ᐅ Floor Plan: Building on a Slight Slope – Is Excavation Insufficient for a Basement?
Created on: 8 Feb 2022 13:12
W
Welcome2Chaos
Hello everyone,
My partner and I visited our dream plot yesterday. The price is unbeatable, the location is excellent, and there are a few minor issues here and there, but nothing we couldn’t live with—except for one thing. And that’s the “slope,” if you can call it that.
We’re talking about a plot with a 20m (65.6 ft) street frontage on the south side (valley) and a length of about 70m (230 ft). The upper area is flat but not designated as building land, and it borders another road. The elevation difference is, in my estimation, a maximum of 2m (6.6 ft), spread over roughly 50m (164 ft). I’ve tried to attach some photos.
We are building with a prefabricated house provider to KfW 40 standard, with a wastewater pit; otherwise, access is from the street side (south side). My concern is that planning for a plot “on a slope” might lead to unexpected costs, which is why I want to find out what options for construction we have before signing the contract.
My idea would be to cut away soil in the lower half, as the house would essentially have to be built in the lower half. I’m not sure how this would affect rainwater drainage. Would simple retaining walls be enough? How much would something like that cost? Do you have any other ideas?
It’s just too little of a slope to build a basement (which would also be very expensive), but too much to simply ignore it.
Best regards
My partner and I visited our dream plot yesterday. The price is unbeatable, the location is excellent, and there are a few minor issues here and there, but nothing we couldn’t live with—except for one thing. And that’s the “slope,” if you can call it that.
We’re talking about a plot with a 20m (65.6 ft) street frontage on the south side (valley) and a length of about 70m (230 ft). The upper area is flat but not designated as building land, and it borders another road. The elevation difference is, in my estimation, a maximum of 2m (6.6 ft), spread over roughly 50m (164 ft). I’ve tried to attach some photos.
We are building with a prefabricated house provider to KfW 40 standard, with a wastewater pit; otherwise, access is from the street side (south side). My concern is that planning for a plot “on a slope” might lead to unexpected costs, which is why I want to find out what options for construction we have before signing the contract.
My idea would be to cut away soil in the lower half, as the house would essentially have to be built in the lower half. I’m not sure how this would affect rainwater drainage. Would simple retaining walls be enough? How much would something like that cost? Do you have any other ideas?
It’s just too little of a slope to build a basement (which would also be very expensive), but too much to simply ignore it.
Best regards
W
Welcome2Chaos9 Feb 2022 08:18Hello everyone,
I have no idea how to quote, so here it goes:
@WilderSueden, great, thank you very much! Yes, that looks quite similar. I’m also hoping we can position the house so it’s not noticeable; the terrace will have to face south anyway, maybe that will help disguise it a bit. We will see.
@Hangman, thanks for your explanation! That definitely makes sense. So it really is a good idea to install drainage behind the house to redirect groundwater from the slope. We don’t mind terraces at all. The plan was to build a small embankment behind the house and level the front part of the plot. If we then put a drainage system between the house and the embankment, that should work, right?
@11ant Yes, better to clarify things beforehand. I work in a branch of the construction industry (geothermal energy) and hear from our clients about the challenges you can face quickly. There is actually no building plan, and the local authority couldn’t provide any information about changes to the terrain. So we are free there.
Yeah, I know, it sounds crazy, but there is no sewer connection in that village; everyone has septic tanks. KfW40 energy standard was a must for me right from the start, because of my work, and all heating-related work is subcontracted privately and not done by the construction company. That makes it significantly more affordable—well, and you don’t give up hope that government incentives will start again soon. We aren’t dependent on them, but you know what they say about a free horse…
I have no idea how to quote, so here it goes:
@WilderSueden, great, thank you very much! Yes, that looks quite similar. I’m also hoping we can position the house so it’s not noticeable; the terrace will have to face south anyway, maybe that will help disguise it a bit. We will see.
@Hangman, thanks for your explanation! That definitely makes sense. So it really is a good idea to install drainage behind the house to redirect groundwater from the slope. We don’t mind terraces at all. The plan was to build a small embankment behind the house and level the front part of the plot. If we then put a drainage system between the house and the embankment, that should work, right?
@11ant Yes, better to clarify things beforehand. I work in a branch of the construction industry (geothermal energy) and hear from our clients about the challenges you can face quickly. There is actually no building plan, and the local authority couldn’t provide any information about changes to the terrain. So we are free there.
Yeah, I know, it sounds crazy, but there is no sewer connection in that village; everyone has septic tanks. KfW40 energy standard was a must for me right from the start, because of my work, and all heating-related work is subcontracted privately and not done by the construction company. That makes it significantly more affordable—well, and you don’t give up hope that government incentives will start again soon. We aren’t dependent on them, but you know what they say about a free horse…
Welcome2Chaos schrieb:
The entire heating system work is contracted privately and not through the construction company. That makes everything significantly cheaper. Have you already clarified with the provider whether this is possible, and if so, in what form? Why did you choose a prefabricated house?
W
Welcome2Chaos9 Feb 2022 11:40Nemesis schrieb:
Have you already confirmed with the provider whether and, if so, in what form all of this is possible? And why a prefabricated house, actually?Yes, everything has been clarified 🙂
In fact, the plot of land comes through the home building company, so our decision was based on the builder (the land is extremely cheap, we’d be foolish not to go for it). I would personally prefer a solid construction house, but well... I know the building company through my work, so we chose this company.
W
Welcome2Chaos9 Feb 2022 12:08Tolentino schrieb:
Then make sure to include in your financial planning that the property transfer tax also applies to the house price. No, it’s not quite that simple. The real estate agent doesn’t work directly for the home builder, only on their behalf. The land is sold directly by the county, which is why it’s so inexpensive (there’s an untraceable community of heirs from the 18th century, etc., so the sale goes through the county). The property acquisition is a bit complicated. So, the purchase is directly from the municipality, not from the home builder, which is why I think we only have to pay the property transfer tax on the land—correct me if I’m wrong 🙂
Welcome2Chaos schrieb:
No, it’s not that simple. The real estate agent does not work directly for the house building company, only on behalf of them. The plot of land is owned directly by the county, which is why it’s so inexpensive (an untraceable community of heirs from the 18th century, blah blah, so the sale goes through the county). The inheritance process is a bit complicated. So the purchase is directly from the municipality, not from the house building company, which is why I think we only have to pay the property transfer tax on the land—correct me if I’m wrong 🙂 I’m interested in this setup in more detail; I don’t think this can be considered a tied sale. Otherwise, there shouldn’t be an obligation to build with the prefabricated house company—according to you, that obligation exists.