ᐅ Log Cabin with Half-Hipped Roof by the Forest – How to Improve the Design?
Created on: 11 Jun 2018 19:45
K
keychain
Hello everyone,
We have been planning and actively reading for over a year now. As our plans become more concrete, we would like to present our design and get your feedback.
First of all: Yes, the house is big. It is our dream, we are doing a lot of the work ourselves, and we know that we cannot extend it further — the situation here is a bit unusual, as strictly speaking this is only officially buildable land for a short time window.
A brief introduction: I am 36 years old and co-owner of an IT company. My partner is 31 and works as a lecturer. About two years ago, we found our dream plot — a little over 2800sqm (about 0.7 acres), with direct forest access and located in the third row. All neighboring plots are, as far as possible, already built on, mostly with former weekend houses or residential homes.
First, the questionnaire:
Building plan / restrictions?
No, there is no building plan, so we are following common local building standards. The neighboring house has two full stories, which we are using as a reference.
Plot size
2800sqm (about 0.7 acres)
Slope
Slight slope; we are on a ridge of the Ore Mountains. The building site has a height difference of max. 60cm (about 2 feet) from northeast to southwest. The entire plot slopes about 1.80m (6 feet) downward to the south along the west boundary. Rocky ground starting at 2.5m (8 feet) depth.
Plot ratio / floor area ratio
No exact figures known; according to the lawyer from the building permit office, we are well within limits.
Building envelope, building line and boundary
None
Boundary setbacks
Do you mean setback distances and boundary construction? If so: 3m (10 feet) all around; boundary construction for sheds and garages is theoretically permitted.
Number of parking spaces
1–2 under the porch + double garage.
Number of floors
2
Roof type
Half-hipped roof (Dutch hip roof).
Architectural style
Hmm... not sure?
Orientation
South-southwest
Maximum height/limits
None
Other requirements
Homeowners’ needs
We want our house to welcome us. Warm wood, natural building materials, lots of light and air — high ceilings, large beams. It should blend well with the environment, be warm and cozy.
Style, roof type, building type
Log house made from glue-laminated beams (probably Finnlog).
Basement, floors
Fully basemented with two full floors.
Number of residents, age
Currently 2 people. Children may come, parents as well.
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor
Currently about 300sqm (about 3200 sqft). This seems quite large, but looking at individual rooms (living/dining area) I don’t know where else to put the sound system. Maybe the planning is off or our space expectations are. We don’t have a TV; the fireplace is the central element.
Office: family use or home office?
An office is planned, but only as a fallback. I don’t want to work from home and only need space for private files and a desk.
Guest bedrooms per year
Variable, currently very few. Hopefully many more with the house — then we can accommodate them.
Open or closed architecture
Mixed. I prefer open, but an open void above the living area is not possible if you don’t want all cooking smells in the bedroom.
Traditional or modern construction
Hmm... solid wood house? Traditional.
Open kitchen, cooking island
An open, large kitchen with a big island where more than two people can cook comfortably. No seating in the kitchen, but a huge workspace.
Number of dining seats
10
Fireplace
Yes, a large soapstone stove.
Music / stereo wall
I am considering installating a Sonos system with a music room in the basement.
Balcony, roof terrace
No; we have a garden for that.
Garage, carport
Both; at least the entrance canopy is large enough for one car.
Vegetable garden, greenhouse
We want a greenhouse, a swimming pond, and a fire pit.
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons why or why not
House design
Who designed it:
The design was created with an architect, based on our drafts.
What do you particularly like? Why?
High ceilings and visible ceiling beams on the upper floor, separated area upstairs for us, the fireplace room as a second retreat, the single-story “extension” for the dining room, the large kitchen, the fireplaces... and especially the abundant wood.
What don’t you like? Why?
The gable windows should get an added triangular top to maximize light. The current window layout feels a bit outdated. We actually wanted an open void, but this can’t be sensibly integrated. Heating is a constant issue and never fully resolved.
The worst: the master bathroom fixtures. We want a large bathtub and a double shower. Either the bathroom is too small or we lack imagination. It doesn’t look cozy...
Preferred heating system: currently unfortunately natural gas. Solid fuel heating is out for various reasons: a wood gasifier is too expensive and labor-intensive; pellet or woodchip stoves are not economical, plus we can’t reliably get deliveries in winter when the road is snowed in. Natural gas is about 100m (330 feet) away; we are still waiting for connection cost estimates. Heat pumps only make financial sense with geothermal; however, installation and technology would then be more expensive than a current compact car. We do not want oil heating or liquefied gas tanks.
