Building plot acquired for the construction of a single-family house, further planning steps

Greetings to all,

and first of all THANK YOU for all the information that can be found in the house building forum. Truly invaluable! I hope I am in the correct section “House Building Planning,” as we are still in the initial phase of our project and like floor plans but have not yet created any concrete drafts or would probably leave that to a professional anyway. We have put down the main ideas and wishes on paper. These we will outline below in the questionnaire.

We were able to conclude our two-year search for a building plot at the end of September with the purchase of our plot in a quiet suburb of Bielefeld. Now we want to start planning. The goal is to complete by the end of 2025. Since we are still unsure about the next steps, we are seeking advice in this forum. I am attaching the development plan as well as the excerpt from the textual specifications of the zoning plan. Since the parcels are not yet registered with TIM or BORIS, unfortunately, I cannot provide a larger spatial overview.

Development plan/Restrictions
Size of the plot: 530 sqm
Slope: No
Site occupancy index: 0.4
Floor space index: 0.8
Building window, building line and boundary: 3 m
Number of parking spaces: 2-4
Number of floors: 1.5
Roof shape: Gable roof
Style: modern single-family house
Orientation: Driveway in the northeast, garden/terrace to the west, ridge running east-west, gable sides east and west
Maximum heights/limits: 4.5 m building height, 11.0 m ridge height
Other requirements: Roof pitch 35-48°, mandatory photovoltaic

Requirements of the builders
Style, roof shape, building type: Modern single-family house; gable roof; KFW40
Basement, floors: 1.5; basement would be nice to have but not necessary
Number of persons, age: 31m, 30f, from 03/2024 child tbd (We need support with the house building as neither we, nor family or friends have a craft background)
Space requirements on ground and upper floor: 160-170 sqm, we plan two study rooms and two children's rooms. The study rooms can be smaller.
Overnight guests per year: 6-8 persons
Open or closed architecture: Both
Construction method: Wood or masonry is completely indifferent to us.
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Open kitchen, but a kitchen island is not mandatory.
Number of dining seats: 6-8
Fireplace: Nice to have but not mandatory
Music/stereo wall: No
Balcony, roof terrace: No
Garage, carport: Single or double carport with storage room. To design the garden more generously, we would also go for a single carport.
Garden: Ornamental garden

House design

So far, we have looked at various floor plans from solid house general contractors and prefabricated house general contractors. The design we like best so far is the "Eibenallee" from Gussek Haus. I am also attaching a pictorial excerpt of the floor plan from the homepage and would gladly discuss it. However, since essential information about the measurements is missing, it only has limited significance.

What do you particularly like? Why?
- Very spacious living-dining area, bay element towards the garden, storage/technical room behind the kitchen, half-landing staircase, office on the ground floor, bedroom with spacious dressing room, two equally sized children’s rooms.
What do you not like? Why?
No direct access to the technical room from the hallway. We would like a laundry room adjacent to the family bathroom upstairs for washing machine and dryer.

Price estimate according to architect/planner: tbd
Personal price limit for the house, including equipment: €600,000
Preferred heating technology: Air-to-water heat pump + photovoltaic

If you have to do without, which details/additions
- Can you do without: dining room for 6-8 persons is sufficient, dressing room, half-landing staircase
- Cannot do without: large kitchen-living-dining area, two study rooms, two children’s rooms

Now for the further questions:
1. Should we first go to an architect or,
1.1 since the above-mentioned design comes very close to our ideas, go directly to a general contractor and have the desired adjustments made?

Best regards and have a nice evening!

There are now certainly many ways that lead to Rome. If I were you, I would first thoroughly examine my property. This includes, for example, a soil survey, if there isn't one yet. Then I would draw my dream house to scale and roughly place paths, parking spaces, terrace, garbage bins, bike shed, etc., to get a sense of the dimensions. There might also be a height plan for the property. Additionally, you can already look up all service providers (electricity, water, sewage, telephone, etc.) and make initial contact. You should at least have read the development plan to avoid unpleasant surprises. For example, we had a lot of fun with the fire department.

Regarding the house, you could basically consider whether it should be solid (massive) or wooden, or if you don't care. If you like the Gussek house design and wood is okay, you can stop by there. But please don't sign anything! Just look and talk! You will probably have to decide on your own whether to go with an architect, general contractor, or prefabricated house provider. If you already have very concrete ideas, you might be able to quickly become happy with a general contractor or the suitable prefab specialist. If you want it to be much more individual, an architect is probably the better choice. It's best to ask around regionally which general contractor is recommended and who has already built a lot in your area. After some research, you should make a preselection regarding your building partner based on the Bau and Leistungsbeschreibung, show homes, conversations, recommendations, etc. We then had an offer made by the 3 "final round candidates." We later decided based on intuition, not money. Good luck!

The design we have liked best so far is the "Eibenallee" by Gussek Haus.

Do you really like it or is it the best of all the bad things you have seen? I also think it is a nice house design. You should just bear in mind that the focus here is on openness and spaciousness of the living area. For a 4-person household, I find the storage space too little. A wardrobe would still need to be invented, among other things.

However, since essential information about the dimensions is missing, it only has limited significance.

10.25 as an external dimension is at least enough that on such a narrow piece of land (unfortunately without dimensions) it could become tight in depth. The plot is somewhat special...

Direct access to the technical room from the hallway is missing.

