ᐅ Building an End-Terrace House as a Self-Managed Project with a General Contractor
Created on: 27 May 2019 10:48
G
goalkeeper
Hello everyone,
some of you might have already followed one of my threads about us having to or being allowed to build our end-terrace house on our own responsibility – depending on how you look at it. This means that we are buying an end-terrace plot (215 sqm (2315 sq ft)) in a new development area in the Rhein-Neckar district and will be building on it ourselves – but in coordination with our two terrace neighbors.
The municipality, which sold the plots through a local resident model, ideally wanted applicants to apply as a complete housing group with several families and then build accordingly with a general contractor, construction manager, or architect. Of course, that didn’t really work out, so now there are only individual applicants and also homeowners.
After we were awarded the plot, the addresses of the other terrace neighbors were shared to discuss certain matters, such as roof style, whether or not to have a basement, etc. It was immediately clear that everyone preferred to do their own thing. However, we were still able to agree that the housing group will have a gable roof with a pitch of 35 to 40 degrees (within this 5-degree range).
As the end house, we will build without a basement, while the middle house and the other end house will have basements. This obviously presents a challenge as we would have to make a deep foundation or simply skip it, and the middle house would have to support us, as we will start construction first. The current agreement with the middle house is that we will build a deeper foundation at his expense, as supporting our house later on would be considerably more expensive for him.
We are currently close to signing with the construction manager, the notarization appointment for the plot is at the end of June, and we hope to start construction in the fall of this year. Meanwhile, several other freely planned housing groups are being built around us, which might get in the way with their cranes.
I will document the progress here from time to time – such a self-planned terraced house doesn’t come along very often.
some of you might have already followed one of my threads about us having to or being allowed to build our end-terrace house on our own responsibility – depending on how you look at it. This means that we are buying an end-terrace plot (215 sqm (2315 sq ft)) in a new development area in the Rhein-Neckar district and will be building on it ourselves – but in coordination with our two terrace neighbors.
The municipality, which sold the plots through a local resident model, ideally wanted applicants to apply as a complete housing group with several families and then build accordingly with a general contractor, construction manager, or architect. Of course, that didn’t really work out, so now there are only individual applicants and also homeowners.
After we were awarded the plot, the addresses of the other terrace neighbors were shared to discuss certain matters, such as roof style, whether or not to have a basement, etc. It was immediately clear that everyone preferred to do their own thing. However, we were still able to agree that the housing group will have a gable roof with a pitch of 35 to 40 degrees (within this 5-degree range).
As the end house, we will build without a basement, while the middle house and the other end house will have basements. This obviously presents a challenge as we would have to make a deep foundation or simply skip it, and the middle house would have to support us, as we will start construction first. The current agreement with the middle house is that we will build a deeper foundation at his expense, as supporting our house later on would be considerably more expensive for him.
We are currently close to signing with the construction manager, the notarization appointment for the plot is at the end of June, and we hope to start construction in the fall of this year. Meanwhile, several other freely planned housing groups are being built around us, which might get in the way with their cranes.
I will document the progress here from time to time – such a self-planned terraced house doesn’t come along very often.
G
goalkeeper24 Jul 2019 15:18kaho674 schrieb:
Is it possible to build just 1.5 stories with a basement? What about a split-level design?That would look quite modest in a housing development... it will probably come down to a foundation solution.
G
goalkeeper24 Jul 2019 20:29We have now finalized the planning and will be submitting the notification procedure in the next few days. I know the upper side window does not match the floor-to-ceiling window, but this is because we still need to complete the bathroom design, which might result in the window being repositioned.
G
goalkeeper24 Jul 2019 21:45kaho674 schrieb:
Honestly? I think it’s awful. But luckily, I don’t have to like it.
Definitely one of the most interesting projects here because of the conditions in the building plan / development plan. Since we’re being honest with each other, I can also say that I found your previous suggestions quite awful. So I guess it’s even now.
Still, I appreciate your honest opinion!
Also, saying it’s terrible is nonsense.
It is one of the few workable solutions given the external conditions.
What comes to mind, but now it’s already too late:
- The distance between the couch and TV is very large.
- The dining table as shown is probably unrealistic; I think a larger one will come in and be placed lengthwise.
- For the two kids’ rooms, an American-style recessed wall niche might have been useful, but of course it works as it is.
- You urgently need shading (in addition to roller shutters) for the large glass area on the ground floor facing west. Without any shading, on days like today it will feel like a sauna.
It is one of the few workable solutions given the external conditions.
What comes to mind, but now it’s already too late:
- The distance between the couch and TV is very large.
- The dining table as shown is probably unrealistic; I think a larger one will come in and be placed lengthwise.
- For the two kids’ rooms, an American-style recessed wall niche might have been useful, but of course it works as it is.
- You urgently need shading (in addition to roller shutters) for the large glass area on the ground floor facing west. Without any shading, on days like today it will feel like a sauna.
G
goalkeeper24 Jul 2019 21:55apokolok schrieb:
Calling it terrible is nonsense.
It’s one of the few practical solutions given the external conditions.
What comes to mind, but it’s already too late now:
- The distance between the couch and the TV is very large
- The dining table, as shown, is unrealistic; I assume a larger one will be placed lengthwise
- For the two children's rooms, an American-style staggered wall niche would have been a good option, but this way works too.
- You urgently need additional shading (besides roller shutters) for the large glass area on the ground floor facing west. Without it, you’ll have a sauna on days like today. - The distance between the couch and the TV will not be like that. The architect drew it that way. Probably the couch will be free-standing and the media wall on the opposite side.
- The dining table is actually 1.60m (5 feet 3 inches) long and will be positioned differently.
- Children’s rooms: we find it fine as is.
- The large sliding door and the floor-to-ceiling window on the left side of the plan will both get external venetian blinds—that should hopefully work.
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