If you have to omit something, which details/extensions
-can you omit:
-can you not omit:
Why is the design like it is now? For example:
The architect received a draft from us, every room was discussed beforehand (use, size, contents), and the design was revised multiple times. We like that it implements nearly everything we wanted and that the house does not look too bulky — due to the half-hipped roof and the gables, it does not seem so on the plans at least.
What is your most important / basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Apart from the effort for plastering: is the floor plan practical? For example: washing machine on the first floor where laundry occurs, bathroom for the children...
Now some free text — our notes:
Some things are already different from the plans:
We have also been thinking about other things:
I think that’s it. Thanks for your opinions!
We have been planning and actively reading for over a year now. As our plans become more concrete, we would like to present our design and get your feedback.
First of all: Yes, the house is big. It is our dream, we are doing a lot of the work ourselves, and we know that we cannot extend it further — the situation here is a bit unusual, as strictly speaking this is only officially buildable land for a short time window.
A brief introduction: I am 36 years old and co-owner of an IT company. My partner is 31 and works as a lecturer. About two years ago, we found our dream plot — a little over 2800sqm (about 0.7 acres), with direct forest access and located in the third row. All neighboring plots are, as far as possible, already built on, mostly with former weekend houses or residential homes.
First, the questionnaire:
Building plan / restrictions?
No, there is no building plan, so we are following common local building standards. The neighboring house has two full stories, which we are using as a reference.
Plot size
2800sqm (about 0.7 acres)
Slope
Slight slope; we are on a ridge of the Ore Mountains. The building site has a height difference of max. 60cm (about 2 feet) from northeast to southwest. The entire plot slopes about 1.80m (6 feet) downward to the south along the west boundary. Rocky ground starting at 2.5m (8 feet) depth.
Plot ratio / floor area ratio
No exact figures known; according to the lawyer from the building permit office, we are well within limits.
Building envelope, building line and boundary
None
Boundary setbacks
Do you mean setback distances and boundary construction? If so: 3m (10 feet) all around; boundary construction for sheds and garages is theoretically permitted.
Number of parking spaces
1–2 under the porch + double garage.
Number of floors
2
Roof type
Half-hipped roof (Dutch hip roof).
Architectural style
Hmm... not sure?
Orientation
South-southwest
Maximum height/limits
None
Other requirements
Homeowners’ needs
We want our house to welcome us. Warm wood, natural building materials, lots of light and air — high ceilings, large beams. It should blend well with the environment, be warm and cozy.
Style, roof type, building type
Log house made from glue-laminated beams (probably Finnlog).
Basement, floors
Fully basemented with two full floors.
Number of residents, age
Currently 2 people. Children may come, parents as well.
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor
Currently about 300sqm (about 3200 sqft). This seems quite large, but looking at individual rooms (living/dining area) I don’t know where else to put the sound system. Maybe the planning is off or our space expectations are. We don’t have a TV; the fireplace is the central element.
Office: family use or home office?
An office is planned, but only as a fallback. I don’t want to work from home and only need space for private files and a desk.
Guest bedrooms per year
Variable, currently very few. Hopefully many more with the house — then we can accommodate them.
Open or closed architecture
Mixed. I prefer open, but an open void above the living area is not possible if you don’t want all cooking smells in the bedroom.
Traditional or modern construction
Hmm... solid wood house? Traditional.
Open kitchen, cooking island
An open, large kitchen with a big island where more than two people can cook comfortably. No seating in the kitchen, but a huge workspace.
Number of dining seats
10
Fireplace
Yes, a large soapstone stove.
Music / stereo wall
I am considering installating a Sonos system with a music room in the basement.
Balcony, roof terrace
No; we have a garden for that.
Garage, carport
Both; at least the entrance canopy is large enough for one car.
Vegetable garden, greenhouse
We want a greenhouse, a swimming pond, and a fire pit.
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons why or why not
House design
Who designed it:
The design was created with an architect, based on our drafts.
What do you particularly like? Why?
High ceilings and visible ceiling beams on the upper floor, separated area upstairs for us, the fireplace room as a second retreat, the single-story “extension” for the dining room, the large kitchen, the fireplaces... and especially the abundant wood.
What don’t you like? Why?
The gable windows should get an added triangular top to maximize light. The current window layout feels a bit outdated. We actually wanted an open void, but this can’t be sensibly integrated. Heating is a constant issue and never fully resolved.
The worst: the master bathroom fixtures. We want a large bathtub and a double shower. Either the bathroom is too small or we lack imagination. It doesn’t look cozy...
