ᐅ New build attached semi-detached house (connected to existing building) on a small, sloped plot
Created on: 13 Sep 2019 12:19
F
FamilieBausH
Hello,
we (currently a family of four) are building on a very small infill plot in our dream location, which presents some challenges. We have worked on the attached floor plan for a long time and are mostly satisfied with it. Since it was created by us as non-professionals, we are considering having it revised by an architect, but we are unsure if that would be worthwhile. As a first step, we would really appreciate your feedback!!
On the east side of the building, we are building flush against an existing house, so the side dimension as well as the height and roof pitch are predetermined. The other side dimension was chosen to be as large as possible according to the required setback distances from the property boundary. (Note: the room layouts shown in the “Section” graphic are no longer up to date.)
Another special feature is that the street level (north side) is slightly higher than the garden level (south side). For a long time, we considered split-level solutions or simply one less floor, but we decided against this to retain as much living space as possible.
As a result, the living and dining areas are on two different levels, which is the main challenge of the project. It would be nicer on one floor, of course! But this provides quite large rooms. We chose to place the kitchen/dining area “upstairs” because we usually only use the living room from the afternoon onward, so in the mornings you don’t have to go all the way downstairs. To understand the plan: from the kitchen, you go upstairs on the right side and downstairs on the left side, where the staircase then leads outside the stairwell to the left directly into the living room in an open manner.
We are really looking forward to your opinions!!!
Flush extension to existing semi-detached house
(Extension side is the east side of the building with 9.99m (33 feet))
Plot size: 259 sqm (2,788 sq ft)
Slope: 140cm (55 inches) difference from north (street, higher) to south (terrace)
Building dimensions: 9.99 x 8.73 m (33 x 29 feet)
Number of floors: see section -> basement with terrace access/north side cellar rooms, ground floor with street access via front staircase, upper floor, attic
Number of parking spaces: 1
Roof type: gable roof 45°
Style: semi-detached house, townhouse
Heights: eaves height 9.24 m (30 ft), ridge height 13.2 m (43 ft) above street level
Homeowners’ requirements
Number of people, ages: 2 adults, 2 children (0 and 3 years), a 3rd child possible
Office: necessary, usage approx. 2 hours/day
Kitchen: open plan with island
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: planned in the living room under the staircase
Roof terrace: desirable as an alternative to the very small garden area
Carport with storage room desired
Window seat in dining room desired
Laundry and drying room desired on upper floor
Study room planned as possible 3rd children’s room: study can then be converted to a basement room in the eastern cellar room
House design
Origin of plan: Own idea, implemented by builder’s planner
Estimated cost according to planner: 350,000
Personal price limit for the house, including fittings: 350,000
Preferred heating technology: gas condensing boiler, water-bearing fireplace
If you had to give up some details/additions,
- you could give up: dormer in the attic
- you cannot give up: window seat, utility room on upper floor, connection between basement and ground floor by e.g. the gallery
Why is the design as it is now?
The main challenge was the many floors. The core goal was to “feel” connected living and dining areas, even though they are on two different levels. With the gallery and staircase, we believe this has been achieved.
Which wishes were implemented? Wish for a parents’ floor, three rooms on the floor below plus utility room, open kitchen with island, half-landing staircase.
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad? View from dining room into greenery, gallery as a special feature, large living room with fireplace under/in the staircase.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
Do you see any planning or conceptual mistakes or weaknesses in practical or aesthetic terms?
Where do you see alternatives or optimizations?
Have we missed a “must-have”?
we (currently a family of four) are building on a very small infill plot in our dream location, which presents some challenges. We have worked on the attached floor plan for a long time and are mostly satisfied with it. Since it was created by us as non-professionals, we are considering having it revised by an architect, but we are unsure if that would be worthwhile. As a first step, we would really appreciate your feedback!!
On the east side of the building, we are building flush against an existing house, so the side dimension as well as the height and roof pitch are predetermined. The other side dimension was chosen to be as large as possible according to the required setback distances from the property boundary. (Note: the room layouts shown in the “Section” graphic are no longer up to date.)
Another special feature is that the street level (north side) is slightly higher than the garden level (south side). For a long time, we considered split-level solutions or simply one less floor, but we decided against this to retain as much living space as possible.
