Dear Housebuilding Forum Community,
I have been following the forum for some time now and we’ve already gathered a lot of ideas and inspiration here. As our house planning has become more concrete, I thought now is the perfect time to ask for your expert advice. We would really appreciate your (honest) feedback. Please be kind to us nonetheless
About the questionnaire:
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 1100m² (11840 sq ft)
Slope: no
Floor area ratio: n/a
Floor space index: 0.3
Building envelope, building line and boundary: 11 x 14m (36 x 46 ft)
Edge development: no, except garage/carport etc.
Number of parking spaces: unknown, but should be covered by the planned double carport
Number of floors: 1 full floor (Schleswig-Holstein)
Roof style: no specifications
Architectural style: no specifications
Orientation: no specifications
Maximum heights / limits: none
Other specifications: n/a
Client requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: Preferred city villa, but from our and the architect’s perspective, this is not feasible with our space requirements on the building plot within one full floor. Second choice is a gable roof (knee wall 125 cm (49 inches), 40° pitch) with a captain’s gable, as currently planned
Basement, floors: basement, ground floor, attic
Number of people, ages: 2 adults 30+, 2 children (+1 planned)
Space requirements ground floor / upper floor:
Ground floor: living room, kitchen (with pantry), guest toilet, cloakroom, office
Upper floor: 3 children’s rooms, master bedroom, bathroom, children’s bathroom. Walk-in closet for parents would be nice but is not a must
Office: family use or home office?: home office
Overnight guests per year: approx. 15
Open or closed architecture: open
Traditional or modern style: modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: closed kitchen, kitchen island (not a must)
Number of dining seats: at least 5
Fireplace: no, possibly electric fireplace or similar
Music/speaker wall: yes
Balcony, roof terrace: not desired but required by development plan
Garage, carport: carport
Kitchen garden, greenhouse: no
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons for or against certain features
House design
Who designed it: Architect from a construction company
What do you like most? Why? We are basically very happy with the design. All our needs are met
What do you dislike? Why? We find it unfortunate that the children’s rooms are relatively small compared to the parents’ area. We haven’t really come up with a better solution to enlarge them meaningfully
Estimated price by architect/planner: house price including earthworks: 650k (but without land, kitchen, landscaping etc.)
Preferred heating system: geothermal
If you had to give up on which features or extensions
- could you give up: walk-in closet upstairs (but reluctantly)
- could you not give up: basement, 3 children’s rooms
Why is the design the way it is now?
Standard design from the planner adapted to our wishes and needs
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad?
Basically, the floor plan is very practical from our point of view and covers our requirements. Whether the few weaknesses we see (possibly pantry too narrow, cloakroom too small, children’s rooms too small) can be solved given the building plot and its conditions, we somewhat doubt. But maybe you have ideas?
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Is the floor plan practical in your opinion? Do you see any weaknesses we may have missed, anything missing, and how could these be solved? Is there a way to enlarge the three children’s rooms without creating awkward rooms upstairs?
The furniture shown in the floor plan is from the construction company; we would arrange some pieces differently and move some doors. Our main concern is to have the floor plan and overall concept critically reviewed here by the forum
I have been following the forum for some time now and we’ve already gathered a lot of ideas and inspiration here. As our house planning has become more concrete, I thought now is the perfect time to ask for your expert advice. We would really appreciate your (honest) feedback. Please be kind to us nonetheless
About the questionnaire:
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 1100m² (11840 sq ft)
Slope: no
Floor area ratio: n/a
Floor space index: 0.3
Building envelope, building line and boundary: 11 x 14m (36 x 46 ft)
Edge development: no, except garage/carport etc.
Number of parking spaces: unknown, but should be covered by the planned double carport
Number of floors: 1 full floor (Schleswig-Holstein)
Roof style: no specifications
Architectural style: no specifications
Orientation: no specifications
Maximum heights / limits: none
Other specifications: n/a
Client requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: Preferred city villa, but from our and the architect’s perspective, this is not feasible with our space requirements on the building plot within one full floor. Second choice is a gable roof (knee wall 125 cm (49 inches), 40° pitch) with a captain’s gable, as currently planned
Basement, floors: basement, ground floor, attic
Number of people, ages: 2 adults 30+, 2 children (+1 planned)
Space requirements ground floor / upper floor:
Ground floor: living room, kitchen (with pantry), guest toilet, cloakroom, office
Upper floor: 3 children’s rooms, master bedroom, bathroom, children’s bathroom. Walk-in closet for parents would be nice but is not a must
Office: family use or home office?: home office
Overnight guests per year: approx. 15
Open or closed architecture: open
Traditional or modern style: modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: closed kitchen, kitchen island (not a must)
Number of dining seats: at least 5
Fireplace: no, possibly electric fireplace or similar
Music/speaker wall: yes
Balcony, roof terrace: not desired but required by development plan
Garage, carport: carport
Kitchen garden, greenhouse: no
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons for or against certain features
House design
Who designed it: Architect from a construction company
What do you like most? Why? We are basically very happy with the design. All our needs are met
What do you dislike? Why? We find it unfortunate that the children’s rooms are relatively small compared to the parents’ area. We haven’t really come up with a better solution to enlarge them meaningfully
Estimated price by architect/planner: house price including earthworks: 650k (but without land, kitchen, landscaping etc.)
