ᐅ Checklist for New Construction of a Mid-Terrace House

We are building with a developer.

Are you sure? Not a general contractor? Is the terraced middle house planned on its own plot of land or is it a subdivision under joint ownership (e.g., condominium)?

Have you already talked to the developer’s electrician? They might not offer KNX at all or only provide a defensive offer (for example, because you might have to finance employee training yourself).

That was the case with the electrician on our terraced house...

Regarding outdoor cameras on a terraced house... make sure you have a good relationship with your neighbors, otherwise they might sue you as soon as your camera pans away from your own property ;o)

Garm82 schrieb:
What else do you think of? Or do you have any good tips?

I’m happy for you. We were in the same situation back in 2000 and I can share what worked well and what I would do differently. I’ll just go through your list:

• KNX is a matter of preference. We are deliberately not installing it in the house we’re currently building. Based on our experience with three elderly parents with dementia, we don’t believe we’d be able to use such a system easily in daily life, and we’re just under 50 years old. If we were to install KNX, I would do everything with it. I guess I’m a tech enthusiast.
• Network cables are also a matter of preference. In our terraced house, Wi-Fi works well. The kids like gaming, they use powerline adapters, but direct Ethernet would of course be better.
• Power supply in the garage, EV-ready: definitely do it.
• Mechanical ventilation in the bathroom and laundry room: nice to have.
• Conduits for photovoltaic systems: definitely install.
• Garden well: worked very well for us, but it was simple in our case. We share a well hole with the neighbors and each have a pump connected.
• Separate plumbing for grey water — great for saving drinking water. Whether it pays off financially is questionable.

What has proven useful:

• Water and wastewater connections in the attic (where our second bathroom is)
• Large (multiple) skylights with shutters
• As large as possible windows (especially if you have garden access), because light is usually scarce in a mid-terrace house
• Switchable outdoor power
• Water connection on the garden-side terrace
• Talk to neighbors early and settle things like garden fences in advance. (We have great neighbors)

What we would have done better in addition:

• Water connection in front of the house, for example to water the front garden or supply kids with water balloons
• Switchable power in front of the house as well
• Sectional garage doors facing the driveway, so you can park in front and still access the garage
• More sockets

What we are still glad we left out:

• Garden access to the basement
• Letting the builder handle flooring and bathrooms — doing this ourselves worked out great

What was a clear mistake: We believed the builder when they said there were no more end-terrace houses. We bought house 2.18 in the development. They said it was the first construction phase. I even asked why our houses started with number 2 and the others with 1. They said it had to do with the orientation. It was all a lie. We were among the first buyers but one of the last to move in. The builder had developed another site nearby before. After finishing our development, the company closed down. Since the state of NRW held a 50% share, there were follow-up contacts who handled warranty cases well. We had no further complaints. We are satisfied with the location and build quality.

Good luck! Max.