ᐅ Placement of House, Terrace, Carport, and More within the Building Envelope
Created on: 2 May 2021 22:21
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Hausbauer4747
We have started planning our plot, and with a large building area of about 35x40m (115x131 feet), we currently don’t have any problems. What concerns me, however, is balancing the following compromise:
1. Maximizing the distance from the street to reduce noise and increase privacy
2. Minimizing the distance from the street to avoid enlarging the little-used front yard and losing garden space behind the house. Technical connections will be more expensive, and costs for paving longer driveways will also increase, etc.
I need about 6 meters (20 feet) between the property boundary and the garage to be able to park a car on my property in front of the garage. If I move further away from the street, the garage shifts southward due to the diagonal northern boundary line of the lot, and so do the house and terrace. This means the outdoor areas would move from the more attractive south side to the less attractive north side.
What would be a reasonable compromise here, and do two or three meters more distance from the street really make a difference? It’s also worth mentioning that hardly any traffic is expected since the plot is located on a dead-end street.
In our initial draft, we "drew" a 6x9m (20x30 feet) prefabricated garage, a 3.5x6m (11x20 feet) carport roof, and a house measuring 12x11m (39x36 feet). On the far left in green are 3 meters (10 feet) of the plot that must be kept free as an access right. The dark green hedges were initially assumed to be one meter (3 feet) deep.
Have I completely missed an important consideration in my planning? Thanks in advance for all advice!
1. Maximizing the distance from the street to reduce noise and increase privacy
2. Minimizing the distance from the street to avoid enlarging the little-used front yard and losing garden space behind the house. Technical connections will be more expensive, and costs for paving longer driveways will also increase, etc.
I need about 6 meters (20 feet) between the property boundary and the garage to be able to park a car on my property in front of the garage. If I move further away from the street, the garage shifts southward due to the diagonal northern boundary line of the lot, and so do the house and terrace. This means the outdoor areas would move from the more attractive south side to the less attractive north side.
What would be a reasonable compromise here, and do two or three meters more distance from the street really make a difference? It’s also worth mentioning that hardly any traffic is expected since the plot is located on a dead-end street.
In our initial draft, we "drew" a 6x9m (20x30 feet) prefabricated garage, a 3.5x6m (11x20 feet) carport roof, and a house measuring 12x11m (39x36 feet). On the far left in green are 3 meters (10 feet) of the plot that must be kept free as an access right. The dark green hedges were initially assumed to be one meter (3 feet) deep.
Have I completely missed an important consideration in my planning? Thanks in advance for all advice!
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hampshire3 May 2021 09:20Hausbauer4747 schrieb:
to avoid expanding the rather unused front yard and losing space in the garden behind the house. If the front yard is truly not going to be used, that is of course a consideration. I have a few reasons for using the front yard:
- It gets the morning sun. Having a nice spot for coffee or breakfast is something special. With planting, you can create a semi-public setting.
- As soon as a family has teenage children, there will often be competition for garden use. Having a place in the front yard for the youth is very valuable—for everyone involved.
- A front yard with seating is a great buffer area for various situations where you don’t want people inside or behind the house. It allows you to welcome others without inviting them inside.
- Depending on the kitchen location and how much you enjoy cooking, the front yard section with morning and midday sun is a suitable place near a kitchen entrance to grow edible plants.
- You’d be surprised how many vehicles children and teenagers bring together when playing. Allocating space for that is quite a pleasant luxury.
Of course, this doesn’t require a particularly large front yard, but it’s a nice use of the space.
Therefore: use the space in front of the house and position the house further back (which, of course, is usually the more expensive option...).
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Hausbauer47475 May 2021 19:21ypg schrieb:
I would probably position the garage by the street (keeping the setback limit), with the driveway opening facing north. This way, the house can be placed further north, using the garage as a buffer to the street.Do the 3 meters (10 feet) setbacks also apply to garages? I thought you could place them right on the property line. I tried that option once, and it definitely has some advantages. Please don’t be surprised that the first design had a straight east side; it wasn’t completely accurate but was easier to create in the software.
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GeradeSchräg5 May 2021 19:28I think @ypg is referring to the setback from the street, which is commonly 5 m (16 feet). This is intended to ensure that a vehicle can fully exit the garage without driving onto public traffic areas. In most cases, the garage is allowed to be built up to the property boundary shared with the neighboring house unless otherwise specified in the development plan / building encumbrance register.
Garages built parallel to the street, meaning the driveway runs parallel to the street, are allowed to be closer to the street (at least in Baden-Württemberg).
Garages built parallel to the street, meaning the driveway runs parallel to the street, are allowed to be closer to the street (at least in Baden-Württemberg).
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Hausbauer47475 May 2021 19:31I have to smile right now—“StraightSlant” fits perfectly for the first straight and then slanted eastern property boundary. 😉 Thanks for the assessment; driving out shouldn’t be a problem since the road above still extends along the northern property line. Does the option to place a garage right on the property boundary apply only to the neighboring property, or also to the street or sidewalk as shown in the illustration above? In this case, I wouldn’t have a neighbor there, just the sidewalk.
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hanghaus20005 May 2021 19:45Is there a zoning plan?
Building envelope / building boundary?
Do you already own the plot of land?
A detailed site plan?
What does the surrounding area look like?
Which federal state / region?
Building style?
Number of floors?
Building envelope / building boundary?
Do you already own the plot of land?
A detailed site plan?
What does the surrounding area look like?
Which federal state / region?
Building style?
Number of floors?
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Hausbauer47475 May 2021 20:49@hanghaus2000: Yes, there are documents where I just found the sentence "Garages, carports, and parking spaces are only permitted within the designated building areas on the property," so apparently, a garage on the property boundary is not allowed. This would also rule out the option mentioned in the original post and require moving the entire structure further south. Hmm, we still need to think this through.
There is a development plan, but apart from a 3m (10 feet) setback and specifications for roof pitch, there are no significant restrictions. The lot has been purchased, and the building area is roughly 35x40m (115x130 feet). There is no surrounding development yet, nor any requirement to align with neighboring buildings. Currently, it is just a meadow. NRW, likely a two-story townhouse.
There is a development plan, but apart from a 3m (10 feet) setback and specifications for roof pitch, there are no significant restrictions. The lot has been purchased, and the building area is roughly 35x40m (115x130 feet). There is no surrounding development yet, nor any requirement to align with neighboring buildings. Currently, it is just a meadow. NRW, likely a two-story townhouse.
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