Preferred heating system: geothermal
If you had to give up on which features or extensions
- could you give up: walk-in closet upstairs (but reluctantly)
- could you not give up: basement, 3 children’s rooms
Why is the design the way it is now?
Standard design from the planner adapted to our wishes and needs
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad?
Basically, the floor plan is very practical from our point of view and covers our requirements. Whether the few weaknesses we see (possibly pantry too narrow, cloakroom too small, children’s rooms too small) can be solved given the building plot and its conditions, we somewhat doubt. But maybe you have ideas?
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Is the floor plan practical in your opinion? Do you see any weaknesses we may have missed, anything missing, and how could these be solved? Is there a way to enlarge the three children’s rooms without creating awkward rooms upstairs?
The furniture shown in the floor plan is from the construction company; we would arrange some pieces differently and move some doors. Our main concern is to have the floor plan and overall concept critically reviewed here by the forum
H
Hamburger202014 Dec 2019 20:0411ant schrieb:
Which neighboring house was demolished? - in terms of setbacks, demolition wouldn’t change anything unless the associated setback obligations were also removed.Yes, that’s correct. It doesn’t affect any neighboring house. There are no easements or similar encumbrances either. The house that stood on the current building plot was demolished, so there is now a gap again. From my perspective, the original regulations were set quite arbitrarily, especially since the building plots for neighboring properties are slightly offset. I plan to call the authorities next week, but I don’t expect much flexibility. Even a slight variation concerning the two-story design (omitting the loggia and building a smaller house instead) was considered likely not to be approved (the municipality is supportive, but the district authority that ultimately approves it tends to be quite formal).
H
Hamburger202014 Dec 2019 20:08kaho674 schrieb:
Yes, I had read that. I just wanted to see the calculations – the raw numbers. They are not yet available regarding the roof structure, but I roughly calculated it myself based on the drawing (with an estimated roof structure) and arrived at similar values.
kaho674 schrieb:
I’m not familiar with that, but it sounds odd. You still have 3m (10 feet) of space on each side to move around. If I look at townhouse builders who build with basements and connect directly to the neighboring house... Townhouses are built in one continuous row, so you can still pass by on one side. Without sheet pile walls, this would probably no longer be possible if the house is built too close to the property lines on the sides. One option would be to build the basement smaller than the upper floor. This could be done with a larger city villa with a large roof terrace (i.e., single-story), provided the building envelope is expanded.
Hamburger2020 schrieb:
Terraced houses are built in rows, Haha, just ask @goalkeeper.
Hamburger2020 schrieb:
I’ll call the authority next week, I think that’s a great idea. It’s worth a try. And if they say no at first, ask why. Take a look at the neighboring L-shaped house. It also seems to be positioned sideways by eye. Measure its size. Even without the L-part, you’re probably close to your desired dimensions.
Hamburger2020 schrieb:
Even a slight deviation regarding the two-story design (omitting the loggia and building a smaller house instead) was assessed as probably not approvable (the municipality is in favor, but the district authority, which ultimately grants approval, is quite formal). That doesn’t have to be the case. If all the neighboring houses comply with the “non-two-story” requirement, the authority might be reluctant. The goal is a uniform appearance in the neighborhood / precedent cases etc.
Rotating the building envelope where different envelopes already exist in the neighborhood might be somewhat easier.
Fingers crossed for you, and if it works out:
Rotate the house, do it, yes do it, rotate the house. (This will be my new mantra)
Hamburger2020 schrieb:
Terraced houses are usually built in a row, and you can still pass by somewhere on the side. Without sheet piling, you probably wouldn’t be able to do that if the house is built too close to the boundaries. Why would that be necessary? No one has to drive through there in those 8 weeks anyway. Or am I missing something?
P.S.: Rotate the house! Yes, do it!
Hamburger2020 schrieb:
From my point of view, it was also set quite arbitrarily back then, especially since the building envelopes on neighboring plots are somewhat offset. The development probably started under section 34 and only received a development plan later, so fixing the existing building envelopes is not unusual in that case.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
11ant schrieb:
Presumably, the development started under Section 34 and only later received a zoning plan; in that case, fixing the existing building envelopes is not unusual. Well, I’m not sure how difficult or easy it is to remove a registered encumbrance from a property. Perhaps @Escroda can help with their extensive knowledge. Does the neighbor have a permanent right to insist on rebuilding their house up to 1 meter (3 feet) from the boundary, thereby forcing the OP to maintain a 2-meter (6 feet) extra distance? Or does the issue become negotiable again if the house is demolished?
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