Hello everyone,
We have the opportunity to start a house construction project soon, and as complete beginners, we are not entirely sure about the most sensible next steps.
Background:
My parents have offered to provide us (my wife and me) with the plot of land shown below to build a single-family house.
Currently, we live in a cozy older apartment. Children are planned in the foreseeable future, so a single-family house with a small garden and proximity to my parents would be ideal.
Development plan / restrictions:
Plot size: 415 sqm (approximately 4465 sq ft), details below
Slope: yes, north-facing slope, details below
Old building area, no formal development plan / §34 Federal Building Code, in the neighborhood there is a mix of buildings (e.g., 1-3 stories, monopitch roof, flat roof, gabled roof)
Homeowners’ requirements:
Style, roof shape, building type: simple building form, clear structure, roof shape e.g. shallow gabled roof
Basement, floors: with or without basement (see question below), in any case 2 full stories
Number of occupants: 2 adults (28, 27), no children yet, 2 children’s rooms planned
Space requirements: optimized for family life, e.g., we particularly like this design from the forum: https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/grundriss-efh-140-qm-mit-keller.18255/
Office: 1 person home office
Overnight guests per year: few to none
Open or closed architecture: mix
Conservative or modern design: the house should ideally fit into the slope; otherwise, we are flexible
Number of dining seats: 6-8
Fireplace: not essential
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: wooden terrace in the garden (we like to be outside), possibly a roof terrace for the view
Garage, carport: 2 vehicle parking spaces, indoors or outdoors / carport
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: no vegetable garden
Here are our questions:
1) Do you consider the plot generally suitable to build a single-family house roughly as described above?
What kind of budget would you estimate for this (“standard quality”)?
2) The slope and side access are somewhat challenging. Where would you place the building area and main house entrance?
3) Does the slope necessarily argue for a basement / partially underground basement, or would you recommend leveling the site and building on a slab foundation without a basement?
4) Friends of ours recently built a solid wood house, which we like very much.
Is it possible to build a solid wood house on a concrete basement? Are there construction materials or wall systems you would especially recommend for a sloping site?
5) What is the best approach to start this project? In our opinion, the result will only be really good if the house is ideally integrated into the relatively small plot and slope. Therefore, we would now look for an independent architect and have them design freely based on the rough framework given above.
The general contractor’s planner or prefabricated house manufacturer is, in our view, only partly suitable because they tend to adapt their house types to the customer or plot, which does not necessarily lead to an optimal result. What do you think?
Many thanks and regards!
Andy
We have the opportunity to start a house construction project soon, and as complete beginners, we are not entirely sure about the most sensible next steps.
Background:
My parents have offered to provide us (my wife and me) with the plot of land shown below to build a single-family house.
Currently, we live in a cozy older apartment. Children are planned in the foreseeable future, so a single-family house with a small garden and proximity to my parents would be ideal.
Development plan / restrictions:
Plot size: 415 sqm (approximately 4465 sq ft), details below
Slope: yes, north-facing slope, details below
Old building area, no formal development plan / §34 Federal Building Code, in the neighborhood there is a mix of buildings (e.g., 1-3 stories, monopitch roof, flat roof, gabled roof)
Homeowners’ requirements:
Style, roof shape, building type: simple building form, clear structure, roof shape e.g. shallow gabled roof
Basement, floors: with or without basement (see question below), in any case 2 full stories
Number of occupants: 2 adults (28, 27), no children yet, 2 children’s rooms planned
Space requirements: optimized for family life, e.g., we particularly like this design from the forum: https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/grundriss-efh-140-qm-mit-keller.18255/
Office: 1 person home office
Overnight guests per year: few to none
Open or closed architecture: mix
Conservative or modern design: the house should ideally fit into the slope; otherwise, we are flexible
Number of dining seats: 6-8
Fireplace: not essential
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: wooden terrace in the garden (we like to be outside), possibly a roof terrace for the view
Garage, carport: 2 vehicle parking spaces, indoors or outdoors / carport
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: no vegetable garden
Here are our questions:
1) Do you consider the plot generally suitable to build a single-family house roughly as described above?
