Hello, I have been following this forum for a long time and find it always interesting. I thought I might share our planning here. We started planning at the end of 2018, began construction in 03/2019, and moved in by 12/2019.
We planned the floor plans, dimensions, materials, etc., ourselves and then hired a retired architect to create the construction drawings and structural engineering, as well as to submit the building permit / planning permission application. He also handled the approvals and insurance.
Since we live in a historic preservation area with classical architecture, we wanted to reflect this style in our house and I did a lot of research. I know nothing is perfect and it is a series of compromises (size, budget, historic style). We wanted about 120sqm (1292 sqft) of living space, aimed not to exceed a certain budget, and wanted to choose and plan all the trades ourselves (this really saves a lot of money!). I have almost no craftsmanship skills, yet we still did or helped with many tasks ourselves (preparations for the electrician, applying window and facade plaster molding ourselves, ceiling molding, wooden baseboards, cladding the carport, assembling the garden shed, distributing 55t (60 US tons) of soil, planting, manually drilling a garden well, etc.). Ok, my father-in-law helped a lot because he is handy.
We wanted to keep as much symmetry as possible and had a rough idea inspired by a Georgian house. Wooden sash windows and front door made by the local carpenter, facade plaster molding, ceiling height of 2.75m (9 ft) on the ground floor, and a hipped roof with clay tiles.
The staircase was a bit challenging because the hallway is central and the dimensions we set (somewhat arbitrarily) limited a straight staircase. The stair builder managed it nevertheless using some tricks (a bit steeper and with a longer tread or something like that).
Since I talked a lot with energy consultants and wanted a reasonable price-performance/use balance, we made the following decisions:
* Energy standard just enough to meet requirements (saves construction costs)
* Therefore, deliberately only double-glazed windows
* Gas condensing boiler with underfloor heating and gas fireplace
* Solar thermal system for hot water (I would have preferred to skip this as a cost driver; in summer you don’t need 270l (71 gallons) of hot water and in winter the sun usually isn’t sufficient despite the south-facing side)
* No electric window openers (but conduits were installed)
* 36.5cm (14.4 inches) aerated concrete walls on the outside and 17.5/11.5cm (6.9/4.5 inches) limestone interior walls
* Interior walls plastered with cement plaster to Q3 level (relatively smooth)
* Plumbing and heating company installed everything. Toilets, sinks, faucets were bought by us (all Villeroy & Boch and GROHE, mostly via eBay)
* Floor tiles and parquet also bought by us and then installed by professionals
The total cost excluding the land was €297,000 (about USD 320,000) including connections and exterior works, garden planting (partly €500 (about USD 540) per tree), double carport, 12sqm (129 sqft) garden shed, 150sqm (1615 sqft) paving, 24sqm (258 sqft) travertine terrace, insurance, surveying, 55t (60 US tons) of topsoil (we added about 20-30cm (8-12 inches) of soil), kitchen and appliances, electric garden gate, and masonry gate pillars (including historically accurate pillar caps) etc.
Land size: 680sqm (7320 sqft)
Living space: 122sqm (1313 sqft)
* 29sqm (312 sqft) living room
* 11.5sqm (124 sqft) kitchen
* 7.5sqm (81 sqft) utility room (laundry hangs from the ceiling with Foxydry)
* approx. 9.5sqm (102 sqft) hallway downstairs
* 11.5sqm (124 sqft) children’s room
* 9sqm (97 sqft) guest room/library/study
* approx. 9.3sqm (100 sqft) bathroom with shower, freestanding bathtub, toilet, bidet, washbasin
* approx. 20sqm (215 sqft) bedroom with walk-in closet/wardrobe
* The attic is currently an unheated storage room but could still be developed.
The space is sufficient, sometimes missing 0.5-1m (1.6-3.3 ft) here and there, but more space would have come at significantly higher construction costs.
What do you think of the floor plan? Any questions?
I’ve attached some pictures to give you a rough idea.
