New single-family house - Join us on this journey!

Once again a small, rather unspectacular update for the community. Currently, I am mainly spending my time obtaining permits/ having discussions with the local municipality.

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Demolition - permit: First of all, the demolition had to be approved by the building authority -> done
[*]Demolition - social welfare office: To my surprise, the social welfare office is also involved here. We are temporarily "removing" living space and therefore the social welfare office must also agree. We now have a temporary permit to demolish the existing uninhabitable house. Afterwards, we have to obtain a final permit for the construction project, because the new living space MUST be larger than the old living space. This will be interesting for the next generations, who each have to build a bigger house :)
[*]Clearing - a drama:
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[*]First I was on site with the nature & environmental authority. Everything was wonderful, we found an agreement on which trees protected according to the development plan may be cut down. Everything documented in writing - I was ready to get started.
[*]Suddenly the building authority stepped in -> Not allowed. We have to apply for an exemption from the development plan. For this we need the signature of ALL adjacent landowners with a proper package of documents ... So - made contact, called, prepared documents, sent individually. 3/4 are now in - should all go well


[*]Clearing & demolition companies: After screening 4 companies, I have decided on one. Clearing and demolition are planned for October

The big next highlight: on 22.09. we will receive the first draft from the architect including 3D modeling. Looking forward to it!

So - progress is being made, but many details :)

A personal major milestone has been reached: Today we were presented with the first major draft (including 3D visualization) and are thrilled. At the same time, there is a lot of information that we need to process first.

Therefore, I am happy to share the current draft with you. As always, I am very curious about your comments!

Side note: The draft is currently somewhat larger than planned/budgeted. We have been presented with several options on how we could respond to this.

Let's go :)

Phew ;) ... where was north again? I looked again at the initial post, there was talk of an arrow on one of the views that I can’t find.

The floor area has now become even larger.

They are all already nice large rooms and the entrance situation and separation of the granny flat (where is the terrace there?) is clearly better than in the initial thread.

Bullet-point wise, what stands out to me here are especially the rather small showers in the master and child bathrooms, although the bathrooms are so huge.

Then the huge open space directly above the dining table ... think of cozy lamps for the table.

Is there supposed to be another bathroom with a shower on the ground floor? And is it bigger than the bathroom in the granny flat?

The stairs from the basement to the ground floor have a comfortable step size, the ones from the ground floor to the upper floor have a different dimension.

If the kitchen is already separated from the dining area, is it really desirable to have the kitchen virtually as the first “entry room”?

where was north again?

The property had a northwest orientation.

The floor area has gotten even bigger now.

Yes, that is correct. The architect chose the variant (1 full floor vs. 2), because this way the development plan allows 40% more floor area... Thus a more pleasant ground floor layout with the integrated granny flat. In addition, we gained the small attic floor thanks to the steep roof pitch.

Separation of the granny flat (where is the terrace there?)

The granny flat currently gets the east side of the property. For privacy reasons, it deliberately has no window/door facing north of the property. However, this also means it does not have a terrace.

Then the huge open space directly above the dining table ... think of cozy lamps for the table.

Phew, good point - I need to think about that again.

Is there supposed to be a bathroom with a shower again on the ground floor? And is it bigger than the bathroom in the granny flat?

I will think about it again... Possibly this shower could be spared since we still have one planned in the basement (in connection with the guest room).

If the kitchen is already separated from the dining area, is it still desirable to have the kitchen as the first "entrance room"?

We are struggling a lot with this point.
Advantage of the kitchen: The kitchen currently gets wonderful morning sun and my wife and I enjoy about 1 hour at the breakfast table every morning. Plus the room is nicely open.

Disadvantage: Guests are welcomed directly by the kitchen. If there is chaos there, it’s not a nice first impression.

Compromises?
- Swap kitchen and dining room - hmm
- Add some kind of suitable sliding structure at the kitchen to allow flexible closing

What I think makes no sense is to put the kitchen all the way upstairs in the living room. Then we would work exactly against the sun’s movement.

Definitely an improvement. The guest toilet situation would bother me the most. I would move the toilet to the back part of the wardrobe and leave out the shower. I would add the gained space to the granny flat. Maybe this way you get a small recessed terrace. It's a pity that the bathroom here will be without a window. I really don't like that in new builds. I would probably swallow the "Küchenkröte" in favor of light and openness.

How does the sun get into the kitchen in the morning if the granny flat faces the east side? Wouldn't it be easier to just place a north arrow on the floor plans? ;)

Why can't there be a terrace from the living room in the granny flat?

The staircase from the basement to the ground floor has a comfortable stair dimension, the one from the ground floor to the upper floor has a different dimension.

I have to revise that, I must have had a kink in my vision ;)