ᐅ Single-Family Home Orientation: Garden and Patio Facing South or West?
Created on: 31 Mar 2024 10:43
R
Ralf1980
Hello.
I would like your advice on the basic planning of the ground floor, specifically regarding the orientation of the garden and the terrace—whether the south side or the west side of the house is better.
At this stage, the rest of the house is not the main focus and will be adjusted later. Still, here are the key details.
Development plan/restrictions
Plot size: 814m² (8757 sq ft)
Slight north-facing slope
Site coverage ratio 0.4
Floor area ratio 0.7
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: See pictures
Surrounding development
Number of parking spaces: Large double garage (2 cars, bicycles, etc. should fit)
Number of floors: Basement and ground floor
Roof type: Gable roof, pitch 30°, ridge direction east-west as prescribed by the building envelope, but this might be flexible
Architectural style: Standard
Maximum height/limits: None
Owners’ requirements
Basement and floors: Due to the slope, there will be a basement with two large rooms on the north side, each with a large window
Number and age of occupants: 4 people, ages 44, 42, 13, and 14
Conservative construction method
Open kitchen
Seating for 6-8 at the dining table
No fireplace
Music/sound system wall, large TV on sideboard or mounted on the wall
House design
Designed by: Self-designed
Preferred heating system: District heating, 100% renewable
Level access from the garage is explicitly desired, and all necessary rooms (bedroom, bathroom, office) should be on the ground floor level. The children will have large rooms with proper windows (no light wells) and a shared bathroom in the basement on the north side.
An upper floor is probably excluded due to cost constraints. The north-facing slope is a given, with about a 2m (6.6 ft) height difference across the entire plot; inside the house, it is about 1m (3.3 ft). The terrain on the north side will be adjusted accordingly. Slight deviations from the building envelope will likely be tolerated.
I have been working on this for a while but still can’t decide whether the living room and terrace should face the south or the west side of the house.
If the terrace is on the west side, it will get sun at noon and in the evening, but the "best side" of the house will not be very visible from the street. I am also unsure if the living room suits the west side.
What is your opinion, or what would you change and why?
All plans are oriented to true north; my own sketches are slightly rotated because I cannot draw otherwise.
Thank you very much.
Regards, Ralf
I would like your advice on the basic planning of the ground floor, specifically regarding the orientation of the garden and the terrace—whether the south side or the west side of the house is better.
At this stage, the rest of the house is not the main focus and will be adjusted later. Still, here are the key details.
Development plan/restrictions
Plot size: 814m² (8757 sq ft)
Slight north-facing slope
Site coverage ratio 0.4
Floor area ratio 0.7
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: See pictures
Surrounding development
Number of parking spaces: Large double garage (2 cars, bicycles, etc. should fit)
Number of floors: Basement and ground floor
Roof type: Gable roof, pitch 30°, ridge direction east-west as prescribed by the building envelope, but this might be flexible
Architectural style: Standard
Maximum height/limits: None
Owners’ requirements
Basement and floors: Due to the slope, there will be a basement with two large rooms on the north side, each with a large window
Number and age of occupants: 4 people, ages 44, 42, 13, and 14
Conservative construction method
Open kitchen
Seating for 6-8 at the dining table
No fireplace
Music/sound system wall, large TV on sideboard or mounted on the wall
House design
Designed by: Self-designed
Preferred heating system: District heating, 100% renewable
Level access from the garage is explicitly desired, and all necessary rooms (bedroom, bathroom, office) should be on the ground floor level. The children will have large rooms with proper windows (no light wells) and a shared bathroom in the basement on the north side.
An upper floor is probably excluded due to cost constraints. The north-facing slope is a given, with about a 2m (6.6 ft) height difference across the entire plot; inside the house, it is about 1m (3.3 ft). The terrain on the north side will be adjusted accordingly. Slight deviations from the building envelope will likely be tolerated.
I have been working on this for a while but still can’t decide whether the living room and terrace should face the south or the west side of the house.
If the terrace is on the west side, it will get sun at noon and in the evening, but the "best side" of the house will not be very visible from the street. I am also unsure if the living room suits the west side.
What is your opinion, or what would you change and why?
All plans are oriented to true north; my own sketches are slightly rotated because I cannot draw otherwise.
Thank you very much.
Regards, Ralf
Hello everyone.
I’ll try to answer the questions, even though this thread was originally only meant to discuss the orientation of the terrace, not the entire house.
