Hello everyone,
I more or less stumbled upon a plot of land after someone let their reservation expire.
The plot is about 606 square meters (6,521 square feet), according to my "measurement" approximately 18.10 meters by 33.50 meters (60 feet by 110 feet), not officially surveyed yet, and now I’m wondering exactly what I can do with it.
The development plan sets out the following for "my plot":
Here I have placed an example house measuring 9.60 meters by 11.95 meters (31.5 feet by 39 feet), which I like based on my initial review (Viebrockhaus Edition 600).
Next to the house, in the 5.50-meter (18 feet) wide space there would be a carport – is that enough space for two parking spots? I would prefer not to make the house narrower just to accommodate vehicles... but then there’s hardly any room left for fencing?!
The terrace and garden at the back are, of course, limited by the tall trees – but that’s a compromise I’ll have to accept.
I’ve never built a house in my life before... so this is my first time dealing with this topic in detail. What would you do in this situation? Make the house a bit smaller?
If you need more information, just ask – as I said, I’m a beginner and eager to learn 🙂
My wishes are:
- Starting from 160 square meters (1,722 square feet) upwards
- I’m currently thinking about a basement and budget around $100k extra for it
- I don’t like long corridors
Once the plot situation is reasonably clear, I’d like to hear your advice on floor plans – that will surely be a more extensive topic.
Best regards
I more or less stumbled upon a plot of land after someone let their reservation expire.
The plot is about 606 square meters (6,521 square feet), according to my "measurement" approximately 18.10 meters by 33.50 meters (60 feet by 110 feet), not officially surveyed yet, and now I’m wondering exactly what I can do with it.
The development plan sets out the following for "my plot":
- 0.35 floor area ratio
- Single-story buildings only
- Maximum building height 10 meters (33 feet)
- Eave height max 4.50 meters (15 feet)
- One driveway with max width of 4 meters (13 feet)
- Two parking spaces are mandatory
- Roof pitch between 15° and 51°
- Roofs of garages etc. may differ in shape
- Garages, carports, and ancillary buildings as defined by §14 (1) of the building use ordinance, which are buildings, must not exceed the street-side building boundaries of the access roads.
- Dormers and roof recesses: the total length of dormers or roof recesses per roof side may not exceed 50% of the total length of that roof side.
- Standard distance to property boundary is 3 meters (10 feet)
- In the southern area, there is an 8-meter (26 feet) deep strip across the full width of the plot (approx. 18 meters (60 feet)) where trees and shrubs must be preserved. This area is quite densely vegetated and reaches heights up to 10 meters (33 feet) – I’ve tried to visualize this below
- In the middle of this vegetation is a downward slope... the building boundary to this strip was reduced from the normal 3 meters to 2 meters (7 feet) so the plots aren’t too restricted.
Here I have placed an example house measuring 9.60 meters by 11.95 meters (31.5 feet by 39 feet), which I like based on my initial review (Viebrockhaus Edition 600).
Next to the house, in the 5.50-meter (18 feet) wide space there would be a carport – is that enough space for two parking spots? I would prefer not to make the house narrower just to accommodate vehicles... but then there’s hardly any room left for fencing?!
The terrace and garden at the back are, of course, limited by the tall trees – but that’s a compromise I’ll have to accept.
I’ve never built a house in my life before... so this is my first time dealing with this topic in detail. What would you do in this situation? Make the house a bit smaller?
If you need more information, just ask – as I said, I’m a beginner and eager to learn 🙂
My wishes are:
- Starting from 160 square meters (1,722 square feet) upwards
- I’m currently thinking about a basement and budget around $100k extra for it
- I don’t like long corridors
Once the plot situation is reasonably clear, I’d like to hear your advice on floor plans – that will surely be a more extensive topic.
Best regards
SaschaL schrieb:
“The best way is to do it on graph paper”… without any arguments, I don’t see what’s wrong with using a computer!? A layperson and beginner remains a layperson and beginner even when using planning software. What the software cannot do is turn them into an experienced planner overnight. What the software can do, unfortunately, is make planning look “actually quite easy” fairly quickly and make the results appear “pretty professional.” You have probably already seen quite a few “goodness gracious, this is falling apart everywhere” drafts here, which the respective amateur planner called “semi-final.” Professionals never use CAD for their initial brainstorming scribbles—they only start using it once the design has already reached a certain level of maturity. It is mainly laypeople—and more specifically, beginners among them—who look down on graph paper with disdain and/or think it’s a tool for “losers” who missed the digital train. By the way, if you get stuck and want to tap into the collective intelligence of the community, a photo of a hand-drawn sketch engages collaborators just as well as a screenshot from a “clicky-colorful beginner house planner 3D” program. The only real advantage software could offer here is if it produced output formats that others could import and continue working on—ideally with a log file for editing comments. But after all, we are “just” in a forum here, not in groupware software.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
So.... moving on....
