ᐅ New Single-Family Home Construction – Join Us on Our Journey!
Created on: 4 Aug 2022 16:13
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gregman22
Dear community,
We are finally getting a step closer to realizing our dream of building a single-family home.
The plot has been purchased, building plans have been reviewed, construction method decided, and so on. We have now commissioned the architect of the general contractor (GC) of our choice with the planning task and are currently fine-tuning the house design. I would love to take you along on this journey and incorporate your valuable feedback.
At this stage, the focus is on the house design.
Basic data:
Plot: 1062m2 (11,433 sq ft); approx. 25.5m x 41.64m (84 ft x 137 ft)
Orientation: Northwest -> The arrow in the screenshot of the 3D view points south
Desired room layout:
Ground floor:
First floor:
Attic:
Note: I am still discussing this with the architect. Due to the hipped roof shape, the actual living area has shrunk too much. Therefore, further discussion is needed to accommodate the other rooms. I had underestimated the ratio of gross floor area to usable living space.
Basement:
Additional plans:
Now to my first questions for you:
My biggest construction challenge at the moment is the layout of the attic. There are two alternatives:
- Change the roof type, which would increase costs but provide more usable living space in the attic
- Give up the playroom on the first floor, convert it into a guest room, and build only the two offices in the attic (no guest room or bathroom)
Thank you in advance for your comments.
We are finally getting a step closer to realizing our dream of building a single-family home.
The plot has been purchased, building plans have been reviewed, construction method decided, and so on. We have now commissioned the architect of the general contractor (GC) of our choice with the planning task and are currently fine-tuning the house design. I would love to take you along on this journey and incorporate your valuable feedback.
At this stage, the focus is on the house design.
Basic data:
Plot: 1062m2 (11,433 sq ft); approx. 25.5m x 41.64m (84 ft x 137 ft)
Orientation: Northwest -> The arrow in the screenshot of the 3D view points south
Desired room layout:
Ground floor:
- Large living/dining area with adjacent (but separable) kitchen at the bottom left, plus a gallery overlooking the first floor
- Utility room
- Guest toilet
- Garage
- Separate apartment at the top right with its own entrance for parents-in-law
First floor:
- Gallery overlooking the ground floor
- 2 children’s bedrooms with a shared bathroom
- 1 playroom (initially a home cinema room, later to be repurposed) above the garage
- Master wing with main bedroom, dressing room, and bathroom
Attic:
Note: I am still discussing this with the architect. Due to the hipped roof shape, the actual living area has shrunk too much. Therefore, further discussion is needed to accommodate the other rooms. I had underestimated the ratio of gross floor area to usable living space.
- 2 separate offices
- 1 guest bedroom
- 1 small guest bathroom
Basement:
- 1 technical room
- 1 laundry room
- 1 storage room
- Large fitness room
- Wellness room with sauna
Additional plans:
- Air-to-air heat pump or air-to-water heat pump
- Photovoltaic system with/without battery storage
- Possible pool (3.5/4m x 8m or 3.5/4m x 12m) with heat pump (and countercurrent system)
- Sauna in the basement room
- Air conditioning for various rooms
- Smart home system – most likely via KNX
- Garden: Currently planning 2 terraces – one to the left, slightly more to the south, and one facing the main part of the plot further north
Now to my first questions for you:
- How do the floor plans strike you? Do they make sense in terms of the dynamics of family life?
- The location of the separate apartment was chosen based on our wish. We wanted a strict, clearly defined spatial separation with a separate entrance. Do you have any comments on this?
- Do you consider the utility rooms in the basement to be adequately sized (considering KNX, heat pump, etc.)?
My biggest construction challenge at the moment is the layout of the attic. There are two alternatives:
- Change the roof type, which would increase costs but provide more usable living space in the attic
- Give up the playroom on the first floor, convert it into a guest room, and build only the two offices in the attic (no guest room or bathroom)
Thank you in advance for your comments.
My brother has what you might call an "airy ballroom." The construction date fits (just over 20 years ago), but the style is quite different. However, I find it fits perfectly with his plastered (timber-frame) house (and he agrees). The open space includes a two-sided (L-shaped) adjoining gallery that serves as a hallway alternative, providing access to the upper floor rooms. This gallery is separated from the open space by a wrought iron railing that he refurbished himself. Below the open space is a combined kitchen, dining, and living area, with double glass doors leading to the terrace, which serves as the main entrance and exit during the summer.
