ᐅ Building an End-Terrace House as a Self-Managed Project with a General Contractor
Created on: 27 May 2019 10:48
G
goalkeeper
Hello everyone,
some of you might have already followed one of my threads about us having to or being allowed to build our end-terrace house on our own responsibility – depending on how you look at it. This means that we are buying an end-terrace plot (215 sqm (2315 sq ft)) in a new development area in the Rhein-Neckar district and will be building on it ourselves – but in coordination with our two terrace neighbors.
The municipality, which sold the plots through a local resident model, ideally wanted applicants to apply as a complete housing group with several families and then build accordingly with a general contractor, construction manager, or architect. Of course, that didn’t really work out, so now there are only individual applicants and also homeowners.
After we were awarded the plot, the addresses of the other terrace neighbors were shared to discuss certain matters, such as roof style, whether or not to have a basement, etc. It was immediately clear that everyone preferred to do their own thing. However, we were still able to agree that the housing group will have a gable roof with a pitch of 35 to 40 degrees (within this 5-degree range).
As the end house, we will build without a basement, while the middle house and the other end house will have basements. This obviously presents a challenge as we would have to make a deep foundation or simply skip it, and the middle house would have to support us, as we will start construction first. The current agreement with the middle house is that we will build a deeper foundation at his expense, as supporting our house later on would be considerably more expensive for him.
We are currently close to signing with the construction manager, the notarization appointment for the plot is at the end of June, and we hope to start construction in the fall of this year. Meanwhile, several other freely planned housing groups are being built around us, which might get in the way with their cranes.
I will document the progress here from time to time – such a self-planned terraced house doesn’t come along very often.
some of you might have already followed one of my threads about us having to or being allowed to build our end-terrace house on our own responsibility – depending on how you look at it. This means that we are buying an end-terrace plot (215 sqm (2315 sq ft)) in a new development area in the Rhein-Neckar district and will be building on it ourselves – but in coordination with our two terrace neighbors.
The municipality, which sold the plots through a local resident model, ideally wanted applicants to apply as a complete housing group with several families and then build accordingly with a general contractor, construction manager, or architect. Of course, that didn’t really work out, so now there are only individual applicants and also homeowners.
After we were awarded the plot, the addresses of the other terrace neighbors were shared to discuss certain matters, such as roof style, whether or not to have a basement, etc. It was immediately clear that everyone preferred to do their own thing. However, we were still able to agree that the housing group will have a gable roof with a pitch of 35 to 40 degrees (within this 5-degree range).
As the end house, we will build without a basement, while the middle house and the other end house will have basements. This obviously presents a challenge as we would have to make a deep foundation or simply skip it, and the middle house would have to support us, as we will start construction first. The current agreement with the middle house is that we will build a deeper foundation at his expense, as supporting our house later on would be considerably more expensive for him.
We are currently close to signing with the construction manager, the notarization appointment for the plot is at the end of June, and we hope to start construction in the fall of this year. Meanwhile, several other freely planned housing groups are being built around us, which might get in the way with their cranes.
I will document the progress here from time to time – such a self-planned terraced house doesn’t come along very often.
Tina mit K18 Dec 2019 22:55Precisely with hollow wall anchors. In our case, one did not fully expand because there wasn’t enough space. On the side, a different anchor needs to be used.
UpperEast schrieb:
However, in my opinion, lighting is very important for daily well-being and worth the money for professional advice.However, "lighting design" has become a buzzword, and so far I have mostly come across lists of lamp models to buy. That feels more like a sales pitch than valuable consultation.https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Lighting was a very… let’s say… sensitive topic for us. However, since I’m a professional, I know exactly what happens when the lighting isn’t right.
But regardless of whether you want to hire a lighting designer or not: I also have to know myself how I want the room to be lit later. I don’t have to satisfy any standards like DIN to have a certain light intensity—I need to feel comfortable.
I didn’t “approve” a single cable from my husband unless he could first tell me which fixture was going to be installed there and what it was for:
“Let’s just run a cable here and see what happens.”
“Show me the fixture that will go there.”
“No idea.”
“No idea—no cable.”
“… I like that fixture.”
“Okay, then we run a cable here, and we need one of those little ones over there, or that corner will be too dark.”
