, I’m interested in what you would build differently and how the cost differences are roughly affected by walls with flush corners, more corners and edges, shifted upper floors, etc. The question is less about why the garage length varies or why wall lengths differ from plan to plan, but rather about the basic layout and location and to what extent extras impact costs financially.
I hope I included some informative data (which should be highlighted) and now I’ll let you critique me — I’m really looking forward to your opinions and suggestions so that our first house won’t be built for the enemy…. because building three times is out of the question.
PS: In case no one noticed, I really don’t have a clue about planning, so in plain English: a complete novice 🙂
After spending several days browsing here first as a guest and now as a registered user, and wishing some posts were available in book format – so much information, excitement & entertainment – I’ll briefly introduce myself and start my first thread (the first of probably many to come 😉)
The [short] facts about the topic (more detailed info will follow once the first floor plans are ready; I’ll answer the list of questions there since it seems more appropriate):
We have been talking for years about tearing down our parents’ house (about 200 years old, oil and wood stoves only in occupied rooms, not all rooms properly insulated, ceiling and room heights so low it’s frustrating… can you feel my enthusiasm? … but it does have a very nice location – except for the [lovely] relatives who built next door – see attachment) and building something new instead. Finally, *hurray*, we now have a timeline and a budget.
- The land is in Austria/ Vorarlberg near Lake Constance (no lake view… that would be something), just over 700 sqm (7,535 sq ft) – a large protected area to the southwest – level ground
- Originally planned about 120 sqm (1,292 sq ft) living space for two people (as mentioned, more details to come… otherwise I’ll probably annoy you a lot in this first post and have many questions later that will keep you busy for a while)
- Ground floor + 1st floor – no basement – flat roof
- We will live upstairs and sleep downstairs (that’s a fact; it will be hard to change our minds on that). If necessary, we’ll have a stairlift or a small elevator.
Attached are pictures of the land and our house – the one with the red roof on the *curvy corner* (I can upload photos of the garden and views from the property on request) and my first plans. Honestly, the initial plan was created with an online planner, fully furnished, with decorations, pictures and all my plants – and there are quite a few *gg* . It was quite a challenge remodeling everything every time a wall was changed.
But I’m somewhat teachable and have now gotten a ruler, pencil, and of course an eraser. I’m no longer drawing decorations, and I’ll get graph paper soon, I promise!
I hope you can follow the plan; only the exterior walls are drawn, marked in red on the ground floor and orange hatch for the upper floor. The plot dimensions and the 3 m (10 ft) setback distance are also indicated. South is at the bottom as usual … until now in my plans the bottom was always where I placed the entrance, but as I said, I’m learning…
Now that you’ve had a look here, I’m interested in what you would build differently and how the cost differences are roughly affected by walls with flush corners, more corners and edges, shifted upper floors, etc. The question is less about why the garage length varies or why wall lengths differ from plan to plan, but rather about the basic layout and location and to what extent extras impact costs financially.
I hope I included some informative data (which should be highlighted) and now I’ll let you critique me — I’m really looking forward to your opinions and suggestions so that our first house won’t be built for the enemy…. because building three times is out of the question.
PS: In case no one noticed, I really don’t have a clue about planning, so in plain English: a complete novice 🙂
icandoit schrieb:
Are you planning to do this yourself? Without an architect? No, of course not... it’s just about the basic idea a. so everyone at home can roughly imagine it and be satisfied. Also, I need something to visualize it better so I can save money... for all the extras 😉
icandoit schrieb:
Is having the main living area upstairs really your number one requirement? That usually has disadvantages. Yep! I’m the only one who even considered a bungalow. Then I’d already have the finished house in mind. Although probably a bit over budget... but the atrium house from Huf would be exactly my style.
WilderSueden schrieb:
The designs are all quite closed off toward the street and very open toward the relatives. I can understand the first, but I’m not sure about the second.
Other points:
- The house ends up being quite narrow and long
- I currently find it hard to picture living in it. Can you mark the planned rooms?
