ᐅ Planning a Single-Family Home with a Bicycle Workshop
Created on: 26 Aug 2024 11:00
H
HäuschenAmFeld
Hello everyone, from an enthusiastic lurker.
My partner and I were initially looking for an existing property and had already viewed several, but hadn’t found anything convincing. Mostly, the houses were either too small or much too large, requiring extensive renovation and modernization. By chance, we came across an offer for building plots in a location that suits us, and we have reconsidered the idea of new construction. First of all, here is my completed questionnaire:
Development plan/restrictions
Plot size: 919m2 (with restrictions, e.g., a compensation area with specific planting must be created over more than 7m at the rear part of the plot)
Slope – no, or at most minimal
Site coverage ratio: 0.25
Floor area ratio: (could not be found in the documents I have)
Building area, building line, and boundary: front 20m facing the street
Edge development: no
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 2
Roof type: gable or hipped roof
Style: modern, I would say
Orientation: open, although a southwest-facing roof might be suitable?
Maximum height/limits
Additional requirements
Requirements from the builders
Style, roof shape, building type: We are open. In the immediate surroundings there are typical “village houses directly on the street,” townhouses, bungalows, etc. We would like to keep as much usable garden space as possible.
Basement, floors: 2 floors (the upper floor does not need to be full height but should have at least an extended knee wall). Originally, we wanted a basement, but that seems difficult budget-wise.
Number of people, age: 2 persons, 30 years old
Space requirements on ground floor (GF), upper floor (UF):
Office: home office, twice. Not large, but separate rooms are necessary.
Overnight guests per year: no one who stays more than a few nights
Open or closed architecture: –
Conservative or modern construction style: –
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Ideally with access to the dining/living area. It should be possible for two people to work simultaneously in the kitchen.
Number of dining seats: 4 or 6, not mainly for eating but for inviting friends/family for board games or similar. Daily use: 2
Fireplace: very much preferred but realistically more of a nice-to-have
Music/stereo wall: –
Balcony, roof terrace: –
Garage, carport: we are already planning to include this, but it is not essential to build immediately.
Utility garden, greenhouse: yes, later
Other wishes/special features/daily routine, including reasons why certain things should or should not be included: It is important to have a heated workshop for bicycles. Our idea was to plan a “guest room” on the ground floor, which would have an outside door/patio door through which a bike can be brought directly inside. It would also be conceivable to start cycling directly from there and enter the house again through this side door. For this use case, a short route to a bathroom on the ground floor (with shower) would be nice as well.
This idea was proposed as an alternative to the basement in order to save costs, but it would have the downside of requiring a significantly larger footprint than we need upstairs. Typical floor plans usually have 2 children’s rooms + a master bedroom and bathroom upstairs. Our offices don’t need to be that large. Possibly 3 “children’s rooms” could be considered so that an additional small “hobby room” is created.
House design
Who designed the plan:
- House company, it is a standard floor plan example
What do you like? Why?
- Everything fits well, kitchen connected to living/dining area (possibly the kitchen could expand further over a kitchen island?)
What do you dislike? Why?
- The upper floor doesn’t quite fit yet, the door to the “workshop” is missing, and we haven’t looked in detail at windows and patio doors; we are still at the rough layout stage.
Price estimate from architect/planner: no detailed figures yet, but something like this was presented within our budget. However, when calculating with the commonly assumed 3000€/m2, I don’t see how it fits; this matches our feeling that the house might be too large for us.
Personal price limit for the house, including equipment: around 400k for everything except the plot
Preferred heating technology: air-to-water heat pump with underfloor heating, we would like to use photovoltaics
If you had to compromise, on which details/features
- Could give up: basement, fireplace, space on the upper floor, workshop room (if we can find another winter-suitable solution), exterior landscaping except for a rainwater cistern
- Cannot give up: 2 offices, 2 bathrooms or at least 1 guest bathroom
Why is the design the way it is now?
E.g.
Standard design from the planner? Yes
We welcome better ideas. We initially planned to build a very standard floor plan via a large general contractor, as shown in the catalog, hoping for few additional costs and that hopefully not much could go wrong.
