ᐅ Single-family house, 175 sqm without a basement—too large?
Created on: 15 Apr 2020 10:02
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Drasleona
Hello everyone
I would also like to hear your opinion on our current design.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 507 sqm (5455 sq ft)
Slope: yes, about 4 m (13 ft) difference in height over a length of 30 m (98 ft)
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.4
Site occupancy index: 0.8
Building envelope, building line and boundary: 3 m (10 ft) to the street
Edge building: allowed for garage/carport
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: max. 2 full stories
Roof type: anything except flat roof
Style: any
Orientation: any
Maximum heights/limits: ridge height max. 12 m (39 ft), wall height max. 10 m (33 ft)
Client Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: gable roof
Basement, floors: no basement, almost 2 full stories (knee wall 1.86 m (6 ft))
Number of occupants, age: 3 people, 1 teenager, 2 adults
Space requirements ground floor / upper floor: approx. 175 sqm (1880 sq ft)
Office: home office
Guest bedrooms per year: rarely 2 guests
Open or closed architecture: rather open, airy, including open kitchen
Balcony, roof terrace: no to both
Garage, carport: double carport planned later
House Design
Who designed it: put together myself
What do you like most? Why?
- Direct access from the bedroom through the dressing room to the bathroom
- Cloakroom niche keeps dirty shoes outside the main passage area
- Floor-to-ceiling windows for lots of light
- Straight staircase, looks modern, easier to walk on than a spiral one and better for accessibility later (stairlift)
- Very spacious living/dining/kitchen area (though perhaps too large?)
- Pantry with everything easily accessible on open shelves
What do you dislike? Why?
- Huge waste of space in the hallways
Why did the design turn out this way?
I saw a similar layout in a townhouse that I really liked at first glance. We want a generous living feel with large window areas.
Since we are planning without a basement, an extra room upstairs was created for storage, guest room, and workshop space.
Important: the bathroom layout is not really planned yet. I have inserted my first idea there but I know it is still far from a “good idea.” For now, the focus is on the basic room layout. The windows are currently more of an idea than fully thought through.
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
- Do you see a way to reduce hallway space despite having a straight staircase?
- What is your overall impression of the design?
I would also like to hear your opinion on our current design.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 507 sqm (5455 sq ft)
Slope: yes, about 4 m (13 ft) difference in height over a length of 30 m (98 ft)
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.4
Site occupancy index: 0.8
Building envelope, building line and boundary: 3 m (10 ft) to the street
Edge building: allowed for garage/carport
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: max. 2 full stories
Roof type: anything except flat roof
Style: any
Orientation: any
Maximum heights/limits: ridge height max. 12 m (39 ft), wall height max. 10 m (33 ft)
Client Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: gable roof
Basement, floors: no basement, almost 2 full stories (knee wall 1.86 m (6 ft))
Number of occupants, age: 3 people, 1 teenager, 2 adults
Space requirements ground floor / upper floor: approx. 175 sqm (1880 sq ft)
Office: home office
Guest bedrooms per year: rarely 2 guests
Open or closed architecture: rather open, airy, including open kitchen
Balcony, roof terrace: no to both
Garage, carport: double carport planned later
House Design
Who designed it: put together myself
What do you like most? Why?
- Direct access from the bedroom through the dressing room to the bathroom
- Cloakroom niche keeps dirty shoes outside the main passage area
- Floor-to-ceiling windows for lots of light
- Straight staircase, looks modern, easier to walk on than a spiral one and better for accessibility later (stairlift)
- Very spacious living/dining/kitchen area (though perhaps too large?)
- Pantry with everything easily accessible on open shelves
What do you dislike? Why?
- Huge waste of space in the hallways
Why did the design turn out this way?
I saw a similar layout in a townhouse that I really liked at first glance. We want a generous living feel with large window areas.
Since we are planning without a basement, an extra room upstairs was created for storage, guest room, and workshop space.
Important: the bathroom layout is not really planned yet. I have inserted my first idea there but I know it is still far from a “good idea.” For now, the focus is on the basic room layout. The windows are currently more of an idea than fully thought through.
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
- Do you see a way to reduce hallway space despite having a straight staircase?
