We need help planning our house!

[CommanderROR]

Thanks for the advice,

we should not have this problem since we

a) are both reasonably quite people

and

b) our houses are seperated by a stonewall that is plated with sound and warmth isolating materials on both sides.

But it's a good suggestion and something many people probably miss.

[Wetdogeared]

Originally Posted by CommanderROR

Thanks for the advice,
we should not have this problem since we
a) are both reasonably quite people
and
b) our houses are seperated by a stonewall that is plated with sound and warmth isolating materials on both sides.
But it's a good suggestion and something many people probably miss.

Your stone wall, plating and isolating materials sounds like the best solution to me. I wish they would build solidly like that around here.

[CommanderROR]

Yes, solid building does have it's advantages. They even do the seperating wall from a different stone material than the other walls, one that has better soundproofing.

[CommanderROR]

OK, so does nobody have any suggestions for the actual floorplan?
I've got a special software to do it with, but can't really cope anyway...I just don#t have any talent for that kind of stuff.

The PDF files still have not returned by the way, must be quite some maintenance they are doing..prices also went up considerably, but that does not concern us since the old prices are guaranteed...lucky us!

[pshrynk]

Make the kitchen bigger than you think you need by 50% and cram an extra bathroom in somewhere. A room for media does not need to be a cavern, but should have a long axis with the screen on the far end.

[CommanderROR]

Since we are plannung an open kitchen the size can still be varied after the house is built, so we shoul dhave not problems there.
The TV should (by it's size of 42") have a certain distance to the couch, we have an idea how that can be achieved, but are still working out the details.
One bathroom and a guest bathroom should be enough, we don't house guests that often, so a small guest bathroom should do. More than two bathrooms...I don't know...that would seem a bit too much for the small size of the house.

[pshrynk]

Originally Posted by CommanderROR

Since we are plannung an open kitchen the size can still be varied after the house is built, so we shoul dhave not problems there.
The TV should (by it's size of 42") have a certain distance to the couch, we have an idea how that can be achieved, but are still working out the details.
One bathroom and a guest bathroom should be enough, we don't house guests that often, so a small guest bathroom should do. More than two bathrooms...I don't know...that would seem a bit too much for the small size of the house.

If this is a house to have until children are born and then upgrade, should be no problem. If you plan to have children and raise them there, then trust me on this one...

[CommanderROR]

Well, this is to be a house without children...

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by CommanderROR

Well, this is to be a house without children...

Fur-kids only?

Power points....you can never have too many power points on all sides of a room, as they can otherwise be a bugger to install after the fact.

Cheers,
Marc (With lots of power points on the wrong sides of rooms)

[CommanderROR]

You are certainly right where the power-points are concerned...I'm a bit of a gadget fanatic and I have so many extension cords here at the moment...

[CommanderROR]

OK, I managed to piece something together in my house-designer software. The stairs are different, I could not place them correctly in that software, but the rest should be OK.
The cellar will be slightly smaller due to different wall strength, but the difference should be minimal.

Let me know what you think...

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by CommanderROR

OK, I managed to piece something together in my house-designer software. The stairs are different, I could not place them correctly in that software, but the rest should be OK.
The cellar will be slightly smaller due to different wall strength, but the difference should be minimal.

Let me know what you think...

Consider how you're going to take rubbish out of the kitchen - through the livingroom and out the front door? Perhaps a side door in the kitchen would be a good idea - it looks like you'd have enough room to put in a door, this also avoid having cupboard going around a corner, which always leads to almost dead space in the hard-to-reach bit of the corner.

Currently you have the bathroom and the kitchen on opposite corners of the house. I'd suggest that having all the water pipes/heating pipes in a vertical stack makes more sense if possible.

You don't seem to have any storage cupboards. Where will you store bedding, towels, etc? Perhaps there's some way to make a cupboard on your top floor landing area.

Wireless is great but slow. Perhaps running cat6 or even cat6a ethernet cables to each room would be a good investment?

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Consider how you're going to take rubbish out of the kitchen - through the livingroom and out the front door? Perhaps a side door in the kitchen would be a good idea - it looks like you'd have enough room to put in a door, this also avoid having cupboard going around a corner, which always leads to almost dead space in the hard-to-reach bit of the corner.

I agree, I would place a door in the kitchen as well. I'd replace that window to the side with a door. The door will have glass as well, which will give you a window too. Maybe move it a bit away from the corner.

But a corner can be a very good place to put the stove.

Do you already have an idea about how the kitchen will look?

Originally Posted by pdurrant

You don't seem to have any storage cupboards. Where will you store bedding, towels, etc? Perhaps there's some way to make a cupboard on your top floor landing area.

Storage can always be achieved by closets (which you won't find in a floor plan).

Will you have an attic? I see there's a sloped roof, and an attic can be perfect for storage space, even if it's not high enough to stand comfortably. I'd extend the stairs to the attic, even if you don't plan on using it right now.

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Wireless is great but slow. Perhaps running cat6 or even cat6a ethernet cables to each room would be a good investment?

Yes, I agree wholeheartedly with this suggestion. When you start planning your electrical system (you must do that in advance too!), take ethernet cables in account too. We did that when our walls and floors were completely bare (actually, the floor was only half-way filled then) and I never regretted it (even though we had the blisters on our hands after pulling all those ethernet and coaxial cables...)


(and you get funny images )


One advice our contractor gave us was to put empty tubes in the walls, so we could make use of them later, even if we didn't have plans right now. Adding tubes in the walls and floors is easy when the walls and floors are empty, but hard once you're living in the house. And you can always pull cables at a later date.

[CommanderROR]

Thanks.

The tow big windows in the living room/kitchen area are actually doors, so no problem at all getting in and out there...
We have "Homeway" planned for all rooms, so cables are no issue.
We have an attic, there is a stair planned (but not a fixed one, just a pulldown) and we'll use it for storing seldom-used items.

Storage is achieved by putting in cupboards...

[Wetdogeared]

Originally Posted by CommanderROR

Storage is achieved by putting in cupboards...

Great start on your house plan. Without knowing any German, I was able to figure out the floor plans and their usage. Just a few minor comments regarding storage:

1. Having a pantry and/or larder in/off the Kitchen is one of *my* own dreams. Rather than the clutter of lots of cupboards and using up precious counter space, one small room where most of the food, preserves and maybe some of the larger pots and pans and the latest small kitchen appliances can be kept in one place and out of sight. There are some modern innovative cupboard techniques with pull-out pantries and such but these alternatives to a real pantry tend to be costly.

2. Closet space. I notice your bedroom design does not include clothes closets. Is this the choice of most European designs? Do you use wardrobes to keep your clothes in?. Some minor adjustments to the bedroom design could easily add some closet space, a coveted area for most North Americans.

3. If possible, we always try to provide some kind of separate entrance to the basement, so that it can be converted to rental space by you or by future owners. And also to put the basic plumbing in the basement in case you want to add that extra shower/bathroom. Better to do it before the concrete is poured than dig it up after. This may be a problem with your planning commission or whatever it is called but these features make a house here much more salable. (*edit* I just noticed that ravenne already suggested this.)

Not that I'm trying to North Americanize you or or anything....

Looks great so far... WDE