As a result, the living and dining areas are on two different levels, which is the main challenge of the project. It would be nicer on one floor, of course! But this provides quite large rooms. We chose to place the kitchen/dining area “upstairs” because we usually only use the living room from the afternoon onward, so in the mornings you don’t have to go all the way downstairs. To understand the plan: from the kitchen, you go upstairs on the right side and downstairs on the left side, where the staircase then leads outside the stairwell to the left directly into the living room in an open manner.
We are really looking forward to your opinions!!!
Flush extension to existing semi-detached house
(Extension side is the east side of the building with 9.99m (33 feet))
Plot size: 259 sqm (2,788 sq ft)
Slope: 140cm (55 inches) difference from north (street, higher) to south (terrace)
Building dimensions: 9.99 x 8.73 m (33 x 29 feet)
Number of floors: see section -> basement with terrace access/north side cellar rooms, ground floor with street access via front staircase, upper floor, attic
Number of parking spaces: 1
Roof type: gable roof 45°
Style: semi-detached house, townhouse
Heights: eaves height 9.24 m (30 ft), ridge height 13.2 m (43 ft) above street level
Homeowners’ requirements
Number of people, ages: 2 adults, 2 children (0 and 3 years), a 3rd child possible
Office: necessary, usage approx. 2 hours/day
Kitchen: open plan with island
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: planned in the living room under the staircase
Roof terrace: desirable as an alternative to the very small garden area
Carport with storage room desired
Window seat in dining room desired
Laundry and drying room desired on upper floor
Study room planned as possible 3rd children’s room: study can then be converted to a basement room in the eastern cellar room
House design
Origin of plan: Own idea, implemented by builder’s planner
Estimated cost according to planner: 350,000
Personal price limit for the house, including fittings: 350,000
Preferred heating technology: gas condensing boiler, water-bearing fireplace
If you had to give up some details/additions,
- you could give up: dormer in the attic
- you cannot give up: window seat, utility room on upper floor, connection between basement and ground floor by e.g. the gallery
Why is the design as it is now?
The main challenge was the many floors. The core goal was to “feel” connected living and dining areas, even though they are on two different levels. With the gallery and staircase, we believe this has been achieved.
Which wishes were implemented? Wish for a parents’ floor, three rooms on the floor below plus utility room, open kitchen with island, half-landing staircase.
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad? View from dining room into greenery, gallery as a special feature, large living room with fireplace under/in the staircase.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
Do you see any planning or conceptual mistakes or weaknesses in practical or aesthetic terms?
Where do you see alternatives or optimizations?
Have we missed a “must-have”?
Regarding the dormer issue:
Dormers often need to be set back within the roof, meaning they have to be positioned away from the gable. In any case, they must be subordinate in design. This can result in dormers not being feasible.
You should consider this. Aside from the fact that, for me, a living room can be arranged at a higher level, also as a niche, extension, or opening, the kitchen/dining area holds central importance. Eliminate the idea of your 3-room apartment with a kitchen cubicle and balcony access from the living room.
@haydee provided practical examples related to living with children. This setup does not work well if there is a staircase in between. With a garden, your daily routines will be different. Over time, the staircase becomes an unnecessary hazard during the day.
Otherwise, this type of construction is possible. There are not many options anyway.
Problems could arise with the drainage for the upper floor toilet/bathroom.
There will be no fireplace under a staircase because a fireplace requires a chimney.
I would reconsider the attic floor.
Dormers often need to be set back within the roof, meaning they have to be positioned away from the gable. In any case, they must be subordinate in design. This can result in dormers not being feasible.
FamilieBausH schrieb:
but no, we want it that way with the result of the long route from the coffee machine to the garden chairs!
You should consider this. Aside from the fact that, for me, a living room can be arranged at a higher level, also as a niche, extension, or opening, the kitchen/dining area holds central importance. Eliminate the idea of your 3-room apartment with a kitchen cubicle and balcony access from the living room.
@haydee provided practical examples related to living with children. This setup does not work well if there is a staircase in between. With a garden, your daily routines will be different. Over time, the staircase becomes an unnecessary hazard during the day.
