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.
Congratulations on choosing parquet flooring!
My brother (solid wood planks), my nephew, and I all have parquet. Some have had it for over 15 years now. None of us have ever regretted it. My brother recently had a water leak under the kitchen from a dishwasher extension hose. The result was a puddle but no lasting damage. So no worries there.
We currently have vinyl flooring in the office, and we also used protective mats—even quite high-quality and expensive ones. However, they were removed for exactly the reasons mentioned. I replaced the casters on the chairs and now roll directly on the vinyl without these stains. No problem. But don’t think I’m recommending vinyl. The new office will have carpet (needlefelt carpet?). I know it from other offices and find it better than vinyl or tiles. With tiles, the chair casters catch slightly on the small or larger grout lines, which is annoying. Carpet also keeps feet warmer, and with the right casters and high-quality carpet, it works perfectly in thousands of offices (even with large and heavy people sitting on swivel chairs ;-)
Another option that might also be suitable for offices (which I really like) is this beautiful, glued-down end-grain parquet. It is extremely hard and durable. It’s installed in the offices of my physiotherapist and my osteopath. If it’s good enough for that, it should last well...
My brother (solid wood planks), my nephew, and I all have parquet. Some have had it for over 15 years now. None of us have ever regretted it. My brother recently had a water leak under the kitchen from a dishwasher extension hose. The result was a puddle but no lasting damage. So no worries there.
We currently have vinyl flooring in the office, and we also used protective mats—even quite high-quality and expensive ones. However, they were removed for exactly the reasons mentioned. I replaced the casters on the chairs and now roll directly on the vinyl without these stains. No problem. But don’t think I’m recommending vinyl. The new office will have carpet (needlefelt carpet?). I know it from other offices and find it better than vinyl or tiles. With tiles, the chair casters catch slightly on the small or larger grout lines, which is annoying. Carpet also keeps feet warmer, and with the right casters and high-quality carpet, it works perfectly in thousands of offices (even with large and heavy people sitting on swivel chairs ;-)
Another option that might also be suitable for offices (which I really like) is this beautiful, glued-down end-grain parquet. It is extremely hard and durable. It’s installed in the offices of my physiotherapist and my osteopath. If it’s good enough for that, it should last well...
For the office, I would also recommend nice tiles or an industrial carpet. Both require different types of casters for the office swivel chair. However, both options do not need any protective mats. I find that somewhat counterproductive in itself—floor and then a protective mat 😉
M
motorradsilke25 Sep 2022 07:47WilderSueden schrieb:
I thought about using a small rug to cover the area where the office chair rolls in front of the desk. We do the same. Hardwood floor in the room and a small rug where the office chair is.
P
Pinkiponk25 Sep 2022 10:15WilderSueden schrieb:
I have thought about using a small rug for the problem, which would be placed in the rolling area in front of the desk. It might sound unattractive, but it doesn’t have to be: would nice (and they really exist 🙂 ) "dirt-trapping-style rugs" be an option? They usually have a rubber edge that you can't trip over and that keeps them firmly on the floor. If you choose one in a solid color and the edge matches the mat itself, it could look good in your favorite color while serving the purpose. I haven’t tried this myself yet.
Just an idea.
WilderSueden schrieb:
I was thinking of placing a small rug in the rolling area in front of the desk. motorradsilke schrieb:
That's how we do it too. Hardwood flooring in the room with a small rug where the office chair is. That’s what we had in our old, old house (where we rented for a long time).
The office had varnished hardwood floors (already a bit older when we moved in), and I placed a rug in the area where the office chairs were and fixed it with double-sided tape to protect the floor. After 10 years of use, the rug still looked pretty decent, but the hardwood underneath had real dents in some spots. The chair casters had damaged it that badly—it looked quite bad.
I was surprised because the “protective rug” on top actually looked fine.
It’s probably hard to compare with other people’s situations, since we use the office very intensively even in non-working free time. When we’re both home, we almost never watch TV; we usually just game. So we spend our entire working hours in the office plus often several hours in the evenings. Over the years, that really adds up to a lot of rolling time.
Maybe I’ll seriously consider tiles, and we could always put a large rug on top if we find it ugly or uncomfortable.
kbt09 schrieb:
I would also recommend nice tiles or some sort of industrial carpet for the office. It just requires different casters on the office chair. But both options don’t need any protective mats, which I find somewhat counterproductive anyway—floor plus protection mat 😉. Same here, I just can’t quite get behind the idea. In the old house, we had those mats and they looked really bad. I’m glad we protected the floor—we ended up selling the house. But in the new house, I find mats too ugly and potentially unsafe.
M
motorradsilke25 Sep 2022 11:34kati1337 schrieb:
I had this in our very old house (where we rented for a long time).
The office had lacquered hardwood flooring (already a bit old when we moved in), and I placed a carpet over the area with office chairs, securing it with double-sided tape to protect the floor. After 10 years of use, the carpet still looked pretty good, but the hardwood underneath had actual holes in some spots. The chair wheels had damaged it that badly, which looked quite bad.
I was surprised because the “protective carpet” on top actually looked fine.
Then just replace the covering after 10 years. We got our hardwood flooring very cheaply, and it wasn’t glued down. The hardest part is usually moving out the furniture.
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