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.
In my bathroom, I have an illuminated mirror (LED lights on both sides at a height of 60cm (24 inches)) and additionally 5 ceiling spotlights (bathroom area around 10m² (108 sq ft)). I had the electrician bring some fixtures, and I didn’t check carefully… anyway, he installed 5 spotlights equivalent to 60W each, and they are cool white. The lighting is like in an operating room. Terrible. Whenever a visitor turns on the switch, the immediate reaction is: turn the lights off! I never use them; only the mirror lighting is on, which produces a very pleasant light. (The hallway is the same story; the lighting is always off and the stair light provides illumination.)
Weaker spotlights would probably have a smaller diameter, so I could only replace them with the same model in warm white. I also don’t really want to throw away the new lamps. Most likely, I’ll cover them occasionally with a film that reduces the intensity, especially of the “cold” (blue) component… but that’s not top priority on my to-do list right now.
Weaker spotlights would probably have a smaller diameter, so I could only replace them with the same model in warm white. I also don’t really want to throw away the new lamps. Most likely, I’ll cover them occasionally with a film that reduces the intensity, especially of the “cold” (blue) component… but that’s not top priority on my to-do list right now.
Here is the layout of my bathroom:
About 200 cm (6 ft 7 in) deep and approximately 220 cm (7 ft 3 in) wide.
My lighting plan:
I have three ceiling spotlights spaced over the 200 cm (6 ft 7 in) length (standard 3x20 W spots).
On the right wall, the full width is covered by a mirror with two mounted wall lights above it.
I find this setup very comfortable.
About 200 cm (6 ft 7 in) deep and approximately 220 cm (7 ft 3 in) wide.
My lighting plan:
I have three ceiling spotlights spaced over the 200 cm (6 ft 7 in) length (standard 3x20 W spots).
On the right wall, the full width is covered by a mirror with two mounted wall lights above it.
I find this setup very comfortable.
G
goalkeeper27 Mar 2020 09:18We will now only go with three – the general contractor just called from the construction site to say that only three have been prepared by the electrician, and in his opinion, that is sufficient. One in the shower, one above the toilet, and one in the entrance area. The washbasin will then be illuminated by the mirror lighting.
Vicky Pedia27 Mar 2020 11:08Altai schrieb:
"Weaker" spotlights would probably have a smaller diameter, so I could only replace them with the same model in warm white. And I actually don’t want to throw away the new lamps now. I will probably sometimes cover them with a film that reduces the intensity, especially of the "cool" (blue) component... but that’s not a top priority right now.You can probably dim the spotlights as well; just ask a trusted electrician.Vicky Pedia schrieb:
You can probably dim the spotlights, ask an electrician you trust.I think for the outlet where the dimmer would go, it would cost around 350€ if the spotlights are dimmable in principle... but they would still be cool white...Altai schrieb:
"Weaker" spotlights would probably have a smaller diameter, so I could only replace them with the same model in warm white. And I don't really want to throw away the new lamps now. I will probably occasionally cover them with a film that reduces the intensity, especially of the "cold" (=blue) component... but that’s not a top priority right now.Actually, the dimensions are always standardized. And there are larger ones with low intensity as well. The question is just how it’s wired... But in principle, you just need to buy the appropriate light bulbs and replace them. A dimmer is usually installed at or behind the switch and costs between 20-30€. Why sacrifice a power outlet?
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