We planned the floor plans, dimensions, materials, etc., ourselves and then hired a retired architect to create the construction drawings and structural engineering, as well as to submit the building permit / planning permission application. He also handled the approvals and insurance.
Since we live in a historic preservation area with classical architecture, we wanted to reflect this style in our house and I did a lot of research. I know nothing is perfect and it is a series of compromises (size, budget, historic style). We wanted about 120sqm (1292 sqft) of living space, aimed not to exceed a certain budget, and wanted to choose and plan all the trades ourselves (this really saves a lot of money!). I have almost no craftsmanship skills, yet we still did or helped with many tasks ourselves (preparations for the electrician, applying window and facade plaster molding ourselves, ceiling molding, wooden baseboards, cladding the carport, assembling the garden shed, distributing 55t (60 US tons) of soil, planting, manually drilling a garden well, etc.). Ok, my father-in-law helped a lot because he is handy.
We wanted to keep as much symmetry as possible and had a rough idea inspired by a Georgian house. Wooden sash windows and front door made by the local carpenter, facade plaster molding, ceiling height of 2.75m (9 ft) on the ground floor, and a hipped roof with clay tiles.
The staircase was a bit challenging because the hallway is central and the dimensions we set (somewhat arbitrarily) limited a straight staircase. The stair builder managed it nevertheless using some tricks (a bit steeper and with a longer tread or something like that).
Since I talked a lot with energy consultants and wanted a reasonable price-performance/use balance, we made the following decisions:
* Energy standard just enough to meet requirements (saves construction costs)
* Therefore, deliberately only double-glazed windows
* Gas condensing boiler with underfloor heating and gas fireplace
* Solar thermal system for hot water (I would have preferred to skip this as a cost driver; in summer you don’t need 270l (71 gallons) of hot water and in winter the sun usually isn’t sufficient despite the south-facing side)
* No electric window openers (but conduits were installed)
* 36.5cm (14.4 inches) aerated concrete walls on the outside and 17.5/11.5cm (6.9/4.5 inches) limestone interior walls
* Interior walls plastered with cement plaster to Q3 level (relatively smooth)
* Plumbing and heating company installed everything. Toilets, sinks, faucets were bought by us (all Villeroy & Boch and GROHE, mostly via eBay)
* Floor tiles and parquet also bought by us and then installed by professionals
The total cost excluding the land was €297,000 (about USD 320,000) including connections and exterior works, garden planting (partly €500 (about USD 540) per tree), double carport, 12sqm (129 sqft) garden shed, 150sqm (1615 sqft) paving, 24sqm (258 sqft) travertine terrace, insurance, surveying, 55t (60 US tons) of topsoil (we added about 20-30cm (8-12 inches) of soil), kitchen and appliances, electric garden gate, and masonry gate pillars (including historically accurate pillar caps) etc.
Land size: 680sqm (7320 sqft)
Living space: 122sqm (1313 sqft)
* 29sqm (312 sqft) living room
* 11.5sqm (124 sqft) kitchen
* 7.5sqm (81 sqft) utility room (laundry hangs from the ceiling with Foxydry)
* approx. 9.5sqm (102 sqft) hallway downstairs
* 11.5sqm (124 sqft) children’s room
* 9sqm (97 sqft) guest room/library/study
* approx. 9.3sqm (100 sqft) bathroom with shower, freestanding bathtub, toilet, bidet, washbasin
* approx. 20sqm (215 sqft) bedroom with walk-in closet/wardrobe
* The attic is currently an unheated storage room but could still be developed.
The space is sufficient, sometimes missing 0.5-1m (1.6-3.3 ft) here and there, but more space would have come at significantly higher construction costs.
What do you think of the floor plan? Any questions?
I’ve attached some pictures to give you a rough idea.
M
Myrna_Loy24 Sep 2021 17:34Historically common, though. Who likes rain down their collar?
G
Georgian201924 Sep 2021 19:36Myrna_Loy schrieb:
Historically common, though. Who wants rain in their collar? Yes, that could still work, although it is certainly not historical but rather added afterwards.