- Why sleep downstairs and live upstairs? I don’t get that. If you already have a plot with a garden, why separate the living room and kitchen completely from it? How do you imagine barbecuing on weekends in nice weather? A second kitchen downstairs? Carrying all the food and dirty dishes up and down the stairs? We don’t even have to talk about getting older — I already find the concept somewhat impractical. The side facing the street will be closed off, the upper floor is completely open, related to the narrow layout... Downstairs in the hallway I imagine a large glass front… I don’t like it cramped and dark, I’ve had enough of that for a long time. I’ll attach a provisional sketch of the rooms. It’s just a draft, I first wanted to roughly plan the exterior.
We’ve lived upstairs for over 30 years and still go to the garden every day and eat outside daily in summer without an extra kitchen downstairs... however, the master bedroom is upstairs while the bathroom is downstairs, which can be fun in winter because the hallway and stairwell are freezing cold... We’re just used to it and toughened up 😀 and the view from above is simply better, plus there’s more light... I know it’s crazy and hard to understand but that’s how we are *lol*.
icandoit schrieb:
Garage facing the main road?
Are there no setback requirements in Austria for garages? It’s just a side street, 30 years ago we still played football there... that’s no longer recommended now but traffic isn’t heavy. I’ve factored in three meters (about 10 feet) clearance everywhere. The garage holds my brother’s car, if he even uses it... he mostly bikes, mom too, and I’ve only ever had a parking spot at the shopping center so far. But it should be fine and I was told you get used to it. In case of emergency there’s a carport next to the garage, which I’ll use more often. That will be shown in the preliminary plan. More details will come in the floor plan discussion.
haydee schrieb:
I would have placed the L so that the relatives are behind the house I wanted to place the garage and the entire north side facing east... but that was rejected, mom doesn’t want to sleep facing the street. But we love plants, inside and outside, so with some poplars:p something can definitely be done... somehow it will work out that we don’t have to stare at a concrete wall, and the positive thing is that at least we won’t see the relatives ourselves.
P
pagoni202021 Feb 2021 19:45You mention uploaded plans... but I only see some nice house shapes. The design largely depends on your preferred floor plan or living concept, which you haven’t shown yet—simple graph paper would be enough for that. As I mentioned before, you should share more personal information, background, and specific details to make it easier to understand your ideas and come up with concrete suggestions.
Having the living area upstairs may be a must for you, but why? The same applies to other fixed decisions.
Having the living area upstairs may be a must for you, but why? The same applies to other fixed decisions.
ypg schrieb:
Where does your family live? South of you? I like that.
I would plan a counterpart but wouldn’t make the mistake of turning my back on the south side.
I don’t understand “living upstairs.” Don’t you want to enjoy the garden? Our family is located south of us... in our old favorite meadow where the fish pond, rabbit hutch, quails, ducks, and our favorite trees were, yes... it was beautiful *sigh* but inheritance scheming, threats of foreclosure, and the still prevailing ancient Roman law in Austria benefit some more and others less. But oh well, we make the best of it... and are certainly happier than all of them combined. It’s already been 10 years now...
We love the garden very much – but that was a family decision...
WilderSueden schrieb:
- At the moment, I find it hard to imagine how people would live in it. Could you mark the intended rooms?
I think I’m getting first place for *who always forgets to upload attachments*. Just some scribbles and upside down, with south currently at the top 🙄 This is now the C plan… the staircase is probably no longer up to date.
Why do you want to live upstairs? I don’t quite understand that.
I don’t think the sketch is bad.
You’re sacrificing east light; you know best how it looks with the south. (I would be concerned that the extension for relatives might cause significant shading.) From what you briefly mentioned, with the south fully utilized and the street to the north, it doesn’t matter much. I personally wouldn’t want to face the street.
For me, the street would be the lesser evil.
I don’t think the sketch is bad.
You’re sacrificing east light; you know best how it looks with the south. (I would be concerned that the extension for relatives might cause significant shading.) From what you briefly mentioned, with the south fully utilized and the street to the north, it doesn’t matter much. I personally wouldn’t want to face the street.
For me, the street would be the lesser evil.
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