@ypg: I reread the last pages and understand why I might have been misunderstood "here and there." My choice of words wasn’t always ideal. I don’t want to come across as a know-it-all (I really have no experience in house building) or be stubborn—I just want to understand, and for that, I need arguments. I also felt a bit offended by the comment "you’ll run out of money before the first spade hits the ground." And even though I’m bringing some 3D computer stuff again today (I like that), I’ve ordered graph paper, pencils, and a set square 😉
@everyone: The plot is now reserved. I’ve contacted two architects and am waiting for a reply from one; the other didn’t seem very likeable… I’ll continue planning with a Viebrockhaus house for now to gain experience… but I’ve changed the model—the dimensions of the "Edition 430" should fit better (9.10m x 12.60m (30 ft x 41 ft))… I recreated the floor plan because I didn’t want to insert an original one from Viebrockhaus here—to be on the safe side….
So first, the questionnaire:
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 606sqm (6525 sq ft)
Slope: no
Floor area ratio: 0.35
Floor space index: /
Building window, building line, and boundary: See development plan page 1
Edge development:
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of storeys: 1
Roof shape: “pitched roofs with a roof pitch between 15° and 51° as well as mansard roofs permitted”
Style: /
Orientation: /
Maximum heights/restrictions: 4.50m (15 ft) eaves height / 10m (33 ft) total height
Other requirements: 10-meter (33 ft) deep planting buffer zone in which trees and shrubs must be preserved (on the southern side of the plot)
Client Requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: Gable roof, traditional
Basement, storeys: 1.5 storeys + basement (decided based on cost; if no basement, then the “pantry” becomes “technical room,” as planned by Viebrockhaus)
Number of residents, age: Currently two people / 40 (m) and 32 (f)
Room requirements on ground floor, upper floor: One child planned; prefer to have one extra room rather than too few
Office: Family use or home office? Home office desired
Overnight guests per year: Maximum 10 nights for one guest
Open or closed layout: ?
Conservative or modern design: Rather modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Prefer open kitchen. The “utility kitchen” suggested by Viebrockhaus is growing on me because I hope to combine advantages (open kitchen and still a place where dirty dishes etc. are not immediately visible)
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: Not currently planned but not ruled out
Music/stereo wall: No
Balcony, roof terrace: No
Garage, carport: Plot is not measured yet; should be about 18.15m (60 ft) wide, so (see my sketch) a double garage should fit?!
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: No
House Design
Who designed the plan: Viebrockhaus
What do you especially like? Why? We like the large kitchen, the big bathroom, the big windows. The idea of the “utility kitchen” is gaining more favor here (as mentioned). Shower in the guest WC (we have a small dog)
What do you dislike? Why? Currently, the bay window (labeled as “office”) is on the side of the plot where the neighboring house plot is only 3m (10 ft) away… since it has a large window front and full room height, the “view” probably wouldn’t be great… additionally, the bedroom faces the street in this layout. Maybe swap it with the guest room? But then the dressing room would be out of place (which could also be removed for a larger bathroom)
Price estimate according to architect/planner: Not available yet
Personal price limit for the house, including furnishings: As mentioned, basically including basement between 700k and 800k, but I am willing to increase the budget if necessary—however, it shouldn’t reach one million. That wouldn’t be worth it to me—so I think max 900k.
Preferred heating technology: I lack experience here—the current rented gas boiler isn’t great (too noisy, but also poorly installed), basically open to everything
If you had to give up something, on which details/upgrades
- could you do without: The basement will definitely be a price/performance tradeoff… with this layout, without a basement there would be no “proper” utility room—it would be integrated into the utility kitchen. Where would laundry be dried then?
- can’t you do without: We would really like a “larger” bathroom… it’s possible to remove the dressing room to enlarge the bathroom accordingly (a freestanding tub would be something we’d like), also a “large” kitchen.
Why is the design the way it is? For example:
Standard design from Viebrockhaus, which we like as is… on the upper floor, we so far only partitioned part of the office into a room—in the original plan, it is an open space… but since Viebrockhaus anticipates a workspace here, it probably isn’t ideal to have it open in the hallway area…
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan, summarized in 130 characters?
Bedroom faces north toward the street because the house must be oriented with its gable side to the street. Is the bay window a “waste” since it only faces the neighboring house?
@ypg: I reread the last pages and understand why I might have been misunderstood "here and there." My choice of words wasn’t always ideal. I don’t want to come across as a know-it-all (I really have no experience in house building) or be stubborn—I just want to understand, and for that, I need arguments. I also felt a bit offended by the comment "you’ll run out of money before the first spade hits the ground." And even though I’m bringing some 3D computer stuff again today (I like that), I’ve ordered graph paper, pencils, and a set square 😉
@everyone: The plot is now reserved. I’ve contacted two architects and am waiting for a reply from one; the other didn’t seem very likeable… I’ll continue planning with a Viebrockhaus house for now to gain experience… but I’ve changed the model—the dimensions of the "Edition 430" should fit better (9.10m x 12.60m (30 ft x 41 ft))… I recreated the floor plan because I didn’t want to insert an original one from Viebrockhaus here—to be on the safe side….