For every fixture—every cable. I think sometimes during the build, he probably wanted to hang me from one of those cables.
We selected fixtures that match the style of the house and our furnishings and that we liked, then cables were installed for them. There are very few recessed spotlights, mostly ambient lighting around the room. In the evening, when you’re sitting in front of the TV, you don’t want to feel like you’re in an office or hotel lobby. It should be cozy, but there’s no need for a battle of lumens. Table lamps, eliminating dark corners, maybe highlighting some paintings. But there also needs to be light when it’s necessary (cleaning or whatever), and so on.
Like the tip about vacuum cleaners when planning electrical outlets: imagine your daily routine.
How do I want it to look when I:
- Sit in front of the TV
- Sit with friends at the dining table
- Play board games at the dining table
- Cook
- Clean
- Read on the sofa? Knit or crochet while watching TV?
- Take a bath? Also: when I need light for plucking eyebrows
- Leave the house and put on my jacket and shoes in the hallway
- Come home (switched outlets!)
…
Looking back now, I did everything right!
There should be a lighting task to be fulfilled, and you need to be aware of it beforehand. What do I want to achieve there?
Once the cable is installed, you have to find a fixture that fits PERFECTLY there. Much harder, and especially for non-professionals, even more challenging!
My favorite phrase became my favorite phrase even more during the building phase:
If you don’t know what you want, you get what you don’t want!
What do I want to do there? Which fixture do I like? Can the fixture do what I need it to do (and can I afford it)?
YES: plan the cable, buy the fixture.
NO: keep searching!
Sounds tedious, and it is, but it’s worth it.
But regardless of whether you want to hire a lighting designer or not: I also have to know myself how I want the room to be lit later. I don’t have to satisfy any standards like DIN to have a certain light intensity—I need to feel comfortable.
I didn’t “approve” a single cable from my husband unless he could first tell me which fixture was going to be installed there and what it was for:
“Let’s just run a cable here and see what happens.”
“Show me the fixture that will go there.”
“No idea.”
“No idea—no cable.”
“… I like that fixture.”
“Okay, then we run a cable here, and we need one of those little ones over there, or that corner will be too dark.”
For every fixture—every cable. I think sometimes during the build, he probably wanted to hang me from one of those cables.
We selected fixtures that match the style of the house and our furnishings and that we liked, then cables were installed for them. There are very few recessed spotlights, mostly ambient lighting around the room. In the evening, when you’re sitting in front of the TV, you don’t want to feel like you’re in an office or hotel lobby. It should be cozy, but there’s no need for a battle of lumens. Table lamps, eliminating dark corners, maybe highlighting some paintings. But there also needs to be light when it’s necessary (cleaning or whatever), and so on.
Like the tip about vacuum cleaners when planning electrical outlets: imagine your daily routine.
How do I want it to look when I:
- Sit in front of the TV
- Sit with friends at the dining table
- Play board games at the dining table
- Cook
- Clean
- Read on the sofa? Knit or crochet while watching TV?
- Take a bath? Also: when I need light for plucking eyebrows
- Leave the house and put on my jacket and shoes in the hallway
- Come home (switched outlets!)
…
Looking back now, I did everything right!
There should be a lighting task to be fulfilled, and you need to be aware of it beforehand. What do I want to achieve there?
Once the cable is installed, you have to find a fixture that fits PERFECTLY there. Much harder, and especially for non-professionals, even more challenging!
My favorite phrase became my favorite phrase even more during the building phase:
If you don’t know what you want, you get what you don’t want!
What do I want to do there? Which fixture do I like? Can the fixture do what I need it to do (and can I afford it)?
YES: plan the cable, buy the fixture.
NO: keep searching!
Sounds tedious, and it is, but it’s worth it.
Winniefred19 Dec 2019 08:11We didn’t overcomplicate it. Some of our lamps came from our old apartment, and we bought the others after moving in. We ran cables wherever they are usually needed. Furniture gets rearranged or replaced anyway. Of course, we took workspaces into account. But otherwise, we simply installed cables where they made sense. In every room, we also have wall lights for softer evening illumination. We were quite pragmatic here and probably didn’t have high expectations. As long as I can see well enough when I turn on the light, I consider it done right.
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