Single-family house in the first draft - your opinions are requested

Have you ever considered relocating the stairs towards the guest WC and storage room? Then put the office in the old stair position (you probably don’t want to always trudge through the office to get to the technical room) and then place the storage room where the office was, with access to the technical room and the guest WC. By the way, I find 5 sqm quite generous. You can also pee perfectly fine in 3 sqm.

I find the upper floor quite nice, even though the sloping ceilings in the bathroom, as mentioned, probably don’t fit. Using an entire room as a storage room ... is expensive, but I think it’s cool.

Hello everyone,

First of all, thank you very much for the great feedback!


A dormer is planned for the bathroom – we think that 12 sqm are sufficient.


1. Yes, the hallway is indeed very long and narrow. However, we definitely want the kitchen to be oriented towards the driveway.

2. The stairs obviously need to be labeled with dimensions – that is correct.

3. And yes, the square meters are somewhat optimistic – the sloping ceilings on the upper floor have not yet been subtracted and the knee wall height has not been set either (approx. 1.60 m).

4. Regarding the utilities: We have marked the point with water in red – the yellow point is the wastewater (see attachment).


1. Yes, you are right. The plot is being divided and construction is also planned in the front area (see attachment).

2. The drawing is our first sketch (wall thicknesses have been neglected so far).

3. As mentioned, the bathroom with dormer and roof slopes have not yet been considered.


1. The house is to be placed as far into the northeast corner as possible to make use of the area in front.

2. Connections see attachment (red = water supply / yellow = wastewater) – of course, we have to consider building over them.

3. We will reconsider the hallway.

4. We find the orientation of the living room and dining room optimal.


1. The technical room is also just a first idea – but it won’t disturb anyone at the back.


1. We will definitely consider your idea in the next draft – it significantly improves the hallway. And as you already mentioned – guests will simply have to be guided to the front door.


1. We have already thought about possibly enlarging the bathroom to live on the ground floor in old age – the office would then be converted into a bedroom. The upper floor can then be used for non-everyday things.

During the week we will adjust the sketches somewhat and ask you again for feedback.

Thank you already!

The idea with the utility room is also a first thought – but it won’t bother anyone back there

The tax office is bothered in terms of the deductibility of the home office if the room is a passageway.

The plot will be divided and building will also take place in the front area

Personally, I would probably find the front building plot more attractive. Entering my property through such a long, narrow corridor would feel uncomfortable.

The upper floor can then be used for infrequent things.

The idea of simply leaving the upper floor to ghosts in old age (who, as long as you’re still a very small child, live under the bed), seems naive to me – just like the notion that these rooms would then be in demand among potential tenants. I think the option to move house will be more commonly chosen in the future.

Article 9 is similar to our floor plan on the ground floor. However, I would now plan the shower/toilet flush with the staircase, which shifts the entrance and hallway slightly to the northeast and makes the office a bit larger.

Yes, so what now? For how many people should the house be designed?

The technical room fits as far as the location of the access is concerned, unless we are talking past each other :)

and we have not yet determined the knee wall height (approx. 1.60 m)

I had forgotten this point earlier :)

What would you do with such a high knee wall? - A 45° roof pitch means that at just 1 meter distance from the eaves-side exterior wall, you already reach a height of 1 meter. Or in other words: plus 1 meter knee wall, you are already at 2 meters = standing height. Therefore, with this roof pitch, you don’t need such a high knee wall. In addition, such a high knee wall would visually stand in a, let’s say, “unusual” proportion with the dormer (commonly called "Gaube"). Last but not least, the combination of steep roof pitch and high knee wall quickly ruins the "one and a half story" character and turns the attic, despite sloping ceilings, into a full story in calculation.

Regarding the knee wall, the naïve thought "more = better" is widespread, but one should also consider the correlation between the parapet height and the "relative" eaves height: a knee wall height between the desired dimensions for the lower and upper edge of window openings means on that side either a lower upper edge for facade windows, or possibly a higher lower edge for roof windows, or accordingly “angled” windows or dormers.

Therefore, I advise against “excessive” knee walls in many cases; the usual heights around 100 to 125 cm are generally more practical.