Single-family house – new construction project from day one - and the planning begins

I also like the design in large parts. It’s nice that you can access the terrace from the well-located study. I also really like the spaciousness of the children’s rooms. I would redesign the entire parent area – including enlarging the children’s bathroom. Make the dressing room bigger; quite a lot of space in the bedroom is used for “nothing” – if a retreat is important here, that’s fine, but if the room doesn’t have a special function, I find that generous in the wrong place. In the kitchen/dining area, I would first put some brainpower into the kitchen planning; for example, the island seems rather small for stove and sink. For reasons of proportion, I think that widening the dining bay window would positively affect the sense of space. That would also provide the opportunity to rotate the table 90 degrees and allow space for a different kitchen solution. One more “crazy” idea: build the staircase as a walk-in closet in one unit.

The parent is usually planned like this
Get up-dress-bath-dress-hallway
So that the one getting up does not disturb the sleeper

I asked about the 2m line because #1 mentions a 1.5-story building. But that doesn't work with the floor plan. I'm a bit surprised, since this has been considered for such a long time...

The floor plans come from a house with 2 stories and a gable roof (knee wall height 247cm, roof pitch 21). Our house will probably look like this or something similar. I don't think we can avoid that.

I asked about the 2m line because in #1 there is talk of a 1.5-story house. But that doesn't work with the floor plan. I'm a bit surprised since this has been considered for so long...

Such a knee wall certainly no longer counts as 1.5 stories! The roof slopes then become irrelevant, but your attic will no longer be a large storage area either. So also consider whether an access will be needed for decorations, suitcases, children's clothes, etc. Best regards

I like the draft in many parts as well. Nice that you can also access the terrace from the well-located study. I also really like the spaciousness of the children's rooms.
I would redesign the entire parent area - including an enlargement of the children's bathroom. Bigger dressing room, quite a lot of space in the bedroom is used for "nothing" - if a retreat is important here, that fits, if the room has no special function, I find that spaciousness misapplied.
In the kitchen/dining area, I would put some thought into the kitchen planning beforehand; for example, the island seems rather small for stove and sink.
For reasons of proportions, I think that widening the bay window in the dining room would positively benefit the feeling of space. That would also provide the opportunity to turn the table by 90 degrees and create space for another kitchen solution.

One more "crazy" idea: Build the staircase as a walk-in closet in one unit.

Thanks for your tips. We implemented most of them directly today. See my next post.

The parent part is usually planned like this:
Get up - dressing room - bathroom - dressing room - hallway
So that the one who gets up does not disturb the one still sleeping.

Oh, understood. My wife and I have pretty much the same morning rhythm and also go to bed at the same time. So far, we have also had my issues with this (wardrobe in the bedroom).

Therefore, we would like to keep it that way...

I asked about the 2m line because in #1 a 1.5-story building is mentioned. But the floor plan doesn't work with that. I'm a bit surprised since this has been considered for so long...

1.5 was actually our wish because it's cheaper. But today's appointment taught us otherwise. You are absolutely right! The floor plan only works with 2 full stories.

I think it's a classic beginner's mistake. But we are still at the very beginning and open to suggestions/improvements.

Such a knee wall certainly no longer counts as 1.5 stories! The roof slopes are then irrelevant, but your attic will no longer be a large storage area. So also consider whether there is access for decorations, suitcases, children's clothes, etc.

Best regards

We haven't thought about that yet. However, I think that with the revision of the floor plan (see next post) a bit of storage space will still be created in the attic.

09.02.2020 - First Meeting Experience Report Fingerhaus:

Today we had the very first personal contact with a house provider.

The really friendly employee from FingerHaus picked us up punctually and as agreed at the main entrance of the company headquarters. She then patiently guided us through the three show houses (2-story urban villa, 1.5-story single-family house, and 2-story single-family house with a 215cm knee wall). With a first impression of FingerHaus, we then went into one of the planning offices.

In advance, we had already sent her the floor plan published in the thread. In the first 90 minutes, we tried together on her initiative to integrate this floor plan into a standard house model of FingerHaus, as this would be cheaper for us than a custom design. In the end, however, we all had to admit that this did not succeed without having an unsightly/misaligned corner somewhere.

Therefore, we proceeded to custom planning. The result after a total of 4 hours (appointment from 12 to 4 pm):

1.) Our floor plan only works with a knee wall of at least 215cm and 2 full stories
2.) The parent area was redesigned
and the children's bathroom was - as already suggested here several times - enlarged
3.) Under the stairs, instead of a built-in closet, a walk-in pantry will be created
4.) Between the technical room and the living room, we need a double wall so that the noise from the washing machine and dryer does not penetrate into the living area
5.) Some (floor-to-ceiling) windows in the living/dining/kitchen area were removed
6.) Overall, we will rather aim for about 190 sqm (need to)
7.) The pitch of the gable roof will then be 25 degrees




We have determined the following special equipment:
- central living space ventilation
- electric venetian blinds for the south/west side
- parquet flooring in all rooms (except wet rooms)
- underfloor heating with cooling-off function
- panoramic fireplace as a room divider between living room and hallway/kitchen
- solid wood oak staircase
- sliding door to the main terrace
- aluminum/wood windows (aluminum outside; wood inside)
- geothermal heating
- including kitchen
- including 3x11m single garage with extra length (for bicycle cellar etc.)

Otherwise, no frills like smart home etc.

On a slab foundation - no basement.

In 3 to 4 weeks, she wants to send us a floor plan as well as a 3D view of the house.
On May 17th, we then have our follow-up appointment, at which an offer is to be presented to us.

What was good:
- pleasant, open and constructive conversation atmosphere
- a lot of time was taken for us (appointment duration 4 hours)
- our individual wishes were taken into account
- at no time did we feel that they wanted to sell us something unnecessary
- a factory tour was actively offered to get to know or understand the mentality of the company
- free floor plan

What was not so good:
- show houses are - in our subjective impression - on a simple equipment level
- overall low standard level; in our opinion, high risk of additional costs for selection (example: standard flooring: laminate instead of parquet, only simple tiles included in the standard)
- unnecessary pressure was applied at the end of the conversation (of course, they want to sell a house), although we had already made it clear at the beginning that we will only be ready to sign in summer 2021 and will not sign anything before. Phrases like: "Who knows what will happen with the funding then..." or "Think of the annual price increases of currently about 4% per year..." were mentioned. Certainly justified, but somehow out of place

Overall, this first conversation was very beneficial for us. We could take away many good ideas, information, and suggestions (great learning effect).

At FingerHaus they put in a lot of effort, invest a lot of time, and really accommodate the customer's wishes - whether these are affordable in the end remains to be seen... We see the low standard in particular as a major disadvantage. We had the feeling that with a construction budget of around 470,000 EUR we are rather not the target group.

We are very curious whether our ideas can be realized with our budget...