- What is your overall impression of the design?
A
Alessandro12 May 2020 10:31I also like the suggestion from @Würfel*. You just need to make sure it works structurally as well.
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Drasleona12 May 2020 10:35It goes without saying that water pipes and structural engineering must be checked for every design. As a layperson, I cannot and do not want to judge this myself, so I am well aware that this could still cause complications.
Drasleona schrieb:
As a layperson, I neither can nor want to judge that at all, Not in detail, of course. But aiming roughly in the right direction is not rocket science. For the structural engineering, you initially design all walls to be thick just to be safe and avoid stacking them directly on top of each other when possible. Plumbing drainage is simple too: you just place a drain at each sanitary fixture. In the worst case, each drain line goes straight down individually. It’s more economical to bundle them and have a shared vertical stack — sufficient slope is still needed across the floor towards that collection point. Drawing a fan-shaped layout in a bathroom floor plan that combines all drains should be doable for a beginner apprentice. The goal isn’t to replace the professional engineer. But as seen in the wet room that @Chrisi1906 mentioned, a suspended ceiling below the bathroom space is probably unavoidable.
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Drasleona12 May 2020 15:17I’m mainly concerned about the toilet. I’ve overlaid the upper floor (OG) and ground floor (EG) plans, and you can clearly see the discrepancy between the two walls. As a layperson, I can’t really tell if it’s possible to route the toilet drain pipe within the ceiling so far toward the front of the building that no bulkhead is needed in the hallway on the ground floor. I guess I’m a blonde before my first apprenticeship in this matter.
I’m unfortunately not enthusiastic about this narrow attic hatch. I think it might look quite clumsy in reality. Even if it fulfills many wishes, is it really worth it?
I would go back to the starting point and reconsider what you actually need, placing additional wishes as optional extras. By the way, what is the budget for this?
In my opinion, your need for space on the ground floor is greater than upstairs. Planning such a large storage room plus an extra storage area would require quite a big budget. Is that the case? If not, it might be worth considering including the garage’s covered area in the ground floor plan and designing a more compact upper floor.
I would go back to the starting point and reconsider what you actually need, placing additional wishes as optional extras. By the way, what is the budget for this?
In my opinion, your need for space on the ground floor is greater than upstairs. Planning such a large storage room plus an extra storage area would require quite a big budget. Is that the case? If not, it might be worth considering including the garage’s covered area in the ground floor plan and designing a more compact upper floor.
D
Drasleona13 May 2020 08:49To what extent would adding a roof over the garage enlarge the ground floor? Or do you mean that the garage would practically have to be located in the basement?
The problem is that “extras” tend to be more expensive than simply increasing the overall footprint of the house. At the very beginning, I saw a picture of a house with a large flat-roofed bay window wrapping around the corner on the ground floor. I thought that looked really great! This also makes the ground floor larger than the upper floor. However, it is more expensive than enlarging both the ground and upper floors equally.
I don’t think the upper floor is as large as you believe... Yes, it’s debatable whether a children’s room needs to be almost 20 square meters (215 square feet). Yes, it can be discussed whether a storage room is necessary. But the fact is that we need storage space, a workspace for my partner, and a sleeping option for the parents—and that means a proper bed! This is unfortunately essential for health reasons.
Of course, one could also consider placing the office upstairs instead of the storage room and using the technical room on the ground floor as extra storage...
The problem is that “extras” tend to be more expensive than simply increasing the overall footprint of the house. At the very beginning, I saw a picture of a house with a large flat-roofed bay window wrapping around the corner on the ground floor. I thought that looked really great! This also makes the ground floor larger than the upper floor. However, it is more expensive than enlarging both the ground and upper floors equally.
I don’t think the upper floor is as large as you believe... Yes, it’s debatable whether a children’s room needs to be almost 20 square meters (215 square feet). Yes, it can be discussed whether a storage room is necessary. But the fact is that we need storage space, a workspace for my partner, and a sleeping option for the parents—and that means a proper bed! This is unfortunately essential for health reasons.
Of course, one could also consider placing the office upstairs instead of the storage room and using the technical room on the ground floor as extra storage...
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