JuliaMünchen schrieb:
Congratulations on your beautiful house! We are building a very similar style home in Munich, and your facade really touches my heart—finally not a (night)mare in anthracite black with huge windows 🙂 Around here, it’s practically impossible to get a house within your final budget, so seeing that it works so well in your area, even with the clay tile roofing (which I would have loved here too, but my husband brought me back to reality considering the cost), is amazing. I have to admit, it makes me a bit envious 🙂
By the way, I also really like your driveway; it’s not over the top at all, just perfectly matching the rest. I really like the wall colors on the ground floor as well; ours will be quite similar. The only thing that doesn’t fully work for me is the bathroom, but of course that’s all a matter of taste.
Enjoy your time in your beautiful home, and compliments on everything you’ve achieved with so many of your own ideas and hard work! Especially since expensive features like clay tiles are part of the house, I just don’t understand the price.
J
JuliaMünchen27 Sep 2021 15:08Georgian2019 schrieb:
Our budget from 2018/19 doesn’t stretch that far anymore either. Our budget was sufficient only because I negotiated with all the local tradespeople individually and directly, as we handled certain overpriced jobs ourselves (for example, the decorative facade trim around the windows— the main contractor wanted a fortune for it, so I had only the cornice and door trim installed by professionals) and because a lot was done through “neighborhood help.”
I’m really curious to see what your project looks like.Unfortunately, negotiating directly ourselves is no longer possible for us either, because here you’re lucky if you even receive a quote for the few items you still have to arrange yourself with a turnkey build (earthworks, sewer connections, and utilities), and that quote is usually final with a “take it or leave it” attitude since they have plenty of other jobs lined up. To be honest, I don’t quite understand how anyone would manage whole trades here without budgeting at least seven years for the construction 🙂 Thankfully, for the garden we can count a bit on our new neighbors and my cousin, who really knows someone for everything and everyone who can help.
We are still in the middle of building, and I’m not sure if I’ll want to present our house fully once it’s completed. This is mainly because our little house is like my baby, and on the other hand this forum can be quite harsh when it comes to personal taste—I’ve already been annoyed by one comment from a construction company asking, “What is this style mix supposed to be, a coffee mill house and an American house?” 🙂 But I’m happy to share our visualization with you. We have changed the shape of the dormer and it will have a wooden deck instead of paving, but otherwise it already looks like this in reality. I simply love American-style houses and architectural elements from earlier times, and fortunately my husband is no die-hard Bauhaus fan and just let me do my thing 🙂
@JuliaMünchen
The comment is harsh but also accurate. Should a homeowner really be forced to build a coffee grinder with smoked eyes just because the building plot isn’t large enough to fit the American Dream? I think it’s great that you incorporated elements you like while also respecting the constraints of the limited plot size. You were creative and are building your dream. The house looks stately, unlike many so-called substitute villas.
What will the interior design look like? Something like Joanna Gaines style?
The comment is harsh but also accurate. Should a homeowner really be forced to build a coffee grinder with smoked eyes just because the building plot isn’t large enough to fit the American Dream? I think it’s great that you incorporated elements you like while also respecting the constraints of the limited plot size. You were creative and are building your dream. The house looks stately, unlike many so-called substitute villas.
What will the interior design look like? Something like Joanna Gaines style?
JuliaMünchen schrieb:
We are still in the middle of building, and I’m not quite sure yet if I want to fully share our house here when it’s finished. It’s mainly because our little house is like my baby, and on the other hand, this forum can be quite harsh when it comes to taste. One comment from a builder saying, “What’s with this style mix of a coffee mill house and an American house?” really annoyed me. Go ahead and share, it looks quite nice. Personally, I find that much better than being presented with a white, completely style-less box as “Bauhaus.”
JuliaMünchen schrieb:
We have changed the shape of the dormer. I would consider that in the photo more of a cross-gable roof dormer rather than a simple dormer.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/