Preferred heating system: currently unfortunately natural gas. Solid fuel heating is out for various reasons: a wood gasifier is too expensive and labor-intensive; pellet or woodchip stoves are not economical, plus we can’t reliably get deliveries in winter when the road is snowed in. Natural gas is about 100m (330 feet) away; we are still waiting for connection cost estimates. Heat pumps only make financial sense with geothermal; however, installation and technology would then be more expensive than a current compact car. We do not want oil heating or liquefied gas tanks.
If you have to omit something, which details/extensions
-can you omit:
-can you not omit:
Why is the design like it is now? For example:
The architect received a draft from us, every room was discussed beforehand (use, size, contents), and the design was revised multiple times. We like that it implements nearly everything we wanted and that the house does not look too bulky — due to the half-hipped roof and the gables, it does not seem so on the plans at least.
What is your most important / basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Apart from the effort for plastering: is the floor plan practical? For example: washing machine on the first floor where laundry occurs, bathroom for the children...
Now some free text — our notes:
Some things are already different from the plans:
- All windows can be opened.
- Sliding doors open outwards, not inwards.
- All dormer windows will not be rectangular but have added triangular tops.
- Between the hallway and living area there is no central post; instead, a large double door is planned.
- The basement has a technical room beside the stairs, designed as a through room. In my opinion, this is a poor solution; we probably also need to plan a separate boiler room.
- Where the embankment is drawn, doors will be installed. This will allow the large rooms to get natural daylight and be usable living space.
- The stair step projecting into the hallway is bad and will definitely be removed.
We have also been thinking about other things:
- The hallway upstairs is planned as a “library.” To bring in light, we intend to use two light wells with diameters of 30–35cm (12–14 inches). The advantage: it will never be completely dark at night when someone needs to use the bathroom.
- The fireplace will be a soapstone stove; no plan exists yet. Strictly speaking, it will not stand against a wall but form the wall itself. We also planned a second connection in the fireplace room; originally we wanted a tunnel fireplace but were convinced it’s not a good idea as a room divider.
- The children’s rooms are not ideal — one faces north, the other south. We could make two narrow, elongated rooms and a corridor so both face south, but we consider that clearly suboptimal.
- All doors on the ground floor will be 1m (3.3 feet) wide to at least accommodate wheelchair access reasonably.
I think that’s it. Thanks for your opinions!
@HausaufGrund
I think I actually missed your design yesterday.. thanks again for the heads-up!
I believe the devil is in the details. When I mark the necessary support posts on your design, they always end up in walkways, and the load-bearing beams rest on them. That’s why we can’t just plan the narrower rooms on the ground floor as you did – this is the reason why the staircase, measuring 5.22 meters (17 feet 2 inches), doesn’t fit. We’ll need to discuss this with the architect to see if there’s a different way to handle it.
We don’t want the roof terrace you planned since we have a large garden and would prefer an open roof structure on the ground floor instead – I don’t have a mockup handy to show how that should look, but it’s great in my imagination.
As for the upper floor and our bathroom, just as you pointed out: We have quite different sleeping patterns, so the person who gets up first doesn’t want to move through the bedroom multiple times. So far, I’m quite satisfied with the layout, and if the bathtub is moved to the kids’ bathroom, we will have plenty of space for a double shower and some ambiance.
We’ll contact the architect again today to see what we can implement. No matter how much it ends up being, I feel our last design is already a significant improvement – and maybe she will also have some additional ideas.
I think I actually missed your design yesterday.. thanks again for the heads-up!
I believe the devil is in the details. When I mark the necessary support posts on your design, they always end up in walkways, and the load-bearing beams rest on them. That’s why we can’t just plan the narrower rooms on the ground floor as you did – this is the reason why the staircase, measuring 5.22 meters (17 feet 2 inches), doesn’t fit. We’ll need to discuss this with the architect to see if there’s a different way to handle it.
We don’t want the roof terrace you planned since we have a large garden and would prefer an open roof structure on the ground floor instead – I don’t have a mockup handy to show how that should look, but it’s great in my imagination.
As for the upper floor and our bathroom, just as you pointed out: We have quite different sleeping patterns, so the person who gets up first doesn’t want to move through the bedroom multiple times. So far, I’m quite satisfied with the layout, and if the bathtub is moved to the kids’ bathroom, we will have plenty of space for a double shower and some ambiance.
We’ll contact the architect again today to see what we can implement. No matter how much it ends up being, I feel our last design is already a significant improvement – and maybe she will also have some additional ideas.
