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.
Hello everyone!
A quick update on our build. 🙂
The roof is on. At the time the photo was taken, it wasn’t completely finished yet, but everything should be done by now. They worked hard on Saturday.
The supporting columns are now gone, which makes the house feel much bigger.
Next up on Monday, the plasterer will start in the utility rooms. The windows should arrive in about a week.
Despite the forum consensus, we went with divided windows. It has to please us, after all. 😉
We also chose the lift-and-slide door.
We paid extra for the lift-and-slide system, a split, electric exterior roller shutter for it, and the window grilles. We were charged a four-digit amount for switching from black to white frames. Overall, including everything, we ended up with an extra cost of about 2700€.
We were shocked by the prices for the air conditioning. In 2020, we paid 5000€ for an outdoor unit from Mitsubishi with three indoor units installed.
For the new house, we have an offer of 14,000€ for a Toshiba system with four indoor units—probably also a more powerful outdoor unit because our house is larger now. 😱
We have talked to the company and will now get quotes for alternatives from other manufacturers. Toshiba was originally chosen because their customer service in the region is accessible and fast.
Of course, we expected to pay more than 5000€, but we did not expect nearly triple the price. Quite a shock.
Next week we also have the first electrical inspection. We’re looking forward to that as well. Every inspection here also means “getting to know the tradespeople.” In this village, things seem to run differently. The tradespeople here are much less “salespeople in suits” and more “craftsmen in overalls,” compared to our first build. So far, I can’t say anything bad about that.
Oh, and this time we probably won’t have any drama about the sanitary fixtures, their installation, or the warranty.
If we want, we can get a credit from the builder for what he budgeted for the sanitary items, order everything ourselves, and he will still install it. He said we’ll just check the items together on-site beforehand to be sure everything arrived as expected. A very relaxed approach, and that already takes some stress away from me.
A quick update on our build. 🙂
The roof is on. At the time the photo was taken, it wasn’t completely finished yet, but everything should be done by now. They worked hard on Saturday.
The supporting columns are now gone, which makes the house feel much bigger.
Next up on Monday, the plasterer will start in the utility rooms. The windows should arrive in about a week.
Despite the forum consensus, we went with divided windows. It has to please us, after all. 😉
We also chose the lift-and-slide door.
We paid extra for the lift-and-slide system, a split, electric exterior roller shutter for it, and the window grilles. We were charged a four-digit amount for switching from black to white frames. Overall, including everything, we ended up with an extra cost of about 2700€.
We were shocked by the prices for the air conditioning. In 2020, we paid 5000€ for an outdoor unit from Mitsubishi with three indoor units installed.
For the new house, we have an offer of 14,000€ for a Toshiba system with four indoor units—probably also a more powerful outdoor unit because our house is larger now. 😱
We have talked to the company and will now get quotes for alternatives from other manufacturers. Toshiba was originally chosen because their customer service in the region is accessible and fast.
Of course, we expected to pay more than 5000€, but we did not expect nearly triple the price. Quite a shock.
Next week we also have the first electrical inspection. We’re looking forward to that as well. Every inspection here also means “getting to know the tradespeople.” In this village, things seem to run differently. The tradespeople here are much less “salespeople in suits” and more “craftsmen in overalls,” compared to our first build. So far, I can’t say anything bad about that.
Oh, and this time we probably won’t have any drama about the sanitary fixtures, their installation, or the warranty.
If we want, we can get a credit from the builder for what he budgeted for the sanitary items, order everything ourselves, and he will still install it. He said we’ll just check the items together on-site beforehand to be sure everything arrived as expected. A very relaxed approach, and that already takes some stress away from me.
B
Benutzer 100127 Nov 2022 23:31Very, very fast, which pleases me.
But what about the first layer? It looks low with 15-18cm (6-7 inches) thickness. How is the floor construction?
But what about the first layer? It looks low with 15-18cm (6-7 inches) thickness. How is the floor construction?
Lonzooo schrieb:
Very nice project! We are also building right now, having started two weeks after you. We are currently pouring the in-situ concrete slab.Good luck to you!
Do you already have a rough schedule for how things will progress? These are exciting times to be building.
I’m glad we have the roof tiles in place and the heat pump has been in the contractor’s warehouse for months.
He said that if he were to order the same heat pump today, he would pay twice as much and have no idea when it would be delivered.
For the antenna tiles, he recently visited five different building material suppliers because they are hardly available anywhere anymore. He said the tiles might cost around 100€ each, but you can end up spending 200€ on fuel just searching for them. 😀
Thank you, same to you!
Next week, the upper floor will be built with masonry and the ring beam will be poured. By the end of the week after next / beginning of week 51, the roof truss is planned to be erected and sealed.
Then there will be a temporary shutdown for company holidays, and work will resume from 01/10 onwards. 😀 Let's hope the weather holds.
Fortunately, our general contractor and their plumber/heating specialist already have the heat pump in stock. We have also ordered the photovoltaic system in time.
Next week, the upper floor will be built with masonry and the ring beam will be poured. By the end of the week after next / beginning of week 51, the roof truss is planned to be erected and sealed.
Then there will be a temporary shutdown for company holidays, and work will resume from 01/10 onwards. 😀 Let's hope the weather holds.
Fortunately, our general contractor and their plumber/heating specialist already have the heat pump in stock. We have also ordered the photovoltaic system in time.
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