Floor plan draft - What do you think about it?

I have taken the data from the expert report. Have now measured. Width: 22.5 m, depth 20.5 m.

Das schmale Grundstück ist quasi unten der Weg zu einer Garage und gehört wem?

- Neighbor. Between the narrow path and our old house without stairs and without a shed there are exactly 3 m. That is why a single garage was planned there. The new house should be set 60 cm lower.

You wanted 3 parking spaces. Where should the other two go? And how is a garage supposed to fit next to the house with the current plan?

I am amazed by the creativity of the planner. A plot of land cannot be simply raised like that. Especially since you are building on an existing old structure. Digging out will also not work without a retaining wall. In my opinion, the current plan is pure wishful thinking by the seller to collect a hefty commission. I strongly advise consulting a professional! Go to an architect. Has the demolition already been approved?

Unfortunately, I don’t have the measurements.

But by now you should at least be able to say where a) the south side is on the site plan and b) on the design proposal? The question is still open after 50 posts.

I reviewed the thread again: it seems to be a more or less level plot. So why create an artificial depression or elevation, only to burden the granny flat with unnecessary stairs and cause extra costs for the house? A rental apartment for the parents would be cheaper ;) Also, I see that you can only access a basement room, which serves as storage space and laundry area for a family of four!, from the outside.
Lack of storage space INSIDE the house combined with oversized (larger than the living room) children’s rooms is really a major planning flaw.
Since you can’t fit living and dining areas, master suite with master bath, and granny flat for seniors on one level, you have to make compromises.
Possibly a split-level house would be an option, but an architect would have to assess the conditions... Split-level is more expensive than a standard house, but you’re already in the 400k zone :D
With our standard knowledge you won’t get anywhere – it takes a lot of brainpower to optimally use the plot and explore the limits. Only an architect on site can do that.
Personally, I would trust a mason to design a house, but only if it’s a standard situation and no extraordinary conditions like here.

Just my two cents!

May I? I would have it redesigned quite significantly, so I’ll just write something rather general, no details.

The height of all window openings is about 1/3 of the door height, aligned at the top with the doors? That makes, let’s say, 75cm, from which the frames have to be deducted. They end at about 225cm above the floor level, so they start at 150cm. The 9-year-old will still have to grow a bit before he/she can look out of the window. Besides, you write that the rear facade was designed by you. That one is much lighter, so you should ask yourselves if you really want the other sides to be so closed off.

The upper floor facade facing the street with the almost symmetrical, mostly non-opening and low corner windows gives a bit of the impression of a ship’s bridge. I would lower such corner windows and maybe equip them with a window seat bench.

In my opinion, the parent suite is well done.

I find the pantry in that location inconvenient, too far away from the kitchen. You have repurposed it in the plan for the washing machine? You’re of course right, access to the washing machine only via the outside stairs is a crazy idea. Shouldn’t the access to the new laundry room rather be from the hallway? Need to iron something or hang it up to dry overnight in winter? Then it seems way too small at all. If the children’s palace rooms can be smaller, maybe move it upstairs? If the whole thing is being completely redesigned, the area could become the stairwell? Then it could also extend down to the basement. As a requirement, I wouldn’t want to omit an internal access to the basement.

However, I would always want to have a pantry, ideally next to the kitchen and with a short walking distance from the door through which you carry groceries. Especially if basement access is only from outside. Beer crates and sacks of potatoes are simply unsightly (and heavy).

I would be skeptical whether the roof terrace (access only through the children’s room) would be used enough to justify the costs.

The trapped rooms on the upper floor (i.e. only accessible through other rooms) save space in the hallway, but make the whole thing quite inflexible if the rooms are to be repurposed later.

Thank you very much for the remarks. We are now also doubting this project. We have considered placing the bedrooms on the upper floor. And instead of bedrooms on the ground floor, to make a bathroom, dressing room, and guest room. This way, we gain space for the living room and storage room. The entrance to the basement should be replaced not from outside, but by an internal staircase. And perhaps make this protrusion smaller and only up to half of the house and not along the entire length of the house. You are right about the windows on the second floor.