Two accesses to the small utility room would be one too many.

We would like an adjoining laundry room next to the family bathroom upstairs for the washing machine and dryer.

The bathroom is already very compact with its 8.x sqm. I don't see a utility room for the size of the house. The design scores with some elements that take up space.

since the above-mentioned design comes very close to our ideas, to go directly to the general contractor and have the desired modifications made?

What is it supposed to be in the end? A 3- or 4-person household? It could work for 3, for 4 I would look further. Of course, going to an architect is obvious, but personally I don't see any obligation to hire a freelance architect. However, the overall wishes may contribute to the fact that no standard house really fits. I don't know any standard house that still has space for a utility room next to 4 bedrooms. Considering that the plot is not the largest either, I would probably also consider an attic conversion. Take your plot measurements and draw in everything necessary – houses can be templated, possibly place the entrance at the front, that saves space on the east side.

Since the parcels are not yet registered in TIM or BORIS, I unfortunately cannot provide a larger spatial overview.

They are probably not yet resurveyed, but obviously already built (once).

Regarding the house, you could basically consider whether it should be solid or wood, or if it doesn't matter to you. If you like the Gussek house design and wood is okay, you can go by there.

If the decision falls on the other building material, one goes with a Gussek house taste to Viebrockhaus.

A basement would be nice to have - but not a must [...] Construction method: Wood or stone is completely indifferent to us. [...] Fireplace: Nice to have - but not a must

The basement question does not have to be a private decision; I see early suspicion points of uneven terrain in the development plan. I always recommend keeping the construction method decision open up to the dough resting phase. Forget a fireplace in an Effizienzhaus 40.

However, since essential information about the dimensions is missing here, this is only conditionally meaningful. [...] Direct access to the technical room from the hallway is missing. We would like an adjoining laundry room to the family bathroom upstairs for washing machine and dryer. [...]
Now to the other questions:
1. Should we first go to the architect or,
1.1 since the above-mentioned design is very close to our ideas, go directly to the general contractor and have the desired adjustments made?

The presentation is meaningful insofar as a) it contains external dimensions and thus makes it possible to check the fit into the building envelope and b) it can be assumed that a model house also works. However, this guarantee dies the moment you significantly change the layout of the house. Never ever let a general contractor’s draftsman "adjust" a functioning design as described here; this applies doubly to a foreign design and even triply if it is also "transgenic," i.e., a Holzher design is supposed to be built with a Steiner or vice versa. Reproducing a Gussek house with a stone general contractor is highly inadvisable – with a Viebrockhaus it would be somewhat better, but only conditionally convincing. If you have an unfortunately only seemingly simple transition made by a general contractor’s draftsman or contract architect, it will backfire in bottlenecks and pipes boxed in drywall bumps. Catalog designs are either adopted with only very minor variations, or planned consistently "fresh" and individually. Even when adopted 1:1, you don’t plan a Meier house with Müller construction. You also don’t have a Mercedes 5 series or A6 built, but rather take their E-class.

In my posting history, you currently have to scroll back barely two weeks to find several hints on recommended procedures for building with architects. Common to all is: first develop a preliminary design, then use it to "shop around" and explore the individually more suitable construction method, and then accordingly plan only phase 3 in wood or the entire module B in stone, and so on.

Under the heading "The upper floor has priority," I have explained (externally, to be googled with the quotation marks) in what order it is smartest to develop the floor plans. This means transferred to your case, start with the floor that is more strongly changed compared to the catalog design used as inspiration.

I have taken your suggestions as an opportunity to try working on a floor plan myself. I used the external dimensions from the above-mentioned draft to roughly implement our ideas and especially to get a better impression of the building possibilities. I am happy to share it with you, although the measurements are missing here and there are probably countless planning errors. I am also not quite sure yet how to take the planned knee wall heights into account. Ultimately, this has rather strengthened our decision to go to an architect.

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Thank you for your suggestions. The development work is still ongoing. There is no soil report yet. We want to wait with commissioning the soil report until the development work is largely completed. In recent days, I have tried working on the to-scale desired planning. We are familiar with the development plan. We have meanwhile contacted two architects and scheduled initial meetings; their references appeal to us.

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Thank you for your initial question and the suggestions! Your question prompted us to take a more critical look at the above-mentioned draft; in doing so, we came to realize that we would need to make some adjustments to meet our space requirements. I also no longer see an additional access to the utility room. I also consider the family bathroom on the upper floor too small. The tendency is towards a 4-person household, and planning should be done accordingly. I like your suggestion regarding the entrance facing north. I also think the idea of the roof conversion is good.
I have attached the dimensions of the plot, at least the southern and eastern boundary lines, to the new attachment (planning plot). Additionally, I have created a draft with RoomSketcher to get a better impression of the plot dimensions first.

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Exactly. Our plot had a barn on it. I can confirm the initial suspicion points regarding the unevenness of the terrain, although our plot is largely level. At least when I look at the heights above TIM and also after consulting with the referred architect. Towards the Lower Austria street side, we will probably have some slope (approx. 0.6 m), towards the NW-SW (approx. 0.4 m–1.0 m). The neighboring plots to the east and south are level. Thanks also to you for your explanations, which have strengthened us in first going to an architect. Your suggestions and your blog are really great and especially a good guide for us as beginners.

P.S.: I apologize, but I need to take another close look at the quoting function.