Hello everyone,
Our plot is located between a street at the front and a private driveway at the rear. The private driveway cannot be used for access or the driveway entrance. Access can only be made from the street.
Now the question is at what height we should position the house. Should we align it with the street level or with the private driveway?
If we align with the private driveway, we would need to add 80-100cm (31-39 inches) of fill, and the entrance to the house would likely require several steps. Also, the driveway to the parking area would probably be quite steep.
If we align with the street, the rear part of the plot would remain slightly below the level of the private driveway.
The street slopes upwards to the west. The neighbor to the west has adapted his house to the houses in the second row and his house is positioned quite high. His driveway is also very steep.
The neighbor to the north has leveled his plot completely and placed his house level with the street.
Our plot is in the middle. What would be the most sensible approach?
I have attached the elevation plan, hopefully it is clear.
Edit: The building project would be a single-family house without a basement!
Our plot is located between a street at the front and a private driveway at the rear. The private driveway cannot be used for access or the driveway entrance. Access can only be made from the street.
Now the question is at what height we should position the house. Should we align it with the street level or with the private driveway?
If we align with the private driveway, we would need to add 80-100cm (31-39 inches) of fill, and the entrance to the house would likely require several steps. Also, the driveway to the parking area would probably be quite steep.
If we align with the street, the rear part of the plot would remain slightly below the level of the private driveway.
The street slopes upwards to the west. The neighbor to the west has adapted his house to the houses in the second row and his house is positioned quite high. His driveway is also very steep.
The neighbor to the north has leveled his plot completely and placed his house level with the street.
Our plot is in the middle. What would be the most sensible approach?
I have attached the elevation plan, hopefully it is clear.
Edit: The building project would be a single-family house without a basement!
Yaso2.0 schrieb:
Yesterday, I received a call from an employee of the general contractor (GC), asking me to review the new site plan. They informed me that due to the characteristics of the plot, the house’s setback from the neighboring property would change from the previous 3.5 m (11.5 ft) to 5 m (16.5 ft). This adjustment is necessary because the terrain needs to be retained.
I initially "accepted" this and asked what could be done about it. The employee on the phone said that unfortunately, nothing could be changed. If nothing can be changed, then where does this change suddenly come from, meaning who created this unexpected obligation to act?
I would probably terminate a contract with a GC if they shifted my house by one and a half meters after we had already agreed on its position.
@icandoit has outlined a less problematic and, from my superficial perspective, feasible solution in post #19. This aligns with the ground floor slab height recommended by @Escroda in post #2, so I consider further doubts unnecessary until proven otherwise. ;-)
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
11ant schrieb:
h. who triggered the unexpected need for action?He just told me yesterday that the site manager had pointed it out. He had already been here once for the site analysis. He can't explain why nobody noticed it until now.
I have already saved the drawing from #19. As I said, I will address this with the general contractor.
The general contractor is very reliable; so far, every single agreement has been kept, even if it was only verbal.
I definitely want to give him the chance to resolve this issue with us.
I do not want a "who is to blame" discussion with the general contractor. I want a solution.
Yaso2.0 schrieb:
I do not want a "who is to blame" discussion with the general contractor. I want a solution.Very commendable.
Yaso2.0 schrieb:
He just told me yesterday that the site manager had pointed it out. [...] He can’t explain why no one noticed it until now. [...] I definitely want to give him the chance to resolve this with us.
I don’t want a “who’s to blame” discussion with the general contractor. I want a solution. I still don’t understand what exactly needs to be fixed here. I’d dare to say that if no one except me and @Escroda has seen a problem, then there simply isn’t one. So, have there been any shifts in the ground on your property? Where does this sudden height issue come from? As I understand it, someone would have had to cause a problem (my God, Walter, Bodo with the excavator again?) if there had been no problem before. But who and what exactly caused it is still completely unclear to me. I’m at a loss as to what the site manager has been worrying about.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
11ant schrieb:
I still don’t understand what exactly is supposed to be the problem here. I dare say that if no one else except me and @Escroda saw any issue, then there probably wasn’t one. So: have there been any shifts in the ground structure on your property during this time – where does this sudden height issue come from? – as I understand it, someone would have had to create a problem (my goodness, Walter, Bodo with the excavator again?) if none existed before. But who and what exactly is still completely unclear to me. I’m at a loss as to what the construction manager was dreaming about. I don’t know myself either; I haven’t understood what supposedly changed all of a sudden! I was so surprised by this information that I only later realized what he was actually trying to tell me!
But I will clarify this directly together with the general contractor next week.
I just walked past the property and noticed that the L-shaped retaining blocks (circled area), which secure the area around the houses in the back row, are broken in the middle and are now leaning slightly forward. The paving in that section also appears to have already been affected.
The private driveway is owned as separate property by the owners of the houses in the second row.
Who is responsible for these retaining blocks? The homeowners?
I’m concerned that this issue might be blamed on us once things get underway.
The private driveway is owned as separate property by the owners of the houses in the second row.
Who is responsible for these retaining blocks? The homeowners?
I’m concerned that this issue might be blamed on us once things get underway.
Similar topics