ᐅ Single-Family House on a South-Facing Slope Floor Plan – Request for Feedback
Created on: 18 May 2021 15:35
E
EFH-Sued-Hang
Hello everyone, after a lot of tinkering, we would really appreciate some feedback on our floor plan ☺️
Development Plan / Restrictions
This is a new residential area.
Plot size approx. 700 sqm (8,000 sq ft)
South-facing slope with access from the north and a nice view towards the south
2 parking spaces per housing unit: 2 in the carport, 2 in front of the house parallel to the street
Floor area ratio, gross floor area ratio, and other regulations are quite generous in the development plan and have been taken into account in the design
Homeowners’ Requirements
Timber frame construction with a shallow pitched roof
Currently 2 adults (32 years old) and 1 child (1 year old), with 1-2 more children planned in the future
Rooms:
Special features:
House Design
Mainly own planning
Collaboration with a construction company and an architect
Initially, it is important for us to create our dream floor plan. Roughly, the price given to us is around 540,000 €.
KfW40+ standard with 10 kWP photovoltaic system and 10 kWh battery
Heating & ventilation:
• Air-source heat pump
• Central ventilation system with possible enthalpy heat exchanger
• Underfloor heating (except in the pantry, possibly with cooling option)
Other:
• Probably a basic Loxone smart home system
• Possibly a water softening system
• Possibly ceiling LED lighting in rooms without visible roof structure
Why did the design turn out this way?
Due to the slope, we want the living and common rooms on the ground floor (= upper level), plus two additional rooms. Because the ground floor is above the second level (the basement) due to the slope, the basement necessarily has to be the same size. Alternatively, you would need a cantilevered upper floor, which is probably extremely expensive.
The extra area in the basement that we don’t need as living space is located partly in the slope, so it basically functions as a cellar.
What is the most important basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
What do you think about the room layout? Is there anything you see negatively or would change?
What do you think about the room sizes?
Will the south orientation and many windows make it too warm in summer?
We look forward to your ideas, thoughts, and tips!
Development Plan / Restrictions
This is a new residential area.
Plot size approx. 700 sqm (8,000 sq ft)
South-facing slope with access from the north and a nice view towards the south
2 parking spaces per housing unit: 2 in the carport, 2 in front of the house parallel to the street
Floor area ratio, gross floor area ratio, and other regulations are quite generous in the development plan and have been taken into account in the design
Homeowners’ Requirements
Timber frame construction with a shallow pitched roof
Currently 2 adults (32 years old) and 1 child (1 year old), with 1-2 more children planned in the future
Rooms:
- Open living-dining-kitchen area
- 5 (almost) equally sized rooms to be used flexibly as parents’ bedroom, children’s rooms, office, home office, or rental units as a granny flat
- Family bathroom (including washing machine and dryer)
- Children’s bathroom (alternatively as a bathroom for the granny flat)
- Guest toilet (including utility sink)
- Pantry / storage room
- Storage including technical room
- Carport with bicycle shed and partial basement (used as garden shed)
- Balcony
Special features:
- Ground floor = living space, due to the nice view
- Basement = partly cellar, partly regular rooms facing the garden (possible due to the slope)
- Open roof structure over the large living-dining area
- Intermediate ceiling with attic over the other rooms on the ground floor
- Window seats in the living-dining area and possibly in rooms in the basement
- Barrier-reduced design
- Direct, level, covered entrance from the carport into the house
- Generous balcony → How would you recommend shading the balcony so it’s comfortable in high summer, but also usable in breezy and rainy spring weather, while still feeling like being outside (no conservatory)?
- We have purposely omitted a utility room
- Currently, we have planned external venetian blinds (Raffstores) on all windows. Since the two children’s rooms in the basement face south, shading will be necessary there. Do you find external venetian blinds suitable for bedrooms?
- We have not planned any skylights so far, as they are said to require more maintenance. Would you still consider using skylights?
- Due to the layout in the basement, one room—or with an added partition wall, two or even three rooms—could be rented out.
House Design
Mainly own planning
Collaboration with a construction company and an architect
- We really like the room layout and floor plan on the ground floor—what do you think?
- We still need to move a few walls in the basement, but we already like the layout as it is. Your thoughts?
- We oriented the house towards the south. Will it be too warm in summer?
- We have planned many windows (only a few of which open). → Would you recommend fewer windows? (due to heat in summer, view from neighbors)
→ Is it enough if only a few windows can be opened in each room?
Initially, it is important for us to create our dream floor plan. Roughly, the price given to us is around 540,000 €.
KfW40+ standard with 10 kWP photovoltaic system and 10 kWh battery
Heating & ventilation:
• Air-source heat pump
• Central ventilation system with possible enthalpy heat exchanger
• Underfloor heating (except in the pantry, possibly with cooling option)
Other:
• Probably a basic Loxone smart home system
• Possibly a water softening system
• Possibly ceiling LED lighting in rooms without visible roof structure
Why did the design turn out this way?
Due to the slope, we want the living and common rooms on the ground floor (= upper level), plus two additional rooms. Because the ground floor is above the second level (the basement) due to the slope, the basement necessarily has to be the same size. Alternatively, you would need a cantilevered upper floor, which is probably extremely expensive.
