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.
Congratulations on your move! Especially that you are now spared from the water that had recently found its way inside...
With my newly installed floor (also directly on the screed), I had some spots where it felt springy. This improved over several months; my site manager said at the time, "That will settle," and he was right. Maybe not 100%, but about 80%, and it no longer bothers me.
Since you already have furniture in place, I would wait and see how much it bothers you over time.
With my newly installed floor (also directly on the screed), I had some spots where it felt springy. This improved over several months; my site manager said at the time, "That will settle," and he was right. Maybe not 100%, but about 80%, and it no longer bothers me.
Since you already have furniture in place, I would wait and see how much it bothers you over time.
G
goalkeeper15 Jun 2020 12:08OWLer schrieb:
Oh yes, I actually wanted to write that too! Congratulations on moving in, @goalkeeper! It has been a very exciting journey following this thread! It will get interesting again once the middle house construction starts. The topic of “swinging a crane with a load over our house” was already an engaging discussion last week with the general contractor.
Congratulations on moving in!
I hope you will keep us updated...
goalkeeper schrieb:
It will get exciting again when the middle house construction starts. The topic of “swinging a crane with a load over our house” was already the subject of an interesting initial discussion last week with the structural contractor.
I hope you will keep us updated...
goalkeeper schrieb:
It gets interesting again when the middle house is being built. The topic “crane swinging a load over our house” was already the subject of a first interesting discussion last week together with its structural builder. We personally didn’t have this issue, but several neighbors here in the (large) new development did.
I would say the concerns are quite unfounded. Of course, there has never been any damage. But what if... Damage is often not noticed immediately, and then there could be disputes about whether it was already there or not. A written agreement that documents the condition jointly recorded at the time helps in such cases.
G
goalkeeper25 Jun 2020 14:17What do you think? We still have the problem that none of the neighbors really want to start building yet. This makes planning the outdoor area difficult.
Our landscaping contractor suggested installing L-shaped retaining walls (2.80m (9.2 feet) long) at the middle house, and then paving the entrance area all the way to the end of the house. The side parking spaces would be paved later, once the neighbor has started building.
Does it make sense to do the paving in two stages?
Our landscaping contractor suggested installing L-shaped retaining walls (2.80m (9.2 feet) long) at the middle house, and then paving the entrance area all the way to the end of the house. The side parking spaces would be paved later, once the neighbor has started building.
Does it make sense to do the paving in two stages?
Well, I guess it all depends on the costs and how predictable the start of construction for the neighbors is. What’s the situation with your middle house? Any updates?
Will the parking spaces then be located closer to the next block of three houses? So, on the left side of the house in the picture, or am I mistaken?
The retaining wall blocks would be placed by the landscaping contractor right on the property line, but that can be tricky if the middle house has its basement there. Of course, they need to be careful, but you might end up with another construction site. Also, those blocks can be quite costly. I think I would wait and see.
Will the parking spaces then be located closer to the next block of three houses? So, on the left side of the house in the picture, or am I mistaken?
The retaining wall blocks would be placed by the landscaping contractor right on the property line, but that can be tricky if the middle house has its basement there. Of course, they need to be careful, but you might end up with another construction site. Also, those blocks can be quite costly. I think I would wait and see.
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