Hello everyone,
I’m new here and would appreciate your opinions.
For weeks, I have been thinking about which house to choose, how to best position it, where to place the carport, and so on. You probably know the feeling.
Today, I can say that I have a design I’m comfortable with. The only thing I’m still unsure about is the orientation. I have placed the house facing south, toward the street, which means the garden is in the north, with a nice view of the fields. What do you think about this? Has anyone had a similar setup or experience? Where would the carport fit best?
Thank you very much for your time... Have a nice evening,
R.
I’m new here and would appreciate your opinions.
For weeks, I have been thinking about which house to choose, how to best position it, where to place the carport, and so on. You probably know the feeling.
Today, I can say that I have a design I’m comfortable with. The only thing I’m still unsure about is the orientation. I have placed the house facing south, toward the street, which means the garden is in the north, with a nice view of the fields. What do you think about this? Has anyone had a similar setup or experience? Where would the carport fit best?
Thank you very much for your time... Have a nice evening,
R.
H
hampshire17 May 2021 12:54Placing a single-story house on the plot is a small challenge, somewhat unusual—but it is possible and not inherently a bad idea. Having a view of the fields instead of the residential area also has its advantages. Everything is fine so far.
I would position a stable space or carport as close as possible to the road boundary and neighboring property line. Depending on local building regulations (building permit/planning permission), you may need to provide an additional parking space—it's best to check this. Do you have other vehicles (bicycles, pedal cars, scooters, etc.)? These also require accessible storage from the street and usually don’t fit well inside the house. Just something to consider.
Lighting is a challenge with this location if you want bright rooms. A north-facing orientation generally means less natural light. With a bungalow, you can work well with daylight from above—of course, like any special features, this involves additional costs.
Since you will probably be living in the house with your family, it makes sense to think about typical and preferred daily routines and activities. For children, it is worthwhile to consider that they will eventually become teenagers, who have different needs and present new challenges. Many parameters for the layout and placement on the plot arise from these considerations.
One common parameter to think about is spending time in the garden during summer—do you like to sit together? Do you prefer sun or shade? How many people? Also relaxing? Do you need one universal outdoor space, often called “the patio,” or do you set up multiple spaces?
Another factor is how you manage storage. Do you have a lot or a little clutter, space-consuming hobbies? Depending on how many things you want to keep, you need more or less storage, which can be more or less accessible. For some, this is the reason to prefer a garage over a carport—it not only stores vehicles but also serves as a relatively inexpensive locked storage area.
Don’t think in isolated problems; start with the requirements—as you have already partly done. Then you can think in terms of solutions. It’s also more enjoyable.
I would position a stable space or carport as close as possible to the road boundary and neighboring property line. Depending on local building regulations (building permit/planning permission), you may need to provide an additional parking space—it's best to check this. Do you have other vehicles (bicycles, pedal cars, scooters, etc.)? These also require accessible storage from the street and usually don’t fit well inside the house. Just something to consider.
Lighting is a challenge with this location if you want bright rooms. A north-facing orientation generally means less natural light. With a bungalow, you can work well with daylight from above—of course, like any special features, this involves additional costs.
Since you will probably be living in the house with your family, it makes sense to think about typical and preferred daily routines and activities. For children, it is worthwhile to consider that they will eventually become teenagers, who have different needs and present new challenges. Many parameters for the layout and placement on the plot arise from these considerations.
One common parameter to think about is spending time in the garden during summer—do you like to sit together? Do you prefer sun or shade? How many people? Also relaxing? Do you need one universal outdoor space, often called “the patio,” or do you set up multiple spaces?
Another factor is how you manage storage. Do you have a lot or a little clutter, space-consuming hobbies? Depending on how many things you want to keep, you need more or less storage, which can be more or less accessible. For some, this is the reason to prefer a garage over a carport—it not only stores vehicles but also serves as a relatively inexpensive locked storage area.
Don’t think in isolated problems; start with the requirements—as you have already partly done. Then you can think in terms of solutions. It’s also more enjoyable.
ypg schrieb:
I’m not sure exactly what you measured...