However, that didn’t quite work with having a basement and the bicycle requirements. The plot is rather narrow but elongated. If we want space for a double carport or double garage (to the right side at the plot boundary where the driveway is), not every house footprint fits well.
My partner and I were initially looking for an existing property and had already viewed several, but hadn’t found anything convincing. Mostly, the houses were either too small or much too large, requiring extensive renovation and modernization. By chance, we came across an offer for building plots in a location that suits us, and we have reconsidered the idea of new construction. First of all, here is my completed questionnaire:
Development plan/restrictions
Plot size: 919m2 (with restrictions, e.g., a compensation area with specific planting must be created over more than 7m at the rear part of the plot)
Slope – no, or at most minimal
Site coverage ratio: 0.25
Floor area ratio: (could not be found in the documents I have)
Building area, building line, and boundary: front 20m facing the street
Edge development: no
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 2
Roof type: gable or hipped roof
Style: modern, I would say
Orientation: open, although a southwest-facing roof might be suitable?
Maximum height/limits
Additional requirements
Requirements from the builders
Style, roof shape, building type: We are open. In the immediate surroundings there are typical “village houses directly on the street,” townhouses, bungalows, etc. We would like to keep as much usable garden space as possible.
Basement, floors: 2 floors (the upper floor does not need to be full height but should have at least an extended knee wall). Originally, we wanted a basement, but that seems difficult budget-wise.
Number of people, age: 2 persons, 30 years old
Space requirements on ground floor (GF), upper floor (UF):
Office: home office, twice. Not large, but separate rooms are necessary.
Overnight guests per year: no one who stays more than a few nights
Open or closed architecture: –
Conservative or modern construction style: –
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Ideally with access to the dining/living area. It should be possible for two people to work simultaneously in the kitchen.
Number of dining seats: 4 or 6, not mainly for eating but for inviting friends/family for board games or similar. Daily use: 2
Fireplace: very much preferred but realistically more of a nice-to-have
Music/stereo wall: –
Balcony, roof terrace: –
Garage, carport: we are already planning to include this, but it is not essential to build immediately.
Utility garden, greenhouse: yes, later
Other wishes/special features/daily routine, including reasons why certain things should or should not be included: It is important to have a heated workshop for bicycles. Our idea was to plan a “guest room” on the ground floor, which would have an outside door/patio door through which a bike can be brought directly inside. It would also be conceivable to start cycling directly from there and enter the house again through this side door. For this use case, a short route to a bathroom on the ground floor (with shower) would be nice as well.
This idea was proposed as an alternative to the basement in order to save costs, but it would have the downside of requiring a significantly larger footprint than we need upstairs. Typical floor plans usually have 2 children’s rooms + a master bedroom and bathroom upstairs. Our offices don’t need to be that large. Possibly 3 “children’s rooms” could be considered so that an additional small “hobby room” is created.
House design
Who designed the plan:
- House company, it is a standard floor plan example
What do you like? Why?
- Everything fits well, kitchen connected to living/dining area (possibly the kitchen could expand further over a kitchen island?)
What do you dislike? Why?
- The upper floor doesn’t quite fit yet, the door to the “workshop” is missing, and we haven’t looked in detail at windows and patio doors; we are still at the rough layout stage.
Price estimate from architect/planner: no detailed figures yet, but something like this was presented within our budget. However, when calculating with the commonly assumed 3000€/m2, I don’t see how it fits; this matches our feeling that the house might be too large for us.
Personal price limit for the house, including equipment: around 400k for everything except the plot
Preferred heating technology: air-to-water heat pump with underfloor heating, we would like to use photovoltaics
If you had to compromise, on which details/features
- Could give up: basement, fireplace, space on the upper floor, workshop room (if we can find another winter-suitable solution), exterior landscaping except for a rainwater cistern
- Cannot give up: 2 offices, 2 bathrooms or at least 1 guest bathroom
Why is the design the way it is now?
E.g.
