ᐅ New Single-Family Home Construction Without a Basement: Seeking Floor Plan Review and Improved Upper Floor Layout
Created on: 30 Dec 2025 15:07
T
thorsten2025
Hello home builders,
I’m new here, so please forgive me if I accidentally break any forum etiquette.
A brief introduction: I’m 49 years old, a mechanical engineer, separated, with 2 children (9 and 12 years old). I have renovation experience since I completely renovated a house built in 1978 together with my ex-partner, doing most of the work ourselves. The children live with me about 30% of the time.
I think it’s great that forums like this exist and I’m looking forward to your answers.
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 573m2 (6,171 sq ft)
Slope: no
Site coverage ratio: no development plan
Floor area ratio: no development plan
Building envelope / building line / boundary: Requirement that the house should be positioned similarly to the previous house on the plot (heritage-listed, but no longer salvageable)
Border development: to the north (top), a 2.5m (8 ft) setback from the center of the path must be maintained
Number of parking spaces: no requirement, double garage planned
Number of floors: 1.5, or adapted to surrounding buildings
Roof type: gable roof with approx. 40° pitch
Architectural style: adapted to surroundings, reddish-brown tiles
Orientation: gable facing the street
Maximum height / limits: adapted to surroundings
Other requirements
Client requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: Single-family house, timber frame, KfW40 standard
Basement, floors: no basement, 1.5 floors with 1.5m (5 ft) usable knee wall height
Number of occupants, ages: 3 people, 49, 9, 12
Space requirements on ground floor / upper floor: Ground floor with utility room, guest WC, storage room, open living-dining area, entrance from the courtyard, not from the street
Office: family use or home office? 95% family use
Annual overnight guests: 10 (mostly the children)
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern style: conservative to fit the surroundings
Open kitchen, kitchen island: yes + yes
Number of dining seats: 4-6
Fireplace: no
Music / stereo wall: TV wall
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: double garage with workshop room behind
Utility garden, greenhouse: eventually...
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons why certain things are desired or avoided
Wish: platform staircase for aesthetic and comfort reasons, lots of natural light on the ground floor, space for a small study that can also be used as a guest room
House design
Who designed it: The plan is from me (engineer, can’t help myself), almost adopted 1:1 from several prefab home suppliers and my carpenter’s design office
What do you especially like? The open layout of the ground floor facing the garden
What don’t you like? Why?: The upper floor, as there is always some unused space and no proper walk-in closet (though the walk-in closet is not a must since there’s no woman in the house ;-) )
Price estimate according to architect/planner: 365,000 as a shell house
Personal price limit for house, including fittings: 510,000
Preferred heating system: air-to-water heat pump with underfloor heating, ventilation system
If you had to give up, which details or expansions
- you could give up: walk-in closet and … if it really brings a big advantage -> platform staircase
- you couldn’t give up: open living-dining area
Why did the design turn out like it is now? For example:
Standard design from the planner?: Looked at many show homes, thought it through, then created several variations myself in CAD
Which requests were implemented by the architect?
A mix of many examples from various magazines...
What makes it, in your opinion, particularly good or bad? The room layout on the upper floor gives me a headache... it can definitely be optimized
The dimensions in the hand sketch of the site plan are not 100% accurate, it still shows 9.5m (31 ft), but now I’m at around 8.3-8.5m (27-28 ft)
Best regards from sunny Baden-Württemberg,
thorsten2025
I’m new here, so please forgive me if I accidentally break any forum etiquette.
A brief introduction: I’m 49 years old, a mechanical engineer, separated, with 2 children (9 and 12 years old). I have renovation experience since I completely renovated a house built in 1978 together with my ex-partner, doing most of the work ourselves. The children live with me about 30% of the time.
I think it’s great that forums like this exist and I’m looking forward to your answers.
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 573m2 (6,171 sq ft)
Slope: no
Site coverage ratio: no development plan
Floor area ratio: no development plan
Building envelope / building line / boundary: Requirement that the house should be positioned similarly to the previous house on the plot (heritage-listed, but no longer salvageable)
Border development: to the north (top), a 2.5m (8 ft) setback from the center of the path must be maintained
Number of parking spaces: no requirement, double garage planned
Number of floors: 1.5, or adapted to surrounding buildings
Roof type: gable roof with approx. 40° pitch
Architectural style: adapted to surroundings, reddish-brown tiles
Orientation: gable facing the street
Maximum height / limits: adapted to surroundings
Other requirements
Client requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: Single-family house, timber frame, KfW40 standard
Basement, floors: no basement, 1.5 floors with 1.5m (5 ft) usable knee wall height
Number of occupants, ages: 3 people, 49, 9, 12
Space requirements on ground floor / upper floor: Ground floor with utility room, guest WC, storage room, open living-dining area, entrance from the courtyard, not from the street
Office: family use or home office? 95% family use
Annual overnight guests: 10 (mostly the children)
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern style: conservative to fit the surroundings
Open kitchen, kitchen island: yes + yes
Number of dining seats: 4-6
Fireplace: no
Music / stereo wall: TV wall
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: double garage with workshop room behind
Utility garden, greenhouse: eventually...
