ᐅ Your Opinion on Our Floor Plan for a Single-Family Home Without a Basement
Created on: 1 Feb 2018 03:36
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beatboxking
Hello dear forum community,
The time of quietly reading along is over, and today I would like to share my own building project and the current status of the floor plan design. We aim to sign the construction contract with the general contractor as soon as possible so that construction can start this year. However, without the blessing of the forum, I’m not quite daring to proceed – after all, many eyes are known to be helpful...
Thank you in advance for your efforts – I’m curious to see which direction the discussion will take...
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 694sqm (7,469 sq ft)
Slope: gentle north-facing slope
Floor area ratio (FAR): Max. 0.35
Site coverage ratio: Max. 0.8
Building envelope, building line and boundaries: Building envelope = blue, 16m x 16m (52ft x 52ft), the house must be placed against the red line (can be oriented lengthwise or widthwise – must be perpendicular to the building line);
Setbacks: 3m (10 ft), garage or carport may be built on the north boundary
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 2 full stories
Roof type: gable roof, roof pitch 18°–22°
Style: modern
Orientation: south (possibly east if the advantages of a better floor plan outweigh this)
Maximum heights/restrictions: Max. 7.5m (25 ft) wall height
Additional requirements: House dimensions according to development plan max. 14m x 10m (46 ft x 33 ft), rectangular with a minimum side ratio of 5:4
Homeowners’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: modern, gable roof 22°, wooden house
Basement, floors: no basement, 2 full stories
Number of occupants, ages: 3 people, 1 more child planned
Ground floor space needs: utility room, shower bathroom, office/guest room, cloakroom, large kitchen/dining/living area
Upper floor space needs: 2 children’s rooms facing south, master bedroom, bathroom, walk-in closet
Office: family use or home office? Home office
Guests per year: 3–4
Open or closed architecture: rather open
Conservative or modern construction: modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: yes, yes
Number of dining seats: 6–8
Fireplace: preferred
Music/stereo wall: yes and no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: double carport with additional storage space
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: later
Additional wishes/particulars/daily routine: We want no direct line of sight from the living room into the kitchen – fireplace as a room divider; the utility room should also accommodate the washing machine and dryer.
House Design
Who designed the plan: self-designed based on an existing floor plan
What do you especially like and why?: Private access from the bedroom to the bathroom (via the walk-in closet)
What do you dislike and why?: Shower bathroom on the ground floor is not accessible from the guest room; the layout of the bathroom upstairs doesn’t quite work – the space at the sink is too small; no space for the TV;
Cost estimate: approx. 400,000€
Personal maximum budget for the house including fittings: 450,000€
Preferred heating system: gas condensing boiler
If you have to give up some details or features:
- Which can you live without: access to the shower bathroom on the ground floor from the guest room
- Which you cannot do without: access to the bathroom from the bedroom (via the walk-in closet)
Why has the design become what it is now?
After what felt like 200 drawn floor plans, I came across a plan from a builder that, with few changes, meets many of our requirements.
What makes it particularly good or bad in your eyes? Good because it is basically simple and still allows the possibility of an additional room upstairs (perhaps a kind of reading/music corner for later – separated by glass, like a conservatory). Bad because in some areas it is just a compromise – but that is probably normal in home building as long as the budget is limited...
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
Have we made any fundamental mistakes? Would you prefer the living space to face east? Are the usable areas sufficient?
The time of quietly reading along is over, and today I would like to share my own building project and the current status of the floor plan design. We aim to sign the construction contract with the general contractor as soon as possible so that construction can start this year. However, without the blessing of the forum, I’m not quite daring to proceed – after all, many eyes are known to be helpful...
Thank you in advance for your efforts – I’m curious to see which direction the discussion will take...
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 694sqm (7,469 sq ft)
Slope: gentle north-facing slope
Floor area ratio (FAR): Max. 0.35
Site coverage ratio: Max. 0.8
Building envelope, building line and boundaries: Building envelope = blue, 16m x 16m (52ft x 52ft), the house must be placed against the red line (can be oriented lengthwise or widthwise – must be perpendicular to the building line);
Setbacks: 3m (10 ft), garage or carport may be built on the north boundary
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 2 full stories
Roof type: gable roof, roof pitch 18°–22°
Style: modern
Orientation: south (possibly east if the advantages of a better floor plan outweigh this)
Maximum heights/restrictions: Max. 7.5m (25 ft) wall height
Additional requirements: House dimensions according to development plan max. 14m x 10m (46 ft x 33 ft), rectangular with a minimum side ratio of 5:4
Homeowners’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: modern, gable roof 22°, wooden house
Basement, floors: no basement, 2 full stories
Number of occupants, ages: 3 people, 1 more child planned
Ground floor space needs: utility room, shower bathroom, office/guest room, cloakroom, large kitchen/dining/living area
Upper floor space needs: 2 children’s rooms facing south, master bedroom, bathroom, walk-in closet
Office: family use or home office? Home office
Guests per year: 3–4
Open or closed architecture: rather open
Conservative or modern construction: modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: yes, yes
Number of dining seats: 6–8
Fireplace: preferred
Music/stereo wall: yes and no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: double carport with additional storage space
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: later
Additional wishes/particulars/daily routine: We want no direct line of sight from the living room into the kitchen – fireplace as a room divider; the utility room should also accommodate the washing machine and dryer.
