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.

Two-story house with garage, window fronts and trees; northeast and southwest views.


Site plan of a house with roof areas, measurements and property boundary (1020.25 m² (11,000 sq ft)).


Floor plan of a single-family home: garage, hallway, entrance area, bathroom, utility room, bedroom, kids 1/2, guest room.


Southeast view of a house on a hillside with terrace steps, windows and human figures.


Floor plan of a house with kitchen, living/dining area, hallway, bathroom, utility room, fitness room, office and garden.
J
Jurassic135
17 Mar 2023 10:30
Congratulations!

Everything sounds great, and the general contractor seems to be a real find. 🙂
C
Costruttrice
17 Mar 2023 10:43
Congratulations, dear @kati1337!
kati133723 Mar 2023 12:15
Tolentino schrieb:

Congratulations and all the best!
Jurassic135 schrieb:

Congratulations!

Everything sounds great and the general contractor seems to be a real stroke of luck. 🙂
Costruttrice schrieb:

Congratulations, dear @kati1337!
Thank you so much ♥

Since yesterday, the plasterer has finished work here. The bathrooms and garage received a different type of plaster. One wall in the living room was left open because a lightweight partition wall will be built in front of it. Otherwise, there would have been an awkward corner right in the living room where the water pipe comes down. When I realized that, I was very unhappy. Luckily, our general contractor was able to fix it. Now we will have a straight wall there, but we will lose some living space in the living room. I definitely prefer that to having that ugly corner in the corner; I find those extremely unattractive. I’m also a bit traumatized by that from the first house I had. 😀


Unfinished interior of a house with rough construction, visible pipes, staircase on the left, large windows


Rough construction of a bathroom with visible pipes, plaster wall and window view.


Unrenovated room with timber beam ceiling, concrete blocks, bucket and window.

I always find those rough construction photos a bit strange when you know how it will look finished later. It’s hard to imagine sometimes. 😀

We were also really amazed at how the garage looks. It already looks so nice and feels so "finished," even though the floor is still missing and probably a ceiling as well. Originally, we only had a carport included in the contract, because the price difference was too high. But our builder has done quite a lot that makes it look very much like a garage. Masonry, roof, windows installed, plastered… He is also preparing the opening for a door. Basically, we’d just need to invest 3,000–4,000 (or equivalent) for a garage door, and I see no reason why we shouldn’t just call our carport a "garage." =)

Now we are not allowed to enter the house for a while because work on the underfloor heating has started. If everything goes well, the screed should be in place by Easter at the latest. After it has dried, we will be on to the final phase.
J
Jurassic135
23 Mar 2023 13:13
Great. The "carport" really looks fantastic, and definitely like a garage. 😀

What are those red pipes on the ceiling?
kati133723 Mar 2023 15:48
Jurassic135 schrieb:

Great. The "carport" really looks fantastic, definitely like a garage. 😀

What are those red tubes on the ceiling?
The red ones are for the mechanical ventilation system. The white ones coming out of the living room wall are for the air conditioning.
P
Pitiglianio
23 Mar 2023 18:40
What price did your general contractor quote for the carport?