ᐅ Hillside House in the Southwest Palatinate – Our Home Construction 2.0
Created on: 9 Sep 2022 18:13
K
kati1337
Good evening everyone
I’m starting a small collection thread here for photos and progress updates on our second building project.
We’ve already moved to the Palatinate region to be closer to the construction site. Now we’re watching eagerly and happily as our (hopefully final) dream home takes shape near family.
One big challenge still ahead of us is the facade design. I really love the Nordic style with brickwork and mullioned windows. That won’t be possible here for two reasons: firstly, no one here can do bricklaying, and secondly, it would stand out too much. We will be going with a rendered facade. How to design the colors of the facade and windows to still create some country house / cottage charm is currently still a work in progress mentally.
Otherwise, I’m sharing our plans here and how it will eventually be built.
The support pillar marked near the kitchen island could be removed for a small extra cost, so that will be gone.
The room for “garden equipment” under the garage will get a partition wall for structural reasons.
It won’t be fully finished living space like in the house, but underfloor heating will be installed, along with a lockable door and a window. It’s meant to store garden tools but also some of the building services equipment, since the utility room (HAR) is quite small, and maybe be used as a party room.
We had three construction companies in the final selection. In the end, we chose the “doer” – a builder recommended to us here by friends and family. No website, no smartphone, but he is on site every day himself working in overalls. He has a very good reputation in this area and now rarely builds single-family homes. We were a bit lucky through personal connections and a very friendly initial phone call to get our foot in the door. So far we are very satisfied with this choice.
I’m starting a small collection thread here for photos and progress updates on our second building project.
We’ve already moved to the Palatinate region to be closer to the construction site. Now we’re watching eagerly and happily as our (hopefully final) dream home takes shape near family.
One big challenge still ahead of us is the facade design. I really love the Nordic style with brickwork and mullioned windows. That won’t be possible here for two reasons: firstly, no one here can do bricklaying, and secondly, it would stand out too much. We will be going with a rendered facade. How to design the colors of the facade and windows to still create some country house / cottage charm is currently still a work in progress mentally.
Otherwise, I’m sharing our plans here and how it will eventually be built.
The support pillar marked near the kitchen island could be removed for a small extra cost, so that will be gone.
The room for “garden equipment” under the garage will get a partition wall for structural reasons.
It won’t be fully finished living space like in the house, but underfloor heating will be installed, along with a lockable door and a window. It’s meant to store garden tools but also some of the building services equipment, since the utility room (HAR) is quite small, and maybe be used as a party room.
We had three construction companies in the final selection. In the end, we chose the “doer” – a builder recommended to us here by friends and family. No website, no smartphone, but he is on site every day himself working in overalls. He has a very good reputation in this area and now rarely builds single-family homes. We were a bit lucky through personal connections and a very friendly initial phone call to get our foot in the door. So far we are very satisfied with this choice.
kati1337 schrieb:
I can hardly admit it, but I totally copied the facade color from @Steffi33. I just gave the exact color code directly to the facade specialist. If you could share the exact shade again, please? 🙂 I really like it! I’m pretty sure I’ve asked this here before, but unfortunately, due to a poor memory, I forgot where 🤨
Malle Zwabber13 Dec 2023 10:04I had my base painted in the same color as the windows and front door to avoid using too many different colors. Your front door is also anthracite, and I assume your garage door will be anthracite as well.
Araknis schrieb:
If you could possibly share the exact color shade again? 🙂 I really like it! I’m pretty sure I’ve asked this before, but unfortunately, due to a poor memory, I forgot where 🤨 I think it’s Brillux 09.06.12.
You can also check Steffi’s profile; she once posted a picture from her configurator somewhere.
Here is another update.
The scaffolding is gone, and in the meantime, the painting has been completed. The photo shows an intermediate stage; I will take another picture later. The base has been painted in a different color.
Soon, the exterior work will begin. Access path, a small flower bed, some filling in front of the house. Pictures will follow when it's finished.
Also, a small strip around the house will be paved for splash protection / terrace so that you can walk around easily. Otherwise, we will postpone expensive installations for now, to a time when we have more funds. We’ll just plant some greenery wherever it fits.
We had done something similar in the north before, and we liked it quite a lot.
The scaffolding is gone, and in the meantime, the painting has been completed. The photo shows an intermediate stage; I will take another picture later. The base has been painted in a different color.
Soon, the exterior work will begin. Access path, a small flower bed, some filling in front of the house. Pictures will follow when it's finished.
Also, a small strip around the house will be paved for splash protection / terrace so that you can walk around easily. Otherwise, we will postpone expensive installations for now, to a time when we have more funds. We’ll just plant some greenery wherever it fits.
We had done something similar in the north before, and we liked it quite a lot.
C
Costruttrice27 Mar 2024 12:31@kati1337 Haven’t heard from you in ages… I just thought of you and your slope situation after the landscaper spread the topsoil on our shaped terrain. Have you found a solution yet for how to manage the transition from the terrace to the slope?
I was planning to plant the slope with lower-growing plants since we look up at the slope and the area beyond the property transitions into meadows. But now I’m having some doubts after looking at the slope from above.
I was planning to plant the slope with lower-growing plants since we look up at the slope and the area beyond the property transitions into meadows. But now I’m having some doubts after looking at the slope from above.
Costruttrice schrieb:
@kati1337 Haven’t heard from you in a long time… I was just thinking about you and your slope situation after our landscaper spread topsoil on the reshaped area. Have you found a solution yet for the transition from the terrace to the slope?
I was planning to plant the slope with low-growing plants because we look at the slope from below and the part of the property behind it transitions into meadows. But now I’m having some doubts, looking at the slope from above. Not quite 100% yet.
I’m waiting to see how the site looks once the contractor finishes all the outdoor work. He’s not the type to plan every millimeter, but usually delivers pretty good results when left to work.
The work is ongoing, but terrain modeling will only start next week. I’m already eager because I want to plant.
He said he will shape it so it can be left as is for now, but eventually we’ll need some retaining measures on the left and right sides of the house. He recommends using planting rings for that.
The large slope at the lower end of the property will only change slightly given its current design. Our current plan is to install a stake fence at the top of the property, to hopefully keep our small children safe for the next 5 years or so, so they don’t fall down the slope. The plants that have naturally grown there seem to stabilize the soil well. That’s why we haven’t had any problems despite weeks of heavy rain and flooding last autumn.
I’d still like to plant the slope, but would do so gradually with edible plants rather than covering the entire area at once. I’m thinking of something harvestable, maybe raspberries or other berry bushes.
We now also understand the property boundaries a bit better and found that we have more space downhill. On one side of the house, the property ends right at the slope’s edge, but on the other side, there are a few more square meters of meadow beyond the slope. We haven’t decided yet how to use that space.
Here’s another work in progress. We can now drive into the garage, hooray!
We’ve made more progress already, I’ll take some more pictures later. You can also see in the front garden the solution for the light well, allowing more light to enter.