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.
Costruttrice schrieb:
How thick would a masonry parapet need to be? I would want to take a closer look at that because of the corridor width. Wooden railings probably don’t take up that many centimeters (inches). The contractor also advises against masonry because of the loss of natural light. At the front (where the staircase starts), opposite the front door, we have a huge panoramic window that lets a lot of light into the house. However, the rest of the corridor leading to the bedrooms is rather dark. He said that if we build a 120cm (47 inches) high parapet there, it will feel noticeably more cramped and darker than if we use glass panels.
And he’s not just saying that to sell us something—in the standard design, we also have glass elements, just with posts in between plus a handrail.
W
WilderSueden2 Mar 2023 09:15I would also vote for a country house style. Falling through is not an issue with proper spacing, but dropping things is. Although children also like to simply throw things down the stairs 😉
J
Jurassic1352 Mar 2023 09:19Really nice!
Children usually cannot fall through wooden railings because there are standards for the spacing and height. No child’s head can fit through, at least not beyond the crawling stage. I have a young son myself, and from the start, we taught him that he is only allowed to throw soft things down the stairs (e.g., stuffed toys, paper). He has always stuck to this rule because it wasn’t a complete ban—after all, every child likes to throw things and watch how they clatter, fall, roll, or bounce. That’s how they learn about physics, so he’s allowed to do it. 😀 He also always asks if someone is downstairs before throwing anything so that no one gets hit. That works really well. 🙂
Children usually cannot fall through wooden railings because there are standards for the spacing and height. No child’s head can fit through, at least not beyond the crawling stage. I have a young son myself, and from the start, we taught him that he is only allowed to throw soft things down the stairs (e.g., stuffed toys, paper). He has always stuck to this rule because it wasn’t a complete ban—after all, every child likes to throw things and watch how they clatter, fall, roll, or bounce. That’s how they learn about physics, so he’s allowed to do it. 😀 He also always asks if someone is downstairs before throwing anything so that no one gets hit. That works really well. 🙂
Tolentino schrieb:
We had to put anti-slip tape on the nice stairs now. What kind do you have there? And does it work? Are they only at the front of the steps or do they cover more area? At my in-laws’ wooden staircase, I’ve almost slipped several times already (managed to catch myself, but my feet ended up 1-2 steps lower than intended), since I’m just not a slippers person... but now I’m also considering what to do there. My parents have a stone staircase, which isn’t as slippery, and they used to have a wooden staircase with those carpet things. I don’t really like how those look, but I’d rather avoid breaking something... I’ve also read about adhesive strips or special coatings, but how do you find them in use?