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.
M
Marvinius11 Apr 2023 16:31kati1337 schrieb:
Currently, I can’t get there for taking photos without wearing rubber boots. There is already a sloped embankment, and it’s muddy outside.
But you wouldn’t see much anyway, because if I stand in the corner of the plot and photograph inward, you’d probably just see soil from the embankment.
The pile of earth will probably be spread out. There is still a lot open around the house. I think it will be backfilled around the house. This can also be done easily with an inexpensive drone from a well-known online retailer. It probably provides an even better viewing angle 🙂
P
Pitiglianio11 Apr 2023 19:20We also have a slope and definitely won’t be planning a second terrace. For what or for whom?!
We will be filling in, using as much of the soil heaps from the excavation that we still have lying around. That’s quite a lot...
Towards the boundary, it will be retained with 1m (3 feet) L-shaped retaining wall blocks. Above that, the slope will be graded and densely planted with low-maintenance shrubs. In the lower, deeper area, taller-growing shrubs or trees will be planted. This will naturally make the slope appear smaller. In any case, we will plant the slope so that it becomes completely overgrown and hopefully requires little to no maintenance later on. This can mostly be done by yourself (except for the L-shaped retaining wall), and it’s not too expensive.
We will be filling in, using as much of the soil heaps from the excavation that we still have lying around. That’s quite a lot...
Towards the boundary, it will be retained with 1m (3 feet) L-shaped retaining wall blocks. Above that, the slope will be graded and densely planted with low-maintenance shrubs. In the lower, deeper area, taller-growing shrubs or trees will be planted. This will naturally make the slope appear smaller. In any case, we will plant the slope so that it becomes completely overgrown and hopefully requires little to no maintenance later on. This can mostly be done by yourself (except for the L-shaped retaining wall), and it’s not too expensive.
Pitiglianio schrieb:
We also have a slope and definitely won’t be planning a second terrace. For what purpose or whom?!
We will be backfilling, using as much of the excess excavation soil that we currently have on site as possible. There is still quite a bit...
Along the property line, we will retain with 1m (3 ft) long retaining wall blocks. Above that, the slope will be graded and densely planted with low-maintenance shrubs. In the lower, deeper area, we will plant taller-growing shrubs or trees. This alone will visually reduce the steepness of the slope. In any case, we plan to plant the embankment so it becomes fully covered and hopefully requires little to no maintenance later on. The entire process can be done quite easily by ourselves (except for the retaining wall), and it isn’t too costly. That sounds low-maintenance and nice. Do you have a sketch of your plan or a dedicated thread? Or photos? 🙂
Pitiglianio schrieb:
Along the boundary, a 1m (3 ft) long retaining wall is built with stones. Above that, the slope is graded back, and the embankment is densely planted with low-maintenance shrubs. kati1337 schrieb:
That sounds low-maintenance and attractive. Do you have a sketch of your plan, a dedicated thread, or any photos? It is important not to overlook the impact on others in this whole matter—specifically, the neighbors living downhill who need to be protected from the runoff surface water.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
M
Marvinius11 Apr 2023 23:20Pitiglianio schrieb:
We also have a slope and definitely will not plan a second terrace. For what purpose/who would it be?!
We will be filling in, using as much soil as we currently have leftover from the excavation. That’s quite a bit...
Along the boundary, it will be retained with 1m (3.3 ft) long retaining wall blocks. Above that, the slope will be graded and densely planted with low-maintenance shrubs. In the lower, deeper area, taller shrubs or trees will be planted. This alone will make the slope appear smaller. In any case, we will plant the slope so that it fully covers over time and hopefully requires little to no maintenance later on. This whole process can be done mostly by ourselves (except for the retaining wall), and it’s not too expensive. In the neighborhood, someone did something similar, although the slope toward the neighbor...
11ant schrieb:
An important aspect of the whole matter is not to underestimate the affected party—that is, the neighbors downhill who need to be protected from surface water runoff. Good point. However, there will hardly be any connection to the sewage system there. So should a soakaway or septic tank be installed? Or could a pond be created at the lowest point on the property to collect surface water?
My guess: without construction measures in the lower part of the property, it probably won’t work.
Similar topics