Hello everyone,
At our developer, a customer who had reserved a plot of land dropped out. Since the other plot faces south / southwest, we didn’t hesitate long and switched to that plot. The new plot is smaller, so we gave up on our bungalow dream. The plot number is 5.
To remind you: The plot is tied to the developer.
I have been thinking over the past few days about the arrangement and design of the rooms and the plot, and I would first like to know if the concept is okay. I am not concerned with details inside the rooms such as windows, doors, or bathroom design. That’s not possible anyway since I created the floor plan myself based on Gussek Haus floor plans. However, I tried to design it as well as possible. For this reason, I want to share the floor plan here for discussion. I’m mainly looking for feedback on the layout and room arrangement, as well as ideas, suggestions, or tips. Maybe you’ll also spot things that “just don’t work” or are not practical for everyday living.
I created the floor plan with RoomSketcher, but only used the free version, so many features are limited. Please ignore the room dimensions on the upper floor. There is a dormer in the area of the home office.
A few more details about the house.
Roof pitch 38°
Knee wall (Drempel) 100cm (39 inches)
External dimensions 12.85 x 9.60 m (42.2 x 31.5 feet) (enlarged, original dimensions of Gussek Haus models are smaller)
Unfortunately, I cannot show internal room dimensions because RoomSketcher does not allow it.
Attached again is the completed questionnaire.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 676m²
Slope: NO
Site coverage ratio: 0.4 (allowed exceedance 25 out of 100)
Floor area ratio: 0.6
Building envelope, building line, and boundaries: On the north side / south side approx. 20.5 m (67 feet) wide, west and east sides approx. 33 m (108 feet) wide, 3 m (10 feet) building setback on each side, rectangular plot, clearly visible in the pictures
Edge construction setback: 3 m (10 feet)
Number of parking spaces: no requirement
Number of stories: maximum 2 full stories
Roof style: Gable roof, hipped roof
Other requirements: Garage must be 5 m (16 feet) from the property boundary. Garage on the west side because the curb is lowered there.
Homeowners’ Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: Doesn’t matter, initially considered a house with a gable roof, there is a dormer in the home office area
Basement, number of floors: No basement due to high groundwater level
Number of occupants, ages: 4 people aged 36 (female), 37 (male), 3 (child), 1 (child)
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor:
Ground floor: Living/dining/kitchen area, utility room, guest WC with shower, hallway with coat area and stairs to upper floor, guest room / playroom
Upper floor: Master bedroom, 2 children’s rooms, bathroom, storage room, office
Office use: Family use or home office? Home office combined with family use
Guests per year: 1–2 times
Open or closed architecture: Closed architecture?
Conservative or modern style: A mix of both
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Closed kitchen with island would be nice but not a must; open kitchen is also an option
Number of dining seats: 4, with the option for 6
Fireplace: No
Music / stereo wall: Sound system in the living room
Balcony, roof terrace: No
Garage, carport: Space for 2 cars is required, preferably 3 to 4. Currently considering a garage (3 x 6 m / 9.8 x 19.7 feet) with a carport (3.6 m / 12 feet) in front, not sure if that works. Plus 2 parking spaces in front of the house.
Utility garden, greenhouse: No
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons why certain things should or shouldn’t be:
House Design
Who created the design:
- DIY - copy and combination of Gussek Haus models Lindenallee, Kiefernallee variant 1, and Buchenallee variant 2
What do you especially like? Why?
- Large closed kitchen with island and direct / short access to the terrace
- Living room close to the terrace
- Guest / playroom on the ground floor
- Storage room on the upper floor with washing machine and dryer
- Utility room with washing machine and dryer (yes, twice)
- 6 rooms
- Layout of rooms on the upper floor
What do you not like? Why?
- Location of the home office on the upper floor is not ideal in my view, but I could live with it
Price estimate from architect/planner: No new estimate so far
Personal price limit for house including features: 400,000
Preferred heating system: Heat pump
Why does the design look like it does now? For example:
Copy-paste of Gussek Haus models Lindenallee, Kiefernallee variant 1, and Buchenallee variant 2
What is the most important fundamental question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
Is the room layout okay?
