Floor plan design of a 100 m² bungalow with expansion reserve

You don't have a site plan yet, but you already have the property?

You don't have a site plan yet, but you already have the property?

He has the cadastral map for that. It's basically the site plan without text and house drawing. It can be accessed online in Lower Saxony.

I'll put it this way: of course, you can build it like that.
1. If living rooms are to be created upstairs, the rooms need proper windows that you can look out of and that can serve as a second escape route. With a hip roof, this is only possible with an expensive window construction. I would advise against it for economic reasons and also plan conventionally in this case.
2. Photovoltaic system: a hip roof is not exactly the best roof shape for that.

A gable roof is also a thing. If the orientation of the gable roof runs from west to east, then I have no area for photovoltaics on the south side.

If a larger system is planned, it is planned just like the windows upstairs already are. This means that you plan a gable roof with the appropriate orientation and then plan the house accordingly. Whether "only south" or "east and west" should be secondary.

I haven’t thought about that yet. If I want to convert the attic, roof insulation is probably sensible, right?

3. If a roof conversion is planned, the planner should know that as well, because the structural engineering demands more. Personally, I assume the planner knows that, but you should know that usually a cheap cold roof is planned first – which can be avoided. I wouldn’t bring that up here (yet), but it should of course be addressed with the builder.
4. The first priority should be that you feel comfortable there and can spend your life in the next few years and develop yourself there – not the photovoltaic system.

I find the floor plan simple and functional. Alone it can work well, but with two children in the attic, the zoning would not be good enough and not sufficient, because the bedroom is exactly in the liveliest middle of the house and it can become very noisy and loud. Personally, I wouldn’t like at all that the living and lounge area only faces east. Necessary sunlight at times when you are at home is caught by utility rooms, where you don’t need it. The office is practically in the sweet spot, but the sun will probably disturb and have to be shut out there.
What can happen is that the kitchen will need to be expanded with growth. The wardrobe will probably no longer be enough either. It is fundamentally good if the freezer room is accessible from the hallway and can accommodate shoes.
I really find the bathroom awful. Washbasin in the bottleneck without daylight. If someone is standing there, they block other residents from using the bathroom. It is so bad that this is probably the trigger to plan again – though possibly necessary anyway because of the roof.

5. Driveway: 4.50 meters is actually the width of driveways here. For us, there are no flowerbeds, but infiltration basins distributed along the streets throughout the new development area. Whoever wants their yard wider makes their driveway a bit wider, whoever needs it narrower for a single garage makes the yard narrower. Two cars do not have to leave the property at the same time. 4.55 meters are standard for yard entrances.

6. So if there is the willingness to change something, I would place the beautiful carport in the north to turn/shift the room layout. Kitchen/living room could be arranged at an angle, i.e., facing the garden sideways and above (SE garden or SW). I would want the bedroom opposite the bathroom, at worst forgo a guest toilet (unless you party every day).
You don’t have to take the first draft!

If I see it correctly, the sketch of the floor plan with the beds is not aligned analogously to the attached site plan. Such a thing is always helpful.

I received the sketch of the floor plan like this from the architect, and without an orientation arrow it is misleading, you are right.

Why is "Driveway Yard" marked on the left side of the hand sketch?

The property is a back lot in a new development area. The previous owners planned the driveway on the left, and so it is currently drawn on the hand sketch as well. As of today, however, that is no longer current, because the driveway is planned on the right. (Whereby the position of the driveway and the entire sketch are now under review and many things may change. (See below.)

If you interpret that now and assume that the site plan is oriented north, then the house entrance and carport are now in the south ... as always, a corresponding orientation arrow on such drawings is useful.

Correct, here are two new sketches with a provisional compass:

[ATTACH alt="PXL_20240701_173951282.jpg"]86531[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH alt="20240611_censored_cropped.png"]86530[/ATTACH]

An east-west photovoltaic system on a gable roof can be better arranged in terms of area than photovoltaic on a hip roof with roof windows.

I did not know that, thanks for the note. I assumed that the many sides of a hip roof would be better than the two sides of a gable roof. That apparently is not the case.

I'll put it this way: of course you can build it like that.

You could, but you probably shouldn’t.

1. If living rooms are to be created upstairs, then the rooms need proper windows from which you can look out and that can serve as a second emergency exit. With a hip roof, this is only possible with expensive window construction. I would advise against it for economic reasons alone and also plan conventionally in this case.
2. Photovoltaic system: a hip roof is not exactly the best roof shape for this

If a larger system is planned, you plan it the same way as the windows upstairs now. That means you take a gable roof with the corresponding orientation and then plan the house accordingly. Whether "only south" or "east and west" should be secondary.