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gregman2231 Dec 2022 12:45Dear community,
Another month has passed, but progress has continued.
About a week ago, our architect submitted the planning application. This means that the building structure (external dimensions, windows, ceiling heights, etc.) is now fixed, and the approval process can begin.
Additionally, all requirements regarding flood protection have been resolved. The ground floor needs to be raised by a total of 15cm (6 inches), and this difference can be balanced out by the landscaper through backfilling. All additional efforts for extra planning steps will not incur any further costs.
We will now make the final refinements to the floor plans.
Currently, these topics are on our minds—perhaps you have some smart ideas or suggestions:
@Sunshine387 – thanks for defending our gallery 🙂
Another month has passed, but progress has continued.
About a week ago, our architect submitted the planning application. This means that the building structure (external dimensions, windows, ceiling heights, etc.) is now fixed, and the approval process can begin.
Additionally, all requirements regarding flood protection have been resolved. The ground floor needs to be raised by a total of 15cm (6 inches), and this difference can be balanced out by the landscaper through backfilling. All additional efforts for extra planning steps will not incur any further costs.
We will now make the final refinements to the floor plans.
Currently, these topics are on our minds—perhaps you have some smart ideas or suggestions:
- Due to flood protection, we will naturally build a basement with a waterproof concrete shell (“white tank”) and watertight, pressure-resistant windows. That settled the matter for me at first. However, a general contractor surprised me this week by saying we might have to place all technical equipment (i.e., the utility room) above the HQ100 flood protection level—so above the basement floor. That would be a disaster, and it’s the first time I’ve heard of this. I haven’t been able to speak with our architect yet because he is on vacation. What are your thoughts on this?
- I would like to rearrange the basement rooms a bit differently. The following technical components are currently planned: KNX cabinets with all actuators, network technology/server cabinet, heat pump unit for the geothermal system, water storage tank (probably 600 liters (160 gallons)), central ventilation unit, meter cabinets, photovoltaic storage.
- In our floor plan, there are currently two utility rooms planned: 24 sqm (258 sq ft) and 13.5 sqm (145 sq ft). Do you think the 24 sqm (258 sq ft) room is sufficient, so I could use the second room for something else?
- The utility room currently has a basement window. Is this absolutely necessary for heat dissipation, or could we allocate the window to another room (laundry/utility room)?
@Sunshine387 – thanks for defending our gallery 🙂
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gregman2231 Dec 2022 13:23@i_b_n_a_n thanks for the tip & sorry.
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xMisterDx31 Dec 2022 16:31Once again, someone who wants a lifetime of disputes over the significantly larger children's room. Especially since the large room is actually much bigger than 16m² (172 sq ft) due to the knee wall, and it’s also much, much brighter thanks to the additional roof window...
As a child number two, I would somehow feel unwanted. Well, it's your decision. The main thing is that the office is nice, big, and bright 😉
As a child number two, I would somehow feel unwanted. Well, it's your decision. The main thing is that the office is nice, big, and bright 😉
Nonsense, if child 2 or 3 can’t handle it, they should find different parents ;-)
Arguments about rooms happen anyway; that’s part of life. Often child 1 doesn’t come home at the same time as child 2, so depending on their ages, rooms can sometimes be exchanged. At least that reflects my real-life experience. In my childhood home, I had rooms ranging from 4m² (43 sq ft) up to about 20m² (215 sq ft), shared with my brother in between (with a wardrobe as a room divider). It works, and even as the youngest child—despite being disadvantaged when choosing rooms—I still turned out fine ;-) And don’t take everything so seriously. There is no perfect solution for this kind of thing.
Arguments about rooms happen anyway; that’s part of life. Often child 1 doesn’t come home at the same time as child 2, so depending on their ages, rooms can sometimes be exchanged. At least that reflects my real-life experience. In my childhood home, I had rooms ranging from 4m² (43 sq ft) up to about 20m² (215 sq ft), shared with my brother in between (with a wardrobe as a room divider). It works, and even as the youngest child—despite being disadvantaged when choosing rooms—I still turned out fine ;-) And don’t take everything so seriously. There is no perfect solution for this kind of thing.
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