Long single-story log house, on a long narrow plot

Okay.. the plot isn’t actually that narrow.. 17.5 x 72 meters. But since we prefer to stay single-story, the planned house stretches lengthwise. We have already presented our self-designed house floor plan to two potential builders. Both considered our project to be "ambitious." Somehow they also wanted to steer us towards a two-story design to make it cheaper. Is a single-story build much more expensive than a two-story one? How would you estimate the cost of the house (building location: rural, far east of Saxony)? Are wooden log beams (approx. 20cm) more expensive than stone?

Attached floor plan and a video tour:

[MEDIA=YouTube]WwbOQsrIP98[/MEDIA]

Find the two bedrooms on the ground floor unfortunate with their corners. The upper floor feels strange during the walkthrough - is that supposed to be a storage area and a room at the end? You should take a closer look at the staircase - it is depicted very narrow and short. 3.8 m width for bed and wardrobe is in my opinion too little. With 60 cm wardrobe depth you only have 60-70 cm left on the left and right of the bed – and you still have to access the wardrobe. The kitchen unit might be a bit short – depends on the number of people. The exterior wall thickness of 20 cm is rather not acceptable. You must achieve a minimum insulation value. As far as I know, log houses are more like cut logs with insulation in between. After 7 m the corridor at the end might be a bit dark. I also find house connections in the guest WC strange, I think.

I don't find the idea itself bad. There is certainly a lot to discuss regarding the floor plan details, and much is also a matter of taste. However, wall thicknesses of 20cm are somewhat thin for exterior walls, at least in Germany according to current legal regulations – even when made of wood. From an energy perspective, the idea is of course not very sensible; there is simply a lot of exterior surface area relative to the enclosed volume. Also in terms of costs: a lot of roof and a lot of foundation slab in proportion to the living area. Building services: What is planned – and how much space is actually needed for the building services? I was already surprised that a technical room with about 11m² floor area, almost square, is already quite small. That depends on the planned heat generator, ventilation concept, photovoltaic and other ideas, and options still reserved. Otherwise: such unusual ideas should be discussed early on with architects – there are too many individual points that are easily overlooked and that ultimately lead to planning problems...

So, I think there are still some issues with the floor plan. These L-shaped bedrooms just don’t work. In the bedroom, that’s wasted space, and in the children's room, it limits your furniture options and everything feels cramped. 3.80 for a double bed + wardrobe? We have 3.95 just for the bed, and no wardrobe would fit there anymore. A PC in the living room is acceptable in a rental apartment, but in your own house, you should be able to find another solution. The huge water tank in the guest WC is also a no-go. Why have a utility room or a connection room? Guest room on the upper floor: I find a staircase as a space-saving staircase acceptable. But what I don’t like is that the guest has to pass by all your "junk" first to get there. The way to the toilet is also pretty long. A bungalow should also have zoning, that is, separate the private area from the public area. With you, everyone has to pass by the bedrooms first. Why does one room even have 2 beds (1 double bed + 1 single bed)? And now my usual question: Do you have children? If yes, how many and how old?

Dear forum, I am really impressed by how quickly and thoroughly there are answers to my post. However, your criticism has made us thoughtful... Nevertheless, I would like to explain some considerations first..

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First, the family situation:

Two of us will live in the house. However, we regularly expect visits from our adult children and grandchildren. We also gladly have day visitors from friends, relatives, and acquaintances. A small office is desired, as we both might occasionally work from home.

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The attic:

It is actually only supposed to be a storage room. The room up there (seen in the video) is just a size scenario in case another room is needed one day. But we will definitely not implement that. The attic is also not to be heated separately. For that, a door will be installed at the top of the stairs to minimize heat loss from below upwards. Theoretically, a floor hatch would have been enough.. but that is too impractical for us. Therefore, the stairs are planned rather sparingly. Question: Is an approx. 80 cm staircase sufficient for this?

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The bedroom:

We find this corner solution very successful. On the one hand, it creates a cozy retreat for one of the grandchildren in the neighboring guest room. Also, one does not “walk straight into bed” when entering. On the wall opposite the door, there is space for a hanging rail for bathrobes, robes, and various utensils. Regarding the sizes: I just measured again... Our current bed has an outer width of 170 cm. Currently, the large laundry wardrobe (60 cm deep) is exactly 75 cm away from the bed. This fits wonderfully and has caused us no problems for over 10 years. If we place this the same way in the new house, there would also be exactly 75 cm calculated on the window side. That seems to fit well at first... 10-20 cm more would admittedly be perfect though..

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The guest room:

Here, the same size considerations apply as in the bedroom. The double bed is for guests, the single bed (possibly a bunk bed) for the grandchild. Since the grandchild will often stay overnight or after school without parents, there is also a writing desk. But everything will probably mostly take place in the living/kitchen area (homework, playing, etc.) J

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The kitchen:

Length of the work surface is 519 cm. Minus stove and sink, about 360 cm of work surface remain. That is definitely enough; right now, we have much less. If necessary, one can fall back on the breakfast table.

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The living room

We have deliberately integrated a small computer corner. We always have to work or fuss around on the computer for a few hours in the evening. We do not want to be excluded from the rest of family life in a separate room then. Although working, one is still right in the middle of family life and can watch TV a bit in between or follow a conversation. We already do this in our current house and would like to have it the same way again.

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Utility room/guest WC

We have also deliberately chosen this combination. Originally, we would have preferred to integrate the system into the large bathroom. But we did not find a visually appealing solution. The reason is that such a heating system always emits heat to the surroundings. In our current house, that is the warmest room. How often have we wished that this waste heat would simply heat our bathroom and not a storage room. Since in the new house the large bathroom is also located right next to the guest bathroom, we imagine a simple ventilation connection from the guest bathroom to the main bathroom so that the main bathroom could also benefit from the waste heat. What we cannot estimate at all yet is how large such a heating system will be. Our current system (district heating with 80-liter storage) would fit in easily.

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20 cm exterior walls log plank

We are now particularly irritated here. Because both house suppliers offer the 20 cm laminated log plank and advertise, among other things, the excellent insulation properties:

Here is a picture of the construction:



- 20 – 25 cm thick
- laminated planks
- homogeneous, therefore no insulation necessary
- absolute wind tightness due to high plan contact
- vapor diffusion open
- best thermal insulation properties
- wood moisture approx. 10 %
- excellent building physics properties
- proof of fire safety according to B1 (hardly flammable) is possible

One can then read:

“...Of course, the low heating costs also contribute to the well-being of the homeowners. They are thanks to the excellent insulation property of the 20 cm thick, massive prefabricated wall made of Nordic pine, which insulates even better than its calculated value would suggest...“

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Sorry for texting you so much now..

Maybe someone has the desire and time to read all of this and can give even more constructive hints/criticism. I already thank everyone.

Best regards Steffi33

But you want to insulate the roof and not the intermediate ceiling, right? Otherwise, the door wouldn't be a good idea. So a standard double bed is rather about 1.9 m and then nothing fits anymore. Also, you will get older and might move around with a walker, and 75 cm won't be spacious anymore. Also always consider that you might want/need to sell it eventually. Kitchen: for 2-3 people that is certainly enough. Yes. A pure cork wall with 20 cm barely meets the insulation thickness requirements - pine definitely does not. I would strongly inquire about exactly what is being installed there. According to calculations (lt. U-wert.net), pine meets the energy saving ordinance only at 52 cm thickness.