What kind of budget would you estimate for this (“standard quality”)?
2) The slope and side access are somewhat challenging. Where would you place the building area and main house entrance?
3) Does the slope necessarily argue for a basement / partially underground basement, or would you recommend leveling the site and building on a slab foundation without a basement?
4) Friends of ours recently built a solid wood house, which we like very much.
Is it possible to build a solid wood house on a concrete basement? Are there construction materials or wall systems you would especially recommend for a sloping site?
5) What is the best approach to start this project? In our opinion, the result will only be really good if the house is ideally integrated into the relatively small plot and slope. Therefore, we would now look for an independent architect and have them design freely based on the rough framework given above.
The general contractor’s planner or prefabricated house manufacturer is, in our view, only partly suitable because they tend to adapt their house types to the customer or plot, which does not necessarily lead to an optimal result. What do you think?
Many thanks and regards!
Andy
AndyM92 schrieb:
5) What is the best way to approach the project now?Try sketching the house and garage yourself first. Create templates for the carport, house, and terrace, and move them around. Keep in mind the differences in elevation. This will quickly help you see how the house should look.
Next, I would consult a financial advisor—the land costs a lot of money.
Then the architect, exactly!
AndyM92 schrieb:
Space requirements: optimized for family life, for example, we quite like this design from the forum: https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/grundriss-efh-140-qm-mit-keller.18255/ So you’ve really done some deep digging in the forum over the past three and a half years. Which other examples did you like less, and why? Or what do you like particularly about this one?
AndyM92 schrieb:
Some friends of ours recently built a solid wood house, which we like a lot. Again, the question: what are the specific points you especially like about their house? Fundamentally, a solid wood house doesn’t differ significantly in options compared to others — meaning that you could probably recreate your friends’ house in other materials just as well, and conversely build a very different house using solid wood.
AndyM92 schrieb:
Do you consider the plot generally suitable, What about the neighboring plots to the left and bottom-left on the plan: do you have to grant them any easements?
AndyM92 schrieb:
Therefore, we would now look for an independent architect and initially let them design the project freely, taking the above basic framework conditions into account. In our opinion, a general contractor’s planner or a prefabricated house manufacturer is only partly suitable, as they tend to adapt their house types to the customer or the plot in some way, which doesn’t necessarily lead to an optimal result. What do you think? That’s a wise decision, even though general contractors today usually offer “free” planning. But to put it simply, planning with a GC’s “yes-man” means “drywall instead of detailed plans” and “failure to eliminate flawed ideas from clients.” And yes, you usually end up with an “unimaginatively shoehorned-in basement.”
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H
hampshire15 Feb 2021 10:19Regarding point 1: The plot is suitable for building a single-family home – restrictions may apply due to the development plan and easements. Estimate the budget – let’s see what the architect says.
Regarding point 2: I would place the vehicle access at the lowest point of the property and possibly accept a short walk from the car to the house. The more expensive option would be to drive directly into a basement garage under the house. Access route and house entrance do not have to be the same.
Regarding point 3: Considering the size of the plot, I lean towards a “walkout basement.” This is more space-efficient and keeps the budget lower for the same house size.
Regarding point 4: Of course, solid wood construction is possible on a concrete basement. In general, I would recommend building any walls that are in contact with the soil from reinforced concrete and the other walls from wood.
Regarding point 5: Starting with a visit to an architect is a good idea.
Regarding point 2: I would place the vehicle access at the lowest point of the property and possibly accept a short walk from the car to the house. The more expensive option would be to drive directly into a basement garage under the house. Access route and house entrance do not have to be the same.
Regarding point 3: Considering the size of the plot, I lean towards a “walkout basement.” This is more space-efficient and keeps the budget lower for the same house size.
Regarding point 4: Of course, solid wood construction is possible on a concrete basement. In general, I would recommend building any walls that are in contact with the soil from reinforced concrete and the other walls from wood.
Regarding point 5: Starting with a visit to an architect is a good idea.
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