ᐅ Hillside House in the Southwest Palatinate – Our Home Construction 2.0

-LotteS- schrieb:

Would you happen to have a picture of it? I really like the idea in my imagination 🙂

Thank you!

kati1337 schrieb:

Cutting back the slope was also what our builder suggested. We have plenty of space for a garden, so losing some of the terrain at the back wouldn’t bother me too much. However, there is still a certain steepness left, especially considering the terrace is about 4 meters (13 feet) deep.
That’s why he currently recommended two terraced slopes, which so far have withstood every heavy rainfall (and we’ve already had some apocalyptic rainstorms this year). The only downside is that they’re not easily manageable for gardening. You’d have to plan at least a staircase and some edging to move between the plants.

kati1337 schrieb:

Doing the work ourselves is again a matter of skills for us.

kati1337 schrieb:

Cutting into the slope was also what our builder suggested. Since we have enough space for a garden, losing some ground at the back wouldn’t bother me too much. However, there is still a certain steepness left, especially considering the terrace is about 4 meters (13 feet) deep.

So far, he has recommended two terraced levels on the slope, which have so far withstood every heavy rainfall (and we’ve had some almost apocalyptic downpours this year). The downside is that they aren’t very practical to manage as they are. At least a staircase and some edging borders would have to be planned so you can move around between the plants.

Currently, you can still get past the house with everything. The distance between the end of the house and the property boundary is about 12 meters (39 feet), and it slopes downward at an angle but not too steeply. At first, we might just leave it like that and sow grass over it. That side of the property won’t receive any investment for a few more years at the earliest. This is how the side of the house looks, just a bit smoother and less muddy at the moment (the photo is a bit older):

Doing work ourselves is again an issue of skill for us.
We did a bit of DIY at our first house. What we’re good at is creating flower beds and planting things. I even made a bed edging by embedding facing bricks, which I was quite proud of.
Our self-seeded lawn didn’t turn out very well, but it was green — that would be good enough for me to start with here as well.

Where it really falls short is in anything that requires precision, like using a plumb line or string line, or anything involving concrete work. Last time, I read up on it but didn’t feel confident and hired someone to do it. That was for a fence, specifically for setting the posts.
I would like to try building a small wall sometime, but probably first for something like a raised bed. I’ve never done it before. I wouldn’t trust my first attempts at bricklaying to stabilize a slope.

So overall, our DIY chances look pretty slim, since we don’t have much experience. 🙂 In addition to lack of experience, there’s a good dose of clumsiness. After moving here, I tried assembling our bed. It had 12 screws, and by the third one, I hit my forehead with the cordless drill’s battery pack and ended up with a wound. You can still see the scar. Since then, I’ve become a bit more cautious about what I dare to take on myself.

kati1337 schrieb:


He has landscaping experience, but he said he doesn’t want to make any promises to people and then have no time for me for ages. For me, it’s more important to invest a bit more money into photovoltaic panels and a wallbox, so the outdoor area is once again being neglected. :/
Since I know how much our sloped outdoor area cost, I can totally understand that your general contractor is handling the garden and landscaping (landscape construction) for you again. With a project of that likely scope, I wouldn’t say no either. With two terrace steps, a staircase, and the street-facing front, you’re probably quickly in the six-figure range.
I don’t know how I would feel about an electric car wallbox and photovoltaic system before a newly built property with a long unfinished outdoor area. The prioritization would probably surprise me, as a long-lasting unfinished outdoor area clearly signals to the neighbors that the money has run out...

WilderSueden schrieb:

We are currently in Valais, where almost everything is on a slope, and at this house the slope toward the street is about 40-45 degrees. It has held up for 50 years but still wastes a lot of space since we’re talking about a height difference of over 4m (13 feet). Maintenance is a pain because of the steepness, but the hammock hanging right over the edge is great.

I’d like to encourage you to be a bit bolder, but for retaining structures over one meter (3 feet) high, I also feel uneasy. However, you could take a two-pronged approach: slope it in a way that holds, and then, for example, install the wooden beams yourself. You can acquire the necessary knowledge by reading up on it. If you get stuck on fence foundations, it’s less a matter of skill and more about willingness to learn.