House Design
Who designed the plan: self-designed based on an existing floor plan
What do you especially like and why?: Private access from the bedroom to the bathroom (via the walk-in closet)
What do you dislike and why?: Shower bathroom on the ground floor is not accessible from the guest room; the layout of the bathroom upstairs doesn’t quite work – the space at the sink is too small; no space for the TV;
Cost estimate: approx. 400,000€
Personal maximum budget for the house including fittings: 450,000€
Preferred heating system: gas condensing boiler
If you have to give up some details or features:
- Which can you live without: access to the shower bathroom on the ground floor from the guest room
- Which you cannot do without: access to the bathroom from the bedroom (via the walk-in closet)
Why has the design become what it is now?
After what felt like 200 drawn floor plans, I came across a plan from a builder that, with few changes, meets many of our requirements.
What makes it particularly good or bad in your eyes? Good because it is basically simple and still allows the possibility of an additional room upstairs (perhaps a kind of reading/music corner for later – separated by glass, like a conservatory). Bad because in some areas it is just a compromise – but that is probably normal in home building as long as the budget is limited...
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
Have we made any fundamental mistakes? Would you prefer the living space to face east? Are the usable areas sufficient?
Why do you insist on creating your own design? An architect can do that much better. Even if you are working with a general contractor, someone with expertise still has to draw the plans. So why not just present the facts and let them figure it out?
Otherwise, I always test my staircase using "Treppe 1x1." For that, you need the room height (including the ceiling).
Otherwise, I always test my staircase using "Treppe 1x1." For that, you need the room height (including the ceiling).
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stefanc843 Feb 2018 02:41Don’t get discouraged! I created our floor plan myself using the same software. During the quotation phase, the design was reviewed by numerous planners and architects, but since there were no alternative proposals, it was ultimately incorporated into the submission plan and later the working drawings exactly as is.
If you know what you want and have the patience, it’s doable. It takes a lot of time to find the perfect solution for yourself. For us, it took a few months. But you only build once.
Our design was heavily criticized here in the forum as well. The main criticism was about the 6sqm (65 sq ft) small study. Now the house is built, and the room looks exactly as expected and is just the way I wanted it. => I’m NOT saying you should ignore the suggestions mentioned (which I agree with)! I just want to point out that tastes vary greatly. You know best what you like.
I think the floor plan is not bad for a first draft; there have been others here that were less good. I want to encourage you to try a second version.
If you know what you want and have the patience, it’s doable. It takes a lot of time to find the perfect solution for yourself. For us, it took a few months. But you only build once.
Our design was heavily criticized here in the forum as well. The main criticism was about the 6sqm (65 sq ft) small study. Now the house is built, and the room looks exactly as expected and is just the way I wanted it. => I’m NOT saying you should ignore the suggestions mentioned (which I agree with)! I just want to point out that tastes vary greatly. You know best what you like.
I think the floor plan is not bad for a first draft; there have been others here that were less good. I want to encourage you to try a second version.
beatboxking schrieb:
I probably spent too much time trying to minimize hallway space that I lost sight of the hallway’s actual purpose...
What don’t you like about the layout? The kids’ rooms are on the south side, just like the living-dining-kitchen area, which gets light from three sides. I actually kept that in mind, so I’m curious about your specific concerns...
Thanks!Specifically the entrance area: it feels too far back to me. Strangers ringing the doorbell would already be "too far into the garden," and it’s too close to the carport and storage room.
It’s not very inviting when it’s so tucked away. Also, everyone has to pass by the bathroom window, which we unfortunately have as well, and it’s not ideal [emoji6].
Then, if possible, the heat pump should be relatively easy to connect to the piping. You’re not allowed to build over it.
Make sure the toilet drains are stacked vertically.
Theoretically, the upper half of the plan should be mirrored, while the lower rooms stay the same....
What about 11ants’ comment that you want to build a wooden house with a 22-degree roof pitch, but there’s nothing about that in the plans?
stefanc84 schrieb:
I don’t think the floor plan is bad for a first draft; there have been worse here. I encourage you to try a version 2. I feel the same way, even though some comments sound like the judge Dieter on Germany’s search for the best floor plan. So from my side, you move on to the next round.
stefanc84 schrieb:
Our design was also heavily criticized here in the forum. The main point of criticism was the small 6sqm (65 sqft) home office. Was that this one: https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/Grundrisse-für-efh-ca-140m-ohne-Keller.17683 (with further versions in posts #44 and #56)?
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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beatboxking3 Feb 2018 20:52Thank you for all the contributions – especially the encouraging ones. I’ll try to make some improvements over the next few days, but it will probably take a while...
@ypg: The wooden house will have a plaster facade, and the roof is a bit more complex to draw in Sweet Home 3D – I was just too lazy. So just imagine that...
@kaho674: Thanks for your efforts, there are some ideas I really like – for example, the platform staircase; I’ll try experimenting with that. However, we don’t want to walk through the dressing room to get to the bedroom, we don’t like that. It might be challenging to make everything work together.
@ypg: The wooden house will have a plaster facade, and the roof is a bit more complex to draw in Sweet Home 3D – I was just too lazy. So just imagine that...
@kaho674: Thanks for your efforts, there are some ideas I really like – for example, the platform staircase; I’ll try experimenting with that. However, we don’t want to walk through the dressing room to get to the bedroom, we don’t like that. It might be challenging to make everything work together.
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