Looking for a square floor plan for a duplex - any ideas?

Don't you have to keep the 3m on the other side when you build a single-family house / semi-detached house?

Yes, I do, but the surveyor's drawing is suboptimal. That's why only one 3m has to be deducted from 11.5m to get to the 8.5m width!

The building envelope is exactly 8.5m x 16m which we are allowed to build on, with 3m distance on each side!

That's why there was the idea to build a semi-detached house 8.5m x 16m where each half then has 8.5m x 8m! One half would have a south-facing garden and the other the north-facing garden!

But no one really likes the idea except my wife and a few family members ;-( well, we'll find a solution! At the moment it looks like we will hire an architect who will develop one or more concepts, probably the best solution for us.

Best regards and thanks

I quickly sketched something during my lunch break on how it could be done. Since I assume that there is hardly any slope in the building window (the question has not yet been answered by you), a basement granny flat in the north with excavation in front for access and terrace has emerged. Windows could be placed on the west side, however the north side of the property is then not really accessible from the west. Access for both is from the east, with the parking spaces/carports in front. The main apartment has garden access to the south: large kitchen with dining area, adjoining living room. Upstairs are 2 children's rooms, main bathroom, and office, keeping in mind that the sloping ceilings upstairs still need to be deducted. The granny flat is relatively dark... so it's not great, but just an example of how it could be done. An alternative would be to place the granny flat in the south, equip the west and north side of the main house with large windows, and place the terrace to the north.

Thank you for the sketch. Within the building envelope there is about 1.5-2m slope over 16m, according to the surveyor. The neighbors to the left, five houses down, have built like this: The entrance and living area with large windows and stairs up are in the basement. On the ground floor, you go out to the garden (north).

Basically, two stories facing the street and 1.5 stories towards the back (north), I hope this is explained correctly.

I don't find a garden facing north so bad either! We are not sun specialists and it doesn't mean that there is no sun at all....

The upper floor results...

I have now opened the hallway to the south on the ground floor because of a window at the end. Not necessary, you can also use the area better.
It is a draft, so you can still put some brainpower into it.
Apartment with a separate entrance: Entrance is also terrace.
Main apartment is entered from the west, the terrace is on the north.

The house is now 14 x 8.5, with some thought it could certainly be smaller...

Thanks ypg

You have cool breaks, you can tell you enjoy something like that.

So we are not quite sure if a two-family house with a basement might be going a bit beyond the scope. The original plan was not to exceed about 500,000 euros including the land.

The land has eaten up 180,000 euros. That left 320,000 euros.

By now we have mentally checked off the land and my wife and I have settled on 400,000 euros for the house, maximum! For example, the garage or terrace etc. does not necessarily have to be included, you can do those bit by bit, it should be reasonable.

So the budget of 400,000 euros should be targeted just for the house.

For the semi-detached house I calculate differently a bit, since the land could be divided and we could even sell one part or rent out the other semi-detached half, for me the calculation would be different there, since the offers are not progressing much at the moment and it actually is no longer an option, let’s leave it open for now.

We have 2 acquaintances who also built generously but without a basement, rather a bit bigger.

1.5 stories with about 170 sqm as suggestions they told me, you have a comparatively large plot, a 9m garage and a large garden wooden house or garage with a gable roof for storage would be ideal. Then you wouldn’t need a basement!

We also don’t know whether a 1.5 - 2m slope over 16m building window is a lot? Is a basement already worth it there or is a slab still feasible?

The two acquaintances ended up at 524,000 euros and 478,000 euros.

My wife and I have our heads smoking right now and we want to keep calm because that’s where the strength lies and in the end everything should turn out so that we are satisfied.

As I said we have time and no pressure to act immediately.

I have requested offers from 2 solid house providers! A 3rd provider should follow and on Monday we have a meeting at a regional developer.....

The regional provider only works with companies from the region and you can choose together with him which company will carry out the trades, I haven’t fully understood that yet, I will know more on Monday.

Lots of input, building is a challenge but we are looking forward to it....

Greetings from Bergisches Land

Then build a regular single-family house.
If the building plot allows up to 2 meters of slope, then a stepped design or a basement instead of a cellar is worthwhile.
Entrance and living-dining-kitchen area in the basement with south terrace, in the upper floor the usual bedrooms with the possibility of a north terrace. My sketch appears somewhat small with 10 x 8.5, there would also be no space for storage rooms. Therefore, make it bigger, for example towards the back.