ᐅ Site usage for semi-detached houses or duplex units

We haven't seen the assortment yet, but it seems everything is actually included.

Escroda schrieb:

If you look at the buildings on the parallel street, this isn’t to be expected here either. But even the immediate surroundings—with the recessed house on the neighboring property, a two-story building two plots down, several houses with low-pitched roofs about 100 meters (330 feet) away, extensions with flat roofs, and roof structures of various kinds everywhere—I wouldn’t expect too many restrictions here.

That’s encouraging. I was also wondering what “immediate surroundings” means. You now also mention “100 meters (330 feet) away.” As someone without detailed knowledge, I would have assumed this refers to just the two or three direct neighbors on both sides of the street. If the scope can be interpreted more broadly, then I feel somewhat reassured that our wish might not be unrealistic after all.

kaho674 schrieb:

Your neighbor on the left looks taller in the pictures. Or is that just an illusion?

The wide-angle photo does create some distortion, but the neighbor is indeed taller. I would estimate by about 1 to 1.5 meters (3 to 5 feet), though it’s hard to judge precisely.

kaho674 schrieb:

The street seems to slope slightly upwards to the left, right?

Exactly, the street rises gently there and then slopes back down past that neighbor. On the right side, from the street’s perspective, the slope increases a bit more.

Today we had a follow-up meeting with a prefab house supplier. I’m happy to share details if we eventually choose this provider. However, they came up with a new idea if we wanted to skip the basement due to costs: build a slab foundation on a plateau, so you would basically first have to climb stairs to the entrance.

With this sloping site, stairs up to the living area are unavoidable anyway. And a basement finished as living space will likely be more expensive than just a slab foundation. But in my opinion, the additional benefit is worth it. It simply creates extra space, so the overall size of the house does not have to be as large, which can save some costs and allow for investment in the basement. I also like the possibility of going directly from the car into the house without stairs (for example, bringing groceries straight into a storage room in the basement).

What was really good is that this provider had several options displayed directly in the house—floor coverings, wall tiles, stairs, doors, windows, door handles, sockets, roof tiles, gutters, and so on—so you could already do a kind of non-binding pre-selection, making it much easier to estimate the offer realistically. I definitely have homework for the next few days now—a cost table/requirements list to update.

Next, we want to inquire about options from two local builders.

It’s also clear now that the demolition should really happen as soon as possible so we can better plan the site; only then will surveying and soil reports make sense.

mwinkelm schrieb:

As someone unfamiliar, I would have assumed this was about the immediate 2 to 3 neighbors on both sides of the street.

Regarding eave and ridge heights, this is usually the case. However, if there is no clear pattern visible, a broader approach is necessary. When it comes to the building style, construction method, floor area ratio / plot ratio, or the permissible building area, this is always required.

mwinkelm schrieb:

that our request does not seem very unrealistic

As long as you’re not aiming for a two-story house with a recessed top floor in the Bauhaus style, I wouldn’t expect any objections.

mwinkelm schrieb:

You could also build a slab foundation on a plateau, so you would basically have to go up a set of stairs to reach the entrance first.

With a sloped site like this, you won’t be able to avoid having stairs to the living area. And a basement finished as living space will probably be more expensive than just a slab foundation. But in my opinion, the extra benefit is worth it. It simply creates additional space and means you don’t have to make the house as large overall, which saves some costs that can instead be invested in the basement. Also, I like the option of being able to get directly from the car into the house without stairs (for example, bringing groceries straight into a storage room in the basement).

Sorry, could you sketch that for me? How do you get from the car to the plateau without stairs but still have a basement? I’m not quite following. ops:

First, a correction to my sentence

mwinkelm schrieb:

And I also like the idea of being able to get directly from the car into the car without stairs

And I also like the idea of being able to get directly from the car into the house without stairs.

kaho674 schrieb:

I’m not quite following right now.

Yes, it was a bit mixed up. Let’s clarify briefly:

This is roughly how I envision the implementation with a basement / lower ground floor:

Of course, this is not to scale and is intended only to illustrate the method of integrating into the slope. The terrace is flush with the ground floor, and then the slope is somehow retained. Here, this is indicated with L-shaped retaining walls. This would be the entrance to the ground floor inside the house. Most likely, an additional external staircase to the garden would be planned.

The plateau concept was probably meant like this:

You create a raised building platform that can only be reached by an external staircase, so you avoid having a basement. However, the house would then need to be somewhat larger to accommodate all the desired rooms.

Escroda schrieb:

As long as you don’t want a two-story house with a recessed top floor in Bauhaus style, I don’t expect any resistance.

No, that is not the plan.

Hey, you’re really good at drawing!
So where would the cars be parked with the plateau setup?
In my opinion, the plateau only makes sense if the slope isn’t as steep as a full story. Did you already mention how steep the hill is?