Floor plan - 135 sqm, 1.5 storeys, gable roof

You have 69.5 sqm living area in the plan in post 1 below and 55 sqm on the upper floor.

What does it mean that 135 sqm are agreed?

Contractually with the developer, 135 sqm WNFL (usable living area (sorry, Wohnnettofläche was wrongly translated)) are agreed. The "mixed calculation" and financing were based on this. Living area is different from usable living area.

Can the knee wall be up to 120 cm or must it be?

Can be. Maximum 1.20.

I hope you are collecting all these questions to post the answers sometime in ONE post together with the site plan, construction dimensions, etc.

I will do that as soon as I have all the information soon.

I don't understand the contractual construct that you fix the square meters in the contract and cannot deviate from it. Apart from your own budget.

As I said: Normally you can change the house arbitrarily. Only the structural requirements limit the choice. My budget also limits me.

Of course I can deviate from everything. That's why I'm no longer building a city villa, but a 1.5-story house. Maybe I expressed myself unclearly, so once again: last year we found a plot. Everything was clear, the notary appointment was scheduled for January, so we arranged the financing, which has been running since January. Then unfortunately the seller backed out. So we were left with financing and house contract, but no plot (I already mentioned this in one of the first posts). So we searched for a new plot. We just found one; the information was sparse because we simply did not have it yet. Now we have financing planned for 135 sqm living area.

The new plot forces us to have a knee wall, which reduces the pure living area. We could simply increase the living area now, but this is not financially planned and would totally blow our budget — as I said, we're talking about 240k planned and financed for the house (+ other costs, total 400k..). We could also say we won't take the plot (the notary appointment is not for another two weeks), but we won't find another one so quickly. So that is the framework in which I have to move.

And don't take it the wrong way if I can't believe some of it:

Well, that might be a bit presumptuous. Just believe me. I'm not making this up for fun. I would also rather talk about a floor plan than spill half my "private life" here.

Suggestion: Let’s just leave it at that. I will make a new post when the time comes.

The calculation is based on living net area (in simple terms, the floor area – which altogether adds up to 135 sqm. It doesn’t matter if upstairs (and thus overall) there is less living area). Fundamentally making the ground floor bigger and having a smaller "structure" upstairs won’t work, as it does not correspond to the customary local development.

To be honest, I don’t fully understand the overall dimensions of the said ground floor plan (11x8.25)

At least there are measurements for that

Yes, and as I said, the area is calculated according to living net area.

I am unsure how it works if you insert a knee wall – like a dry wall/additional wall on the roof side. Does what’s behind it still count as WNFL (I’m afraid so)? … I’ll ask about that...

No!

Here it was living net area

Contractually with the building contractor, it is 135 sqm WNFL (living usable area (sorry, living net area was wrongly translated))

So, we stood there with financing and house contract, but without land (I had already written that in one of the first posts). So we looked for a new plot.

Yes, you wrote a lot, but not that you were already in negotiations back then with the same BC and thus already had an old contract with them. When reading, one initially assumes the usual procedure, which is NOT to bind oneself to a purchase contract with a BC before the land is fixed. We had also planned with a bungalow, but it would then be a classic house… nevertheless, I was free to choose the contractor.

The new plot now forces us to have a knee wall, which reduces the pure living area.

Clarify first what you signed there. WNFL… You are jumping from net to usable area. Net is the normal calculation minus the plaster, usable deducts the basement/utility room, storage room, and traffic areas. In the latter, you roughly come to about 25 sqm more living area including the mentioned areas. At 135 you are thus at the 160 sqm house.

And my suggestion does not conflict at all with the conditions you named: I would have no problem whatsoever either setting 90 to the ground floor and 45 upstairs for 135 sqm or for 135 sqm WNFL (160 sqm) 120 sqm on the ground floor and 40 sqm upstairs.

But the new plot now forces us to have a knee wall, which reduces the pure living area.

That is in no way dependent.
You do have to deviate from the house type now, but not from the living area...!

135sqm 90 on the ground floor and 45 on the upper floor or with 135sqm living area (160sqm) 120sqm on the ground floor and 40sqm on the upper floor

Exactly!! That’s why the idea is to make the bottom larger and the top with virtually no knee wall, roof pitch around 35° or so, then probably about half of the living area from below remains as living area above. And then a layout like

basically making the ground floor larger and planning living/dining/cooking/guest and reading/small bathroom/house technology there and then using a rather steep gable roof with 120 cm knee wall (22 to 25°) and accommodating sleeping/dressing/large bathroom in the standing area there.

fits. If you want to play with that, the data of the plot must be known. Tending to place living but also dining/cooking towards the south/west, but that is the street side, so the question is, what is the building envelope on the plot. House a bit further back, carport cleverly placed in front, you could make something nice there. Additionally, an east terrace.

Yes, you wrote a lot, but not that you were already negotiating back then with the same BT and thus already have an old contract with them.

First clarify what you signed there.

I have already mentioned this here:

Until recently we planned with a completely different plot (750 sqm, city villa possible etc.), we already had the draft of the notary contract, were about to sign, financing was secured etc. etc. In the end: the seller backed out Now we are glad to have found another plot so quickly

Here I already pointed out the issue of the area:

But another question: you say that I could now use more area downstairs etc. But isn't the basic area of 135 sqm calculated from the floor area? At least that’s how I understand our builder... :? Or is he telling me nonsense?

And here:

The problem here is that the builder talks to us about WNFL (i.e. living net area). This was not a big issue with the originally discussed city villa. With the switch now to 1.5 floors, it costs me at least 10 sqm of living area... I have to see to what extent I can still get something out of it.

WNFL... You are jumping from net area to usable area.

That's true. I found earlier that WNFL is actually spelled out as living usable area. Now I have the following issue:

[*]The contract now states: "approx. 135 sqm WNFL"
[*]But in his area calculation he again assumes net area – see excerpt

That means the builder quite clearly equates WNFL with net area and not with living area or usable area. And thus the already mentioned problem regarding the area remains.

But as I said: many thanks for the tips and hints so far. I will gladly open a new thread if it makes sense and things become clearer.