Sketch with pen on paper - feedback welcome

Reminds me so much of our old townhouse. I can only advise you to lock off the living area from the stairwell. You really hear everything upstairs in the rooms - and vice versa as well. I have liked the previous version best so far because at least there you didn't have a direct view of the stairwell. Incidentally, pretty much everyone in the townhouses hung a curtain in front of the staircase down to the basement sooner or later, because there was always a draft there in winter - despite heating in the basement.

Whether we want to hire an architect, I'm not quite sure what you mean by that. A construction company is supposed to take care of everything. ... Next, I want to try again with the upper floor.

That can become a problem if you, as a layperson, try something here, change something there, plan the ground floor without the upper floor, don’t even consider the ground floor based on simple static requirements, and then go to a construction company that blindly builds what you give them: a hefty five-figure surcharge for the statics, a WC door that hits the urinal and therefore only opens at a 70-degree angle, a toilet without a flush tank, terrace windows that are blocked by furniture, and...

Kitchen = dead end, we want it that way, we don’t want a connection to the hallway.

...a kitchen where two people bump into each other and can neither get in nor out if they dare to both take the path to the back right to the glasses. That then also has nothing to do with the hallway. Nevertheless, you have to adapt to the conditions of the property: 7.5 meters in width – you have to subordinate yourself to that – and it may be that you have to take some distance from wishes. When I think of 7.5, I think of a “narrow kitchen that will be somewhat longer.” You basically have to divide the 7.5 into two areas if you want the entrance in front. From the 7.5, subtract the walls again... and: what about the roof overhangs? Are you sure that 7.5 isn’t actually too wide?

I revised the draft again and, funnily enough, after 10 attempts I am now closest again to the very first drawing. The latest version is attached.

Yes, it can be funny and even fun. It can also be helpful because you slowly get a feeling for it. But a draft is simply not done in a few days, and you don’t want to work on it for a few years either (I’m referring to slowness). What is your leisure time worth to you that you spend on it?

The phenomenon that you keep moving in circles comes from not knowing any more possibilities

Here are a few bullet-pointed answers, without quoting everything:
- I don't plan the ground floor without the upper floor, I also have various designs for the upper floor, which, however, need to be adjusted again according to the latest drawings of the ground floor
- I have a civil engineer in the family who doesn't see a structural (and cost) problem in the few walls (I think that's what you are referring to)
- the door does not hit the urinal, but it could just as well open outwards
- the tip about the flush tank is helpful again
- for me the window is not obstructed, after all, the chest of drawers stands more than half a meter away from the window
- I cannot understand the criticism of the kitchen like that
- I don't understand the issue with the roof overhangs in connection with the house width, more detailed explanations would be nice here
- I enjoy drawing and tinkering in my free time and getting a feel for what works and what doesn’t; I don't balance that out monetarily or anything like that

As I said before, I am still very grateful for frank words, but right now I have a bit of a feeling that you are being too harsh on the design. But still, thanks, that’s the only way to make progress.

Best regards

Hello,

- I have a civil engineer in the family who doesn't see a structural (and cost) problem in the few walls (I think that's what you're referring to)

It probably depends on how or from which perspective you view this statement. Basically, it is not a problem; it will still cost money because a beam has to be taken into account and - depending on what the soil survey shows - maybe concrete supports in the exterior walls.

Rhenish greetings

An unsolvable static problem is definitely not the case, as the building expert already wrote - however, this floor plan will really cost a lot of money.
We also have a very open floor plan and our kitchen / living and dining area "occupies" two complete exterior walls measuring 9.04m x 11.20m in an L-shape.
For the room with 62 sqm, a total of 5 (!!!) double-T steel beams were required, which of course also had to be supported by corresponding walls.
Regards,
Dirk

Hello,

I am not entirely sure anymore – we have planned it that way from the beginning, so there was never the item "steel beam" = X euros...

However, I seem to remember that our architect once mentioned additional costs of EUR 10,000 to EUR 12,000 due to the large open space in a conversation.

Extending the entire kitchen wall will probably not be necessary for you – I assume that if you plan a wall panel in the area between the dining table and the stairs, the beams could be supported there.

If I were you, I would also keep the floor plan as open as possible.

Regards,

Dirk