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
goalkeeper8 Jan 2020 16:29Domski schrieb:
If the appearance bothers you, install an empty junction box, coil the LAN cable inside, and cover it with a blank cover that you can paint over. My concern is the look of the access points: in the small hallway, I would have a ceiling light, an access point, and a smoke detector on the ceiling. Not exactly a nice sight.
Don’t you have a niche in the hallway where a floor-to-ceiling built-in wardrobe could fit? Behind it on the wall, you could have a flush-mounted box with the cable, placing the access point inside the wardrobe itself (or on top of it if necessary).
A lamp can be a decorative element that shapes the space, while the smoke detector is, well, just a technical necessity...
A lamp can be a decorative element that shapes the space, while the smoke detector is, well, just a technical necessity...
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goalkeeper8 Jan 2020 16:52Scout schrieb:
Don't you have a recess in the hallway where a floor-to-ceiling built-in closet would fit? You could install an in-wall junction box with the cable behind it, and place the access point inside the closet (or on top if necessary).We have a coat closet on the ground floor, so that would work there. But not on the upper floor and attic, since it’s an end-of-terrace house. The hallways there are quite wide.
goalkeeper schrieb:
I’m concerned about the appearance of the access points: in the small hallway, I would have a ceiling lamp, access point, and smoke detector all on the ceiling. Not exactly attractive. Then just use, for example, the Unifi In-Wall Access Point and place it as high as possible on the wall. If the Wi-Fi quality is good, don’t put a cabinet in front of the access point, let alone inside a cabinet.
Definitely prepare for one access point on each floor. I find it even more important in a townhouse than in a detached house. If your new neighbor gets the brilliant idea to install a router or access point on the wall facing you, they will saturate the 2.4 GHz band, making you grateful for any access point that still transmits well on 5 GHz.
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goalkeeper9 Jan 2020 23:37We have now positioned all access points at appropriate locations in the hallways. Unifi or TP-Link offer slim wall-mounted access points. That will work well. Thanks @hanse987
Regarding plumbing, we are uncertain about one thing: the toilet and the washbasin are next to each other. The plumber would build the wall frame for the washbasin with a depth of about 10cm (4 inches) and the one for the toilet with 20cm (8 inches). The shallower frame for the washbasin gives us more space between the countertop and the opposite wall of the walk-in shower.
Has anyone had a similar setup and can share a photo?
Regarding plumbing, we are uncertain about one thing: the toilet and the washbasin are next to each other. The plumber would build the wall frame for the washbasin with a depth of about 10cm (4 inches) and the one for the toilet with 20cm (8 inches). The shallower frame for the washbasin gives us more space between the countertop and the opposite wall of the walk-in shower.
Has anyone had a similar setup and can share a photo?
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