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons why certain things are desired or avoided
Wish: platform staircase for aesthetic and comfort reasons, lots of natural light on the ground floor, space for a small study that can also be used as a guest room
House design
Who designed it: The plan is from me (engineer, can’t help myself), almost adopted 1:1 from several prefab home suppliers and my carpenter’s design office
What do you especially like? The open layout of the ground floor facing the garden
What don’t you like? Why?: The upper floor, as there is always some unused space and no proper walk-in closet (though the walk-in closet is not a must since there’s no woman in the house ;-) )
Price estimate according to architect/planner: 365,000 as a shell house
Personal price limit for house, including fittings: 510,000
Preferred heating system: air-to-water heat pump with underfloor heating, ventilation system
If you had to give up, which details or expansions
- you could give up: walk-in closet and … if it really brings a big advantage -> platform staircase
- you couldn’t give up: open living-dining area
Why did the design turn out like it is now? For example:
Standard design from the planner?: Looked at many show homes, thought it through, then created several variations myself in CAD
Which requests were implemented by the architect?
A mix of many examples from various magazines...
What makes it, in your opinion, particularly good or bad? The room layout on the upper floor gives me a headache... it can definitely be optimized
The dimensions in the hand sketch of the site plan are not 100% accurate, it still shows 9.5m (31 ft), but now I’m at around 8.3-8.5m (27-28 ft)
Best regards from sunny Baden-Württemberg,
thorsten2025
Unfortunately, this is a bit off topic
No idea. I don’t read every rhetorical theory. So far, I haven’t seen anything about “planning.” That makes me curious.
Actually, no.
You mentioned back then something about telephone systems/consulting, and that it has been more or less continuous (over decades?)
I checked your website: it says, “although large parts of my expertise lay dormant for decades.”
Other CVs can usually be traced clearly.
Everyone has the right to change (like the butcher) and to acquire knowledge, including theoretical knowledge. And we also know that you have more decades of experience than others of the same age. Still, you should consider that much could be misunderstood, because words are so patient 😉
11ant schrieb:
I have certainly mentioned the length of my planning experience several times.
No idea. I don’t read every rhetorical theory. So far, I haven’t seen anything about “planning.” That makes me curious.
11ant schrieb:
And also that most of it was and is residential construction
Actually, no.
You mentioned back then something about telephone systems/consulting, and that it has been more or less continuous (over decades?)
I checked your website: it says, “although large parts of my expertise lay dormant for decades.”
Other CVs can usually be traced clearly.
Everyone has the right to change (like the butcher) and to acquire knowledge, including theoretical knowledge. And we also know that you have more decades of experience than others of the same age. Still, you should consider that much could be misunderstood, because words are so patient 😉
ypg schrieb:
No idea. I don’t read every rhetorical theory. So far, I haven’t seen anything about “planning.” And that draws attention. No rhetorical theory. If things need to move fast – meaning a visible result on the same day – I can express myself much better in writing than by drawing, and besides, you, Katja, and Kerstin already provide plenty of visual input here for those asking questions, even without my contributions. For my personal clients, I do also provide practical support. However, that often involves modifying other people’s drawings, which I avoid posting online for legal reasons.
ypg schrieb:
Actually no.
You once mentioned telephone systems/consulting, and that fairly permanently (over decades?)
On your homepage (I checked) it says: “even though large parts of my expertise lay dormant for decades.” Actually, yes. Since 1992 I have worked as a holistic business consultant, primarily focusing on owner-managed small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with about 20 to 50 employees, mainly in the KO/BN region, with a specialization in procurement and adaptation of ICT infrastructure (telecommunications itself, IT through partners; that’s why I also know a home automation specialist). Since 2008, I expanded my scope nationwide. In 2014, I was appointed (too late and therefore unsuccessfully) as restructuring managing director of a window manufacturing company, and afterward I managed a window trading company that had taken over their sales department.
ypg schrieb:
Other CVs can be traced back understandably. Mine actually includes significantly more than what has been recorded in the commercial register.
ypg schrieb:
Everyone has the right to change (like the butcher) and to acquire knowledge, including theoretical knowledge. And we also know that you have more decades of experience under your belt than others of the same age. Still, you should consider that many things could be misunderstood because words are so patient. In fact, it was my father, a commercial clerk, who left a family butcher dynasty. My Asperger’s explains my unusual hobby for a fourth grader – building planning (which I have never abandoned and in which I have always continued learning mostly self-taught except for a professional internship in 1984 with an architect specialized in historical building preservation) – as well as, combined with my speaking standard German in the Rhineland but coming from a Berlin immigrant background, why I am regularly misunderstood. I have always practiced my business as a management consultant using architectural work methods and have dealt so much with (I)CT that building planning was for a long time just a hobby. In 2017, during my burnout therapy, I started browsing construction forums and was surprised by how little my expertise had faded. Since 2019, my clients have pushed me towards private consultations, resulting in (I)CT consulting being done only by recommendation. Additionally, I support owner-managed SMEs in generational transitions. To proactively answer frequently asked questions, in 2019 I also started my homebuilder information blog “Building Now,” which had a different name before 2021 (changed to avoid conflicts). So, without yet being retired, I have lifelong experience in building planning and happened to be involved in a window factory and gained personal experience with insolvency law (I also volunteer as head of a regional debtor’s assistance office, which connects with prisoner support). I also do political consulting to help reduce the problems some municipalities cause during land allocation, like those described by @goalkeeper. This way, a specialist does not become a narrow-minded expert, and there is never a dull moment. The only thing I haven’t found a solution for is the skilled labor shortage (as a self-taught person, I’m not allowed to train apprentices), so my clients must endure specialist-like waiting times. This spring, a new association will be established with the hope of soon enabling the hiring of assistants. Any other questions, Kienzle?
Off topic: My mother co-founded several projects promoting musical international understanding and organized a medical congress. My godfather is involved in a gallery association and works on restoring the organ of his hometown church. It should not go unmentioned that my brother has more followers than I do. So I guess it runs in the family ;-)
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
11ant schrieb:
Any more questions,I did not ask you a question.