At our developer, a customer who had reserved a plot of land dropped out. Since the other plot faces south / southwest, we didn’t hesitate long and switched to that plot. The new plot is smaller, so we gave up on our bungalow dream. The plot number is 5.
To remind you: The plot is tied to the developer.
I have been thinking over the past few days about the arrangement and design of the rooms and the plot, and I would first like to know if the concept is okay. I am not concerned with details inside the rooms such as windows, doors, or bathroom design. That’s not possible anyway since I created the floor plan myself based on Gussek Haus floor plans. However, I tried to design it as well as possible. For this reason, I want to share the floor plan here for discussion. I’m mainly looking for feedback on the layout and room arrangement, as well as ideas, suggestions, or tips. Maybe you’ll also spot things that “just don’t work” or are not practical for everyday living.
I created the floor plan with RoomSketcher, but only used the free version, so many features are limited. Please ignore the room dimensions on the upper floor. There is a dormer in the area of the home office.
A few more details about the house.
Roof pitch 38°
Knee wall (Drempel) 100cm (39 inches)
External dimensions 12.85 x 9.60 m (42.2 x 31.5 feet) (enlarged, original dimensions of Gussek Haus models are smaller)
Unfortunately, I cannot show internal room dimensions because RoomSketcher does not allow it.
Attached again is the completed questionnaire.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 676m²
Slope: NO
Site coverage ratio: 0.4 (allowed exceedance 25 out of 100)
Floor area ratio: 0.6
Building envelope, building line, and boundaries: On the north side / south side approx. 20.5 m (67 feet) wide, west and east sides approx. 33 m (108 feet) wide, 3 m (10 feet) building setback on each side, rectangular plot, clearly visible in the pictures
Edge construction setback: 3 m (10 feet)
Number of parking spaces: no requirement
Number of stories: maximum 2 full stories
Roof style: Gable roof, hipped roof
Other requirements: Garage must be 5 m (16 feet) from the property boundary. Garage on the west side because the curb is lowered there.
Homeowners’ Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: Doesn’t matter, initially considered a house with a gable roof, there is a dormer in the home office area
Basement, number of floors: No basement due to high groundwater level
Number of occupants, ages: 4 people aged 36 (female), 37 (male), 3 (child), 1 (child)
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor:
Ground floor: Living/dining/kitchen area, utility room, guest WC with shower, hallway with coat area and stairs to upper floor, guest room / playroom
Upper floor: Master bedroom, 2 children’s rooms, bathroom, storage room, office
Office use: Family use or home office? Home office combined with family use
Guests per year: 1–2 times
Open or closed architecture: Closed architecture?
Conservative or modern style: A mix of both
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Closed kitchen with island would be nice but not a must; open kitchen is also an option
Number of dining seats: 4, with the option for 6
Fireplace: No
Music / stereo wall: Sound system in the living room
Balcony, roof terrace: No
Garage, carport: Space for 2 cars is required, preferably 3 to 4. Currently considering a garage (3 x 6 m / 9.8 x 19.7 feet) with a carport (3.6 m / 12 feet) in front, not sure if that works. Plus 2 parking spaces in front of the house.
Utility garden, greenhouse: No
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons why certain things should or shouldn’t be:
House Design
Who created the design:
- DIY - copy and combination of Gussek Haus models Lindenallee, Kiefernallee variant 1, and Buchenallee variant 2
What do you especially like? Why?
- Large closed kitchen with island and direct / short access to the terrace
- Living room close to the terrace
- Guest / playroom on the ground floor
- Storage room on the upper floor with washing machine and dryer
- Utility room with washing machine and dryer (yes, twice)
- 6 rooms
- Layout of rooms on the upper floor
What do you not like? Why?
- Location of the home office on the upper floor is not ideal in my view, but I could live with it
Price estimate from architect/planner: No new estimate so far
Personal price limit for house including features: 400,000
Preferred heating system: Heat pump
Why does the design look like it does now? For example:
Copy-paste of Gussek Haus models Lindenallee, Kiefernallee variant 1, and Buchenallee variant 2
What is the most important fundamental question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
Is the room layout okay?
