Hello dear members of the homebuilding forum,
We have finally found a plot of land! I’m very excited to become active here from now on and hope to gain a lot of collective and practical knowledge. We are still at the very beginning. We plan to build a semi-detached house with a larger side for us (about 11x8m (36x26 feet)) and a smaller side (about 7x8m (23x26 feet)). Now we need to decide which side of the plot we should take. Does anyone have any tips?
It is a corner plot, and I have attached a sketch. The small black square at the top is the neighbor’s garden shed, and the large corner on the right is the neighboring house. The street to the west has a sidewalk, and the plots along that street generally have lower fences or hedges. I’m not sure if there are any regulations (such as a maximum height of 1.5m (5 feet)) regarding this. Opposite this street is just a pasture (farm). The street to the south has no sidewalk, and the plots there are very overgrown with tall hedges – usually there is a carport, a wooden gate to the property, and tall hedges along the street.
The corner plot itself is not perfectly rectangular; to the southwest there is a small public parking area (3 parking spaces). We would, of course, like to have as much of a “single-family house character” as possible. We would have the largest garden and more “quiet” if we position our side of the house to the north. However, this means for access either a very long, narrow driveway past the smaller house side (starting at the sidewalk) or a southern driveway, which I don’t really like because I don’t want the mail carrier to be able to look onto the terrace. If we choose our house side to the west, our garden is restricted by the public parking and possibly more overlooked (even upstairs), but this would allow a normal parking space and a normal front yard, and we would have neighbors on only one side, which can also be an advantage. What would you do?
We have finally found a plot of land! I’m very excited to become active here from now on and hope to gain a lot of collective and practical knowledge. We are still at the very beginning. We plan to build a semi-detached house with a larger side for us (about 11x8m (36x26 feet)) and a smaller side (about 7x8m (23x26 feet)). Now we need to decide which side of the plot we should take. Does anyone have any tips?
It is a corner plot, and I have attached a sketch. The small black square at the top is the neighbor’s garden shed, and the large corner on the right is the neighboring house. The street to the west has a sidewalk, and the plots along that street generally have lower fences or hedges. I’m not sure if there are any regulations (such as a maximum height of 1.5m (5 feet)) regarding this. Opposite this street is just a pasture (farm). The street to the south has no sidewalk, and the plots there are very overgrown with tall hedges – usually there is a carport, a wooden gate to the property, and tall hedges along the street.
The corner plot itself is not perfectly rectangular; to the southwest there is a small public parking area (3 parking spaces). We would, of course, like to have as much of a “single-family house character” as possible. We would have the largest garden and more “quiet” if we position our side of the house to the north. However, this means for access either a very long, narrow driveway past the smaller house side (starting at the sidewalk) or a southern driveway, which I don’t really like because I don’t want the mail carrier to be able to look onto the terrace. If we choose our house side to the west, our garden is restricted by the public parking and possibly more overlooked (even upstairs), but this would allow a normal parking space and a normal front yard, and we would have neighbors on only one side, which can also be an advantage. What would you do?
jolovyn schrieb:
Here is an image from the change of land use (parking lot to residential area) by the municipality. The top boundary of the plot measures approximately 28m (90 feet), and the right boundary 29m (95 feet). With the access plan of 3 meters (10 feet) driveway width, you are using up about 200 square meters (2,150 square feet) of land without the 3 meters being comfortable or useful for anything else.
You can’t even turn around. Lidl uses 3 meters (10 feet) as parking space width – who wants to drive past their own kitchen table several times a day, half of it in reverse?
This idea is not mine, and I also find it a bit odd 😉 An alternative would be, for example, a carport at the end of the property and a footpath through the garden. However, a setback of 3m (10 feet) to neighboring properties must be maintained for any construction anyway. My current thought is whether a wide driveway (e.g., 4.5m (15 feet)) might be possible, but only one. See drawing... I want to think this through carefully before approaching construction companies, who would probably only offer standard solutions and very long driveways in the end... By the way, I have read the development plan several times now; there is no requirement for the number of parking spaces. We only own one car, public transport is available within 500m (550 yards), and there is a small public parking lot at the corner of the property – I hope we can get by with 3 parking spaces; I assume this will be a case-by-case decision by the building authority. If all driveways are on the west side, dividing the property into separate lots will probably be somewhat more difficult or less clear.
jolovyn schrieb:
According to the development plan, a full story is allowed, and the maximum ridge height is 9m (the plot is on level ground). In Lower Saxony, it counts as a full story if more than two-thirds of the room height of the floor area exceeds 2.20m (7ft 3in). So we are still calculating a total area of the rental unit of about 105-110sqm (1130-1184 sq ft); the upper floor will have a knee wall at 1.20m (3ft 11in) high and sloped ceilings. Based on the 105 to 110 sqm (1130-1184 sq ft) for the tenants, you are therefore aiming for a living area of roughly 165 to 170 sqm (1776-1830 sq ft) for yourselves. I have to quote Albert Borland here: "I don’t believe that, Tim." In a two-thirds state, a knee wall at 1.20m (3ft 11in) may be possible, but depending on the roof pitch, it can almost mean foregoing dormers altogether. This places strict limits on your wishes.
