ᐅ Land Acquisition – Initial Ideas in the Early Planning Stage
Created on: 17 Aug 2018 23:37
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polydeikes
Hello dear forum members,
We are not only new here, but also at the very beginning of our building considerations. Currently, the purchase of a plot of land is being finalized by a notary.
The plot immediately impressed us, even though we didn’t have any concrete ideas yet about how to build on it. We are now at the start of the planning phase / orientation process.
The attached sketches are the result of initial thoughts and a first discussion with a house construction company.
At this stage, we are grateful for any suggestions / considerations / shared practical experiences that could help us avoid detours.
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size – 680 sqm (7320 sqft)
Slope – slight decline of about 1.5 – 2 m (5 – 6.5 ft) over the entire depth of the plot, ground level at the street
Floor area ratio (FAR) – 0.4
Site coverage ratio – 0.8
Number of parking spaces – one in front of the garage, 5 m (16 ft) required
Number of storeys – 1.5 storeys, 2 storeys allowed
Roof shape – pitch 30–48 degrees, max. 0.87 m (2.9 ft) knee wall, dark color mandatory
Orientation – north / south as per sketches
Clients’ requirements
Build on slab foundation
2 people, planning for children started (max. 2), 4 dining seats
- Office as a dedicated and indispensable home office on the ground floor (approx. 11 sqm (118 sqft), one long wall without windows required)
- 2 bathrooms with showers (ground floor guest WC with shower and main bathroom upstairs) → 2 dogs
- The lady insists on having a pantry next to/by the kitchen and is not open to compromise on this
- Rather conventional construction method, no special requirements
Garage, carport – sketches show a 3 x 7 m (10 x 23 ft) garage with a door at the back right to access the terrace / garden
House design
Planning by: rough, initial planning discussion with a solid brick-and-mortar house company
Price estimate according to architect/planner – 255k house, 30k additional construction costs, 50k plot, 13k garage
Total including additional costs – around 350,000 euros
Preferred heating technology: undecided (air-to-water heat pump and underfloor heating are included in the “offered” house)
If you have to give up something, which details or expansions
- What you can do without:
These are already the “essential” specifications, so there is no possibility to “give up” anything without the lady burying me somewhere in the garden.
We are not only new here, but also at the very beginning of our building considerations. Currently, the purchase of a plot of land is being finalized by a notary.
The plot immediately impressed us, even though we didn’t have any concrete ideas yet about how to build on it. We are now at the start of the planning phase / orientation process.
The attached sketches are the result of initial thoughts and a first discussion with a house construction company.
At this stage, we are grateful for any suggestions / considerations / shared practical experiences that could help us avoid detours.
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size – 680 sqm (7320 sqft)
Slope – slight decline of about 1.5 – 2 m (5 – 6.5 ft) over the entire depth of the plot, ground level at the street
Floor area ratio (FAR) – 0.4
Site coverage ratio – 0.8
Number of parking spaces – one in front of the garage, 5 m (16 ft) required
Number of storeys – 1.5 storeys, 2 storeys allowed
Roof shape – pitch 30–48 degrees, max. 0.87 m (2.9 ft) knee wall, dark color mandatory
Orientation – north / south as per sketches
Clients’ requirements
Build on slab foundation
2 people, planning for children started (max. 2), 4 dining seats
- Office as a dedicated and indispensable home office on the ground floor (approx. 11 sqm (118 sqft), one long wall without windows required)
- 2 bathrooms with showers (ground floor guest WC with shower and main bathroom upstairs) → 2 dogs
- The lady insists on having a pantry next to/by the kitchen and is not open to compromise on this
- Rather conventional construction method, no special requirements
Garage, carport – sketches show a 3 x 7 m (10 x 23 ft) garage with a door at the back right to access the terrace / garden
House design
Planning by: rough, initial planning discussion with a solid brick-and-mortar house company
Price estimate according to architect/planner – 255k house, 30k additional construction costs, 50k plot, 13k garage
Total including additional costs – around 350,000 euros
Preferred heating technology: undecided (air-to-water heat pump and underfloor heating are included in the “offered” house)
If you have to give up something, which details or expansions
- What you can do without:
These are already the “essential” specifications, so there is no possibility to “give up” anything without the lady burying me somewhere in the garden.
11ant schrieb:
Your floor plan proposal made me smile... Yeah, it was probably just too hot to think straight. It's a lost cause.
P
polydeikes19 Aug 2018 10:40I actually don’t think the proposal is bad at all. Why the smile?
I found it difficult to visualize the dimensions, so I used graph paper to try and understand it.
The ground floor would actually solve all problems. I’m only unclear about…
- what the transition from the vestibule is supposed to be
- what the large “white thing” at the living room door is—probably a sliding door
- this partition in the TV corner won’t work because we have a brand-new 3m (10 feet) couch that we want to keep
- the garage is “only” sized for six cars (6m wide), but we were thinking of a seven-car (7m) garage with a door to provide some storage space for equipment right from the start
The garage could certainly be omitted and replaced with a garden shed planned directly, but not being able to access it from the garden is a disadvantage.
---
Upstairs, I see the following issues:
- I’m not sure if that laundry room is actually usable; I can’t really imagine it working
- The lady of the house didn’t like the idea of having the washing machine upstairs, preferring to carry dry rather than wet laundry downstairs, something like that
- I personally don’t like the bedroom being accessed through the walk-in closet
- I’m not sure if the bedroom can accommodate a proper bed with a headboard
---
I’m actually unclear whether I’m even allowed to orient the house this way since all the neighbors have their roof ridges rotated. However, this is not clear from the provided documents.