C
Chrisi190611 Apr 2020 23:15Back to the topic. I wanted to know if the rooms are okay as they are. I assume they are well / acceptably arranged. After all, the floor plan is from Gussek Haus.
As YPG suggested, I’m going with a 1.4m (4.6 ft) knee wall but a 35-degree roof pitch and leaving out the dormer. The office will get a skylight. For our furniture, that knee wall height is pretty much exactly what I need.
Something else I thought of: the hallway on the upper floor currently gets very little light. That’s why I’m considering adding a skylight there as well. The downside is that it would be very difficult to clean because it’s positioned so high up. What do you think?
Maybe the other rooms in the attic could also benefit from a bit more natural light?
As YPG suggested, I’m going with a 1.4m (4.6 ft) knee wall but a 35-degree roof pitch and leaving out the dormer. The office will get a skylight. For our furniture, that knee wall height is pretty much exactly what I need.
Something else I thought of: the hallway on the upper floor currently gets very little light. That’s why I’m considering adding a skylight there as well. The downside is that it would be very difficult to clean because it’s positioned so high up. What do you think?
Maybe the other rooms in the attic could also benefit from a bit more natural light?
Chrisi1906 schrieb:
I assume they are arranged well / acceptably. After all, the floor plan is from Gussek Haus. After all? Every house builder uses this arrangement. But never mind.
Chrisi1906 schrieb:
I wanted to know if the rooms are okay like this. Here is my opinion:
The hallway at over 18sqm (about 194 sq ft) is way too large. However, your staircase is drawn too small; it requires more space, at least one stair flight approximately 220 x 250cm (87 x 98 inches).
I find the cloakroom too small for 4 people. I’ve recently created a thread on that topic. THE LIST!
I’ll include the utility room in the critique as well. Although it is nicely sized, it can only be accessed through the living room and kitchen doors. The utility room is the most central room in a house and needs to be accessed several times a day. It is therefore unsuitable to reach it through the living area, having to pass through two additional doors, which is very inconvenient, especially when handling laundry.
The window sizes and glazing area are inadequate for an airy living atmosphere. The sofa marked on the plan certainly doesn’t represent an acceptable size or seat depth and gives a misleading impression of a larger living room than it actually is.
Upstairs: the hallway is too large. Staircase already mentioned above.
The toilet position is below the 2-meter (6 ft 7 in) height line and needs adjustment with the other bathroom fixtures. The washbasin does not reflect realistic dimensions for a family bathroom. For 4 people, two washbasins are recommended. Also, a proper shower instead of a compact corner shower is preferable. The bathroom door, as well as the office door, should open inward. There is no reason to deviate from that rule.
Bedroom: draw in a realistically sized bed. As you get older, you tend to need more space and sufficient clearance on both sides. So, remove the brown item there, then it will fit.
Chrisi1906 schrieb:
Something else that occurred to me: currently, the upstairs hallway doesn’t get much light. That’s why I’m considering adding a skylight there. The downside is that it would be very difficult to clean because it’s so high up. What do you think? Plan a nice, large window in the stairwell. If you want a double casement window, don’t worry about cleaning; rainwater will wash away dirt as it runs off.
For the other rooms (this also applies to the lower floors), the rule for windows is: make them wider. At least 160cm (63 inches), preferably double casement and up to 2 meters (79 inches) wide.
Almost 20% hallway is too much. Storage room upstairs is good. Consider adding a proper cloakroom. Make the utility room more accessible. Enlarge windows and furnish the bathroom properly.
Chrisi1906 schrieb:
One more thing that came to mind: The hallway on the upper floor currently gets very little light. That’s why I would also install a skylight there. I see plenty of opportunities for facade windows alongside the stairs and in the knee wall area.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
I would start by addressing the root cause:
You don’t seriously want to place the garage on the west side just because of the curb, do you? Honestly, when you build the house, everything will be torn up, new utilities installed, shafts dug, and huge amounts of earth moved around. Your curb is nothing compared to that. Unless the village oak tree right in front of the driveway on the east side has to be cut down or there’s a streetlight in the way, that’s not a valid reason.
