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
Marvinius6 Aug 2023 14:01kati1337 schrieb:
I need to bring this up again because the parquet flooring has now been installed in our home, and because of the ongoing construction work, it has gotten quite dusty in some areas—I will probably need to mop it once before we move in.
Now I have no idea what I should use for mopping. What is a Bisell?
Has anyone tried those Bona products with the parquet cleaner? They seem to be rated quite well.
I’m grateful for any tips. I think the vacuum cleaner will take care of the larger debris, but we won’t be able to avoid mopping at least once. Didn’t you schedule a final construction cleaning? Our site manager strongly recommended it before moving in, and it really was worth it.
That happened with my last house—I paid a fortune for it, and in the end, I still had to clean up because they missed plaster residues everywhere. I had told them to leave the kitchen alone, but they didn’t follow that and caused defects there as well.
When I complained, I got lame excuses, like the employee on site was new, and so on.
This time, I’m just going to do it myself; that way I save the money and avoid the frustration.
Overall, this construction site is already noticeably cleaner than the last one. The plasterers didn’t make nearly as much mess around the windows, and much more protective covering and masking was used than at the old house. I’m optimistic about it.
When I complained, I got lame excuses, like the employee on site was new, and so on.
This time, I’m just going to do it myself; that way I save the money and avoid the frustration.
Overall, this construction site is already noticeably cleaner than the last one. The plasterers didn’t make nearly as much mess around the windows, and much more protective covering and masking was used than at the old house. I’m optimistic about it.
Araknis schrieb:
So, your contractor officially isn’t doing anything anymore? Or is it still possible to hire him?I don't think so. His last statement was that it’s no longer enjoyable because of the price increases.W
WilderSueden6 Aug 2023 20:22We just use a regular cleaning cloth. Make sure to wring it out well beforehand so it’s not too wet. And we use a special parquet cleaner. Although we don’t actually mop much in the living room anyway.
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motorradsilke6 Aug 2023 22:18WilderSueden schrieb:
We just use a regular mop. Make sure to wring it out well beforehand so it’s not too wet. And a special parquet cleaner. Although we don’t mop the living room that often anyway.That’s how I do it too. Just normal mopping with parquet cleaner.