I found it difficult to visualize the dimensions, so I used graph paper to try and understand it.
The ground floor would actually solve all problems. I’m only unclear about…
- what the transition from the vestibule is supposed to be
- what the large “white thing” at the living room door is—probably a sliding door
- this partition in the TV corner won’t work because we have a brand-new 3m (10 feet) couch that we want to keep
- the garage is “only” sized for six cars (6m wide), but we were thinking of a seven-car (7m) garage with a door to provide some storage space for equipment right from the start
The garage could certainly be omitted and replaced with a garden shed planned directly, but not being able to access it from the garden is a disadvantage.
---
Upstairs, I see the following issues:
- I’m not sure if that laundry room is actually usable; I can’t really imagine it working
- The lady of the house didn’t like the idea of having the washing machine upstairs, preferring to carry dry rather than wet laundry downstairs, something like that
- I personally don’t like the bedroom being accessed through the walk-in closet
- I’m not sure if the bedroom can accommodate a proper bed with a headboard
---
I’m actually unclear whether I’m even allowed to orient the house this way since all the neighbors have their roof ridges rotated. However, this is not clear from the provided documents.
polydeikes schrieb:
I found it difficult to visualize the dimensions, so I used graph paper and tried to work through it.That’s always a good approach! ... to understand it yourself or to sketch your own changes.
polydeikes schrieb:
What is drawn as a passage from the wind lobbyA wall opening instead of a door.
polydeikes schrieb:
What is that large "white thing" at the living room door, presumably a sliding doorA window.
polydeikes schrieb:
This separation in the TV corner doesn’t work because we have a brand-new 3m (10 feet) couch that will be brought alongThen just leave it out!
polydeikes schrieb:
- the garage is “only” sized for 6m (20 feet), we had thought of a 7m (23 feet) with a door to have some storage space for tools right from the startThen draw in a 7m (23 feet) garage.
polydeikes schrieb:
I don’t know if this laundry room is usable, I can’t really imagine itOf course, it is usable.
polydeikes schrieb:
The lady of the house didn’t like the idea of the washing machine upstairs, preferring to carry dry laundry down rather than wetThink about the pros and cons…
polydeikes schrieb:
- I personally don’t like entering the bedroom through the dressing roomThink about the pros and cons…
polydeikes schrieb:
I’m not sure if a proper bed with a headboard will fit in that bedroomIf the knee wall height is sufficient, then yes.
polydeikes schrieb:
Actually, I’m unclear if I’m even allowed to position the house that way, since all the neighbors have their roofs oriented differently. The provided materials don’t clarify this.That’s specified in the development plan / zoning plan.
I suggest you read through other floor plan discussions first. Still, I imagine you lean more towards taking what’s commonly offered for the mainstream market instead of criticizing it and looking for an individual solution. I can’t and won’t address every single element (utility room, laundry upstairs, staircase in the entrance area, bedroom as a passage to the dressing room), as these topics come up in almost every discussion. That also includes the location of the pantry, which in a typical small single-family house doesn’t have to be directly next to the kitchen. There are smarter locations.
It’s not a problem to use what’s commonly offered—it reflects what most people choose. If you like to weigh options and analyze, questions arise as to why things have to be done a certain way and not differently. Then you won’t be happy with the design.
You seem to be more satisfied with whatever is presented to you. That should be kept in mind when giving advice here. Critical or unconventional designs won’t satisfy you!
But first, read other examples 🙂
P
polydeikes19 Aug 2018 11:09I find that a bit harsh. Based on your registration data, you've been involved in this subject for at least 5 to 6 years each.
We recently purchased a plot of land, and for us everything else is completely new. You can't expect someone to have the mental flexibility from the start that you have developed over many years.
And yes, I am reading diligently, but the learning curve isn't that easy or quick.
We recently purchased a plot of land, and for us everything else is completely new. You can't expect someone to have the mental flexibility from the start that you have developed over many years.
And yes, I am reading diligently, but the learning curve isn't that easy or quick.
polydeikes schrieb:
I find that a bit harsh. Based on your registration dates, you’ve been involved in this for at least 5-6 years.
We recently bought a plot of land, and everything else is new territory for us. You can’t expect the same mental flexibility right from the start that you have developed over many years.
And yes, I’m reading a lot, but the learning curve isn’t that flat or quick either.No offense was meant. I also started building once and unfortunately only had 2 months of planning time. But for example, I knew right away that I didn’t want to carry laundry up and down stairs and looked for alternatives to all the house proposals with the utility room downstairs.
Some people want everything done differently and tend to complicate things a bit... those are the ones you often see as “advisors” in forums.
Then there are those who prefer to be part of the 90% who don’t question what the general contractor suggests. That’s fine!
🙂
P
polydeikes19 Aug 2018 13:33What I have taken away so far (many thanks for that):
- Move the staircase away from the entrance; a 2/4 turn design really looks much more structured
- Place the office toward the entrance to allow full window fronts at the back for the living room/kitchen
- Significantly larger glass areas than we had originally considered
I have also taken on board the idea of having two floors. Whether it will fit within the budget, I cannot even begin to estimate at this point. But we will definitely look into it.
- Move the staircase away from the entrance; a 2/4 turn design really looks much more structured
- Place the office toward the entrance to allow full window fronts at the back for the living room/kitchen
- Significantly larger glass areas than we had originally considered
I have also taken on board the idea of having two floors. Whether it will fit within the budget, I cannot even begin to estimate at this point. But we will definitely look into it.
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