Floor plan design for a semi-detached house 17x10m - Best space utilization?

Why don't you plan a house with a [Einliegerwohnung] that could be rented out? That way you would have a bigger garden, rental income, and wider rooms? Even a double garage would fit...

Cool! I didn’t get around to it last night, but I had vaguely thought about trying something like that. mm-paper and pencil are already ready, maybe I’ll manage it today.

I don’t actually think it’s that cool. You only ever have 3 sides with light, in a semi-detached house. The wide main light side is to the north (or south). If you put the entrance there, important rooms inevitably end up at the "dark wall." That’s rubbish. Therefore, in my opinion, the entrance must always be on one of the sides adjacent to the dark wall. The garden side is also out – only the street side remains for the entrance.

The plot is ridiculously expensive and you actually only want to use and buy half. I understand that. But if you’re not satisfied with the usual layouts of semi-detached houses, I see little chance for the big happiness.

Would, for example, two-family houses be possible? A granny flat has also been mentioned.

So, here I am again, thinking break is over. Yesterday I looked at three different semi-detached houses based on the floor plans. (Among them a "classic" one, basement included, with 150 sqm living space on a 208 sqm plot, the "garden" to the northeast was exactly 3.50 meters deep – so only a terrace, for the whopping 680,000€ WITHOUT floor coverings, painting, extras and landscaping. Just to illustrate the incredible prices here in the region. Another 5.95% broker fee on top. Completely absurd.)

Basically: I think most people here are right when they say we are probably best served with a "classic" semi-detached floor plan. And before I build tiny little rooms but end up standing in an entrance hall, honestly, practicality trumps beauty.
In that sense: a straight staircase is definitely off the table, a half-landing staircase hm well. I'm attached to it. But what's worse: small rooms and a half-landing staircase or winding steps and larger rooms? I think the former...
What I still don't like is the staircase in the middle. I don't want it next to the kitchen, I don't want an open descent to the basement... either we try it with a "staircase tower" in the corner or we close off the basement access. Staircase entrance in the dirty zone has also been criticized several times – I admit, not optimal, but I would swallow that bitter pill. You see it so often, I grew up with it and it’s not a problem that can’t be solved.

By the way, I would rather have more than half of the house including the property and look for a rental target group smaller than 4 people, e.g., a couple or so, who can manage with less and have double the salary or pension.

That’s probably how we’ll do it. Max one child, like us.

So, it’s about a two-family house – vertically, so you don’t have a tenant above you, which is fine; but it’s an undivided plot.

Exactly. Real division is not possible, only under condominium ownership (WEG).

Against this background, it seems to me a thinking error,
- 1) to split the units 50/50;
- 2) to let the dividing line run straight and parallel to the outer edges as if it stood on a border;
- 3) because you want a straight staircase yourself, also to plan one in the tenant's half.

Regarding 1) We probably won’t do that either, thanks again to Katja for the idea here
Regarding 2) We will keep it that way anyway, as we want to leave open the option to divide by WEG later and actually sell. Another dividing line wouldn’t make much sense there
Regarding 3) That wasn’t planned either. We haven’t even talked about the other half yet. That will probably be "classic" with the most space-saving staircase variant.

Given the entrance side situation, I find the height stagger better than leveling it for a Wemnütztsie height alignment. Would the permitted ridge direction allow building shed roofs (with skylight for the higher one, but only if it remains a common plot)?

A ridge direction is not specified. The development plan does not allow shed roofs alone, but offset shed roofs are permitted. That would be the case then. But I don’t know if the variant with 2 full floors and attic as an expansion reserve for the upper occupant wouldn’t fail due to the max building height of 9.50 m...? For the lower occupant, the orientation would be optimal for photovoltaic use...
I also find the height stagger desirable just for the reason not to have such a huge "block" of a house standing there.

Why don’t you plan a house with a granny flat you can rent out?
Then you have a bigger garden, rental income, and wider rooms? Even a double garage would fit...

True, but we want to keep the option of selling open. Also, we don’t really want someone living under or above us... That’s what we have now (under us) and if I’m already creating property, I want at least a double-shell sand-lime brick wall between us and the tenants/co-residents.

I actually don’t find it that cool. You only get light from 3 sides with a semi-detached house. The wide main light side is north (or south). If you put the entrance there, important rooms inevitably end up at the "dark wall". That’s bad. Therefore, in my opinion, the entrance must always be on one of the sides adjoining the dark wall. Garden side is also out – so only the street side remains for the entrance.

Hmm, I see. Do you think that matters if you plan 9 by 10 meters? I would have almost 9 meters on the east and west sides for windows and on the north side at least about half...
Right now we’re thinking 9 meters for us and 7 meters for the other half. I agree, with such a narrow "half" the entrance must be in front. Would it look stupid to have the entrance in front on one half and on the side on the other?

But if you’re not satisfied with the usual semi-detached floor plans, I see little chance for great happiness.

We’re pretty much at that point now too. Sigh. You’re right.

Would 2-family houses be possible, for example? A granny flat was already mentioned.

Theoretically yes, but for the reasons mentioned, we don’t want that so much.

Floor area ratio = 0.35 x 479 = 167.65 / 10 = 16.7. Do we still have to cut off 30 cm? How thick is such a wall in the middle? What about parking spaces, terrace and paths?

So, I checked again, the development plan says nothing about that. Except that such ancillary facilities should be constructed to allow infiltration and the ground should not be sealed. Could that be right? How is that regulated then? For the terrace, we are anyway considering a wooden deck with a step down because of the terrain topography... We are currently calculating 7+9 meters, so 16 in total. Then you would have 3.50 on each side. Squeezing by somewhere forever is really annoying too.

or we close the exit downwards.

If the basement is not to be included in the thermal envelope, then definitely. The separating door can be at the top or bottom. You can’t see around the landing corner anyway, so I might possibly include the exit visually towards the top. Or you let the basement exit at the top appear like a storage room door.

Another dividing line wouldn’t make much sense

Certainly not stepped multiple times, but maybe slanted.

But I don’t know if the variant with 2 full floors and attic as an expansion reserve for the higher floor wouldn’t fail due to the max FH of 9.50 m...?

I don’t know either, that has to be calculated specifically.

Would it look stupid to put the entrance at the front on one half and on the side on the other?

No, that’s actually quite common for "classic" semi-detached houses on corner plots, and with unequal halves that would even be my "first choice". They usually aren’t suitable for mirrored cloning of the layout anyway (instead, for the north half, the west side is often taken as the preferred side).

We haven’t even talked about the other half yet.

Indirectly yes: at first, equal-sized halves were planned, which should only differ in the standard. Therefore, I would already have expected a mirror clone there out of “imaginative economy.”

Podium again - but entrance at the front.



2 upper floors: From a construction point of view, the bathroom above the WC on the ground floor would be ideal. However, then the bedroom would end up next to the child's room, which is not so nice. Therefore, alternatively, a somewhat elongated bathroom, whereby the disposal would have to be planned through the pantry.

Here is another idea from Bien-Zenker for the entrance on the side:


For me, however, the hallway would be too narrow. The WC would be removed and the technical room would be divided half and half between the WC and the pantry.