There is no mandatory or required reference height. The development plan dates back to 1980, specifying two floors, site coverage ratio and floor area ratio, ridge direction, a gable roof, and roof pitch—nothing else.
The load-bearing 24cm (9.5 inches) wall running from east to west will, of course, be continued in the basement.
There is a heating/utility room in the basement, but I have planned the washing machine and dryer in the bathroom so there is enough space. We currently have the washing machine and dryer in the bathroom and don’t want to carry laundry down to the basement and then back upstairs/outside to hang it up. At the moment, I haven’t planned a bathtub since we have only used our bathtub about 10 times in the last 20 years.
The building line may be slightly exceeded if it doesn’t bother the neighbors, according to our building authority. Unfortunately, I only have this photo montage. Placing the house too far forward is definitely not possible as it would interfere with both neighbors.
The house should be fully accessible on the ground floor for aging in place, so everything can be done on one level, including access from the garage. I already have a renovated house with multiple levels that’s not barrier-free.
District heating comes to the house from the south, and on the south side of the ground floor I just cannot imagine a utility room there. Since the site is unfortunately on a north-facing slope, the utility room must go into the basement on the south side, with the other rooms arranged around it. The north slope allows for larger windows without the need for light wells.
I also don’t know where to put the staircase so that it’s not "cramped in a corner." Having access through the garage into a utility room would be great, but if the garage is located in the southeast and the entrance from the garage is also in the southeast, where should the staircase go?
I don’t want to spend money on a basement plus two full floors, so probably I can only afford the living basement and the ground floor.
In my opinion, having the staircase outside the living area makes sense, so adult children, visitors or overnight guests, caregivers in old age, or whoever else has their own separate access to living spaces and doesn’t have to walk past my bedroom.
I kind of need the "dark rear hallway" to get from the bedrooms to the bathroom without passing through the living room, which was criticized in one of our first drafts. I will install a motion detector and daylight-controlled passage lighting that automatically brightens the rear hallway.
You might now ask why I’m sharing this information only now, but originally this wasn’t the main topic.
Since the forum doesn’t get 20 new threads every week that clutter things up, I took the liberty to open a new thread focused on the living room and terrace orientation question.
Best regards,
Ralf1980
I’ll try to answer the questions, even though this thread was originally only meant to discuss the orientation of the terrace, not the entire house.
There is no mandatory or required reference height. The development plan dates back to 1980, specifying two floors, site coverage ratio and floor area ratio, ridge direction, a gable roof, and roof pitch—nothing else.
The load-bearing 24cm (9.5 inches) wall running from east to west will, of course, be continued in the basement.
There is a heating/utility room in the basement, but I have planned the washing machine and dryer in the bathroom so there is enough space. We currently have the washing machine and dryer in the bathroom and don’t want to carry laundry down to the basement and then back upstairs/outside to hang it up. At the moment, I haven’t planned a bathtub since we have only used our bathtub about 10 times in the last 20 years.
The building line may be slightly exceeded if it doesn’t bother the neighbors, according to our building authority. Unfortunately, I only have this photo montage. Placing the house too far forward is definitely not possible as it would interfere with both neighbors.
The house should be fully accessible on the ground floor for aging in place, so everything can be done on one level, including access from the garage. I already have a renovated house with multiple levels that’s not barrier-free.
District heating comes to the house from the south, and on the south side of the ground floor I just cannot imagine a utility room there. Since the site is unfortunately on a north-facing slope, the utility room must go into the basement on the south side, with the other rooms arranged around it. The north slope allows for larger windows without the need for light wells.
I also don’t know where to put the staircase so that it’s not "cramped in a corner." Having access through the garage into a utility room would be great, but if the garage is located in the southeast and the entrance from the garage is also in the southeast, where should the staircase go?
I don’t want to spend money on a basement plus two full floors, so probably I can only afford the living basement and the ground floor.
In my opinion, having the staircase outside the living area makes sense, so adult children, visitors or overnight guests, caregivers in old age, or whoever else has their own separate access to living spaces and doesn’t have to walk past my bedroom.
I kind of need the "dark rear hallway" to get from the bedrooms to the bathroom without passing through the living room, which was criticized in one of our first drafts. I will install a motion detector and daylight-controlled passage lighting that automatically brightens the rear hallway.
You might now ask why I’m sharing this information only now, but originally this wasn’t the main topic.
Since the forum doesn’t get 20 new threads every week that clutter things up, I took the liberty to open a new thread focused on the living room and terrace orientation question.
Best regards,
Ralf1980
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