@haydee
You are absolutely right, the ventilation system does not reduce the amount of window area that needs to be opened; that is something architects do—they have also planned many fixed glazing elements instead of openable windows in our designs. I do not want that. If I have all windows openable, I can avoid the complexity of the ventilation system, but I have been dealing with dry air in the office for half a year now. I have been reading along for a year and know that they have their justification, but sometimes you give up certain comfort or energy-saving features for personal reasons.
You are absolutely right, the ventilation system does not reduce the amount of window area that needs to be opened; that is something architects do—they have also planned many fixed glazing elements instead of openable windows in our designs. I do not want that. If I have all windows openable, I can avoid the complexity of the ventilation system, but I have been dealing with dry air in the office for half a year now. I have been reading along for a year and know that they have their justification, but sometimes you give up certain comfort or energy-saving features for personal reasons.
H
HausaufGrund14 Jun 2018 14:57Regarding the ventilation system:
Definitely choose one with humidity recovery, as such systems are available. In large houses, it can quickly happen that the moisture input from a relatively low number of occupants—for example, from showering—is not sufficient. In extreme cases, this can cause parquet flooring to crack or similar issues. Since you plan to use a lot of wood in your construction, this is especially important. Zehnder, for example, offers such ventilation systems with heat and humidity recovery. An advanced solution is ventilation systems where you can set the air humidity in percent—this is also possible if your budget allows.
Regarding structural engineering: I would definitely not limit the floor plan too much just to save 5 or 10,000 euros. Of course, everything is a matter of cost, but I wouldn’t compromise on this. The architect should calculate and consider this—perhaps it’s the key to your desired staircase solution?
As mentioned: sliding doors (floor-to-ceiling) could also be installed north of the staircase if needed. Of course, in that case, the front side of the staircase cannot be left open, and it would run between two walls. Sliding doors “open up” walls and have a completely different visual and spatial connection effect compared to regular doors. This way, you can suddenly turn two rooms into one large space or create an open floor plan from previously separated rooms. It must, of course, fit conceptually with the rest of the design.
Regarding bathroom access, in my proposed floor plan, the bathroom could still be connected to the hallway. The toilet would just need to be relocated elsewhere.
Best regards
Definitely choose one with humidity recovery, as such systems are available. In large houses, it can quickly happen that the moisture input from a relatively low number of occupants—for example, from showering—is not sufficient. In extreme cases, this can cause parquet flooring to crack or similar issues. Since you plan to use a lot of wood in your construction, this is especially important. Zehnder, for example, offers such ventilation systems with heat and humidity recovery. An advanced solution is ventilation systems where you can set the air humidity in percent—this is also possible if your budget allows.
Regarding structural engineering: I would definitely not limit the floor plan too much just to save 5 or 10,000 euros. Of course, everything is a matter of cost, but I wouldn’t compromise on this. The architect should calculate and consider this—perhaps it’s the key to your desired staircase solution?
As mentioned: sliding doors (floor-to-ceiling) could also be installed north of the staircase if needed. Of course, in that case, the front side of the staircase cannot be left open, and it would run between two walls. Sliding doors “open up” walls and have a completely different visual and spatial connection effect compared to regular doors. This way, you can suddenly turn two rooms into one large space or create an open floor plan from previously separated rooms. It must, of course, fit conceptually with the rest of the design.
Regarding bathroom access, in my proposed floor plan, the bathroom could still be connected to the hallway. The toilet would just need to be relocated elsewhere.
Best regards
Maybe you should ask the architect again. A door under the stairs would look something like this:
In such a huge house with high-end finishing, I think it spoils the overall impression. That kind of door is usually only done in tiny houses where every millimeter (inch) counts.
In such a huge house with high-end finishing, I think it spoils the overall impression. That kind of door is usually only done in tiny houses where every millimeter (inch) counts.
Really? Our architect did not design reduced or fixed windows. We have one window that doesn’t open, and it’s next to the front door. Also, none of our friends have reduced or fixed windows.
Regarding the staircase, I have to agree with Kaho. A door under the stairs does not fit the design of the project. I think Hausaufgrund’s suggestion is quite good. He is also right—when it comes to 5,000 or 10,000 euros on this project, I wouldn’t make compromises. Does your architect usually design large houses or more “standard” single-family homes up to 190 m² (2,045 sq ft)?
Regarding the staircase, I have to agree with Kaho. A door under the stairs does not fit the design of the project. I think Hausaufgrund’s suggestion is quite good. He is also right—when it comes to 5,000 or 10,000 euros on this project, I wouldn’t make compromises. Does your architect usually design large houses or more “standard” single-family homes up to 190 m² (2,045 sq ft)?
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