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.
Zaba12 schrieb:
35,000 euros is not even 180 euros more, right? But you know your limits. Then it unfortunately has to be that way. apokolok schrieb:
Right now, you’re only seeing the extra costs, not the space and added value you gain in the living area. kaho674 schrieb:
I see it like Zaba, but I also think it’s good when someone sets clear limits. How about you with the Guys, please stop going on about the basement. Even 180 euros have to be earned. And if you estimate 50,000 euros, you end up with 60,000 or more anyway. So more than 180 euros. That’s money, and that hurts some people. The basement probably won’t be fun but rather unwelcome. Or do you just have that money left over? You also save money in some areas, like the stairwell space. That’s where I would have started by building 40cm x 40cm (16 inches x 16 inches) bigger — the staircase is defended as being optimal. And don’t tell me it wasn’t ultimately a question of price.
ypg schrieb:
Guys, please stop fixating on the basement. That €180 also needs to be earned. And when you budget €50,000, it often ends up being €60,000 or more. So, it’s more than just €180.
That’s money, and it can be tough for some people. The basement probably won’t even be enjoyable and might just go unused.
Or do you just have that money lying around? You also cut costs in some areas, like the stairwell space. That’s where I would have started, building 40cm x 40cm (16 inches x 16 inches) larger — the staircase is defended as being optimal. And don’t tell me it wasn’t ultimately a matter of cost. It’s fine, but you won’t get an answer to your question or else I’ll be the arrogant, know-it-all pain again.
G
goalkeeper26 Aug 2019 22:43Zaba12 schrieb:
That’s fine, but you won’t get an answer to your question; otherwise, I’ll be considered the arrogant, know-it-all butt again. Then please move your discussion to the private messages section?!
I honestly think it’s a shame that the option of a basement is now off the table. All the more, I admire @goalkeeper for clearly sticking to his approach and pushing forward his and his family’s project very effectively. I hope the time has come for you when things will really move ahead and you won’t have to face one unfortunate message after another.
Best regards
Best regards
G
goalkeeper4 Sep 2019 07:59Since we apparently have a neighboring house in the middle now, I wanted to give him one last chance right before construction starts to choose whether he wants to pay for the foundation instead, to avoid having to retrofit it later.
I suggested that he could cover the difference between our fill and the foundation, so he wouldn’t have issues with his basement construction later – the additional cost is around 10,000 to 15,000 euros and would only benefit the neighbor. Whether our house is built on fill or on a foundation is irrelevant for now.
The retaining wall towards the neighbor would then need to be set according to his future basement depth – however, the remaining area must also be founded, otherwise uneven settlement may occur. Our general contractor explicitly advised against simply building the retaining wall and then adding fill behind it.
According to the local neighborhood laws, we are not allowed to benefit from this anyway, as otherwise we would have to repay the amount.
After consulting the building authority and speaking with our general contractor, our construction start date is still set for October 1. The only thing missing in the construction area is some scattered paving. Road closure for the construction crane and construction power supply have been applied for – the soil surveyor for performing plate load tests and dynamic probing tests has also been scheduled – at around 600 euros this is “relatively” inexpensive.
I suggested that he could cover the difference between our fill and the foundation, so he wouldn’t have issues with his basement construction later – the additional cost is around 10,000 to 15,000 euros and would only benefit the neighbor. Whether our house is built on fill or on a foundation is irrelevant for now.
The retaining wall towards the neighbor would then need to be set according to his future basement depth – however, the remaining area must also be founded, otherwise uneven settlement may occur. Our general contractor explicitly advised against simply building the retaining wall and then adding fill behind it.
According to the local neighborhood laws, we are not allowed to benefit from this anyway, as otherwise we would have to repay the amount.
After consulting the building authority and speaking with our general contractor, our construction start date is still set for October 1. The only thing missing in the construction area is some scattered paving. Road closure for the construction crane and construction power supply have been applied for – the soil surveyor for performing plate load tests and dynamic probing tests has also been scheduled – at around 600 euros this is “relatively” inexpensive.
goalkeeper schrieb:
Since it looks like we now have a neighbor in the middle house, I wanted to give him a chance just before construction starts to choose whether he wants to pay for the foundation base to avoid having to cover it later.
I suggested that he could pay the difference between our backfill and the foundation base so that he wouldn't encounter problems later when building his basement – the additional cost is about 10-15k and would only benefit the neighbor. Whether our house is built on backfill or on foundations doesn’t matter at this point.
The retaining wall toward the neighbor would then need to be set to his future basement depth – however, the rest of the area would also have to be founded properly, otherwise uneven settlement could occur. Simply building the retaining wall and then backfilling is explicitly not recommended by our construction supervisor.
According to local neighborhood regulations, we shouldn’t gain any advantage from this; otherwise, we would have to repay the amount.
After consulting with the building authority and a phone call with our construction supervisor, our construction start date remains set for October 1st. In the development area, only a few spots of paving are still missing. The road closure for the crane and construction power supply has been applied for – as well as the geotechnical engineer for load plate bearing tests and dynamic probing – which costs about 600 € and is relatively inexpensive. And what did the neighbor say?
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