Standard design from the planner? Yes
We welcome better ideas. We initially planned to build a very standard floor plan via a large general contractor, as shown in the catalog, hoping for few additional costs and that hopefully not much could go wrong.
However, that didn’t quite work with having a basement and the bicycle requirements. The plot is rather narrow but elongated. If we want space for a double carport or double garage (to the right side at the plot boundary where the driveway is), not every house footprint fits well.
It depends on what kind of work you’re doing on the bike.
If you just want to quickly oil the chain, you can easily do that in a cold room.
However, if you work on your bike a lot, you’ll appreciate having a room that’s kept at a constant temperature. Tools won’t be freezing cold, and it’s best to bleed hydraulic disc brakes only when the fluid is at room temperature. Maybe you’re even building a frame from scratch. Of course, you have to be willing and able to invest in this, but a hobby is never purely a rational matter. Personally, I would enlarge the utility room a bit and set up the workshop there.
If you just want to quickly oil the chain, you can easily do that in a cold room.
However, if you work on your bike a lot, you’ll appreciate having a room that’s kept at a constant temperature. Tools won’t be freezing cold, and it’s best to bleed hydraulic disc brakes only when the fluid is at room temperature. Maybe you’re even building a frame from scratch. Of course, you have to be willing and able to invest in this, but a hobby is never purely a rational matter. Personally, I would enlarge the utility room a bit and set up the workshop there.
hanse987 schrieb:
Personally, I would slightly enlarge the utility room and put the workshop there. Yes, maybe that’s the best idea. Then you can do without a garage and have a carport instead. For two people, a utility room/technical room also has more potential than for four people, who need storage space for everything for four. That way, there is also room for a bicycle, and you can create a small niche upstairs for laundry.
ypg schrieb:
Yes, maybe that’s the best idea. And then skip the garage; a carport would do instead. Especially since the garage does not necessarily have to be built right away:
HäuschenAmFeld schrieb:
Garage, carport: we would plan for these now, but not necessarily build them immediately. ypg schrieb:
For two people, a utility room/freezer still has a bit more potential than for four people, where everything for four is stored. Is the question about children already final?
K a t j a schrieb:
Especially since the garage does not necessarily have to be built yet: The extension is also available for purchase separately. Even without the emoticon.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
H
HäuschenAmFeld28 Aug 2024 11:33Hello everyone, there have already been lively discussions here, which I’m glad about!
I will try to attach a section of the regulations. The individual areas are marked there, so you can better see what I mean. Up to the blue line is 20m (65.6 ft).
Therefore, the idea was to position the house as far forward as makes sense to create a large garden, even if we plan a terrace at the back of the house. Of course, I am open to other suggestions.
What I have noticed while reviewing various floor plans is that many houses with rather elongated rectangular layouts are not aligned like our plot. They are designed so the long side likely faces the garden (living-dining area), which I don’t find ideal for our plot.
The parking spaces on the right side of the house were planned only because the driveway will be directly at the right edge of the plot. This way, you can drive straight in and have short distances for groceries, etc. Parking on the left in front of the house (with the main entrance facing the street) would also be possible. (Or something entirely different, but then you have a lot of “wasted space” by the street — we wouldn’t want to sit or spend time facing the street, for example.)
These are exactly the considerations we have, and I am glad to hear some real experiences already. It shouldn’t be too cold because you often sit for a longer time if bigger repairs or conversions are planned on the bike, or even when cleaning and oiling the chain—where you inevitably work with water and cleaning solution. We certainly don’t need 20°C (68°F) for that, but 0°C (32°F) is too cold, especially since cold rises from below. The advantage of the garage/carport solution is, of course, that you don’t have to carry the bikes through or into the house—unless they are hung on the wall there, which the homeowner likes but the homeowner’s partner finds rather inconvenient.
The large technical room would be great. Warm enough, you can quickly wash your hands properly, etc. There would also be space for the future homeowner to hang her dirty stable clothes somewhere other than the hallway. Unfortunately, only riders find the smell of the stable pleasant. The downside remains that the house would have to be bigger than “necessary.”
