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.
Pitiglianio schrieb:
What did your general contractor quote for the carport?Around 35,000 was initially mentioned, and about 8,000 more for the garage. These figures are for the two-story structure since we are building into the slope. I can't give an exact amount in the end because we signed a contract for the entire project, so house plus garage extension as one.P
Pitiglianio23 Mar 2023 19:52We also have to build our double garage into the slope. The general contractor quoted an all-inclusive price of about 56,000 euros. That was too expensive for us, so now we are doing it ourselves. The only thing the general contractor handled was pouring the garage’s foundation slab together with the house’s foundation slab.
We are making good progress with the installation of the underfloor heating.
Right after Easter, the screed will be poured.
And the following Monday, the final stretch begins. Estimated completion is early August. We can hardly wait. =)
At the moment, we are thinking about the outdoor areas.
Our builder will be back with machinery to do the backfilling. He recommended that since he will be working there anyway, he could provide a quote to excavate, compact, and gravel the area directly in front of the garage. This would prepare the ground so that it could be left as is or paved immediately afterward. I don’t have any concrete quotes yet, just rough estimates. For the area in front of the garage including the gravel, so it’s drivable and stable for now, the estimate is around €2,000.
I’m a bit skeptical about finding someone later to lay paving on a surface prepared by us. That’s why I asked the builder if he could do the paving for us as well — both the garage and driveway, as well as the terrace. We did a rough calculation yesterday (so no formal quote yet, just a rough estimate), and he came to about €6,000 for the terrace, which is around 30m² (about 320ft²) with somewhat nicer concrete paving stones (material costs approximately €30/m²).
For the area in front of the house, presumably covering the entire space from the garage to the driveway, the rough figure was about €10,000. So together roughly €16,000.
We’re now considering whether and how to go about this, and where we might cut costs to make it a bit cheaper. It’s not about the quote itself — I assume our builder is fairly inexpensive for the quality he provides. It’s more about scaling back the outdoor area a little in favor of a larger photovoltaic system. We would then improve the outdoor space again in a few years.
We are also considering how to design the terrace — whether to build it as an L-shape like in the plans or straight, like at our old house.
As shown in the drawings, the terrace is actually too narrow for my taste.
And how could the area in front of the house be designed? I like having a small planting bed or two somewhere. However, that’s not so easy with our house because we created a kind of “natural bay window” area between the garage and the main house. Where could you place a planting bed integrated into the paving there, so it doesn’t look too bare when fully paved?
And finally: Where would you pave from and to?
Possible savings options we are currently considering:
- Skip paving directly in front of the garage for now and just use gravel or maybe some decorative stones instead. Would that be cheaper than paving? We would still have the driveway to the house paved.
- Choose cheaper stones — not concrete paving stones at around €30/m², but rather the simple rectangular concrete blocks. However, those now cost not €9-10 but closer to €14-15 per m².
Right after Easter, the screed will be poured.
And the following Monday, the final stretch begins. Estimated completion is early August. We can hardly wait. =)
At the moment, we are thinking about the outdoor areas.
Our builder will be back with machinery to do the backfilling. He recommended that since he will be working there anyway, he could provide a quote to excavate, compact, and gravel the area directly in front of the garage. This would prepare the ground so that it could be left as is or paved immediately afterward. I don’t have any concrete quotes yet, just rough estimates. For the area in front of the garage including the gravel, so it’s drivable and stable for now, the estimate is around €2,000.
I’m a bit skeptical about finding someone later to lay paving on a surface prepared by us. That’s why I asked the builder if he could do the paving for us as well — both the garage and driveway, as well as the terrace. We did a rough calculation yesterday (so no formal quote yet, just a rough estimate), and he came to about €6,000 for the terrace, which is around 30m² (about 320ft²) with somewhat nicer concrete paving stones (material costs approximately €30/m²).
For the area in front of the house, presumably covering the entire space from the garage to the driveway, the rough figure was about €10,000. So together roughly €16,000.
We’re now considering whether and how to go about this, and where we might cut costs to make it a bit cheaper. It’s not about the quote itself — I assume our builder is fairly inexpensive for the quality he provides. It’s more about scaling back the outdoor area a little in favor of a larger photovoltaic system. We would then improve the outdoor space again in a few years.
We are also considering how to design the terrace — whether to build it as an L-shape like in the plans or straight, like at our old house.
As shown in the drawings, the terrace is actually too narrow for my taste.
And how could the area in front of the house be designed? I like having a small planting bed or two somewhere. However, that’s not so easy with our house because we created a kind of “natural bay window” area between the garage and the main house. Where could you place a planting bed integrated into the paving there, so it doesn’t look too bare when fully paved?
And finally: Where would you pave from and to?
Possible savings options we are currently considering:
- Skip paving directly in front of the garage for now and just use gravel or maybe some decorative stones instead. Would that be cheaper than paving? We would still have the driveway to the house paved.
- Choose cheaper stones — not concrete paving stones at around €30/m², but rather the simple rectangular concrete blocks. However, those now cost not €9-10 but closer to €14-15 per m².
J
Jurassic1352 Apr 2023 13:37I would find it tempting to have everything done at once. 16k is probably quite affordable; our quotes from two years ago for a somewhat similar scope were only slightly cheaper (and inflation has added on since then). So, if it’s at all possible, I would probably go for it. That way, you won’t have another construction site soon, and most importantly, you and the kids can immediately enjoy a neat paved area in front of and behind the house.