So: mirror the site plan. But do it without that path between the garage and the house. I would remove it completely since it would be dark, unattractive, and above all, a perfect wind tunnel.
Otherwise, I think the room layout is quite okay as it is. Whether it should stay that way is another question. First, I see your architect or general contractor responsible for offering you some options. So why not let them take care of it first?
You don’t seriously want to place the garage on the west side just because of the curb, do you? Honestly, when you build the house, everything will be torn up, new utilities installed, shafts dug, and huge amounts of earth moved around. Your curb is nothing compared to that. Unless the village oak tree right in front of the driveway on the east side has to be cut down or there’s a streetlight in the way, that’s not a valid reason.
So: mirror the site plan. But do it without that path between the garage and the house. I would remove it completely since it would be dark, unattractive, and above all, a perfect wind tunnel.
Otherwise, I think the room layout is quite okay as it is. Whether it should stay that way is another question. First, I see your architect or general contractor responsible for offering you some options. So why not let them take care of it first?
C
Chrisi190612 Apr 2020 08:28ypg schrieb:
Finally? Every house building company uses this layout. But anyway.
I'll give my opinion:
The hallway is much too large at over 18sqm (over 193 sq ft). However, your staircase is drawn too small, it needs more space, at least a stairwell of about 220 x 250cm (87 x 98 inches).
I find the cloakroom too small for 4 people. I recently created a thread about that. THE LIST!
I'll also criticize the utility room, which is nicely sized but can only be accessed through the living room and kitchen doors. The utility room is the most central room in a house and is used several times a day. Access through living areas is therefore not suitable, and having to cross two extra doors is very inconvenient, especially when dealing with laundry.
I also find the window sizes insufficient for an airy living atmosphere. The sofa shown is definitely not a reasonable size or seat depth and gives the impression of a larger living room than it actually is.
Upper floor: hallway too large. Staircase as mentioned above.
Toilet location is below the 2-meter (6 ft 7 in) line and must be adjusted with the other bathroom fixtures. The washbasin does not match realistic dimensions for a family bathroom. For 4 people: 2 washbasins. And a decent shower instead of a corner space-saving shower. The bathroom door, as well as the office door, should open inward. There is no reason to deviate from this rule.
Bedroom: draw a realistically wide bed. When you get older, you want more space and need enough clearance around the bed. So remove the brown item, then it fits.
Plan a nice large window in the stairwell. If you want a double casement window, don’t worry about cleaning; rainwater will wash away dirt and run off.
For the other rooms (this also applies to lower rooms) regarding windows: make them wider. At least 160cm (63 inches), preferably double casement windows up to 2 meters (79 inches).
Almost 20% hallway space is too much. Storage room upstairs is good. Think about a cloakroom (or wardrobe room). Make the utility room more accessible. Enlarge windows and furnish the bathroom.Thanks for the feedback.
Yes, I didn't manage the hallways well either upstairs or downstairs. That will be improved. I had read your thread THE LIST. I liked it and it made us reflect on many points.
We wanted to have the washing machine and dryer both in the upstairs storage room and in the utility room. As long as we use both floors, we'll do laundry upstairs, and when we're very old we can use the connections downstairs and only wash there. You’re of course right that the utility room is not ideally accessible. But it cannot be improved without losing space in the utility room or the hallway cloakroom. I also discussed this point with my wife, because we would have more cupboard space in the kitchen and could arrange the kitchen differently. We concluded that this is the best solution for us. When the floor plan is traced by the building company we will review this point again. If the utility room is still that large, we could reconsider.
The sofa dimensions are based on ours. It is indeed a bit small for 4 people.
We will decide on the bathroom layout later.
Regarding the bedroom: the brown item is a piece of our furniture. Since we already have it, it is included.
11ant schrieb:
I see enough opportunity for facade windows along the stairs and in the knee wall area.Okay.
haydee schrieb:
The garage is quite narrow; with that width I would choose a carport.
Garage and carport in a row is not a good idea. After the fifth time “Honey, move your car, I have to leave” someone will park elsewhere.True, that’s why there are two parking spaces next to it.
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