But this gives us something to work with:
You can build just under 190 square meters (about 2,045 square feet)... Basically for the terrace and the house including overhangs. I wouldn’t expect a 50% exceedance or a second floor area ratio when you have a base floor area ratio of 0.4, so the floor area ratio must also cover outbuildings, driveway, and paths.
Even without the prescribed floor area ratio, an area under 500 square meters (about 0.12 acres) is roughly equivalent to a small family bungalow, similar to a large man trying to squeeze into a size L shirt. Space shortages and problems occur very quickly—storage space for garden tools and vehicles, children’s play area, cars, distance to neighbors.
I would also expect neighbors to use the full allowed height, as this is the most sensible approach on such a plot. So if a ridge height of 7.80 or 8.80 meters (about 25.6 or 28.9 feet) or similar is permitted in your area, many would opt for the town villa version—a more costly and less practical bungalow gets lost between the neighbors... I wouldn’t want that for myself.
Regarding your question: You don’t have many options, as a driveway also takes up a lot of space. There isn’t much you can do with a width of 18 meters (about 59 feet). Don’t get me wrong: it’s a solid, affordable plot, but you shouldn’t assume that all options are open.
Try to avoid a tunnel vision approach. This is not a criticism, but advice 🙂
Also, it would be helpful if you could add a legend to the drawing from #11. It seems like some explanation is needed. Thank you very much for the detailed answer... I didn’t take it the wrong way or as a criticism at all, and I will reflect on a few things.
A town villa was also an option, mainly because of the size... But I’m already over 40 and thinking more about old age...
hampshire schrieb:
Placing a single-story house on the plot is a bit of a challenge and uncommon, but it’s possible and not necessarily a bad thing. Facing the fields instead of the residential area also has its advantages. So far, everything looks good.
I would position a parking space or carport as close as possible to the road boundary and neighboring property line. Depending on local building regulations (building permit / planning permission), you may need to provide an additional parking space – it’s best to check this beforehand. Are there other vehicles (bicycles, pedal cars, scooters, etc.)? These also require accessible storage near the street and often can’t be stored inside the house. Something to consider.
Lighting is a challenge given the location if you prefer bright rooms. With a north-facing orientation, it will generally be darker. For a bungalow, you can use skylights to bring in natural daylight from above – of course, like any special feature, this involves additional costs.
Since you will probably live in the house with your family, it’s useful to think about typical and preferred daily routines and workflows. If you have children, keep in mind that eventually they will become teenagers, who have different needs and pose different challenges. These considerations will influence many parameters for the layout and placement of the building on the plot.
One often considered factor is spending time outdoors in the garden during summer – do you like to sit together? Prefer sun or shade? How many people? Also relaxing? Do you usually want just one versatile outdoor area, typically called “the terrace,” or multiple spots?
Another factor is storage needs. Do you have a lot or very little “stuff,” space-consuming hobbies? Depending on how many belongings you want to keep, you will need more or less storage that is more or less accessible. For some, this is also a reason to prefer a garage over a carport – it provides, in addition to vehicle storage, a relatively inexpensive locked storage space.
Don’t think in isolated problems; start with the requirements – which you have already started to consider. Only then can you think in solutions. It’s more enjoyable that way. Wow, thank you very much… This is exactly the kind of help I hoped for… Many sensible points, some of which I had thought about, but not all.
I have already considered placing the parking space closer to the street, and I think that makes sense.
I’m hoping to get light into the living room from the south/west side with large windows plus a patio door facing north (which obviously brings in little light).
Storage will be less of an issue for us since I’m a bit particular about this – I hate unnecessary “stuff” and have very few belongings.
Thanks again for your contribution; it gave me something new to think about… and confirmed some of my ideas.
Have a nice evening.
kbt09 schrieb:
In the west, you only have the 3 m (10 feet) minimum setback from the property line,... and your neighbor will probably only have the same distance. That will make it tight for west-facing sunlight. This is something I've thought about as well... I had originally planned the terrace on the west side. Then I saw that he is placing a garage on the boundary, and next to it there will be a two-story house.
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