Floor plan optimization of a single-family house with a basement on a small plot

I don't understand the problem with the basement at all. Everything can stay as planned, except that the basement becomes the first floor and the dormer is left out on the attic floor. This also saves money, aside from earthworks, disposal, basement exterior stairs, waterproof concrete shell, and embankments. Rooms can then be used as desired, e.g., guest room on the ground floor becomes a workshop (What kind of works does the gentleman perform?).

However, the Maulwurf family definitely wants a basement. Everything else seems rather unimportant. We don't understand it either.

I don't think I wrote about home office every day

I still wanted to clarify that a basement office wouldn't be suitable for that. You'd get the poor animal, as they say in Cologne.

- elimination of light wells (provides the sqm for a shed)
- no fall protection for the light wells

Exactly. The downside of a basement that is deeply embedded in the ground on all sides would be that an excessive amount of garden space would be lost for sloping the light wells.

Sorry, I didn’t mean to rate the thread, especially not just with a 2... But somehow I can’t undo it ops:

Dude, we had all that too – or so we thought.

Oh, that’s what you meant by stuff Well, those are of course all items that should be taken into account, but since basically all the interior furnishings would be there (ok kitchen redesign about 3.5k) and everything is just 4 years old, I would actually be able to do without curtains at first in a house with manual shutters (according to the construction specs at all windows), and carpets except in the kids’ room as well but you’re right, you have to add quite a bit on top or factor it in... especially for outside etc.

I don’t think so at all. If I can’t afford 3 kids, it would be better to have just 2.

I would actually rather not build then and prefer to “return” the land (which is only partially paid for so far) and look for a nice 5 or 6-room apartment sometime later but I think we should really reconsider the budget again. From what budget do you think having 3 kids would be allowed?

You only get a chimney if you drive an electric car.

Even with just one car that’s only used about 1-2 times a month, since we do everything by public transport and bike (which also works at the new location) ?
Joking aside, thanks for the suggestion!
We really have to try again and see exactly what we actually need etc.

Apparently, everyone thinks our mole family’s idea of a basement is totally stupid, so we’ll probably have to think that through carefully again.
As it always is, you want a lot but not everything works...

Regarding the development plan, a lot of things are unclear to me though.

I’ve attached an excerpt from the development plan where it’s mentioned... maybe I also misunderstood something there...

The green strip is officially a different parcel, that’s on the list to clarify with the seller. There is something like a small kind of embankment/ditch that runs along the entire residential area, so I can’t really imagine that it properly belongs to us... but that will be clarified.
On the coming Tuesday we have an appointment there for a preliminary discussion of the purchase contract, then we’ll surely know more about that...


Would it be an alternative per basement if one used the excavation (assuming the soil is suitable, boreholes for the soil survey were done yesterday) to partially raise the terrain (it’s already below street level anyway, so the basement would have to be buried less deeply and there would be more free space at the back, basically an artificial mini-hill)? Or a really stupid idea?
The mole family is not giving up on the basement yet...
If worst comes to worst, we’d just really have to think about a (what we find) ugly tower block

Best regards and thanks to you all for your advice and criticism!

Mrs. Mole

Sorry, I didn’t want to rate the thread, especially not with a 2... But somehow I can’t undo it ops:

That happens to all of us. All the time.

At what budget would 3 children be allowed in your opinion?

Well, that's simple: in this case: if the house allows for 3 children's rooms + bedroom + bathroom on the upper floor and you can easily pay it off.

Obviously, everyone finds our molehill idea of a basement totally stupid, so we probably need to think about it again carefully.

As I said, basically a very good thing for the standard family on a small plot. But you need rooms with light and windows for 5 people + guest and work, and nobody wants to live in the basement. If I were a guest, I would look for a hotel to avoid that.
Your house primarily serves basic needs. If there were money left over, you could still build a basement. But I’m afraid there’s nothing left. To put rooms underground unnecessarily, on the other hand, would be downright foolish.

Yes, you are certainly right.

We will think it all over again and discuss all your alternatives!