Hello!
We have owned a plot of land for some time now but haven’t been able to get a good house plan together. It’s starting to drive us a bit crazy.
The plot has a slight west-facing slope and a minimal north-facing slope, which together total about 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) diagonally. The driveway will be accessed from the south—ideally the southeast—but unfortunately, that is the highest point, which complicates things.
We want to build with a general contractor (GC), so the architect they work with is doing the planning. The first architect tried to push a standard plan on us. That would have been fine if it matched our ideas and was more affordable, but it didn’t. Also, the GC wasn’t very reliable.
The second GC has been great so far, and the chemistry with his partner architect was good right away. The first architect just wanted a long driveway with the house and garage next to each other at the north end. The second architect immediately proposed what we envisioned: a shorter driveway and a garage set apart to the southeast in front of the house with a covered walkway to the entrance. I mentioned that, given the terrain heights, it might be challenging, but he said that would be his responsibility.
Since then, things have changed quite a bit after we saw their official proposals. Three out of four versions had a driveway in front of the garage with slopes of up to 20%, and then steps from the garage to the house. The floor plans didn’t impress us either; some room sizes were about 20% smaller than what we had already planned as tight. They told us not to fuss over a few square meters. Then, in the last meeting, the bombshell: they now say the planned version is not realistically feasible on this plot. The best solution would be to put the garage next to the house, push everything as far north as possible, resulting in a long driveway (25 meters / 82 feet)! So, basically, no progress from their side. We’re quite frustrated. Why did they create three alternative plans if the agreed version wasn’t really workable? How many hours have they spent on this already?
Besides the fact that we still don’t have a final plan and building costs keep rising, we’re wondering whether to continue working with this architect. It feels like there’s a lack of creativity. Or are we expecting too much?
We’re unsure what to do now. We don’t want to switch again if possible. Another question is what costs have already been incurred and how to handle that.
We are cautious and don’t want to provoke a confrontation, especially since things are fine on a personal level. But professionally and creatively, we’re not convinced, and we wonder if this will work out at all.
What do you think? I would appreciate your advice. Many thanks in advance.
We have owned a plot of land for some time now but haven’t been able to get a good house plan together. It’s starting to drive us a bit crazy.
The plot has a slight west-facing slope and a minimal north-facing slope, which together total about 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) diagonally. The driveway will be accessed from the south—ideally the southeast—but unfortunately, that is the highest point, which complicates things.
We want to build with a general contractor (GC), so the architect they work with is doing the planning. The first architect tried to push a standard plan on us. That would have been fine if it matched our ideas and was more affordable, but it didn’t. Also, the GC wasn’t very reliable.
The second GC has been great so far, and the chemistry with his partner architect was good right away. The first architect just wanted a long driveway with the house and garage next to each other at the north end. The second architect immediately proposed what we envisioned: a shorter driveway and a garage set apart to the southeast in front of the house with a covered walkway to the entrance. I mentioned that, given the terrain heights, it might be challenging, but he said that would be his responsibility.
Since then, things have changed quite a bit after we saw their official proposals. Three out of four versions had a driveway in front of the garage with slopes of up to 20%, and then steps from the garage to the house. The floor plans didn’t impress us either; some room sizes were about 20% smaller than what we had already planned as tight. They told us not to fuss over a few square meters. Then, in the last meeting, the bombshell: they now say the planned version is not realistically feasible on this plot. The best solution would be to put the garage next to the house, push everything as far north as possible, resulting in a long driveway (25 meters / 82 feet)! So, basically, no progress from their side. We’re quite frustrated. Why did they create three alternative plans if the agreed version wasn’t really workable? How many hours have they spent on this already?
Besides the fact that we still don’t have a final plan and building costs keep rising, we’re wondering whether to continue working with this architect. It feels like there’s a lack of creativity. Or are we expecting too much?
We’re unsure what to do now. We don’t want to switch again if possible. Another question is what costs have already been incurred and how to handle that.
We are cautious and don’t want to provoke a confrontation, especially since things are fine on a personal level. But professionally and creatively, we’re not convinced, and we wonder if this will work out at all.
What do you think? I would appreciate your advice. Many thanks in advance.
tepee schrieb:
The proposed option is not practically feasible on this plot; he now recommends the best solution is a garage next to the house, both positioned as far north as possible, resulting in a long driveway (25m (82 feet)). Are you referring to https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/hausplanung-auf-vorhandenem-Grundstück.24834 post #8? – in #24 you outlined a change only in the site plan, as far as I remember we don’t know more yet (?)
Nordlys schrieb:
You could park lengthwise along the street. But then the garage would stand sideways in front of the house. Or the garage only holds the workbench and the Pirelli calendar, so the car and garage don’t have to share the space *grin*
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