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.
Climbee schrieb:
Uh, I personally find these planting rings terrible. But of course, that’s a matter of taste. They are certainly an affordable and durable option. I would still prefer to work with dry stone walls. I agree with you; they’re not really my style either. For now, the requirement was inexpensive and practical. I think in 2-3 years the bed in front will be grown up enough that they won’t be very visible anymore.
However, I doubt we’ll put them along the slopes on the sides. Honestly, I don’t find them very attractive. Dry stone walls, or pretty much anything else that looks good, gets quite expensive though. Neighbors pay 120€ each for those oversized concrete blocks, plus delivery and installation. When I calculate that, I can only think that with the same money, I could buy a lot of plants instead. Depending on the root type, the plants also help stabilize the slope.
M
motorradsilke7 Apr 2024 14:45kati1337 schrieb:
I agree with you, they’re not really my style either. Right now, the main priority was affordability and practicality. I think within 2-3 years, the planting bed in front will have grown enough to hide most of it.
However, I doubt we’ll do them on the slopes at the sides. Honestly, I don’t find them very attractive either. Dry stone walls, or almost anything else that looks nice, gets quite expensive. Neighbors pay around €120 per piece for those oversized concrete Lego-like blocks, plus delivery and installation. When I calculate it, I can’t help but think I could buy a lot more plants for the same price. Depending on the root type, they also help stabilize the slope. In my opinion, those concrete Lego blocks are far more unattractive than planting stones. They might be suitable for industrial areas, but not for single-family homes.
F
Fuchsbau357 Apr 2024 15:43You can create and decorate planting rings yourself using small stones. My children collected stones everywhere and carried them home, especially during vacations. In your region of the Palatinate, there should also be some beautiful rock formations.
F
felicitias_17 Apr 2024 16:03In addition to the garage, we also installed planting rings and filled them with various plants that form ground cover or spread out in other ways. After a few years, the rings were barely visible anymore.
Behind the house, we bordered a light well with large stones that were uncovered during the basement excavation. Now we look at natural stone there, but it’s stone rather than greenery.
Behind the house, we bordered a light well with large stones that were uncovered during the basement excavation. Now we look at natural stone there, but it’s stone rather than greenery.
The first year in the house is (almost) over.
And we love it here. It’s nice, it’s quiet, we have space.
The only thing catching up with me is the outdoor area. Initially, I planned to just get by with it for "a few years," but now I’m tempted to invest a bit more in the outdoor space next year to avoid unfinished projects I might regret later.
I marked in red what has been paved – the terrace faces almost directly south.
Then we have a bit of flat area shown in purple in the picture. Everything toward the border—at the top of the picture—is unfortunately a very steep slope. Steep enough that I can’t easily walk on it. It has two rough terraces and is currently naturally vegetated, so rainwater doesn’t run off onto the neighbor’s property. However, I’m not very happy about this because I can’t really use most of my property. We are now considering how to stabilize this area somehow. For cost reasons, probably planter rings and doing the work ourselves. Along the 30-meter (98 feet) length, we want to raise it by about 2 to 3 meters (6.5 to 10 feet).
Would you rather build up as high as possible right at the border and let the rest slope gently down behind the flat area? Or would you prefer to create two levels, meaning hold back at the border at about 2 meters (6.5 feet), then add some more planter stones and a staircase along the current level, and create a second level below that, which would then be more or less flat?
If we only place planter stones along the border and fill in, it will be noticeably less steep than it is now but will still have a slope. It would be usable and also mowed.
And we love it here. It’s nice, it’s quiet, we have space.
The only thing catching up with me is the outdoor area. Initially, I planned to just get by with it for "a few years," but now I’m tempted to invest a bit more in the outdoor space next year to avoid unfinished projects I might regret later.
I marked in red what has been paved – the terrace faces almost directly south.
Then we have a bit of flat area shown in purple in the picture. Everything toward the border—at the top of the picture—is unfortunately a very steep slope. Steep enough that I can’t easily walk on it. It has two rough terraces and is currently naturally vegetated, so rainwater doesn’t run off onto the neighbor’s property. However, I’m not very happy about this because I can’t really use most of my property. We are now considering how to stabilize this area somehow. For cost reasons, probably planter rings and doing the work ourselves. Along the 30-meter (98 feet) length, we want to raise it by about 2 to 3 meters (6.5 to 10 feet).
Would you rather build up as high as possible right at the border and let the rest slope gently down behind the flat area? Or would you prefer to create two levels, meaning hold back at the border at about 2 meters (6.5 feet), then add some more planter stones and a staircase along the current level, and create a second level below that, which would then be more or less flat?
If we only place planter stones along the border and fill in, it will be noticeably less steep than it is now but will still have a slope. It would be usable and also mowed.
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