ᐅ Hillside House in the Southwest Palatinate – Our Home Construction 2.0
Created on: 9 Sep 2022 18:13
K
kati1337
Good evening everyone
I’m starting a small collection thread here for photos and progress updates on our second building project.
We’ve already moved to the Palatinate region to be closer to the construction site. Now we’re watching eagerly and happily as our (hopefully final) dream home takes shape near family.
One big challenge still ahead of us is the facade design. I really love the Nordic style with brickwork and mullioned windows. That won’t be possible here for two reasons: firstly, no one here can do bricklaying, and secondly, it would stand out too much. We will be going with a rendered facade. How to design the colors of the facade and windows to still create some country house / cottage charm is currently still a work in progress mentally.
Otherwise, I’m sharing our plans here and how it will eventually be built.
The support pillar marked near the kitchen island could be removed for a small extra cost, so that will be gone.
The room for “garden equipment” under the garage will get a partition wall for structural reasons.
It won’t be fully finished living space like in the house, but underfloor heating will be installed, along with a lockable door and a window. It’s meant to store garden tools but also some of the building services equipment, since the utility room (HAR) is quite small, and maybe be used as a party room.
We had three construction companies in the final selection. In the end, we chose the “doer” – a builder recommended to us here by friends and family. No website, no smartphone, but he is on site every day himself working in overalls. He has a very good reputation in this area and now rarely builds single-family homes. We were a bit lucky through personal connections and a very friendly initial phone call to get our foot in the door. So far we are very satisfied with this choice.
I’m starting a small collection thread here for photos and progress updates on our second building project.
We’ve already moved to the Palatinate region to be closer to the construction site. Now we’re watching eagerly and happily as our (hopefully final) dream home takes shape near family.
One big challenge still ahead of us is the facade design. I really love the Nordic style with brickwork and mullioned windows. That won’t be possible here for two reasons: firstly, no one here can do bricklaying, and secondly, it would stand out too much. We will be going with a rendered facade. How to design the colors of the facade and windows to still create some country house / cottage charm is currently still a work in progress mentally.
Otherwise, I’m sharing our plans here and how it will eventually be built.
The support pillar marked near the kitchen island could be removed for a small extra cost, so that will be gone.
The room for “garden equipment” under the garage will get a partition wall for structural reasons.
It won’t be fully finished living space like in the house, but underfloor heating will be installed, along with a lockable door and a window. It’s meant to store garden tools but also some of the building services equipment, since the utility room (HAR) is quite small, and maybe be used as a party room.
We had three construction companies in the final selection. In the end, we chose the “doer” – a builder recommended to us here by friends and family. No website, no smartphone, but he is on site every day himself working in overalls. He has a very good reputation in this area and now rarely builds single-family homes. We were a bit lucky through personal connections and a very friendly initial phone call to get our foot in the door. So far we are very satisfied with this choice.
The question about flooring in general, not just which type for each room, is driving me crazy.
I can exclude laminate because it’s basically the "worst of all worlds." In our old house, we had tiles and fully glued vinyl.
The vinyl was quite nice and practical. But in the new house, I’m leaning toward hardwood flooring because I’ve never been able to get past the "plastic" feeling in terms of texture, appearance, and how it feels underfoot.
My husband is very skeptical about hardwood due to maintenance and possible wear and tear. He recalls our wooden staircase. It was expensive and made by a carpenter. It was oak, smooth, and white-washed. Oak is generally considered a rather hard wood, but the staircase already had visible dents from toy cars dropped from the kids’ room.
Tiles in living areas feel too cold to me. However, I would be happy if anyone could share beautiful examples of wood-look tiles in living spaces.
I can exclude laminate because it’s basically the "worst of all worlds." In our old house, we had tiles and fully glued vinyl.
The vinyl was quite nice and practical. But in the new house, I’m leaning toward hardwood flooring because I’ve never been able to get past the "plastic" feeling in terms of texture, appearance, and how it feels underfoot.
My husband is very skeptical about hardwood due to maintenance and possible wear and tear. He recalls our wooden staircase. It was expensive and made by a carpenter. It was oak, smooth, and white-washed. Oak is generally considered a rather hard wood, but the staircase already had visible dents from toy cars dropped from the kids’ room.
