Thoughts on These Townhouse Floor Plans?

Question

Hi all,

I'm developing (5) three story townhouses and wanted to get some feedback on the preliminary floor plans. Keep in mind that the units will be separated by interior walls so unit layout will be inverse to the one adjacent to it.

Ground floor:

2nd floor:

3rd floor:

Rooftop:

A few of my thoughts:

• Second bedroom bathroom is butted up against the master. I wouldn't want to hear a flush in the middle of the night but this seems to be common in townhouses.
• Closet on the second bedroom is a bit big. Space could be utilized to make the master larger.

Any suggestions or changes you all would make in terms of building efficiency, tenant preference, or general aesthetics? Looking for any feedback :)

Thanks!

Account Closed · Answer

Thanks for the feedback. Really appreciate it.

This is a very narrow but deep lot so the units will actually be perpendicular to the front of the lot with a single drive down the side for garage access. The width of the lot is only 48 feet, so after sideyard setback requirements of 10' on each side, I'm left with '28 of "depth" for the actual units. The lot depth is 117 ft after front and rear yard setbacks so that leaves about 23 ft of "width" for each unit.

I agree that the square design is strange, but they've really taken off here. Luckily, building code here doesn't treat the rooftop as a 4th floor so no worries on the second egress.

Do you have any recommendations as to how we should adjust the floor plan on the second floor to better use the perimeter space? I'm not a huge fan but am not creative enough to visualize it.

Account Closed · Answer

Bump

Victor Menasce · Answer

I've done a lot of townhouse designs. It's unusual to have such a square aspect ratio in a townhouse. I don't think you will realistically get two cars in the garage, especially with the door swings as drawn. The dimensions don't work in my opinion. I have a lot of questions. What drove the width of the units? I believe you could get 6 units in the same width if you're willing to go a little deeper, but that depends on your lot depth and your zoning rules. You're consuming a lot of width which means perimeter space us being used for bathrooms and stairs which can be placed on the interior. Bedrooms require windows and need to be at the perimeter. Perimeter space is the most valuable and it's being used for lower value features.

The party walls can be insulated with either cement block or staggered studs with double drywall and resilient channel. This does an effective job of eliminating noise transfer. I have an acoustic noise and vibration engineer on my team who specializes in these designs.

I'm also concerned that the building code will interpret the roof deck as a 4th floor and will include that space in the travel distance calculation for fire exit. I know you're on the outside of the building, but the code may treat it as interior space which would force you to provide a second means of egress with a shorter travel distance. The cost and space of a second stair tower could break the design. I'm happy to share some ideas with you if you're interested.