Regarding the design: I really like a southwest orientation for sitting, especially in the evening. We also have a corner layout and wouldn’t have it any other way. Our depth is rather shallow, though. In my opinion, it’s all about the design. We have a lounge area on one side and a dining table on the other, so we don’t need as much depth as for a single continuous surface where you might want to fit both. On one side, we have 4.5m (15 feet) depth, on the other 3.5m (11.5 feet) — which is a bit narrow, but I think 4.5m (15 feet) is great. How deep is your terrace going to be?
I would design the area in front of the entrance as a green space with a loose (curvy/rounded) path leading from the driveway to the door and to the property boundary for pedestrian access. Flower beds next to it or along the house, depending on what you like and how much maintenance you want to do later.
I wouldn’t recommend gravel in front of the garage. It eventually gets overgrown and is terrible to maintain. (After buying our place, heavily pregnant, I tried pulling what felt like 30 dandelions per square meter from the gravel area — in midsummer — never again! We then stopped trying to save the area and paved it.) I don’t know if you’ll find someone to pave over it later. Also, the height would need to be planned carefully, otherwise, you’d get a step at the transition to the garage, since the base for the stones would have to be left free, right?
Regarding the design: I really like a southwest orientation for sitting, especially in the evening. We also have a corner layout and wouldn’t have it any other way. Our depth is rather shallow, though. In my opinion, it’s all about the design. We have a lounge area on one side and a dining table on the other, so we don’t need as much depth as for a single continuous surface where you might want to fit both. On one side, we have 4.5m (15 feet) depth, on the other 3.5m (11.5 feet) — which is a bit narrow, but I think 4.5m (15 feet) is great. How deep is your terrace going to be?
I would design the area in front of the entrance as a green space with a loose (curvy/rounded) path leading from the driveway to the door and to the property boundary for pedestrian access. Flower beds next to it or along the house, depending on what you like and how much maintenance you want to do later.
I wouldn’t recommend gravel in front of the garage. It eventually gets overgrown and is terrible to maintain. (After buying our place, heavily pregnant, I tried pulling what felt like 30 dandelions per square meter from the gravel area — in midsummer — never again! We then stopped trying to save the area and paved it.) I don’t know if you’ll find someone to pave over it later. Also, the height would need to be planned carefully, otherwise, you’d get a step at the transition to the garage, since the base for the stones would have to be left free, right?
Is there a slope between the driveway and the house entrance? My first thought was also to pave the driveway and then create a small path from the garage to the right towards the front door. This way, you can plant the rest in front of the house below the entrance and avoid having an extra path.
I would design the terrace around the corner, but maybe make it shorter to the left side of the plan, and a bit deeper to the right side after the corner, so there is a comfortable area there.
I would design the terrace around the corner, but maybe make it shorter to the left side of the plan, and a bit deeper to the right side after the corner, so there is a comfortable area there.
Jurassic135 schrieb:
I find it tempting to have everything done in one go. 16,000 is probably actually quite affordable; our quotes from two years ago for a somewhat similar scope were only slightly cheaper (and inflation has added on top of that since then).
So, if it’s possible in any way, I’d probably go for it. Then you won’t have another construction site soon and, most importantly, you and the kids can immediately enjoy a clean paved area in front of and behind the house. Yes, it’s definitely tempting. Maybe we can manage a lower cost with cheaper stones.
Jurassic135 schrieb:
Regarding the layout: I like a southwest orientation for sitting areas, especially in the evening. We also have a corner design and wouldn’t want it any other way. The depth on ours is rather small though. In my opinion, it all comes down to the design. On one side, we have a lounge area, on the other a dining table, so we don’t need as much depth as for just one single space where both would have to fit. On one side, our terrace is 4.5m (14.8ft) deep, on the other 3.5m (11.5ft) – the latter is a bit narrow, but 4.5m (14.8ft) works well for me. How deep is your terrace? I’ve never had a corner/angle terrace before and can’t quite imagine it yet. I wouldn’t even know where to put the table and chairs in our case.
At the old house, we had about 6 to 7m (20 to 23ft) width and I think about 4m (13ft) depth, but I’m not exactly sure anymore. According to the invoice, it was 34m² (about 366ft²).
At the new house, we’re still flexible on the depth, but I thought 4m (13ft) was nice.
Jurassic135 schrieb:
I would design the area in front of the entrance as a green space with a loose (meaning curved/rounded) path leading from the driveway over to the door and to the property boundary for the “pedestrian access.” Then flower beds next to it or along the house, depending on what you like and how much maintenance you want to take on later. I can’t quite picture what you mean – where would you see the curve?
kbt09 schrieb:
Is there a slope between the garage driveway and the house access? Because my first thought was also to pave the garage driveway and then have a small path leading right from the garage to the front door. Then you can plant the rest of the space in front of the door towards the bottom of the plan and save yourself an extra walkway.
I would do the terrace as a corner design, but maybe shorter towards the left on the plan and deeper after the corner on the right, so that you have a comfortable area there. Oh, so you would have the path to the front door only via the garage driveway?
I think I don’t like that visually. If visitors come and there are cars parked, people walking would always have to pass by the cars on their way to the door. I think a proper separate walkway from the street to the front door would be nicer. But of course, it doesn’t have to run continuously alongside the driveway.
Edit: There is no slope; this is how it currently looks:
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