jolovyn schrieb:
I can’t quite follow how you arrive at such small floor area figures or the term maisonette. Many years of planning experience and several good math teachers. I also advise property developers. A maisonette (French: little house) is an apartment with a second level.
jolovyn schrieb:
We live in a highly sought-after area and have no concerns about renting out a small semi-detached house. Couples or families with one child would be very suitable tenants. [...] The development plan specifies a full story, which still means a second floor with a knee wall and often a converted attic. This is also the case with all neighboring houses and provides appropriate living space for families. Our half of the house should offer 150sqm (1615 sq ft), the rental unit about 105sqm (1130 sq ft). So far, I have only roughly estimated the floor area accounting for the slopes, but it certainly won’t be as small as you mentioned. The figures given for the widely sought-after semi-detached house nationwide correspond to the bestseller “GDB bottle” from the “usual suspects.” The house model in the development plan excerpt from post #12 measures approximately 20.65m (67ft 9in) wide and 9.80m (32ft 2in) deep, resulting in a built-up area of about 202sqm (2174 sq ft) (excluding terraces, parking spaces, and access paths). This would certainly be within the allowed floor space ratio and floor area ratio, and with a knee wall at 1.20m (3ft 11in), could lead to a living area of around 260sqm (2799 sq ft), split roughly 11:7 — about 160sqm (1722 sq ft) for you and 100sqm (1076 sq ft) for the tenants. This is quite feasible, albeit on an overall building footprint about 40% larger than your original figures — and now definitely commercially viable.
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@11ant: I don’t understand everything you’re writing, but as long as it fits in the end and is marketable, that’s what counts :-p Exactly, I started with the basic house footprint (let’s say 20.6 x 9.8 m (67.6 x 32.2 ft)) but then thought, wow, a driveway only 3 m (10 ft) wide over that length is really narrow. So I planned for a wider access path and made the house only 8 m (26.2 ft) wide instead of 9.8 m (32.2 ft). I also tried to directly plan an additional parking space to the west in front of the front door (instead of 3 m (10 ft) to the boundary line, I allowed 5 m (16.4 ft) for parking – I took the extra 2 m (6.6 ft) off the 20.6 m (67.6 ft), resulting in overall house dimensions of about 18 x 8 m (59 x 26.2 ft) – that’s my rough, non-expert reasoning…). I then looked at and sketched many floor plans and ended up with rooms laid out like this: for the larger half of the house, an office on the ground floor; for the smaller half, a typical open living-kitchen area with stairs and a guest toilet on the ground floor, and upstairs two small rooms, one large room, and a bathroom. There is definitely some planning flexibility, but first I want to decide from which side each part will access and park on the plot, and also which side we choose. Only then can the interior spaces be better aligned with the cardinal directions, etc.
Our preference would actually be to have the house side facing east (which means a larger garden and less street exposure). However, I’m reluctant to park right at the lower property boundary and then have to carry groceries or similar items through the long garden. I would much prefer an entrance on the north side. That, in turn, can only be reached via a long driveway along the other half of the house. Although there won’t be any large windows on that side (mainly just the restroom and utility room facing north), having a path between the neighbor’s hedge and the other half of the house is neither attractive, representative, nor practical. Plus, the kids would have to ride bikes past parked cars there—no thanks!
By the way, the other houses on the lower street simply have a parking space at the southern end, then a garden gate and a footpath through their own garden to the house. Maybe I just need to get used to that, but I’m really not thrilled about it.
By the way, the other houses on the lower street simply have a parking space at the southern end, then a garden gate and a footpath through their own garden to the house. Maybe I just need to get used to that, but I’m really not thrilled about it.
jolovyn schrieb:
My current consideration is whether a wide single driveway (e.g., 4.5m (15 feet)) might be possible instead of multiple narrower ones. See drawing... I want to have thought this through carefully before approaching construction companies, A building setback significantly larger than the minimum is more comfortable, and limiting the number of driveways to the bare minimum is usually preferred. Hopefully, you do not plan to approach construction companies without first consulting an independent architect.
jolovyn schrieb:
I hope three parking spaces will be approved; I assume the building authority will decide on a case-by-case basis. Ideally, no exemption would be required if parking is shared; practically, it would be necessary (or otherwise four parking spaces would be needed—which does not mean that the ones you consider excess must also be paved). This is definitely worth considering, so as not to block a possible exemption by your choices.
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