The extra area in the basement that we don’t need as living space is located partly in the slope, so it basically functions as a cellar.
What is the most important basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
What do you think about the room layout? Is there anything you see negatively or would change?
What do you think about the room sizes?
Will the south orientation and many windows make it too warm in summer?
We look forward to your ideas, thoughts, and tips!
H
hampshire19 May 2021 12:49Yes, the house has some unusual design solutions.
We combined entrance, cloakroom, and laundry room into one space and even placed an Eames sofa, Pax wardrobes, art (displayed/hung), and a side-by-side refrigerator in there. Many think this concept is completely impossible, yet it works perfectly for us every day. This room separates the main living areas from us and the children’s apartments. The kids, living in their self-contained units, can use the washing machine or help themselves to drinks in the fridge without disturbing us. There is no noise disturbance, and our living unit remains simple, with only two rooms (multi-function entrance and living-kitchen-dining-bedroom-relaxation area). Plus a private bathroom and a guest toilet.
At first glance, it seems “crazy,” but it’s the right setup for our life. The resale value is completely unclear; we’ve already received offers well above the construction cost, while others say – it’s nice, but I couldn’t live like this.
We don’t know enough about the building family. The critical comments are important and valuable. What bothers me is the dismissive tone. There are good reasons for standards and for relying on proven concepts and other people’s experience – after all, that is one purpose of the forum. But there are also good reasons to overlook some of these. I encourage the latter when I sense too much “pushback.”
Personally, I could live much better in this house with a young family than in some efficient, practical buildings that lack any character.
- Entrance through the carport – unusual but not bad, as long as there is enough space (so just one car fits).
- Pantry far from the kitchen – very impractical if it stores food used for cooking. For drinks, a freezer, and rarely used appliances like raclette grill, fondue set, ice cream maker, cleaning supplies… absolutely fine. Call the room something else, use it accordingly, and it works.
- I cannot take the accessory apartment seriously. If having a true secondary unit is important – please redesign.
We combined entrance, cloakroom, and laundry room into one space and even placed an Eames sofa, Pax wardrobes, art (displayed/hung), and a side-by-side refrigerator in there. Many think this concept is completely impossible, yet it works perfectly for us every day. This room separates the main living areas from us and the children’s apartments. The kids, living in their self-contained units, can use the washing machine or help themselves to drinks in the fridge without disturbing us. There is no noise disturbance, and our living unit remains simple, with only two rooms (multi-function entrance and living-kitchen-dining-bedroom-relaxation area). Plus a private bathroom and a guest toilet.
At first glance, it seems “crazy,” but it’s the right setup for our life. The resale value is completely unclear; we’ve already received offers well above the construction cost, while others say – it’s nice, but I couldn’t live like this.
We don’t know enough about the building family. The critical comments are important and valuable. What bothers me is the dismissive tone. There are good reasons for standards and for relying on proven concepts and other people’s experience – after all, that is one purpose of the forum. But there are also good reasons to overlook some of these. I encourage the latter when I sense too much “pushback.”
Personally, I could live much better in this house with a young family than in some efficient, practical buildings that lack any character.
I completely missed this earlier, but I noticed in the other forum that you want the two rooms upstairs (bedroom and child’s room) to be low-barrier. If you want to avoid stairs because of knee arthritis pain, that’s understandable. However, if you plan to live there when one of you has physical limitations and depends on assistance or mobility aids, this layout won’t work.
You should reconsider where your limit is and when you might say, “The house is too big, the upkeep too much, and we need to adapt our living space.”
You should reconsider where your limit is and when you might say, “The house is too big, the upkeep too much, and we need to adapt our living space.”
H
hanghaus200019 May 2021 13:32haydee schrieb:
I completely missed this here, but I noticed in the other forum that you want the two rooms (bedroom and child's room) upstairs for barrier-free living. If you want to avoid stairs because of knee arthritis pain, that’s possible. However, assuming you plan to live there when one of you has physical limitations and relies on assistance and aid devices, it won’t work.
You should reconsider where your breaking point is when you say, “The house is too big, the effort is too much, we need to make spatial changes.” The bungalow design with a partially sunken utility basement isn’t exactly ideal.
hampshire schrieb:
Have you read Heinrich von Gyldenfeldt? No. "Just" Kästner, Morgenstern, Ringelnatz, Gernhardt, ...
hanghaus2000 schrieb:
The bungalow design with a tucked-in auxiliary basement is not very appealing. Well, if at least above the basement it could be enjoyable as a bungalow design ...
@kaho674 summarized it (elsewhere) like this:
Hopefully, the many tips and advice from Kriminelle won’t go to waste. To sum up: The design is a mess and belongs in the trash.
Planning a house on a slope is not for amateurs. Find a proper architect who has experience with hillside projects and will design something nice for you.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
H
hampshire19 May 2021 16:3211ant schrieb:
No. "Only" Kästner, Morgenstern, Ringelnatz, Gernhardt, ...I think the post I made, which you are referring to, has been deleted.H
hanghaus200019 May 2021 17:09hampshire schrieb:
I think the post you are referring to has been deleted. Is that unusual? I thought this happened quite often.Similar topics