Land planning - which house type/size is most sensible?

The delusion popular among laypeople that a knee wall must be raised as high as the hat strap is practically a royal road to a spatial feeling that is neither fish nor fowl in the sense of an "attic." I see sensible knee walls at around 120 (+/- 30) cm above the finished floor level.

In our semi-detached house, we have a knee wall of 75cm and that is clearly too sloping for me! I would rather opt for full floors than a low knee wall.

Personally, I prefer a knee wall around 2 m or higher. Yes, one has to be aware that on the eaves side this affects the windows. But on the other hand, there is also the gable side, and depending on the room, there are also nice window solutions for the case.

Me too! But if it would suffer too much visually, then I’ll take the full floors.

When I look at the photo, a height difference is noticeable especially towards the northeast corner of the property (based on the street level, or the height of the house in the east). The hedge appears to have been planted on a slope when viewed from the street. It’s hard to estimate from the picture, but I suspect about 1m? Do you have more accurate information?

Yes, there is a height difference. The houses in the second row stand significantly higher than the neighboring house to the east of the property, which is situated quite low or level with the street. The house to the west (next to the driveway) also stands significantly higher. See picture.

If arranging the parking spaces/carport in the northeast, this must be taken into account. If it’s more than 1.5–2 m, a (partial) basement with parking spaces under the house would be advisable? I would certainly try to ensure that the house’s terrace is not below the height of the walkway, otherwise people passing by can easily look onto the terrace and into the living room.

My untrained eye says it’s less than 1.5–2 m, but I only received the dimensions of the property. If the height differences were surveyed by the surveying engineer, I will ask the seller again.

We would build the house at the same height as the houses in the row behind or the house to the west, if possible.

I just checked it on Google Maps, and on the east side of the house there is basically a floor offset implemented (due to the various extensions it could be somewhat less). Your property therefore offers space for creative approaches, which in turn speaks in favor of an architect rather than a general contractor. If it really should be a standard house on a slab foundation, I would actually consider an access road in the southeast. This would then separate your own garden from the neighbor's, and the boundary to the north towards the street is beautifully overgrown, which could probably be preserved.

Approaches, which in turn speaks for an architect instead of a general contractor. If it is really supposed to be a standard house on a slab, I would actually consider an access road in the southeast. This then borders your own garden to the neighbor and the boundary to the north to the street is beautifully overgrown, which could probably be preserved.

That's also how I see it.

So we currently have a knee wall of about 1.20 meters in our rental apartment (the previous rental apartment had 90 cm) and we are already counting the time until we finally get rid of the sloped ceilings. We have a small daughter who is now walking and trying to reach everything, and because of the sloped ceilings we hardly have any more possibilities to put things out of reach. So regarding the knee wall, I would definitely prefer something significantly higher or simply two full floors.

If it is really going to be a standard house on a slab, I would actually consider an access road in the southeast. This would then border your own garden to the neighbor, and the boundary to the north toward the street is beautifully overgrown, which could probably be preserved.

I have to object that the southeast is also wonderfully overgrown. A few trees will probably have to go anyway. Take a look at the house of your neighbor on the left side of your plan. That's roughly how I would have imagined it too. Only the parking space as a boundary development and possibly turning the house if there is enough space. Here you can also immediately see the dimensions. Not much garden.

At the house in the east, there is basically a one-floor offset implemented (due to the various extensions, it might be slightly less).

I drive past it after work, then I’ll take a closer photo.

So your property offers room for creative approaches, which speaks in favor of an architect rather than a general contractor. If it really is going to be a standard house on a slab, I would actually consider an access road in the southeast. It would then separate your own garden from the neighbor’s, and the northern border to the street is beautifully overgrown, which could probably be preserved.

For the access road via the southeast, I would have to use the driveway to the houses in the back, which is a small (dead-end street). The residents of the last house always park at the end of the driveway (2 cars in a row), so I can imagine we might get annoyed more often because our driveway to our house could get blocked by parked cars.