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:
Pumice is specified in the contract, and the pallets are labeled with lightweight aerated concrete blocks.That’s fine as it is. Using Ytong for the exterior walls and lightweight aerated concrete blocks for the interior walls is not very common, but both are good building materials. I live myself in a pumice block apartment building and have no complaints.https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
kbt09 schrieb:
@kati1337 .. which side wall do you mean? I only see a post, or do you mean the side wall to the left of the kitchen base units on the plan?Exactly, it’s the side wall on the left side of the lower kitchen units on the plan. The post next to the island will be removed as well. You could leave that out, so from the stairs going down you would look at the kitchen’s side paneling instead of a wall. On the other hand, that would take away a wall where I could put a small cabinet or shelf.11ant schrieb:
That’s fine as it is. The combination of Ytong for the exterior walls and lightweight concrete blocks for the interior walls isn’t very common, but both are good building materials. I live in a pumice block (multifamily) house myself and have no complaints.Thank you very much. ^^ I’m not too worried either. Maybe a little about soundproofing, but I’ve never really had problems with noise inside rooms—more with noise coming in from outside. I’m curious to see how it will be here. After all, a quarter of the house is fully built into the hillside. I hope that will have a positive effect on sound insulation. Definitely, no noise will come into the office from that side, for example. Otherwise, we just have to hope the area turns out to be relatively quiet. I also don’t feel so vulnerable here if something does happen. At least I could quickly drive to one of my sisters if it got noisy—they both live in quiet areas. 🙂Generally, I’m less involved with the exact building materials and technical details on this build, to be honest. It’s a completely different experience compared to the first house. Both have (so far) been good experiences, but just very different. The first was a truly professional company. Everything followed well-established processes. However, every special request cost a certain extra amount, although all that was transparent and clearly communicated upfront.
This build is much more on a “trust basis.” Of course, there is a contract and all the general conditions are defined and signed. But we chose the builder because of a good gut feeling and personal recommendation. It’s quite a village-like atmosphere this time, almost like “everyone knows each other.” I have great trust that the man is honest and wouldn’t risk his good reputation in the region over a modest single-family house. 😉 There’s also a longstanding relationship with the family on top of that. For our shower shelf in the first build, we paid about €570. This time we discussed that with the builder as well. He said: “Huh? If that’s what you want, I’ll just brick it in like that.” In general, his statement was that the house won’t cost us “a penny more” than what we have contractually agreed on. So far, that seems to be the case—even invoices for utility connections, marking out, surveying, etc. are all included in his build service specification. I’m curious how it will go with tiles and the bathroom. Our contract there is basically “all-inclusive” but limited to white sanitary ceramics. He said that he has a budget set with his bathroom planner that most clients can stay within, as long as they don’t pick a freestanding whirlpool bathtub.
Costruttrice schrieb:
How wonderful!!! Congratulations and wishing you a smooth pregnancy despite the stress of house building.Thank you, thank you! ♥ There’s more relaxation on both fronts now. I find neither the second house construction nor the second pregnancy nearly as stressful as the first(s). 🙂Ypsi aus NI schrieb:
Is it already there or still in production? 🙂 In any case: congratulations. How old is your son? Around 2 or 3, right?
Our son is about the same age as our house/build—so 8 months. We went to the hospital and the masons arrived.The second one is on the way, just over 4 months along now. 🙂 That made moving quite the adventure. Nobody could have guessed it would happen so quickly at my age, haha. 😀 Our son just turned 3. I always thought a 2-year age gap would be ideal, but back then we couldn’t even imagine having a second child. It really is a different experience when you have family around compared to managing everything alone.B
Benutzer 100115 Sep 2022 12:32kbt09 schrieb:
@kati1337 .. which side wall do you mean? I only see a column, or do you mean the side wall to the left of the lower kitchen unit?
I would think carefully about removing the stub wall, especially if you plan to have cabinets up to the ceiling. However, since there is a door next to it, it might look awkward.And congratulations on the new baby.
kati1337 schrieb:
Exactly, it’s about the side wall on the left side of the lower kitchen unit. The post next to the island will also be removed.
You could omit it, then when looking down from the stairs you’d see the kitchen’s side panel instead of a wall.
On the other hand, removing it means losing a wall where I could place a small cabinet or shelf. Congratulations on the upcoming addition to your family! It’s great to hear that you’ve made the right decisions so far with confidence and are feeling relaxed. Keep it up!
Speaking of the right decision: I would consider removing the short wall a mistake. It would definitely be missed in that spot 🙂
All the best!
kati1337 schrieb:
On the other hand, I would lose a wall where I could place a small cabinet or shelf. Or a nice picture?!
I would keep the “stub.” It’s also about the positioning of the light switches.