Otherwise, this type of construction is possible. There are not many options anyway.
Problems could arise with the drainage for the upper floor toilet/bathroom.
There will be no fireplace under a staircase because a fireplace requires a chimney.
I would reconsider the attic floor.
F
FamilieBausH16 Sep 2019 11:25Good morning,
we have reconsidered in detail what we already discussed extensively six months ago. Additional reasons for having the dining area “upstairs” (meaning on the ground floor) were: it is much brighter there. At terrace level it is darker, which we cannot imagine for the dining area. Also, spontaneous visitors are usually invited for coffee, while only “real” guests are invited to the sofa. So it makes sense for us to have the kitchen on the same floor as the front door. So, unfortunately, we are not willing to change that! Especially since the garden is really tiny, and there will be little playing there, let alone running around.
Thank you very much for the tip about fire protection and the dormer! Very important information. I already mentioned at the beginning that we could also do without the dormer. We will probably do that then!
Regarding the chimney: We discussed it with the district chimney sweep responsible, since we were not sure if it would be possible. But it is! The chimney is also marked on the plans. The flue pipe would just be longer (running through the utility room), but he said that is actually not bad for such a tall chimney.
@11ants: I love the term “Mehrsinglehaus”! Yes, that applies to the neighboring house. One apartment per floor; the footprint is about the same size as ours.
@ypg: In what way could the drain become problematic?
You would be really helpful with ideas about what you would still change in the attic (@ypg).
Also, we are not very happy that the children’s rooms on the upper floor are so “square and practical.” We actually like some corners or even niches. Does anyone have ideas? We already tried to create some corners in the living room, but were not satisfied. Any input from you here?
One more question about the asbestos-paneled neighbor wall and the issue of cost coverage: does anyone know where we could find information about this? We found nothing in neighborhood law etc. Even the regional representative of the home builders’ association had no answer!
Thank you all!!
we have reconsidered in detail what we already discussed extensively six months ago. Additional reasons for having the dining area “upstairs” (meaning on the ground floor) were: it is much brighter there. At terrace level it is darker, which we cannot imagine for the dining area. Also, spontaneous visitors are usually invited for coffee, while only “real” guests are invited to the sofa. So it makes sense for us to have the kitchen on the same floor as the front door. So, unfortunately, we are not willing to change that! Especially since the garden is really tiny, and there will be little playing there, let alone running around.
Thank you very much for the tip about fire protection and the dormer! Very important information. I already mentioned at the beginning that we could also do without the dormer. We will probably do that then!
Regarding the chimney: We discussed it with the district chimney sweep responsible, since we were not sure if it would be possible. But it is! The chimney is also marked on the plans. The flue pipe would just be longer (running through the utility room), but he said that is actually not bad for such a tall chimney.
@11ants: I love the term “Mehrsinglehaus”! Yes, that applies to the neighboring house. One apartment per floor; the footprint is about the same size as ours.
@ypg: In what way could the drain become problematic?
You would be really helpful with ideas about what you would still change in the attic (@ypg).
Also, we are not very happy that the children’s rooms on the upper floor are so “square and practical.” We actually like some corners or even niches. Does anyone have ideas? We already tried to create some corners in the living room, but were not satisfied. Any input from you here?
One more question about the asbestos-paneled neighbor wall and the issue of cost coverage: does anyone know where we could find information about this? We found nothing in neighborhood law etc. Even the regional representative of the home builders’ association had no answer!
Thank you all!!
FamilieBausH schrieb:
Especially since the garden is really that small, there won’t be much playing, unfortunately, let alone running around. Playing and running around are basic needs for children – if there’s no more space for that in the garden, the adults will simply have to be more modest during this phase.
FamilieBausH schrieb:
Thank you very much for the advice regarding fire protection and the dormer! By the way, this generally applies to openings in and near firewalls, so a double casement window in this area is probably affected as well. But you don’t need to educate yourself on all the details: for your project, I generally recommend hiring an independent architect, who a) knows about such matters, and b) I remind you that not everything should be spoon-fed. In my opinion, your drawings are already too developed as a draft for a planning discussion. That means the architect appointment should be arranged between now and our next discussions.
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