Tiles in living areas feel too cold to me. However, I would be happy if anyone could share beautiful examples of wood-look tiles in living spaces.
M
Myrna_Loy19 Sep 2022 20:57I was able to fill the scratches in the hardwood floor with hard wax; they are no longer visible. For the chips in the bathroom tiles, I tinted some lacquer to match. They are only noticeable if you know where to look. What cannot be repaired is anything made of plastic.
I wouldn’t want my little ones crawling on "plastic" flooring either. You’ll find many parquet supporters here in the forum, as well as plenty who prefer tiles. With my youngest daughter and her three little ones, I always worry. The stairs and ground floor are fully tiled, which really hurts if you fall down. Tiles are definitely more durable and easier to maintain, but in terms of feel, smell, and appearance, I personally find parquet much nicer. Mine is oak, very resilient, and I like the natural vibe it gives off, compared to the somewhat "cold" feeling that tiles have. I’m definitely pro parquet. One of my nephews built a house two years ago with glued vinyl flooring everywhere, and another nephew (who just finished) has a lot of light oak parquet. The difference is huge in terms of look and feel, as I mentioned before. Of all the floors I know, the best are either solid wood planks (my brother has oak throughout his whole house) or parquet flooring. Hopefully this plastic flooring trend will end soon ;-) (I unfortunately let myself be persuaded to put that stuff in my rental apartment :-( ...)
My ex used to occasionally throw dishes, which caused chips in the light tiles, but with wood, "natural" signs of use would be much less noticeable visually (in my opinion).
My ex used to occasionally throw dishes, which caused chips in the light tiles, but with wood, "natural" signs of use would be much less noticeable visually (in my opinion).
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Sunshine38719 Sep 2022 21:35Definitely choose hardwood flooring! It feels really nice and cozy. And here’s my tip: when selecting hardwood, pay attention to whether you want a lively pattern or not. We have this type in one room and didn’t fully understand what that meant. There, you can see many knots and different wood tones right next to each other. Some people might like that, but it wasn’t our preference. That’s why all the other rooms have been fitted with more uniform flooring. Although now it’s less noticeable because of furniture and rugs, I would have preferred a consistent hardwood floor. Our installer also gave us the wrong advice. He simply showed us two nice, uniform samples, so naturally, we assumed the rest would look the same.
Y
Ypsi aus NI19 Sep 2022 22:11I think laminate and vinyl floors are often unfairly criticized here... In our current apartment, we have had laminate flooring installed for 11 years (we live on the ground floor of a house), including in the entrance area. We walk through with outdoor shoes on, and guests never have to take their shoes off either. The floor still looks like it did on the first day, and I still really like it!
For our future house, we have chosen Modular One. We have at least 25 different floor samples here: laminate, vinyl, luxury vinyl plank, and hardwood. The floor feels good, has the Blue Angel certification, and—an important factor for me—the decor color matches perfectly. For those who prefer simple black, white, and gray schemes, finding the right wood color might not be difficult, but it is for us. We don’t have white furniture, walls, or doors. Instead, we have many wood tones, bold tiles, and even bolder kitchen furniture, so we really appreciate the variety of decors available with luxury vinyl floors, even though the designs are just printed. But before I crawl on the floor or lick it :-) I first and foremost look at how it looks.
That’s why, in our case: luxury vinyl flooring.
For our future house, we have chosen Modular One. We have at least 25 different floor samples here: laminate, vinyl, luxury vinyl plank, and hardwood. The floor feels good, has the Blue Angel certification, and—an important factor for me—the decor color matches perfectly. For those who prefer simple black, white, and gray schemes, finding the right wood color might not be difficult, but it is for us. We don’t have white furniture, walls, or doors. Instead, we have many wood tones, bold tiles, and even bolder kitchen furniture, so we really appreciate the variety of decors available with luxury vinyl floors, even though the designs are just printed. But before I crawl on the floor or lick it :-) I first and foremost look at how it looks.
That’s why, in our case: luxury vinyl flooring.
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