ᐅ Building an End-Terrace House as a Self-Managed Project with a General Contractor
Created on: 27 May 2019 10:48
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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
goalkeeper1 Jan 2020 08:37OWLer schrieb:
If the coffee machine really goes into the corner niche, refilling the water tank will be a very frustrating task.Not really – the water tank can be removed. In our current kitchen, it’s also located under a wall cabinet, though that one hangs even lower.
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Fummelbrett!1 Jan 2020 13:01With our machines, the issue would not be the water tank at this position, but rather refilling the beans.
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goalkeeper2 Jan 2020 20:23We will now move the tall cabinet side slightly forward to create enough space for the dishwasher door.
This way, we won’t have to make any changes to the sink side and can keep the 30cm (12 inches) pull-out pantry. We simply didn’t like the two 15cm (6 inches) units, and the sink would have shifted too far to the right.
Thanks again to @kbt09 for the valuable tip.
This way, we won’t have to make any changes to the sink side and can keep the 30cm (12 inches) pull-out pantry. We simply didn’t like the two 15cm (6 inches) units, and the sink would have shifted too far to the right.
Thanks again to @kbt09 for the valuable tip.
I don’t see the point of having a side-by-side refrigerator built into a kitchen unit – you can get a built-in fridge with the same functions, and then you don’t have the problem of it protruding. That would be my solution.
But I know some people really want a side-by-side fridge – so let it be.
Instead of the built-in microwave, I would recommend a combination oven with microwave function – the functionality is much more extensive! I still don’t understand why a separate microwave is needed, but that’s just my personal view. That’s why I have a combination oven with baking function, although there are models with microwave features as well. I definitely wouldn’t want to do without the combination oven. The installation dimensions remain the same, so the kitchen planning doesn’t need to change (unless the combination oven requires a fixed water connection).
The handles look stylish, but as a cooking enthusiast, they wouldn’t work for me – I need to have at least two kitchen towels handy while cooking, and that’s just not possible with these handles. Think about whether you really want that. If yes – as I said, they do look great!
By the way, I’m not really a fan of photo splashbacks either – but they are easy to replace *grin*. I like the stone (Nero assoluto flamed?), but using it throughout the entire niche would be a bit too dark for me; it looks somewhat like a crypt. Definitely plan some niche lighting! Alternatively, I would not extend the splashback panel all the way up to the upper cabinets, but leave a section of white wall in between; only pull the splashback behind the stove up to the upper cabinets. That also helps to brighten things up.
But I know some people really want a side-by-side fridge – so let it be.
Instead of the built-in microwave, I would recommend a combination oven with microwave function – the functionality is much more extensive! I still don’t understand why a separate microwave is needed, but that’s just my personal view. That’s why I have a combination oven with baking function, although there are models with microwave features as well. I definitely wouldn’t want to do without the combination oven. The installation dimensions remain the same, so the kitchen planning doesn’t need to change (unless the combination oven requires a fixed water connection).
The handles look stylish, but as a cooking enthusiast, they wouldn’t work for me – I need to have at least two kitchen towels handy while cooking, and that’s just not possible with these handles. Think about whether you really want that. If yes – as I said, they do look great!
By the way, I’m not really a fan of photo splashbacks either – but they are easy to replace *grin*. I like the stone (Nero assoluto flamed?), but using it throughout the entire niche would be a bit too dark for me; it looks somewhat like a crypt. Definitely plan some niche lighting! Alternatively, I would not extend the splashback panel all the way up to the upper cabinets, but leave a section of white wall in between; only pull the splashback behind the stove up to the upper cabinets. That also helps to brighten things up.