So first, the questionnaire:
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 606sqm (6525 sq ft)
Slope: no
Floor area ratio: 0.35
Floor space index: /
Building window, building line, and boundary: See development plan page 1
Edge development:
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of storeys: 1
Roof shape: “pitched roofs with a roof pitch between 15° and 51° as well as mansard roofs permitted”
Style: /
Orientation: /
Maximum heights/restrictions: 4.50m (15 ft) eaves height / 10m (33 ft) total height
Other requirements: 10-meter (33 ft) deep planting buffer zone in which trees and shrubs must be preserved (on the southern side of the plot)
Client Requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: Gable roof, traditional
Basement, storeys: 1.5 storeys + basement (decided based on cost; if no basement, then the “pantry” becomes “technical room,” as planned by Viebrockhaus)
Number of residents, age: Currently two people / 40 (m) and 32 (f)
Room requirements on ground floor, upper floor: One child planned; prefer to have one extra room rather than too few
Office: Family use or home office? Home office desired
Overnight guests per year: Maximum 10 nights for one guest
Open or closed layout: ?
Conservative or modern design: Rather modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Prefer open kitchen. The “utility kitchen” suggested by Viebrockhaus is growing on me because I hope to combine advantages (open kitchen and still a place where dirty dishes etc. are not immediately visible)
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: Not currently planned but not ruled out
Music/stereo wall: No
Balcony, roof terrace: No
Garage, carport: Plot is not measured yet; should be about 18.15m (60 ft) wide, so (see my sketch) a double garage should fit?!
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: No
House Design
Who designed the plan: Viebrockhaus
What do you especially like? Why? We like the large kitchen, the big bathroom, the big windows. The idea of the “utility kitchen” is gaining more favor here (as mentioned). Shower in the guest WC (we have a small dog)
What do you dislike? Why? Currently, the bay window (labeled as “office”) is on the side of the plot where the neighboring house plot is only 3m (10 ft) away… since it has a large window front and full room height, the “view” probably wouldn’t be great… additionally, the bedroom faces the street in this layout. Maybe swap it with the guest room? But then the dressing room would be out of place (which could also be removed for a larger bathroom)
Price estimate according to architect/planner: Not available yet
Personal price limit for the house, including furnishings: As mentioned, basically including basement between 700k and 800k, but I am willing to increase the budget if necessary—however, it shouldn’t reach one million. That wouldn’t be worth it to me—so I think max 900k.
Preferred heating technology: I lack experience here—the current rented gas boiler isn’t great (too noisy, but also poorly installed), basically open to everything
If you had to give up something, on which details/upgrades
- could you do without: The basement will definitely be a price/performance tradeoff… with this layout, without a basement there would be no “proper” utility room—it would be integrated into the utility kitchen. Where would laundry be dried then?
- can’t you do without: We would really like a “larger” bathroom… it’s possible to remove the dressing room to enlarge the bathroom accordingly (a freestanding tub would be something we’d like), also a “large” kitchen.
Why is the design the way it is? For example:
Standard design from Viebrockhaus, which we like as is… on the upper floor, we so far only partitioned part of the office into a room—in the original plan, it is an open space… but since Viebrockhaus anticipates a workspace here, it probably isn’t ideal to have it open in the hallway area…
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan, summarized in 130 characters?
Bedroom faces north toward the street because the house must be oriented with its gable side to the street. Is the bay window a “waste” since it only faces the neighboring house?
W
WilderSueden21 Jan 2021 20:35In my personal opinion, a second kitchen only makes sense if you have staff who can quietly prepare food when guests are present. I wouldn’t install a second kitchen in the house just to have a place to put dirty dishes, especially not 2 meters (6.5 feet) away from the main kitchen. A kitchen like that will cost you roughly 3,000€*9 sqm plus kitchen appliances easily totaling around 35,000€. With that kind of budget, you could throw away used dishes for years instead. It’s better to spend 5 minutes loading everything into the dishwasher. Then you get a large utility room/pantry combination instead.
By the way, where exactly do you want to place the terrace? Which door will you use to go outside?
Adding this extra wall for the office will certainly make the hallway and stairs quite dark. Is that what you want? The hallway also feels a bit cramped. The openness of the original design won’t remain much, but the “office” there was only really suited to paying bills on a Sunday afternoon.
By the way, where exactly do you want to place the terrace? Which door will you use to go outside?
Adding this extra wall for the office will certainly make the hallway and stairs quite dark. Is that what you want? The hallway also feels a bit cramped. The openness of the original design won’t remain much, but the “office” there was only really suited to paying bills on a Sunday afternoon.
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