ᐅ New construction of a semi-detached house with a full basement and demolition
Created on: 19 Apr 2022 23:44
Z
ZonnyNg
Hello everyone,
After searching for some time, we were fortunate to secure a plot of land. Now comes the stressful phase, as usual: planning. I urgently need your advice.
1. Challenge – Demolition
There is an old semi-detached house on the plot that is no longer habitable and must be demolished. Both semi-detached houses were built around 1930 and most likely share a common party wall. Is it possible to demolish the house without damaging the neighboring property?
2. Challenge – Full Basement
The existing house has only a partial basement, about 20 sqm (215 sq ft). According to the development plan, we are allowed to build 17 x 7.5 m (56 x 25 ft). Is it possible to excavate a full basement given the adjacent house?
3. Challenge – Architect
We would like to build with an architect but have not found one so far. I’m also unsure if every architect can handle the two challenges mentioned above. I found the portal construyo online, which seems interesting. Does anyone have experience with such a portal?
I would be very happy and grateful for any comments or advice.
Best regards,
Zonny
After searching for some time, we were fortunate to secure a plot of land. Now comes the stressful phase, as usual: planning. I urgently need your advice.
1. Challenge – Demolition
There is an old semi-detached house on the plot that is no longer habitable and must be demolished. Both semi-detached houses were built around 1930 and most likely share a common party wall. Is it possible to demolish the house without damaging the neighboring property?
2. Challenge – Full Basement
The existing house has only a partial basement, about 20 sqm (215 sq ft). According to the development plan, we are allowed to build 17 x 7.5 m (56 x 25 ft). Is it possible to excavate a full basement given the adjacent house?
3. Challenge – Architect
We would like to build with an architect but have not found one so far. I’m also unsure if every architect can handle the two challenges mentioned above. I found the portal construyo online, which seems interesting. Does anyone have experience with such a portal?
I would be very happy and grateful for any comments or advice.
Best regards,
Zonny
ZonnyNg schrieb:
But if that’s not possible, we would set back 1 to 1.5 m (3 to 5 feet) from the neighbor’s house. That likely wouldn’t be allowed. If it’s a semi-detached house, it must remain a semi-detached house.
ZonnyNg schrieb:
Our neighbor is an older lady, estimated to be around 60. Yes, the older lady is still working and fully active in life, with a lot of life experience.
But that doesn’t really matter. As mentioned above: you can find architects listed in directories. Thanks to Google, you can thoroughly research and vet them right from your desk. Or you can ask around locally about similar projects to see who was involved.
M
Myrna_Loy20 Apr 2022 17:41The chambers of architecture also maintain lists of their members. In some regions, these lists can be sorted by specialty areas.
ZonnyNg schrieb:
Unfortunately, I can’t understand much of your joke/expression (@11ant) because my German is only good enough for everyday situations.Oh, that’s a pity. I’m actually quite bad at “simple German,” but I’d like to try it once. So, I’ll explain the content of my previous post again in German as a foreign language (DaF) level:Women “around 60” understand “older lady” as someone who is older than themselves. So it’s better to use “older lady” only from about 75 years on; for 60, “mature woman” fits better.
You say your half of the house is “no longer habitable” and “must be demolished.” But you also say the neighbor is apparently still satisfied with her half and does not consider demolition. That surprises me, because semi-detached houses typically have two halves of equal quality. So now I don’t know: is your half just not nice enough for your taste, or is it really ready for demolition because it cannot be repaired with reasonable effort?
A semi-detached house must be built without any gap between the halves. A small gap is not allowed. Either the regulations for your plot require you to build directly attached, or the rules allow a gap; then a full setback from the boundary is required (at least 3 meters (about 10 feet) on each side, or 2.5 meters (about 8 feet) in Baden-Württemberg). But that would also apply to the neighbor. Since her house cannot be moved, you would have to keep her setback plus your own, effectively a double distance totaling 6 (or 5) meters (about 20 or 16 feet).
You write that you are not planning an attic floor. However, even with a low roof pitch, there is enough headroom under the roof for it to make sense.
In the last section, I wrote where you can email me, and I linked a post here: it’s about two service providers who can help you find an architect or plan a house. I am personally involved with the one in Rhineland-Palatinate, and the one in Heidelberg runs an engineering office themselves.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
I apologize for not clearly explaining my two points.
My neighbor should be over 70 years old, but I cautiously estimated around 60. However, it’s not important, as I always show respect to older people and meant no offense 🙂
The distance of 1-1.5 m (3-5 feet) I mentioned refers to the basement, not the house.
The neighboring house has been renovated several times. My house has never been renovated and has been unoccupied for the last five years. My seller moved to Berlin and only used the house as storage space. I have already spoken with two developers. They visited the site and also said that the house needs to be demolished. However, they could not provide an offer due to rising material costs. I have been inside the neighboring house. Honestly, I personally think the house is livable but very inconvenient. The ceiling is quite low. The plot is about 900 m² (9700 sq ft). The house has a building footprint of only about 4.5 x 8 m (15 x 26 feet). The staircase is also very narrow. It does not meet today’s standards. If three people lived in the house, it would be cramped.
My consideration would be to forgo the basement, but I really would prefer not to.
My neighbor should be over 70 years old, but I cautiously estimated around 60. However, it’s not important, as I always show respect to older people and meant no offense 🙂
The distance of 1-1.5 m (3-5 feet) I mentioned refers to the basement, not the house.
The neighboring house has been renovated several times. My house has never been renovated and has been unoccupied for the last five years. My seller moved to Berlin and only used the house as storage space. I have already spoken with two developers. They visited the site and also said that the house needs to be demolished. However, they could not provide an offer due to rising material costs. I have been inside the neighboring house. Honestly, I personally think the house is livable but very inconvenient. The ceiling is quite low. The plot is about 900 m² (9700 sq ft). The house has a building footprint of only about 4.5 x 8 m (15 x 26 feet). The staircase is also very narrow. It does not meet today’s standards. If three people lived in the house, it would be cramped.
My consideration would be to forgo the basement, but I really would prefer not to.
ZonnyNg schrieb:
By the 1–1.5m (3–5 feet) distance, I meant the basement, not the house. Oh, I see, yes, that would be possible. You can build the house directly attached and keep the basement at a distance. That can be done.
ZonnyNg schrieb:
But the house only has a footprint of about 4.5 by 8 meters (15 by 26 feet). You should tell us more about that, or even better: share some pictures.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Similar topics