Floor plan/position single-family house, please provide suggestions + tips

Hello everyone,

we are planning our single-family house and do not yet have concrete ideas about the size and position of the single-family house.
I have attached a current site plan. There is already a single-family house of a family member on the property.
Now I wanted to ask what ideas you have for a single-family house with a double garage. What kind of floor plan or which position would you recommend to me?
The -2m on the picture in the attachment is meant to show the slight slope of the property. From the street to the indicated point, there is approximately a two-meter difference in height; the vertical street is therefore on a hill.

Please send suggestions.

Thanks in advance!

Hello JSz,

to somewhat build on the rules of Plinius and Alberti, I would consider the orientation according to the cardinal directions:
In the north, kitchen and bathrooms, in the east the bedrooms and a dining room for the beautiful sunrise, and in the south / southwest the "Belle Etage," meaning the living rooms.

According to your plan, this could be implemented quite well, in my opinion. Only a small path seems to run in the east, and the distance could also be chosen larger. A maximum 2m high hedge could already provide sufficient shielding from noise and views there, if the 2m slope location should not be enough.

Kitchen in the north also means a pleasant climate even in summer heat, where you can still grill steaks if necessary. Moreover, food outside the refrigerator is not heated by direct sunlight. In bathrooms and kitchens, you can more easily live with venetian blinds and pleated blinds than in the living rooms, since there the neighboring house adjoins and one might perhaps look into the rooms from there (?).

If the house were placed directly at the minimum permissible setback at the back, there would be maximum distance to the larger street at the front. There, a hedge at the fence and large solitary trees in front of the house could possibly buffer street noise and car exhaust. If the living rooms on the south side were extended as a bay window or loggia around the corner to the west side, you would still have sun in the evening or could spend more time on the west side during the day and in the south side in the evening in midsummer.

I have been renovating a 400sqm "small villa" for over 8 years, which is quite well oriented according to the cardinal directions. I really enjoy that again and again, especially in the hot summer, when you can eat, cook, and sleep in rooms that are not heated up.

Good luck with building!

Regards
Allrounder

Hello JSz,

in addition to what Allrounder has already written, I would also consider placing the double garage in the northeastern corner (takes up the least of the sunny garden area) and planning the house entrance either on the north or east side (away from the weather-exposed side (usually west)).

Regards,

Dirk

2 meters slope over 15 meters... there aren't many options for the depth of the property. With 3 meters distance to the boundary, you would get 9 meters house width, garage/courtyard to the east, garden to the west.

Hello,

thank you very much for the numerous replies.
I have marked the positions on the plan as you described; if I have misunderstood anything, please correct me.

My idea was also to be as close as possible to the boundary of the small street (according to the building authority, I must leave 2.5m of space around the property), because that would be a suitable position for the garage and directly adjacent the house. That way, I would have nice sunshine in the garden in the afternoon. Both streets shown on the map are very minimally trafficked.



I would be very happy about further ideas regarding location / shape / layout.

I also really like your tips concerning the purpose and layout of the rooms. There are so many things to consider; I probably wouldn’t have come up with all that on my own.

Furthermore, I have one more question regarding development costs. I have already read many posts about this in the forum and now wanted to know more precisely what to expect, so I thought I’d ask our local building authority directly about what I have to expect here in the countryside.
They told me to submit a preliminary building application.
The rough position of the house on the map must be marked on it. Does it make sense to submit it as a provisional solution as I have marked it here, or should one discuss this with an architect beforehand?

Regards
JSz

Hello JSz,

a preliminary building inquiry is - if not submitted informally and answered non-bindingly without a building permit - a "small approval procedure." Fees are due, and the documents [Flurkartenauszug], the building project marked in red with all dimensions, building description, building drawings, structural calculations, drawing of water supply and drainage must be submitted in 3 copies.
In my opinion, these documents must have been prepared by a so-called "Bauvorlageberechtigten," architect or structural engineer.

I would consider a preliminary discussion with the architect, who is also to be involved in the construction, very useful. Indecision towards the building authority, if the building application turns out differently than the preliminary inquiry, I consider unfavorable.

Best regards
Allrounder