Simple and functional as it says further below, that is my wish. A hip roof obviously makes no sense for several reasons, so I will plan with a gable roof. Regarding the roof, I basically ask myself: My floor plan has an area of 11 x 11 m². At 45 degrees pitch, that means at the highest point of the roof 5.5 m. If there is no attic above the upper floor, that would already be very high for a ceiling in the upper floor. I naturally have the same problem with a hip roof, but even more with a gable roof. I would probably have to reduce the roof pitch and maybe raise the knee wall so that the roof is not quite as high. Or how could one solve the problem of the ceiling being too high?

3. If an attic conversion is planned, the planner should know because the statics require more. I personally assume the planner knows that, but you should know that usually a cheap cold roof is planned first - which you can avoid. I would not have made this a topic here (yet), but it should of course be discussed with the builder.
4. The first priority should be that you feel comfortable in it and can spend your life there for the next years and develop there — and not the photovoltaic system.

I find the floor plan simple and functional. Alone it can work well, but with two children upstairs, I would find the zoning not good enough and not sufficient, because the bedroom is exactly in the busiest middle of the house and thus it can become very noisy and loud. Personally, I would not like at all that the living and recreation area only faces east. Necessary sunlight at times when one is at home is absorbed by utility rooms where it is not needed. The office is basically in the prime spot, but there the sun will rather disturb and be blocked out.
What may happen is that the kitchen will have to be expanded when the family grows. The wardrobe probably won’t be enough then either. It is basically nice if the freezer room is accessible from the hallway and can store shoes.

I have to think about these proposed changes again and write later. Thanks.

I really find the bathroom bad. Washbasin in the bottleneck without daylight. If someone is standing there, it hinders other occupants from using the bathroom. That is so bad that this is probably the reason to plan anew - although maybe necessary anyway because of the roof.

I personally don’t find the washbasin in the bottleneck bad. The daylight issue is a good point, though. Maybe one could swap bathroom+WC and office. The small guest WC remains where it is.

5. Driveway: 4.50 is actually wide for driveways here. Here we don’t have flower beds but infiltration trenches distributed throughout the new development area near the streets. Whoever wants a wider yard makes their driveway a bit wider, whoever needs it narrower for a simple garage makes the yard narrower. Two cars do not have to leave the property at the same time. 4.55 is aimed at courtyard driveways.

In the updated hand sketch, a parking space is still drawn to the left side of the property. Below also a few photos from the property, unfortunately none with a complete view. In any case, I’m a bit worried that I would have to reverse out through that driveway every day, past the bed and the neighbor’s car. Maybe I am misjudging the situation, but a wide driveway with plenty of space would be a lot of quality of life for me.

6. So if there is willingness to change something, I would set the nice carport to the north to rotate/move the room layout. You could arrange kitchen/living room around the corner, so facing the garden sideways and up (SE garden or SW). I would want the bedroom opposite the bathroom, if necessary forego the guest toilet (unless you party every day).

Willingness to change things is there. But my wishes

- wide driveway
- bedroom not facing the street
- kitchen and living room towards the garden
- straight staircase
- guest WC

naturally constrain me a lot. I have to think about exactly what must be and which compromise I am willing to swallow. I will also consider this again and get back later. Thanks.

You don’t have to take the first draft!

Actually, the plan mentioned in the opening post is the second plan. For completeness, here again the first plan:

[ATTACH alt="IMG-20240429-WA0001.jpg"]86537[/ATTACH]

Good evening, the orientation is shown on the last floor plan. Are you aware that you will not have any southern sun in the living area? The parking space is better placed on the other side. Or are you choosing this intentionally?

BG Jasmin

My floor plan has an area of 11 x 11 m2.

At 45 degree pitch

Neither is set in stone. The dimensions and roof pitch were chosen by the planner because a hip roof is to be developed here with two rooms. With a hip roof, you have much less living space under the roof than with a gable.

I would probably have to reduce the roof pitch and maybe raise the knee wall so that the roof is not quite so high.

30 degrees is probably advisable. You can create a knee wall inside, but you don’t have to. It results from the development.

Or how could one solve the problem with the ceiling being too high?

Lower it, as is commonly done.

I personally don’t find the washbasin in the bottleneck bad. The issue with daylight, however, is a good point.

But you do want to use the bathroom with two or three people at some point, right? Your “not bad” is what is called “not functional.”

Maybe one could swap the bathroom + WC and office. The small guest WC remains where it is.

I am not in favor of changing small things when the big picture should be revised first.

but a wide driveway with lots of space would already be a lot of quality of life for me.

Do you know how expensive paving is? You write something about 360,000€. Of that, about 300,000€ goes into the house, 30-50,000 into ancillary building costs. Roughly calculated. Your paving costs you a five-digit figure, and I assume no 1 in front.
Consider whether a wide driveway is really more important to you than light in the house. For many, your carport orientation to the south would be a no-go. But if that doesn’t bother you... It’s your house after all. Only it’s obvious that no thought whatsoever was given to light and cardinal directions. That is for many the basis and the be-all and end-all of house planning. Otherwise, you’ll be sitting in the house in winter only under artificial light because the daylight yield is not high enough.