Additional crafts, soldering station, etc., could also be accommodated in the homeowner’s office, as children's rooms are usually larger than needed for home office purposes.
I have also seen designs where a larger technical room is added as a bay window extension on the house, or completely separate as an external annex. This way, only that part would need to be larger, not the entire house.
No.
K a t j a schrieb:Of course, the plot measures exactly 18.5 x 49.8m (61 x 163.4 ft), with the shorter side facing the street.
Unfortunately, I can’t read the dimensions of the plot. Could you please share them again?
ypg schrieb:The construction at the front was planned this way because the supplementary development plan allows building only within the first 20m (65.6 ft) from the street, and we cannot use the last 7.5m (24.6 ft) at the back as garden since it must remain a compensation area where hedges and trees have to be planted.
With so much space, I would never plan so sparingly at the front of the plot.
I will try to attach a section of the regulations. The individual areas are marked there, so you can better see what I mean. Up to the blue line is 20m (65.6 ft).
Therefore, the idea was to position the house as far forward as makes sense to create a large garden, even if we plan a terrace at the back of the house. Of course, I am open to other suggestions.
What I have noticed while reviewing various floor plans is that many houses with rather elongated rectangular layouts are not aligned like our plot. They are designed so the long side likely faces the garden (living-dining area), which I don’t find ideal for our plot.
The parking spaces on the right side of the house were planned only because the driveway will be directly at the right edge of the plot. This way, you can drive straight in and have short distances for groceries, etc. Parking on the left in front of the house (with the main entrance facing the street) would also be possible. (Or something entirely different, but then you have a lot of “wasted space” by the street — we wouldn’t want to sit or spend time facing the street, for example.)
K a t j a schrieb:
I do not think moving the workshop into the garage is a good idea. As you have rightly noted, it is cold and uninsulated in winter. But that’s when you are often there. This is not comparable to the occasional mechanic who cleans their car in summer.
Perhaps you should consider relocating the technical room upstairs to better use the space downstairs.
K a t j a schrieb:
Absolutely not! Honestly, we have experience with this. You can’t heat a workshop to 15°C (59°F) in 10 minutes when it’s 0°C (32°F) outside. And it can’t be as small as a phone booth if you want to fit at least two bikes in and out. Also, the original poster requested a connection to the shower.
I fear you’re too influenced by your own biking ideas. To me, this sounds like two sports enthusiasts who spend most of their free time on their bikes.
hanse987 schrieb:
It depends on what you do with the bike.
If you just want to quickly oil the chain, you can do that quickly even in a cold room.
If you do a lot of bike repairs, you’ll appreciate a consistently heated space. Tools won’t be freezing cold, and you should only bleed disc brakes when the fluid is at room temperature. Maybe you want to completely build a frame from scratch. Sure, you have to be willing and able to afford it, but a hobby is never a purely rational matter. Personally, I would enlarge the technical room a bit and have the workshop there.
These are exactly the considerations we have, and I am glad to hear some real experiences already. It shouldn’t be too cold because you often sit for a longer time if bigger repairs or conversions are planned on the bike, or even when cleaning and oiling the chain—where you inevitably work with water and cleaning solution. We certainly don’t need 20°C (68°F) for that, but 0°C (32°F) is too cold, especially since cold rises from below. The advantage of the garage/carport solution is, of course, that you don’t have to carry the bikes through or into the house—unless they are hung on the wall there, which the homeowner likes but the homeowner’s partner finds rather inconvenient.
The large technical room would be great. Warm enough, you can quickly wash your hands properly, etc. There would also be space for the future homeowner to hang her dirty stable clothes somewhere other than the hallway. Unfortunately, only riders find the smell of the stable pleasant. The downside remains that the house would have to be bigger than “necessary.”
Additional crafts, soldering station, etc., could also be accommodated in the homeowner’s office, as children's rooms are usually larger than needed for home office purposes.
I have also seen designs where a larger technical room is added as a bay window extension on the house, or completely separate as an external annex. This way, only that part would need to be larger, not the entire house.
K a t j a schrieb:
You are still young. Are children planned?
No.
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